Top 10 Christmas Songs #2 of 2014

 

 

Merry Christmas Eve day to you all of my fellow music lovers and blog followers! Since I have some plans tonight and yes *sigh* have to work Christmas Day tomorrow for 8 hours and then go to another Christmas and hit the hay early because of work the following day this list is being delivered to you very early as well as my Christmas greetings. So let's just get right into as I present another 10 of my favorite Christmas songs for this 2014 season until next year.

 

#10. O Holy Night by Wynonna Judd

 

Now you were probably beginning to think I didn't like any country artists until I started discussing Christmas music. I don't know what it is but I guess being a Kentucky born girl it makes me miss home and being around my family. When it comes to classic Christmas music more of the secular or Christmas Mass choir variety, O Holy Night is my most favorite because the harmonies of members blend so beautifully and when a solo artist sings this song they truly get to shine. Now Wynonna Judd and her mother Naomi as The Judds were enjoyable being Kentucky natives and since Wynonna went solo, she's had some hits just as big on her own. Her version of this song is just one of many that takes my breath away...

 

 

#9.  Last Christmas by Ashley Tisdale from A Very Special Christmas 7 (2009)

 

Ashley Tisdale is one of my newer favorite artists that even though younger than myself she is very talented and goes to prove that being a Disney Channel child star is still a very lucrative way to selling albums. You could make this a very depressed and slow kind of song but most versions I have heard are very upbeat and full of cheer which is how I wish everyone could feel at Christmas time but I know is impossible with the way life can throw curves at you. Maudlin feelings aside, this is another Christmas song that is one of my favorites no matter which genre or artist decides to get their hands on it.

 

 

 

#8. Sleigh Ride by Ella Fitzgerald

 

I am first to admit that jazz is not a genre I listen to a lot except at Christmas time because jazz versions of Christmas songs are so lively and spirited to really keep you energized and bring that retro feel to any Christmas party. Ella Fitzgerald was one of the best and her swinging 1960 version of another favorite Christmas classic of mine is no exception.

 

 

 

 

#7. Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer by Elmo & Patsy

 

Now I have seen this on a lot of list for most hated or most annoying Christmas songs and I guess on a certain level I can see it but I have been hearing this song since I was really little and when it comes on the radio I can't help but smile and sing along but yes in real life your grandmother being hit by a reindeer would not be the joyful and jolly subject for a Christmas song. You know I kind of hate when people take songs too seriously when they are clearly written in fun and personally as someone who has lost a family member around the holiday it's not that you are being an awful person you just want to try an keep the joy of the holiday are you will just quit it cold turkey like it is a bad habit. Anyway, I think most people might not like this song anymore thanks to the animated special that comes on Cartoon Network every year but yet again I don't think it's that bad...*ahem*

 

 

 

#6. Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms

 

Yes yet another favorite Christmas song where I love almost every version I hear and have heard it so many times since being a very little girl. This original version recorded by Bobby Helms in 1957 so it's early rock and roll with a country twang which I guess makes it more rockabilly in flavor so when its covered it has many ways to go so it can be covered by a variety of artists.

 

 

 

#5. Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney

 

It goes without saying that Sir Paul McCartney is a musical genius. Most people like him because he was a Beatle one of the biggest band's of all time, then he had Wings with late wife Linda and many solo projects that are still going today. So when he plays all the instruments on one song and gives us a new modern Christmas carol that cements the whole musical genius thing.

 

 

 

#4. Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys

 

I love The Beach Boys pretty much everything they do so when Christmastime rolls around and this 1963 hit written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love comes on the radio I'm grinning and my head's bobbing along. I always wonder how Christmas was back in the 1950s and 60s mostly to see a time before commercialism and materialism were more important and hope it was as innocent and sunny as the music...well most of it.

 

 

 

#3. Silent Night by Charlotte Church

 

When I heard the voice come from this at the time seventeen year old girl I was just so amazed at how angelic and mature it sounds! When it comes to classic Christmas carols this is another one of my favorites and when you can make one artist sound like a whole choir of angels thanks to her soprano range which is so operatic you can picture yourself in a huge cathedral or opera house hearing this be performed on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day...it's glorious!

 

 

 

#2. Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano

 

Another fun Christmas song to sing in the car while out getting some Christmas shopping done even if you don't speak Spanish or sound horrible trying to attempt to even sing Spanish. Since releasing this in 1970, Jose Feliciano has become synonymous with cheerful holiday celebrations and the bridging of Latin and American cultures since Jose himself is Puerto Rican so even though some of us may not speak or understand Spanish we receive the same message of goodwill when he wishes all of us a Merry Christmas from the bottom of his heart.

 

 

So what tops this Christmas list of holiday songs and is the last song of the holiday I will be talking about until 2015?

 

#1. Shimmy Down The Chimney (Fill Up My Stocking) by Alison Krauss

 

Known primarily as a country artist, Alison Krauss sometimes steps out of the box into sort of pop and rock influenced ventures but this one I always thought it was very jazz, soul and R&B kind of tone and you known Alison pulls it off very well. There's an innocent sweetness and saucy groove to the song I have never heard in any other Christmas song which makes this song very unique. I admit I like singing this one and can imagine the background singers swaying and snapping fingers and even though it seems to put Santa in a very naughty position, I still think it's very nice.

 

 

 

Well I guess that's it for the Christmas music since the holiday is almost over so it looks we are going to have to put a DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS SEASON 2015 tag on the holiday vault. Since there are only 7 days left of the year I don't know if I will get another blog post in but if not I'll see you all again in 2015!

 

 

 

 

 

Top 10 Christmas Albums

Hello music lovers! I know it has been a long time since I posted something on here but been working and been tired from said work and also I have a new pet a puppy who has a lot of energy to help drain my own. Anyway I have returned because my second favorite holiday has arrived and with it a love of music. Yes I absolutely love Christmas music especially as an adult to help get me in the holiday spirit but even as a child I enjoyed Christmas music when my mom would play it around the house while decorating inside and even outside where my dad would turn our yard into a winter wonderland. Now that I think about it I believe Christmas was the time my family would really come together and I miss that feeling now since my dad and two of my aunts have passed away, my mother lives far away and I now live in another state as well.

Sorry to bring down the mood but I just had to explain why I love Christmas music and I know that some people don't mostly because stations will play it twenty four hours a day even before Thanksgiving has even had a chance to be over and may even continue up until the new year. But if you like Christmas music like I do this is just the first of some Christmas themed Top 10 music picks. I'm starting off with Christmas albums so that we can cover most of where my favorites come from and any other lists I get to will not have any of these songs included since I will be discussing them here. So let's begin celebrating the holiday season with my top ten favorite Christmas albums.

#10 Wrapped In Red  ~ Kelly Clarkson

Now this entry isn't so low on the list because it isn't excellent but because it's fairly new and I haven't had as much time to warm up to it as other albums on this list. Released in October of 2013, I didn't get to listen to it very much last Christmas but I love Kelly Clarkson and she has a very good voice and the title is very pretty and quite original. There are 14 songs with five original and 9 covers of Christmas covers. The title track, Underneath The Tree, Every Christmas, 4 Carats and Winter Dreams (Brandon's Song) all have Kelly as a song writer and out of the originals Wrapped In Red is my favorite. There is a cover of Imogen Heap's "Just For Now" which is nice and I guess is okay for a temporary kind of Christmas song but not particularly my favorite. Of the other eight songs my favorites are a version of Baby It's Cold Outside where Kelly duets with Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn fame, her covers of Blue Christmas, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and a lovely version of Silent Night featuring Trisha Yearwood and Kelly's mother in law the talented Reba McEntire.

#9 Christmas Portrait  ~ The Carpenters

I absolutely love The Carpenters thanks to my mother and I believe that Karen Carpenter was taken from this Earth too soon and ironically in the same year I was born three months and seventeen days exactly before I arrived in this world. That fact aside, the harmonies of Karen and Richard Carpenter along with their whimsical pop and mellow song stylings make for a very beautiful Christmas album. Now I of course have the album on a CD and not its original two sided vinyl but it is still beautiful just the same. Now the version I have also combines tracks from the only other Christmas album the Carpenters released An Old Fashioned Christmas which was released after Karen's death so I'm glad they titled the re-issue with the album on which Karen was alive but it still provides some melancholy nostalgia as it is the only Christmas album I own where one of the artists is actually deceased. It also contains my two favorites of Christmas music radio: Merry Christmas Darling and Sleigh Ride.

#8 Rejoyce The Christmas Album ~ Jessica Simpson

You can say what you want about her but there is no denying that Jessica Simpson can sing. At times a trifle breathy I still think she has a very nice voice and she was at the high point of her career when this album came out in November of 2004. At the time she was married to Nick Lachey (whom she did a duet of Baby It's Cold Outside on this album) and even though she is doing well now remarried with two kids this is when I loved her the best. This album was sort of a family oriented one despite its pop and brassy, show tune feel in parts since it also has Jessica dueting with her little sister Ashlee on The Little Drummer Boy and was so named after her grandmother who had passed away (hence the Rejoyce instead of rejoice.) There are parts of the album that also are less Vegas or vaudeville especially when it comes to songs such as What Child Is This ? and Breath Of Heaven (Mary's Song) which require more grace and power and highlight the more spiritual tone of the season. Even if you don't like Jessica Simpson I recommend this if you love Christmas music as most of the songs are covers but even the original penned It's Christmas Time Again is worth a listen.

#7 Joy To The World ~ Faith Hill

When it comes to country music I admit I am a very female oriented person and when it comes to country music after Reba I hold Faith Hill in second place when it comes to having a truly beautiful voice. Now I know a lot of people may disagree on a personal level despite her talent or maybe because you don't like her husband Tim McGraw but for whatever the reason at Christmas time all of those go out the window or they should once you give a listen to her first and so far only Christmas album. Like Jessica Simpson's Christmas album there is a big band feel to most of the songs but to see Faith kind of go out of a country niche into something different proves she is a great artist with talent. She's no stranger to being played on pop radio either so hearing Faith Hill at Christmas time will bring a shiny sparkle to your tree. Like most holiday albums it is filled with covers but the original penned A Baby Changes Everything is a highlight with a twist that brings the true reason of the season to light.

#6 My Kind Of Christmas ~ Christina Aguilera

Well of course you already know that I am a Christina Aguilera fan so we won't go into much detail as to why but let's just say a big, soulful voice combined together with Christmas standards is a deal one can't pass up. Released between Genie In A Bottle pop princess and the more edgy and Dirrty X-Tina phases in her career this highlights more of the soulful and powerful aspects that she would later handle with the Back To Basics album so this was just a glimpse of what would come to her haters and the showcase to those who already knew. Christmas Time, This Year and Xtina's Xmas are the only originals specifically written for the album with everything else covers of holiday favorites and though not bad I like hearing Christina tackle those songs of Christmas past. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and O Holy Night are the two tracks that blow me away with their beauty but her versions of This Christmas and her duet with Dr. John on Merry Christmas Baby are what highlight Christina's talent of smooth R&B like her idol Etta James to spice up your Christmas parties!

#5 White Christmas ~ Martina McBride

I guess you could say Martina McBride would complete my quartet of female country singers after Reba, Faith and Trisha Yearwood. She has always had a very talented voice, a strong but bubbly personality and a certain aspect that the other ladies I have mentioned don't possess yet that I can not name. My mother is a big Martina McBride so that's probably why I developed such a love for her by branching out and discovering country music for most of it is quite good even if that is not the genre of music I listen to our love the most. I seem to love country artists a little more around Christmas time and Martina McBride is no exception with her beautiful voice highlighting holiday standards. Now the version I have is the 2007 re-release (the album was originally released in 1998, then again in 1999 and yes again in 2013!) so my enjoyment comes from the particular track listing of that time with I guess the new highlight of that being a duet between Martina and the late Dean Martin on Baby It's Cold Outside through the magic of modern music technology! No matter what version my favorite Christmas song I have ever heard Martina McBride sing is Do You Hear What I Hear? by far the best version I have ever heard...

#4 Merry Christmas ~ Mariah Carey

Probably one of the earliest Christmas albums I have in my collection because well I have liked Mariah Carey a very long time. Since her debut I thought she had a very beautiful voice and I loved her pop-R&B style and then for awhile I didn't like how she went a little more provocative with more rap beats but understanding that artists must sometimes evolve I have come to admire her style and music almost full circle. Now this is when Mariah was still very early in her career and ever since All I Want For Christmas Is You has become a modern Christmas standard and dare I say maybe even a holiday classic for my generation? There is also a gospel feel to a lot of the tracks which would be perfect for any social function to bring about the uplifting spirit of Christmas despite any nasty snowstorm raging outside your windows. Miss You Most At Christmas Time and Jesus Born On This Day are the two other original compositions that Carey helped to write and show her talent as a songwriter on a very lyrical level. When it comes to covers on the album her version of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) is by far my favorite contemporary and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing my favorite of the traditional.

#3 This Christmas ~ 98 Degrees

Out of all the boy bands there ever were 98 Degrees was always my favorite. Yes I do like The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC but there was always something about the four men in this group that just made me love them better. I guess they just always seemed to have a maturity the others lacked but still had a fun side not to mention very beautiful harmonies to go with those handsome faces. So when I had to have this Christmas album along with their other albums in my collection my friend Sarah did not disappoint and got this as a gift for me long after it had been released ( came out in 1999 I didn't get it until 2001). There is a reason this is in my top 3 and well beside the aforementioned thing about the harmonies should I really say anything else? Yes the songs This Gift, If Every Day Could Be Christmas and Christmas Wish are original penned songs in that boy band, pop schmaltz tone of the times to most listeners but they are still quite beautiful. If you really want to be blown away by just how powerfully moving their four-part harmonies truly are just give listen to their versions of the classics O Holy Night and Ave Maria and see if you can keep a tear from falling...

#2 On This Winter's Night ~ Lady Antebellum

You know I had almost given up on liking any of the new country artists fearing to be stuck in an early 90s to early 2000s rut until I heard Need You Now by Lady Antebellum for the first time (you know before it got played every hour on soft rock, pop and country radio). Always a solo artist kind of person and not really liking any particular country music group something about the harmonies between Hilary Scott, Charles Kelly and Dave Haywood just seem to work and when Hilary and Charles sing separately or together it is so beautiful like freshly fallen snow on pine trees! The title track is the only originally penned song by the group the rest being covers which range from traditional to modern and despite being a country group there are tones like Christmas specials full of spectacle and of course nights by the cozy fire. It's hard to pick favorites the whole album is just amazing!

So is there any guess as to what my number one Christmas album is? Well if you know me than you should know and you may be surprised because I guess some of you never even realized that my favorite band in the whole wide world even had a holiday album! So what album do I play all the time to get in the Christmas spirit?

#1 Heart Presents A Lovemonger's Christmas

Originally the second album for Ann and Nancy Wilson's side project The Lovemongers back in 1998 it took me forever to find it but in 2001 it was released by the sister's as a Heart album and I got my hands on it! I had this version for awhile until about 2004-2005 when their current label re-released it again with two new songs where I gave my other version to my best friend and fellow Heart fan Amy. Unlike the other Christmas albums on this list, all of the songs on the album are originals penned by the Wilson Sisters except for the traditional songs of Ave Maria, O Holy Night and the lesser known Balulalow and a track written by Lovemonger member Frank Cox called The Last Noel (the 2004 release has a cover of Mary by Patty Griffin and another original called Let's Stay In) The first track of the album Here Is Christmas was actually written way back in 1989 for a holiday compilation sort of like the Very Special Christmas series and I even heard that version on the radio maybe back in 1992-1993 which is what drove me to possess this in the first place. All of the tracks are wonderful but one that stands out as a favorite is Christmas Waits with Nancy on lead vocals and styled like something Burt Bacharach could have written. Another thing I enjoy is the harmonies on the traditional Christmas songs which highlight the almost classical operatic talents of both Ann and Nancy like the Christmas angels they are!

So that's my favorite Christmas albums! I hope to maybe talk about some of my favorite Christmas songs if I can get around to it in my free time but if I don't get back here before January of 2015 descends I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza or any other holiday but hopefully I will return soon with more of my favorite holiday hits!

Random Top 10 #2

I apologize for the long break in between posts but sometimes a girl needs some rest and some time to spend with her man when both of us have been working so hard. Also, as I posted on my other blog, the death of Robin Williams on Monday left me devastated and afraid to be happy for awhile. They say that music can be good therapy so I am back with another Random Top 10. It may be a little shorter than my first random list but I have to admit I'm still a little fuzzy trying to get back in the groove of things.

#10. Heart Don't Lie by California Dreams

Now who says I can't talk about fictional bands...it's still music right? Now I absolutely loved the show California Dreams which I use to watch coming home from school when I was about thirteen. It was ending its run on NBC around then but was in reruns on TBS and WGN and I just loved it! Now a lot of the songs were very poppy and cheesy but there were a handful of songs that I fell in love with and I eventually got a hold of the soundtrack that contained those rare gems like this one.

There's really not a lot of meaning to the song except just being in love and hoping that the romance and words being said aren't just lies and that they come honest and true from the heart. The interesting thing about the song is that one of the writers is a woman named Elizabeth Guttman Daily who you may know better as E.G. Daily who voiced Tommy Pickles on Rugrats and Buttercup in The Powerpuff Girls! Did you know she was a songwriter/musician besides being an actress? Neither did I but I am now interested in finding some of her work if all her songs have lyrics like this one!

#9. How Can I Fall by Breathe

Ah there is nothing like the 80s! I may have been a baby when this decade ended (well I was six and to my mom I suppose I was still a baby in her eyes) but the early 90s still had a soft spot for all those songs of the past on the weekend and then of course Delilah had her nightly shows where the softer side of the decade had a chance to shine. As a romantic, I love ballads and this one by the UK band Breathe is a personal favorite. It has pop keyboards and is about trying to fall in love when you can't get the words out. Trying to time and plan words to express how you are in love with someone isn't easy when you aren't sure how you feel or how they feel, is the time right or have you missed it by just a small fraction of time? This was probably a perfect song to play for someone in junior high school when tweens became teens and love became much more complicated to learn than geometry or chemistry! I always found lead singer David Glasper's voice to be so earnest and unsure when singing the words and still do find his to be one of the loveliest and most forgotten of the decade.

#8. She by Louie Says

Sometimes you will find the most interesting music when you least expect it say...watching one of your favorite or the greatest  TV show ever! Some music I learned to love when I would watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer and when I saw the Season 2 episode called Reptile Boy and heard the song She by Louie Says played partly in the middle and at the end of the episode it has always stuck with me. Now sadly the band only had one album before they went defunct and I never really thought I would enjoy a song by an indie band as much as I do this one. I've always felt the song was about loving a woman who tries to be aloof when it comes to love and no matter what she does the man stays in love with her. She'll leave then come back again she'll be cold one second saying she hates you and then break down crying and begging your forgiveness the next.

Now it may seem the girl is unstable but the man also admits that he will keep taking her back because sometimes her snowy exterior will melt into a smile that leaves him weak in the knees. He also knows that at times he may hate himself for the way he treats her which may be the reason she's kind of unstable in the first place. If you ever watched Buffy I think the song at the time fit perfectly with the tragic romance the main character and her vampire boyfriend were in. I mean a vampire slayer who came back from the dead and in love with an undead hunk could cause any relationship to have its bumps! (Sorry got caught up in Buffy nostalgia but that is for another time or maybe another blog...)

#7. Lying To Myself by David Cassidy

Now don't laugh at me because I have a David Cassidy song on here! Some of you probably can't get over him being a teeny-bopper artist back in the 1970s or Keith Partridge on TV but underneath David Cassidy always wanted to rock like Jimi Hendrix! Now his acting career may have disappeared after no one wanted to get happy anymore but you also can't forget that David Cassidy's father Jack Cassidy was an actor with Broadway experience so that singing talent runs in the family. Now it may be a song with that arena rock-power ballad sound but of course I absolutely love it. The song came out in 1990 when that sort of music was still okay to listen to before music became edgier with grunge and hard-rock metal which by no means is bad because I like music like that too. I actually heard this song much later on an episode of Behind The Music focusing specifically on Cassidy in the background in snippets so when I found the whole song I was ecstatic!

 It was written by Cassidy and songwriter Sue Shifrin who became Cassidy's wife a year later even though the two had an earlier ill-fated relationship which I think surprisingly may have been slight inspiration for this song. You see it's about a relationship ending where the man insists that he's fine and his lover really never meant anything to him and that her leaving the way she did isn't tearing him up. As the title states, he's lying to himself and he is ready to do everything he can to get her back out of shame and probably as a means to keep himself from becoming depressed. (Sorry recent events have put that thought into my mind as a possible alternative to the songs meaning.) If anyone has ever had a relationship like this or ever tried to pass off the heartbreak you felt (as I have done before) the song will take on a new meaning for you. If not, David Cassidy's voice will get you hooked to this song!


#6. I Believe In Love by Paula Cole

Now Paula Cole may be a little more famous for providing Dawson's Creek with its immortal opening theme song but I remember her more for this song (and some other one about cowboys but that's for another day...) which I heard on VH1 when it first came out. There's just something very powerful and haunting about Paula Cole's voice that is almost hard to describe and when I first heard this song it kind of reminded me of something soulful from the late 1960s or early 1970s. As a person who does believe in love this song really speaks to me and if you listen to the song it does have a love conquers all tone to it but not in a happy, fairy-tale way but how true love can win in the real world. You meet the one in high school or maybe college, you go out on dates or maybe you are just friends who soon discover after many other relationships that you are meant to be together. There are always factors that may take the relationship down an unprecedented path such as an unplanned pregnancy or a drunken night quickie wedding or even infidelity but if two people are meant to be together they will get through it and finally be together as the universe intended. It truly is a very beautiful song...

#5. My Heart Can't Tell You No by Rod Stewart

Ah Rod Stewart I'm not really sure how I came to admire him but I do know it was the late 80s incarnation that had to have gotten my attention. He was very big on VH1 around that time and I distinctly remember taking a shine to my mother's Rod Stewart anthology tape after discovering him through another song which led to this being my absolute favorite song! (we'll come to that other song later I promise...) When I got older I realized that the lyrics were very mature for the time I heard it originally as it is about a man begging his former lover to stay away from him every time she and her new man are on the outs. She keeps coming back to him, calling him when they fight and being that he still has feelings for her and could never deny her anything to begin with let's her back in only to be left in the cold when they decide to make up. Now I have never been in a relationship like that but I have known people who always come back to someone  when things don't work out on a romantic level between the new girl or guy in their life but then end up breaking their heart again. The thing I can relate to is watching someone you love be in love with somebody else and it still hurts to this day but not as much as it did then as now I am in a very happy relationship and very much in love. All that pushed aside, the older me has also come to appreciate the steamy, sensual tone of the song and the soulfulness of Rod Stewart's voice.

#4. The Kill by 30 Seconds To Mars

I admit there is two reasons why this is probably the only song I really like by 30 Seconds To Mars: first is basically the video is an out-right homage to The Shining by Stephen King (even if I enjoy the book and mini-series better) and second, in his own way, Jared Leto is still very much the hottie because man those eyes are just so intense! From the minute I saw the video I knew I would like the song because well I had to watch the entire video to hear the song didn't I so eventually it would be like a little worm burrowing its way into my ear and taking over my brain! (sorry the Stephen King reference sent me to a horror-themed place.) Now I may not like the Kubrick version but the video does capture the creepiness of the film and sort of points out the theme of duality of a sane person confronting their own inner madness kind of the way the book did.

I do like the dark tone of the song and can relate sometimes to the war within yourself theme of the song as the negative side of me (pessimistic, depressed and jealous) is always at war with the positive side of me (happy, creative and energetic). Everybody has two-sides to themselves and believe me I have reached breaking points in my life where I thought I might be going crazy but some of those breaking points also made me realize I can be a stronger person. Wait didn't I say there was another reason why I liked this song? Oh yeah, putting his looks and acting chops aside did I mention that Jared Leto can sing!? I mean damn talk about a triple threat!

#3. Helplessly Hopelessly by Jessica Andrews

Now yes I bet you are surprised that I actually do like country music! Of course I'm going to have to like country music because I am from Kentucky so my family likes country music and I had friends who also liked country music. I will tell you right now that my frame of country music listening spans from the late 1980s to at least 2004 and then I kinda stopped liking most country music that came out until Lady Antebellum came around. Now when the 2000s came about Jessica Andrews to me was a breath of fresh air amid the country ladies that had been around for awhile and not that there was anything wrong with Reba or Faith but Jessica Andrews was my age, innocent but also talented that when this very mature song came out it wasn't as if she did a full 180 and got all sexy.

The song is of course about love, first love, young love and feeling those emotions that are more adult. Of course the girl is a strong one except when she is with the man she loves and then she is just helpless to fight her feelings but she also remains hopeful even as she's hopelessly losing out to the emotions her heart is feeling. Of course as a romantic this is the kind of country music I enjoy because after awhile depressing country songs make me... well depressed and well bluegrass and honky-tonk was never my style. Especially at a time when I was the same age as Jessica Andrews who even though she did not write this song was singing about such an adult subject that it dictates (clearly about falling in love and going all the way as approached in a delicate country-song manner and not a blatant pop-rap way most songs addressed sex and still do). Even today I still get shivers when I hear this song...

#2. Promises Promises by Naked Eyes

Some years ago (maybe about seven or eight) I had to get a rental car after a run in with a deer and it had satellite radio (Sirius radio maybe not sure) so when I turned it to an 80s station this gem by British band Naked Eyes came on and of course, I loved it! Even though they are much more famous for the song "Always Something There To Remind Me" the pop-dance feel of this song is one I probably would have been clubbing to if I had been a teenager or twenty-something in the early 80s because basically by the late 80s I would have been a groupie for Whitesnake if I had been born in an earlier time period...but I digress. Despite being so damn catchy its lyrics tell of being in love with someone who of course makes a lot of promises about a serious relationship but instead they seem to just want to be free to be wild and crazy. So eventually it fizzles out but then somehow gets rekindled when those same promises get uttered again except now you are just a little older now where the pain hurts a lot worse where now the laughter just isn't enough to keep the relationship going. Yes I admit I have been in a relationship where promises are made and then broken but with one exception that I learned to move on and now I am in a relationship where promises are made but not broken just...stretched out a little. See because in real relationships things don't go as planned which is why if you truly love a person and make them promises, you do keep them.

Okay, maybe I have gotten a little deep and personal with this one in light of recent events but let's call it a cleanse of negative emotions through the positive aspect of music that it can make you happy and even though most of these songs have brought up good subjects for actual intellectual conversation I promise this song that tops my list may not turn to a serious conversation and may just be there for us to totally rock! So what song could it be? Well here's a hint: I have mentioned this man before talking about the group he is famous for but now let's just let him shine on his own...

#1. Lost In The Shadows by Lou Gramm

Gloria Estefan Top 10 #1

So now I am ready to talk about Gloria Estefan whom I absolutely love! In the beginning of the 80s she was apart of the group Miami Sound Machine as their lead vocalist but soon got pushed to the foreground where they started to be marketed as Gloria Estefan And The Miami Sound Machine. Toward the end of the 1980s and early 1990s she became more of a solo artist and returned to her Cuban musical roots and became more of a dance-disco diva than pop singer. On March 22nd of 1990, Gloria Estefan was severely injured in an accident involving her tour bus where her spine was fractured and about an inch away from leaving her completely paralyzed for the rest of her life but she went through surgery and therapy to come back stronger than ever! I view Gloria Estefan as one of the pop singers and rock stars that I looked up to as being a positive role model for young women due to her determination, talent and her beauty. Another thing I admire Gloria for is that she has been married to her husband Emilio Estefan Jr. for 35 years and he was her first and only boyfriend! He has produced her albums and they love each other so much that I call that a true power couple! Praise aside, I owe discovering Gloria Estefan mostly to my half-sister Tamara as she did so with many other musical artists sometimes in a combined effort along with my mom and I am always appreciative of that. So today let's take a look at the first of my ten favorite Gloria Estefan/Miami Sound Machine songs.

#10. Here We Are from the album Cuts Both Ways

This is probably the song you think of first when you hear Gloria Estefan's name or maybe it's just me because this is a very sweet yet sultry ballad...pure romance for a person like me! The bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano and percussion makes a great combination with Estefan's vocals and the song is about finding love, being with that person, later becoming only friends but never forgetting the special times you shared. Inside you know you still love them but to the rest of the world you have to hide it especially the person who still has your heart even if they don't know it.

#9. Betcha Say That from the album Let It Loose

I saw this video when I was really young and thought that Gloria Estefan was so beautiful and that it looked like she and the Miami Sound Machine had so much fun together! I think the infectious pop beat is why I like this song because of course a young kid may not have any idea about what the song is truly about. With new knowledge, it's a song about falling in love with a guy who uses cheesy lines, innocent manipulation and probably has broken the hearts of many girls in the past. The man in question doesn't seem to do so maliciously but he just happens to be a big flirt and it probably pushes some girls away and wraps others around his finger until the feelings gone and he skedaddles (probably afraid of commitment...I know a man like that...) Then the day happens that he truly does fall in love and wants to settle down but the girl in question knows about his past and isn't sure if she can believe him. Now that I think about it I like the song because I kind of relate to it now...is that really a good thing?

#8. Bad Boy from the album Primitive Love

There are actually two videos to this song but the one above is the version I saw first and yep you guessed it besides the members of Miami Sound Machine in one part...most of those actors playing cats are actually from Cats. Again this shows me how a good band can even stand dressing up to make a memorable video and well Gloria does have a velvet voice like a cat's purr so I guess it fits. There's really no deep reasoning behind the lyrics it's simply being in love with a bad boy maybe not a criminally bad boy or a dangerous one unless that just happens to be your type (I'm not judging anyone!).

#7. Reach from the album Destiny

Gloria Estefan is a powerful singer when it comes to ballads and when she is given a song to sing by master songwriter Diane Warren and it also happens to be chosen as an Olympic anthem, you know chills will be going down your arms in goose bumps! When the Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta back in 1996 who better to sing your official song of the games than a woman who knows what it is to fight like Gloria Estefan! Her accident and her parents escaping from the Cuban regime under Castro to come to America you know that she can push the power of her emotions into her voice. As the title states, it's about reaching for your dreams no matter what and we all have dreams we want to achieve no matter how impossible they may seem. I think anyone can do this as long as they are within realistic limits and I may still be chasing some of my dreams but I'll keep on reaching thanks to Gloria and this song...

#6. Dr. Beat from the album Eyes Of Innocence

Another fun video that is enough to attract a young child's attention and as the word is in the title, also the beat which is dancey and infectious like a musical ear worm is meant to be! It's self-explanatory that once music gets into your head you can't get rid of it but then when it moves to your feet that you can't stop dancing maybe you should consider visiting a real doctor but until it becomes a fatal emergency...you can dance as much as you like!

#5. I See Your Smile from the Greatest Hits album

You should know by now that I am a lover of ballads and when Gloria Estefan sings a ballad, it can really hit you where you live or at least bring a tear to your eye or a crack in your heart. From the moment I heard this song I was in love with it and when I learned it was written by Jon Secada I realized why it was so lyrically beautiful! It's a song about loving someone who brights up the day with their smile and makes your life easier through all the rough patches but then suddenly not having them anymore due to distance or maybe even death. They may be the one who got away in the romantic sense but as a friend they still remain in your heart even if separated by distance.

#4. Can't Forget You from the album Into The Light

I wasn't lying when I told you I love Gloria Estefan ballads now was I? The first time I heard this song is when I saw the video on VH1 and of course fell in love with it. By now you know I love songs about well...love in all its forms: positive or tragic. Sometimes you don't appreciate the love you have until it is no longer in your life especially when you are the one that walked away. Maybe you were confused or just too young to understand the good thing you had especially where love is concerned but now it hurts not to have that love anymore. It's even more difficult when you can't forget that person and then try to bring that love back by maybe trying to get back together and it is now too late.


#3. Don't Wanna Lose You from the album Cuts Both Ways

This was the first Gloria Estefan song and video I ever saw which began my full blown love of Gloria Estefan and let me explore everything that came before this. I like the simplicity of the video in its sepia tones and how Gloria is wearing little or no makeup and still looks so gorgeous! Everyone knows what it is like to love someone and how you want that person to love you for just being yourself and there are some of us who just where our hearts on our sleeves so that we are always open and vulnerable to the pain that comes with love. Sometimes it's tough not to fight with each other but you don't want it to get so bad that you end up walking away from each other but if you did end up saying good-bye would you lose apart of yourself as well...watching the other half of you walk away?

#2. Can't Stay Away From You from the album Let It Loose

From that first opening note, I was hooked on this song and I like how the tone is more pensive than sad and even though very adult contemporary I don't really think of it as a ballad. Yes it is slow to be considered a ballad but I find it more of an emotional plea from the heart that is just too powerful to be labeled a ballad because too people who don't appreciate this type of music could put the word sappy in front of it and I don't like that. I think maybe I relate to the lyrical content of the song too much is why I can't see it as a ballad because believe me I have been in a situation similar to this! Sometimes you will love someone and that love is not reciprocated because the other person only wants to be friends or maybe they are pining for someone else and you feel like you may just be the last resort. You know that maybe you need to just walk away and try to find love somewhere else but you don't want to lose this person as a friend. You know you can't stay away from people you care about but in the long run I've found sometimes you do and it's all for the best. 

So which hit is this list's top pick? It just happens to be one of my favorite ballads and even though the live version is best the album one is too...

#1. Words Get In The Way from the album Primitive Love

This was I believe on a collection of Gloria Estefan videos my sister recorded for me when I was little after I discovered her for the first time and the video above was how I heard the song until I found it on her greatest hits album in its original album/studio version. It's always good to hear performers sing live without all the studio sound behind it because it proves just how powerful some singers really are and Gloria Estefan sounds beautiful live! Being in a friendship that was once an old relationship can be hard if you have to watch your former flame or crush be with someone new and you will hate the day when they come to tell you that they are falling in love. It's going to be especially hard because you have been trying to get your courage together to tell them how much you love them and now you know before your heart becomes broken further you just have to walk away. This song is not the object of your affection getting a wake-up call and realizing they have loved you all along but you being strong enough to admit you may never fall in love again they way you hope and being the one to walk away before any pain is caused.

So are you a little impressed by how much music I like and how many different artists I love? Well even if you aren't  I'm still not going to stop talking about my large music collection! So what artist will I talk about next or are we going to get some more randomness? I hope you come back and see!

Christina Aguilera Top 10 #1

Welcome back music lovers! I bet you thought we would be discussing one of my favorite rock bands today we'll like I said you never know what you will expect on my personal mix-tape blog! As stated before, I like all sorts of different artists and musical genres but yes pop and rock are the predominant two and today's spotlight is on ten of my favorite Christina Aguilera songs. Now Christina Aguilera came along at a time when pop was huge and since I grew up on pop music, I liked her immediately but she has always proved to be so much more. Her four-octave vocal range has a way of capturing the soul singers of the past and producing a lot of emotion that I feel a lot of artists today just can not duplicate. Growing up in a household of domestic abuse and then going to school and being bullied by others due to her talent and good looks are probably reasons why there is so much heartfelt or heartbroken emotion behind her voice and also going through pain like that makes Christina Aguilera such the strong person she is. No matter the style of music, I just adore Christina Aguilera whether a bubblegum pop princess or a queen of new blue-eyed soul so here is my first list of favorite top ten songs to show my appreciation.

#10. Hurt from the album Back To Basics

Why Do I Like It?: I have to admit that the first time I heard this song, I cried my eyes out. The lyrics of the song basically describe losing a loved one and having guilt about not saying words that need to be said and this song happened to come out five years after I lost my dad. When a song like this comes around and can literally touch your heart and crush it at the same time, there really isn't a lot to explain but I'll at least say that I love Christina's voice and the string arrangement.

#9. Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You) - Video Remix version

Why Do I Like It?: Now this one differs from the version on Christina's self-titled debut album (which I also have) as it is more sexualized than her previous songs at that time. I like that pop beat and more mature lyrics than it's album version and it began to show the later Christina we would get to know (and still love!) The song also has more of that soul that Christina Aguilera has always displayed and of course as always...she's so pretty!

#8. Glam from the album Bionic

Why Do I Like It?: I do like this song but I will be truthful in admitting that Bionic is not my favorite Christina Aguilera album. I can't really explain why but I will tell you that Glam is not one of the reasons: I love the beat to this song! Going down the catwalk or the streets on a girls' night out you always want to look your best and who better than Xtina to give us advice on how to work it! There has to be a movie out there that needs this song for a montage! Electro-dance-pop may not be your thing but I love it and as always, there's a touch of creamy soul to Christina's voice for you to enjoy!

#7. Dirrty from the album Stripped

Why Do I Like It?: Here's another Christina confession for you all, when this song came out along with the video, I was a little put off and almost thought about not checking out the Stripped album at all. I am all for artists emerging out of their cocoons and going in different directions but I thought Christina went too far until I realized I was being just as judgmental as everyone else. So when I finally bought Stripped it turns out it is my favorite out of all Christina's albums! It may be different compared to the rest of the album but now I see Dirrty as a very sexy dance club jam and I have to give props to Xtina for being so comfortable in her sexuality.

#6. Ain't No Other Man from the album Back To Basics

Why Do I Like It?: I never thought I would like 1930s-1940s era jazz or old time soul but Christina Aguilera changed that when I first heard this song! I heard it by seeing the video and I am so amazed at how flawlessly Christina just slips into that old Hollywood mold with the glitz and glamor and fits the role of club torch singer so well! The song has high energy, positive lyrics about being in love with a man who has totally changed your life and is so catchy! This song like the rest of the Back To Basics CDs (it is a 2 CD album) is definitely something good to accompany any Throwback Thursday playlist!

#5. Genie In A Bottle from the album Christina Aguilera

Why Do I Like It?: Like many others this was Christina Aguilera's debut single released that brought her to my attention. She was a new teen princess seen as a rival to her former Mickey Mouse Club co-star Britney Spears but she had a presence to her that impressed me more and I have liked her ever since while with Britney it took me a lot longer to become a fan. I was sixteen when this song came out so I was kind of naive as to what the lyrics were truly about and while many thought it was a little too risque for younger girls for a high-school girl like me, it kind of hit a valuable target. Yes it is about deciding whether you are ready to have sex with a boy that might be pressuring you while your heart and mind are telling you to wait. There are lots of songs like that but it also has you thinking "maybe I am ready to have sex with a boy just as long as he treats me with respect". That's my interpretation so if anyone wants to take the literal meaning of "rubbing someone the right way" than I'm just assuming English and metaphors are not your strongest suits...

#4. Not Myself Tonight from the album Bionic

Why Do I Like It?: My first time hearing this song on the radio is what made me by the Bionic album in the first place and when I eventually saw the video, my oh my...was not expecting it to be that racy! As noted before I love synthesizer beats and when you mix them with a catchy drumbeat or killer bass line, it usually cements my love for a song. As always I commend artists changing up their image or sound, finding independence and self-respect along the way and if you are a person happy with your own body and sexuality that is a plus. We little girls who discovered Christina Aguilera aren't genies in a bottle anymore and neither is she so I can connect with the lyrics of the song for two parts: the first is sometimes you aren't yourself when you go out to the club (I myself am not as inhibited and just love to go out for the dancing) and the second part is "the old me's gone/I feel brand new/and if you don't like it fuck you!" maybe not as harshly stated in the lyrics but still true just the same...

#3. Fighter from the album Stripped

Why Do I Like It?: Well the very Gothic feeling of the video helped but after I heard the lyrics, I could truly appreciate what a good song this is! Another reason (before we get into the lyrical content) is this is definitely not very pop at all: it is a rock song! It may not be bombastic hard rock but is in that genre vein thanks to some guitar work from Dave Navarro and has I guess more of that operatic rock style. Being on Stripped, which seems to incorporate many music styles, it is one of the highlights and is not short on displaying Christina Aguilera's powerful vocals. Back to the lyrics, it's about being done wrong and using all of that pain to instead become stronger. I guess I like it because it's relateable as in my past, like Christina herself, I was bullied and teased, hurt by people I thought were my friends and left thinking I would be a doormat forever. Being older and no longer a child, I may have moments that I falter but in the end I don't let anyone walk over me anymore!

#2. Candyman from the album Back To Basics

Why Do I Like It?: Another pop throwback that is just delicious! This time it's the 1940s era of boogie-woogie and swing we are taken back to and even then, Christina's soulful vocals still remain as she sings about a real dish of a man (get it as in candy dish...I know I am a queen of bad puns!) in a harmony reminiscent of The Andrews Sisters (three-parts as they were a trio). This bubblegum beat actually hides some pretty naughty lyrics but I think it's a lot of fun that makes me wish I could do some of those mean jitterbug moves! I love how Christina can change up her style and looks and still be bubbly and beautiful even when being a very cheeky, Vargas vamp. (If you have no idea about anything I just said, this is the Internet..go and learn something!)

So we have reached the top spot on this list of my favorite Christina Aguilera songs. It may be the end of this Top Ten but in the future well...as Christina says it just...

#1. Keeps Gettin' Better from the album A Decade Of Hits

Why Do I Like It?: I love the synthpop vibe of this song and it pulled me in from the first note! I can't help but admit that the lyric "sometimes I'm a super bitch!" is my favorite because it takes on two different connotations: some days I am indeed a super bitch and other days I am Super Bitch, hard worked and cleaner of other people's messes! I like how empowering it can be and maybe just a little bit sexy as well. I can't really explain any other reason why I like this song except maybe the fact that Christina Aguilera is just that talented that almost anything she does is a #1 in my book!

So we've come back to pop...where do we go from here? Join me next time to find out what sort of musical treat I pull  from my grab bag of a music collection.