Music Monday #8 - Undermine

Music is a huge part of my life, and so even though Ramblings of a Daydreamer is technically a book blog, I wanted to dedicate Mondays to music.

If you'd like to join me, grab the graphic and let's talk music on Mondays! Talk about anything music related you want -spotlight a band or singer, a specific song, album, video, soundtrack, a concert you went to, old music, new music, obscure music, whatever you want. Tell us what song is inspiring you this week, or what you've listened to while reading or writing. Make a soundtrack for a favourite book, or tell us a song you associate with a certain character. Share your post in the linky below and then be sure to visit other blogs!

I've had a love/hate relationship with country music most of my life. My parents listened to a lot of it when I was little, so I felt like I was stuck with it. I found it boring and annoying (plus on a more personal level, when my dad was really sick from cancer and couldn't sleep he'd have the country TV station on and sit and listen to it all night, so country music in general held painful memories for a long time). As I got older and could choose my own music, it was rarely my first choice - I liked a few songs by some of my parents' favourites, but it wasn't until Shania Twain that I decided I actually liked country. Since then, for the most part, I've enjoyed country music. My mum listens to the country station on the radio every morning and sometimes I stop and listen as I'm passing through, and sometimes I even have that station on when I'm working in the kitchen. There are a few country singers/bands I love, like Shania (still), Lady Antebellum, Dixie Chicks, Johnny Reid, Reba, Taylor Swift, and a few others.

I saw the previews for ABC's Nashville all summer and when I first saw them I wanted to watch the show...but then they showed the same commercial all...summer...long...and I lost interest. But, a couple weeks before the series premier they started showing new ads, and I decided I'd give it a shot, and I'm glad I did. I had just decided that the love interest in my fourth book would either be an urban cowboy type, or Irish, but I couldn't decide which...then when I started watching Nashville, it made my decision easier - urban cowboy won. I already have a couple of Irish characters planned for future books anyway, so it's all good. ;-) I figured while I'm writing book #4 I'll likely be listening to a lot of country music to get into the mood, so it was good timing that Nashville started when it did.

There have only been two episodes so far, but I've loved every single song they've played. This one has been stuck in my head the last few days (even after only hearing it once), so it's today's Song of the Week.

"Just 'cause I ain't lived through

Same hand that was dealt to you

Doesn't make me any less

Or make any more of you

I wouldn't trade my best day

So you could validate all your fears

And if I've only got one shot

Won't waste it on a shadowbox

I'll stand right here"

~Undermine - ABC's Nashville~

If you know me at all, you'll know that I'm obsessed with U2. They're my favourite band, I work them into a conversation whenever possible, and since I can't in good conscience talk music without talking about them, I decided to add a feature at the end of every Music Monday post with a U2 lyric.

Speaking of country music...in the late 80s, after their huge success with The Joshua Tree, U2 wanted to try something different. They had a fascination with America, so they toured the heartland of the US, listened to country and jazz and the blues, and wrote songs that were completely different from anything they'd ever done. The result was Rattle and Hum - both the movie and the album. I think it's their most underrated album because it's not their typical, distinct U2 sound, but I love it. Heartland is one of my favourite - if not my favourite - songs from that album. It's so haunting and beautiful and whenever I hear it, it just does something to me. If you haven't heard it, I really encourage you to get it on iTunes or find it on YouTube and listen to it - it's amazing.

"See the sun rise over her skin
She feels like water in my hand
Freeway like a river cuts through this land
Into the side of love
Like a burning spear
And the poison rain
Brings a flood of fear
Through the ghost-ranch hills
Death valley waters
In the towers of steel
Belief goes on and on"

~Heartland - U2~

Do you like country music? If so, what would you recommend I listen to while trying to get into the mood for writing a book with a cowboy-type character? 

What songs are stuck in your head this week?

{Facebook || Twitter || GoodReads || Pinterest || YouTube || Author blog || Personal/photography blog}