As an avid country music fan, I found it difficult to pick a song and roll with it, because there are so many I could choose from. I decided to just narrow it down to my all time favorites, one being, “Springsteen,” by Eric Church. It is very much like a lot of country songs are, all about summer, driving and reminiscing about good times passed. But this one is different than the rest, the sound is different and so is the feel. One of my friends put it best when she said, “It makes me nostalgic for a place I have never been, if that makes any sense.”

The song sort of takes you away to a place that feels welcome, but you can’t really pinpoint where it is. When I listen to it, I feel like I’m driving down an open road with just a few people that I love, being young and free, heading off into a bright future of promise. It’s odd for a song to illicit such a specific feeling, so I thought it was worth talking about.

Another great and rather new artist is Andrew Hozier-Byrne, or more commonly known, “Hozier.” He recently came out with a new album called, “Hozier,” and once again I have discovered that there is not a single song on the album that I dislike. He has a very blues-y sound, and his voice is very deep ad melodic. His hit single, “Take Me to Church,” is all about recent anti-gay movements in Russia, which I find very important that he brought it to the attention of the world. (Although, it definitely is not even the best song on the album.)

His music is incredible, his songwriting is hypnotizing and he is just all around incredible. I don’t generally like many new artists today, but he is definitely one of my absolute favorites.

So many wild and…interesting things I could say about the clock-wearing, silver-toothed Flavor Flav. I spent much of my youth watching his absurd reality tv show Flavor of Love, and to this day that is still how I remember him. But he was very prolific in the rap world in his prime. On one of the episodes of his show, he had a group of his rapper friends show up to his house to “test the waters” with the new ladies who came in to fight for the wildcard’s love. G-Unit showed up, and I remember thinking at the time, who are these guys? But they were the kings of rap, long before I would ever listen to anything like that, and learning their evolution has been ever so fascinating.

Flavor Flav has the iconic clock, as well as the Katt Williams’ velvet-wearing, pimp-suit look. The best way I could think to describe him would be, “ridiculous,” but in the best possible way. He was just that, but so much more, as he and his many rapper friends paved the way for much of the music my friends and I enjoy today.

One of my favorite songs in the entire world is, “Kiss” by Prince. I love the simplicity of the song, the electric beat in the background along with his very peculiar voice coating the song like icing on a birthday cake. What I like most about this song is what he chooses to do with his vocals. I have never heard anyone sing a song like this, complete and obvious head-voice, almost like a whisper. Until the end, of course, when he brings you all the way down to his chest, then up again on the word, “Riiiiiiiich!”

This song is so funky and dance-worthy that I never fail to play it whenever I’m listening to music with my friends. It is such an interesting tune and the best way I can think to describe it is by calling it rather addictive. I always find myself playing it on repeat every time I put it on.

I’ve decided to go a different route with this blog and write about a favorite artist of mine, a favorite that I happen to share with my father. His name is Amos Lee, and his blues-y voice and poetic lyrics have touched me so much. Have you ever come across an album that doesn’t have a single song on it that you dislike? That is what his albums are for me. I have never disliked an Amos Lee song. My father showed me him when I was about fifteen, and at this time my dad and I had everything but similar tastes in music, so this was a rather big deal for us. (I spent most of my life believing I was more like my mom than anyone else, but since our musical revelation, I think I am definitely more like my dad.)

Amos Lee’s, “Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight,” was the first one I had ever heard and really fallen in love with. True to his form, his lyrics were touching and all about the simplicity of life and the changes that come with growing and moving on. “I’m in love with a girl who’s in love with the world,” is one of my favorite lines in that song. His tone is almost melancholy, and immediately upon first hearing him I fell in love. There’s not greater feeling than that.