Mixtape Time!

I was talking to a friend yesterday morning, and he told me that I need to give him a mixtape so he can “assess my personality”- so I decided to try and make my mixtape to try and encompass all of the music I listen to in just a limited number of tracks, say around 15-20. It was pretty difficult, but I tried to cover the major artists I listen to (Sugarland, Lee Ann Womack, Nickel Creek, Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, SHeDAISY, etc.) as well as outlying genres beyond country music (Radiohead, Neko Case, Alicia Keys, Jazmine Sullivan, etc.) and I think this is a great set of songs that really gives an intro to my musical tastes- and it was difficult to decide on these songs for sure.

Then I thought it would be interesting to post my mixtape here to display it, and I would like you guys to do the same! You guys can post yours in the comments, mine is just below.

“15 Step” by Radiohead
“Fallin’ “ by Alicia Keys
“Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” by Beyoncé
“Lions, Tigers & Bears” by Jazmine Sullivan
“Rattlin’ Bones” by Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson
“The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore” by Kathy Mattea
“Last Call” by Lee Ann Womack
“Fly Like A Bird” by Mariah Carey
“House Of A Thousand Dreams” by Martina McBride
“Coming Back To You” by Melinda Doolittle
“Desperation” by Miranda Lambert
“This Tornado Loves You” by Neko Case
“This Side” by Nickel Creek
“On Your Way Home” by Patty Loveless
“Gravity” by Sara Bareilles
“Don’t Worry ‘Bout A Thing” by SHeDAISY
“Very Last Country Song” by Sugarland
“Three Mississippi” by Terri Clark
“Wrong Side Of Memphis” by Trisha Yearwood

Click the link to hear the song- all of them are last.fm links except “This Tornado Loves You”, which is a youtube video. I hope you enjoy mine and post your own!

Favorite Grammy Performances

I finally watched the Grammy’s on my DVR tonight, just for the performances, and it led me to this question:

What was your favorite performance from the Grammys?
There were some great ones, and some not so great ones (Miley Cyrus makes Taylor Swift sound like Trisha Yearwood), but I picked my 3 favorites:

1. “15 Step” by Radiohead and the USC Marching Band
Alright, I love Radiohead. I admit it. I bought In Rainbows, and it struck me as a phenomenal record. Imagine my joy when my favorite track off the album was going to be performed at the Grammys! My only complaint was that Thom (the singer) moves weirder than Chris Martin. But for everything else, the performance was golden. I was skeptical at first, but the marching band was an amazing touch – a stroke of genius, in my opinion. Very different than the original (listen here) which has electronic beats instead. This is just a very cool song, and a great performance.

2. “Stay” and “Chasing Pavements” by Sugarland and Adele

Adele receiving the Grammy for Best New Artist

Two of my favorite vocalists singing two of my favorite songs. What could be better?! Well, I would have preferred more singing together, but the perfect performances from the two definitely validate their Grammy wins. They are both wonderful ladies, and Kristian Bush is nice, too. Even sweeter is how Adele beat the Jonas Brothers. YES!!!

3. “You Pulled Me Through” by Jennifer Hudson

Just the fact that she could go out there after all that she’s been through and sing that well…? She is a very resilient person. This performance cements the fact that she deserves to be here, and she seems to be doing as well as she can after all that. I still kind of wish she would have done “Spotlight“, but whatever. “You Pulled Me Through” was great, too — it matched the mood much better anyway.

P.S.  Props to M.I.A. for performing on her due date. Did anyone notice her maniacal laugh when the camera found her while reading nominees? I love her…

I’m also sad about the whole Chris Brown/Rihanna thing. I hope she’s doing okay.

So what do you guys think? Agree? Disagree?