What Songs Give You the Chills?

A study called "Anatomically Distinct Dopamine Release During Anticipation and Experience of  Peak Emotion to Music" was just published and articles about it are being shared online among music lovers. Basically, what the study says is that the brain produces dopamine, a substance that makes one feel good, in anticipation of or while listening to music that is so good it gives us the chills. The more chills one has listening to a particular piece of music or song, the more dopamine is produced by the brain.

The opening paragraph of this article from Discovery News says "People love music for much the same reason they're drawn to sex, drugs, gambling and delicious food, according to new research. When you listen to tunes that move you, the study found, your brain releases dopamine, a chemical involved in both motivation and addiction."

The test subjects in the study brought their own selections of chill producing music. The most popular choice was Barber's Adagio for Strings. My classical music loving parents would be ashamed to know that I had to go online to listen to it, and am not familiar with it. It is lovely. I've provided the link just in case you're in the same ship of fools with me.

I'm not sure if it's just cold in my studio right now, or if a few of the songs on Dierks Bentley's Up on the Ridge album are giving me the chills, but there certainly are many songs that have this affect on me.  When these songs come on, I overwhelmed by the same sensations as when I'm taking the first bite of a piece of rich chocolate cake or thinking about sex.

My first memory of getting the chills from a song was The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Charlie Daniels Band. I think I was eight. That fiddle still gives me the chills.

   

Sometime in my early 20s, I discovered Fleetwood Mac, although I suppose I've heard them most of my life. Landslide definitely gives me the chills. With that guitar and Stevie Nicks' raspy voice I'm going to guess that this is one of the most chill producing songs ever. I think I read that somewhere (not really).



I have always been a sucker for the soaring, emotionally charged song that elevates the spirit like Celine Dion's, "It's All Coming Back to Me"  and Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up." 



And now onto the humble country song.

Whiskey Lullaby, Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss. The chills come on from the first pick at that guitar and then escalate as I anticipate Krauss' voice joining Paisley's. I have listened to this song three times in a row. As sad as this song is, I feel good!



Old Things New, Joe Nichols.  He could sing the phonebook and give me the chills. He is, as you know if you read my blog, my absolute favorite singer. This is my favorite songs of his. Unfortunately, this is the best video of it that I have found online. It's a live recording from a concert.  Even with the ambient noise and a lady gabbing in the background, it gives me the chills. After a week on vacation without access to music, I listened to forty-four Joe Nichols songs in a row. I was jonesing for some music and he gave me my fix.



Bad Things, Jace Everett. Doesn't everyone get the chills when they hear this song? It's the high twang of the guitar and his deep voice singing something naughty. Dang.

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Dierks Bentley, "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes".  I'm not sure why this song gives me the chills, but it does. Perhaps it's the instrumentation, sexy lyrics and his sleepy voice. I suppose it is similar to the Jace Everett song in some ways.



Most people wouldn't decide to put Jason Aldean on their short list of chill producing artists. From the first moment I heard it I've thought the song "Truth" sounds like the hidden wailing of an average guy's broken heart. When he breaks into the last verse, my skin breaks out in goosebumps.

"Have some mercy on me." After listening to these songs over and over, since these are all songs that I can't listen to only once, I'm high as a kite. Whew!



I'll finish by throwing in something a little unexpected, Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters". I could have picked almost any song from The Black Album. The sound is loud, larger than life, energetic, a little bit scary, and to my ear, beautiful. Metallica gets that dopamine pumping. In fact, if I really need to run, Metallica is the one band that can get me through the miles.

What songs give you the chills, causes your brain to release dopamine, and turns you on?

A Country Music Explanation of my New Year's Resolution

Some people camp alone in the wilderness and others take a long drive by themselves. I decided to ask Erik, my husband, to change my Facebook and Twitter passwords for a week when it was time for a little peace and quiet for self-reflection. The week has passed and I'm reluctant to log back on. It has been great. I spent quality time with my daughter and checked off a few items on my to-do list. Erik hasn't lost patience with me for looking at my itouch while he's talking. I am pretty sure that I've been a better wife and mother in the last week than at any other time in the last few years.  I'll admit, I have a bit of an online social networking problem.

In October I posted an article entitled "Rabbinical Scholars Forgive Me" applying Chris Young's song "The Man I Wanna Be" to Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. "I wanna be a givin' man, I wanna really start livin' man. God, I'm asking you to come change me, Into the man I wanna be" 

Without being overly dramatic, I'll personalize the message in this song and say that want to be a better person this year, particularly a better wife and mother. How am I going to do this? By living more like the words in Lee Brice's "Love Like Crazy". "Go to work, do your best, don't out-smart your common sense
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy, And love like crazy." (Jewish friends, don't be alarmed. I'm not going start praying on my knees.)

Notice that none of the things on Lee Brice's list, hard work, diligence, common sense, faith or love, require Facebook or Twitter. I do have connections and friendships that rely on Facebook and Twitter for communication, so what is the solution? Only logging on when I truly have nothing else I need to do.  But as it says in Dierks Bentley's (with Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson) "Bad Angel", "I'm standing at the crossroads of temptation and salvation street." I may need to enlist Erik's password changing services to keep this monkey off my back.

My 2010 Country Music Midlife Crisis

Ah yes, 2010 was a quite a year. I turned 40 and drove my husband absolutely nuts with Country Music mishigas. As 2010 turns into 2011 I ask myself if I have indulged this midlife crisis enough.  My New Years resolutions this year include losing weight (yawn), getting organized (hah!), and working harder at my Judaica business (hmm).  My obsession with country music has caused me to lose ground in all of these areas. Reading country music news, stalking my favorite stars' tour schedules, exchanging tweets with similarly obsessed people, and updating my blog are sedentary and time consuming. I am considering retreating from crisis mode into normalcy, but am not ready to abandon this blog or stop badgering my friends to attend concerts with me.

I do have some country music related resolutions. I intend to pay more attention to emerging and less well known singer/songwriters. I'd also like to take a trip to Nashville for a short study on the history of country music, something I know little to nothing about.

Thanks for reading. Happy New Year!

My best and worst country music (and midlife crisis) related moment of 2010 was meeting Joe Nichols in Winston-Salem. I'm the one on the left. If you can't tell from the photo, I'm much too starstruck and tired at this moment to say anything intelligent or even pleasant to the man.  My cute friend in blue did manage to squeak out "We love you!"

It Only Takes a Generation

This morning my seven year old was dancing around the kitchen singing Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman". I moved to the South when I was five. My parents must be second guessing their decision to leave the suburbs of Detroit.  "Hell, Yeah."
 

Madonna Nash is Fabulous.

I have gone to the website and listened to the music of almost every musician who has (surprisingly and graciously) followed me on Twitter. So far, I have bought music from one, Madonna Nash, a singer from Wilmington, NC. She has an engaging persona on Twitter. I don't think that's the reason I bought her album over that of another artist, but it couldn't have hurt. Nash seems sweet and generous. She is also incredibly beautiful. Yes, the hair in that photo is hers. I asked her.

Her album, "Madonna Nash", is without a doubt my best recent album purchase. I like every song on the album except one. Most remarkable is that I'm saying this about a female singer. I usually prefer a male voice and almost exclusively buy music from male artists. (Isn't that awful!). Madonna has a warm, sometimes feisty tone with a nice soft twang. Her lyrics are about the stuff that occupies most women's minds: love or the lack thereof, handling a man, self-esteem, and home. She also has made a country album without including even one "I'm so country and here are my qualifications" song, a commendable accomplishment.

The album opens with the single "Dirty Little Secret". It's a catchy song about keeping a secret. According to posts on her Facebook page it appears to be getting some initial radio play. It wouldn't surprise me if we end up hearing it often. "Swinging Door" is probably my favorite song on the album. She's singing with some power and uses one of my favorite expressions "Don't let that swinging door hit you..." Miranda, Carrie, watch out, there's another angry blond headed your way.  The other song I really like is "Whiskey Whispers". It's about a guy coming home after hanging out at a bar all night, lookin' for some lovin'. We need version of this song for golf widows where he comes home after a day on the course, lookin' for some supper. I was interested to read the reviewer for The Mountain Times  say that this song is cliche, mainly because of the boozy theme. I thought the same thing first time I heard it, but after listening to the album multiple times, have since changed my mind.

The same reviewer from the Mountain Times says that the song "Firefly" is cheesy because of some of its references to a Georgia peach. Wrong. Peaches are sweet and maybe a little sappy and so is "Firefly", yet the line "You're my firefly in a mason jar"is a lovely visual reference. The sugary sweetness of "Firefly" makes me think more of my child than my husband. On the other hand, the sultry escapist love song "Out of Town" could motivate me to make some last minute reservations at a B&B in the mountains.

There are a few very slow songs on the album. "Beautiful" is rather heartbreaking; a woman contemplating the loss of her her man to a younger woman. "Yes she's pretty but I'm beautiful." There is a woman close to me to whom this song applies perfectly. I'd send it to her if I didn't think it would make her weep. The harm to ones self-esteem and the underlying conflict between wanting a man back after he's had an affair, and knowing that he really shouldn't be invited back is a real one.

I enjoy listening to Madonna Nash's album from front to back (excluding the final song, "Watch my Purse"). The album has terrific flow and is chock full of good, solid songs. Quite frankly, it doesn't sound like a debut album. It's ripe. Wishing Madonna Nash enough success to fill the back of the truck that will eventually move her to the top of the country charts.
 
If you want to read another review by a fellow tweeter and fan of Madonna Nash, read this one by Lovin' Lyrics.

Coin: Ride What You Can't Change, or Yo! Support Your Friend's Efforts and Good Things Will Come

 Continuing the discussion from my post "Oy Vey, Facebook has Changed My Consumer Behavior"

About a year ago a boarding school friend's status update mentioned the presale of a CD by Charles Danek, who I remember as a Beatles obsessed teenager. He was preselling CDs to raise the money to produce the album. I said, "Hey, why not? I'd love to help Charlie out." I sent him the payment for the CD and totally forgot about it. Yesterday, to my surprise, the CD arrived in the mail accompanied by a long and thoughtful thank-you note. His band (of collaborators, according to his website) is called "Coin" and the CD title is "Ride What You Can't Change." Here is his website

After 22 years, I had no idea what sort of music to expect from Charles Danek. Luckily, it says right on the cover "a Jazz/Americana travelogue" and that's exactly what it is.  Some of the songs are jazzier, some are more Americana/Folksy. It's all a little sleepy and rather lovely. I'm trapped in the house by 1/2 an inch of snow and ice today and Coin is making it harder to get out of my jammies.  One thing is for sure, I am going to listen to this album more than I expected to when I prepaid for it. It will get loaded up into itunes and enter the shuffle. It may become my snowy day album.

My favorite song on the album is "American Vespers".  A design professor once told my class that it's better for a product to be interesting than pretty, but if it's both, that's ideal.  "American Vespers" is both. Additional voices join Charles and the song sounds like one of the desert travel photos on the inside of the CD case.  I asked Charles who the voices are, because the credits aren't specific. The gravelly older voice that starts the song, setting the mood, (and this is cool, so brace yourself) is Ronny Cox, the actor who played Drew, the banjo playing canoer, in "Deliverance".

I prefer the songs on the album that skew in the direction of  Americana to those displaying strong Jazz influences because I'm not a big Jazz fan.  Despite my prejudices, the jazzy and rather groovy "Get it in Gear" has grown on me in a few listens. The song I would love to hear recorded by a singer with some twang, a big set of lungs, and large noisy band is "Ride".  Country radio? (and I say that most affectionately)

So finally what is my point? First, take a chance on an old friend. I could not be more pleased with the outcome of this exchange. I asked Charles how many CDs he presold via Facebook and other social networking sights and it was a very small number. This approach did not fund his project.

On one hand I'm surprised, because buying an album from someone you like, before it's even recorded, doesn't seem like something one needs to over think. The worst that can happen is the CD never gets recorded, and you lose $15. The best case scenario is that in a few months you receive an enjoyable CD in the mail.

Alternately, I'm not surprised at all that the response was so weak. I am bombarded every day with buy this/listen to this/look at this/vote for this status updates and Tweets from musicians, and at some point one just stops reacting to them. Unfortunately, Social Networking sites have become one big promotional mosh pit.

Looking forward to your next album, Charlie! Now how many versions are there of Strawberry Fields?

Why Have I Started Watching Award Shows at 40? American Country Awards

I've made it through half my life, plus or minus, without watching or caring about award shows, so why start now?  Since I no longer smoke, drink in excess, or party like I used to before entering the world of suburban family bliss, give me this one stupidity.

The inaugural (everyone seems to be using that word) American Country Awards (ACA) were Monday night. It hasn't gotten good reviews. It was a poorly produced and confusing combination of  award and variety show. The funniest blog coverage that I've read is The 9513's live blog.  If you didn't see the show it probably won't make any sense.  The Boot has a  review up that covers everything. I'm only going to comment on the few parts of the show that stuck with me.

The ACA is an award show where fans voted for their favorite in each category from a list of nominees. This turned musicians into an annoying chorus of self-promoters chanting "Vote for me! Vote for me!" for over a month. Of course, I voted for my absolute favorite, Joe Nichols, and my honorary favorite (because he's MOT), Jaron and Long Road to Love. Alas, neither of them won anything, but show organizers must have been channeling my vibes.  They sent the two of them onto the stage together to introduce someone. As far as award show pleasure goes, Joe and Jaron on stage together is about as good as it gets for me. It could only be improved upon by their singing a duet and then Jaron wishing everyone a Happy Hanukkah.
  
Trace Adkins as host exceeded my expectations, which were very low. Award show host probably isn't a natural role for him. The whole bit where he had two hot busty ladies participating in his silly skits was rather misogynistic but, like the New York Times article "No Sex Please, We're Middle Class" states (somewhere in the middle of the article), traditional and bawdy gender roles are part of country music. Perhaps country music lovers all over are enjoying the physical company of their partners more often because of these antics. We can only hope.

Easton Corbin was a hoot. He was either very excited to win, couldn't hear because of his earphones, or forgot he was on TV.  He shouted his thank yous like at a live concert in a stadium. As far as the "I'm so country and here are my qualifications" songs go, Corbin's "A Little More Country than That" is a charming one. His win for breakthrough artist of the year was deserved and his performance, enjoyable.

Toby Keith was honored for his videos and performed "Bullets in the Gun". (Click to read previous post on the "Bullets in the Gun" video.) If I had to sit and watch all of one musician's videos in one sitting, I'd choose Toby's. I may have come close to doing that on an occasion, so I second the honor.

The Band Perry, three cuties with remarkable hair, won song of the year with "If I Die Young". I was following a number of country music bloggers and fans on Twitter during the show and was surprised how many of them don't like this song. I love this song. It's a beautiful, sad and poetic song. Unlike most country songs, the lyrics are sophisticated enough that they require a few listens to digest. Good for the Band Perry!

I liked the fact that they honored the careers of Rascal Flatts and Alan Jackson, but really didn't like the medleys. I fast forwarded through Rascal Flatt's and cringed through Alan Jackson's, which was unfortunately a bit awkward. Unless it is the Beachboys or Queen, please, no more live medleys.

To the often asked question, does country music really need the ACA, my answer is maybe.  I do think the ACA was much more enjoyable to watch than the CMT Artists of the Year melodrama that was on TV last week. If they do the ACA again next year, it will hopefully be a better produced show.