Just discovered a band u may like
Taylor Swift, Nicolle Galyon, Sidney Bechet, Claude Luter et son orchestre, and sharing your music discoveries
Lady, don’t you know we love ya? Dear Mama
Sweet lady place no one above ya. You are appreciated.
—Tupac Shakur
This edition of the Swap features song selections from some very special guests this Mother’s Day Weekend followed by a Bonus Track that reminds us just how important sharing music is. Adam, Mat, and Kody share the stage with their wives in an attempt to show some love to the strong women who are playing a major role in raising these kids! We love them and they are appreciated. Enjoy.
Enchanted (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift (Whitney Alexander - Mat)
Since this is the ladies’ takeover of The Music Swap, I started thinking about all the ladies in my life. And, of course, the first girl that came to my mind was my best girl— my daughter, Wattsie. She’s my only daughter, and she and I share a lot of interests, including Taylor Swift. She’s the background of all of our car rides, and we recently enjoyed singing along to The Eras Tour on AppleTV. This specific song by Taylor (although written for a dude, obviously) always reminds me of my number one girl: “I'll spend forever wondering if you knew… I was enchanted to meet you…”
Winner. by Nicolle Galyon (Maggie Tait - Adam)
Lately, I have been finding my way back to Nicole Galyon’s 2022 album, “Firstborn.” Nicole, a songwriter and singer raised in Kansas, has penned some country songs you might find yourself singing along to in the car - unless country music isn’t your thing! One song I’ve had on repeat is “Winner.” and my favorite line goes like this: “But I’m over overachieving. These days my greatest victory is a high-five for the girl making dinner, first place for a family of four. I was born in a town called Winner, but I don’t live there anymore.” Cheers to the ladies out there! Happy Mother’s Day!
Si Tu Vois Ma Mere by Sidney Bechet, Claude Luter et son orchestre (Juli Gibson - Kody)
This song epitomizes my weekday lunch vibe. It was written in the 50s by an American Jazz musician who transplanted to Paris later in life. It is the opening song from the movie “Midnight in Paris” where it plays during a montage of scenes from Paris, each one better than the one before. I’m typically a little overstimulated at the noon hour and this music instantly diffuses whatever I’m feeling and I once again enjoy the work I find my hands doing.
Someone on the internet described it as “simmering New Orleans jazz wrapped in Parisian elegance.” Sign.Me.Up.
Bonus Track: Just Discovered a Band U May Like by Nick Colbert
Just discovered a band u may like…
Josh Ritter is my favorite artist of all time. I've spent months of my life listening and singing along to his music, I’ve seen him in concert either seven or eight times. I own countless tour T-shirts of his, quoted him on college papers (“You need faith for the same reason that it’s so hard to find” for my Ethics class my freshman year at Asbury College) and every now and then I sing his songs to my kids to lull them to sleep.
I still remember exactly how I first discovered Josh Ritter’s music: I was a massive Stephen King fan in high school (shoutout to all the Constant Readers out there) and at the end of 2006, the prolific horror author posted his Top Music Picks of the Year in Entertainment Weekly. Grouped alongside songs by Johnny Cash, Snow Patrol, and The Fray, Josh Ritter’s “The Animal Years” topped King’s rankings. I gave the album a listen, fell in love with Monster Ballads and A Girl In The War, and quickly became a lifelong fanatic.
I can’t remember how I discovered every band that I’ve fallen in love with. I don’t recall how I heard about The Gaslight Anthem, but Spotify will tell you that they’re my top-played artist for the last 3 years. I don’t know where I listened to “It Still Moves” by My Morning Jacket the first time, but I’ve seen them in concert more than any other artist whose name isn’t Josh Ritter. I can’t even remember who introduced me to Creedence Clearwater Revival (OK I’m 99% positive it was the Forrest Gump soundtrack).
But I can always tell you the discoveries I made that start out with a friend saying some form of this phrase: “Just discovered a band u may like.” And those artists may not have even lasted more than a few rotations in my Spotify app, but the personal curation & connection that comes from the art of recommending feels like it’s worth at least a little bit more than cloud-based algorithms based on listening habits.
Briefly, here are my top 3 discoveries made that started out with something like “Hey, I really think you’d like this.”
M. Ward – Chinese Translation
(“Hey, this sounds like a Nick song”)
fun. – At Least I’m Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)
(“I made a mix CD for our road trip to Nashville. I think you’d really like this band”)
The Hillbilly Thomists – Bourbon, Bluegrass & the Bible [The inspiration for this post]
(“Just discovered a band u may like btw – Hillbilly Thomists-a group of Friars who do bluegrass and folk”)
So, constant listeners of the Music Swap, never stop discovering. But more importantly, never stop sharing those discoveries.
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Nick Colbert lives in Louisville, KY with his wife, Meredith, and their two kids. He’s currently listening to a lot of Bruce Springsteen and Zach Bryan, and trying to get his four year old daughter to appreciate Dashboard Confessional. His most formative concert moment was hearing Relient K play the Top Gun theme when he was in high school.
Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers who read the Music Swap!
-TheMusicSwap