Songs About Holding On And Letting Go

And we're back, with a fresh batch of "Opposites" songs. Today, we're offering a vast selection of songs in a variety of genres linked only by the fact that they have either "Hold On" or "Let Go" (or some derivative of the two) in their titles. Enjoy! (That wasn't a request.)  ~  JH

1)  Drake ft. Majid Jordan  ~  "Hold On, We're Going Home"

2)  James Morrison  ~  "I Won't Let You Go"

3)  Alabama Shakes  ~  "Hold On"

4)  Avril Lavigne ft. Chad Kroeger  ~  "Let Me Go"

5)  Wilson Phillips  ~  "Hold On"

6)  3 Doors Down  ~  "Let Me Go"

7)  Twenty One Pilots  ~  "Holding On To You"

8)  Olly Murs  ~  "Please Don't Let Me Go"

9)  Shiloh  ~  "Can't Hold On"

10)  Rascal Flatts  ~  "I Won't Let Go"

11)  38 Special  ~  "Hold On Loosely"

12)  Imogen Heap  ~  "Let Go"

13)  Greyson Chance  ~  "Hold On 'Til The Night"

14)  Linda Kiraly  ~  "Can't Let Go"

15)  Cee Lo Green  ~  "I Want You (Hold On To Love)"

16)  Birdy  ~  "Let Him Go"  (cover of Passenger's "Let Her Go," which I've posted here on the blog previously)

17)  Angus & Julia Stone  ~  "Hold On"

18)  En Vogue  ~  "Don't Let Go (Love)"

19)  Richard Marx  ~  "Hold On To The Nights"

20)  Mariah Carey  ~  "Can't Let Go"

Country Rap??? Really?? Apparently So.

I've "discovered" some off-the-wall music in my time as a blogger (and general music enthusiast). But "country rap" takes the cake, hands down. I didn't even know this sub-genre existed until recently, and I certainly had never heard it either on the radio or anywhere else. But apparently, country rap – or "hick-hop" as it's affectionately nicknamed – is gaining some degree of popularity, so I felt compelled to check it out. Here's a small collection of songs by some of the more well-known country rappers, with a brief commentary from me on each one. Enjoy? ~  JH

1)  Kid Rock  ~  "Cowboy"  (A "classic" rock/hip-hop/country hybrid, and likely the song that started the whole country-rap "phenomenon")

2)  Bubba Sparxxx ft. Timbaland  ~  "Deliverance"  (Sounds more hip-hop than country to me, but the underlying influence – at least topically – is definitely there)

3)  Cowboy Troy ft. Sarah Buxton  ~  "If You Don't Wanna Love Me"  (Now, this I like! Nice and easy flow, with a beautifully sung chorus)

4)  Colt Ford ft. Jake Owen  ~  "Back"  (Nice song – this guy's got talent, even if he doesn't have the smoothest flow)

5)  The Lacs  ~  "Keep It Redneck"  (This one's got a Dirty South hip-hop sound, with a distinctly redneck flavor)

6)  Big Smo ft. Alexander King  ~  "Lick Life"  (Apparently this song is a musical companion to the Lizard Lick Towing TV show – this "hardcore" dude's a country gangsta! LOL!)

7)  Charlie Farley ft. Daniel Lee  ~  "Backwood Boys"  (Dude's got a sick flow and the featured singer is good, too – I don't personally embrace the whole "lifestyle" that's described here, but that doesn't mean it's not an entertaining song)

8)  Moccasin Creek  ~  "Being Country"  (If Lynyrd Skynyrd had a rapper in the band, I bet they'd sound a little something like this)

9)  Twang & Round  ~  "Bury Me"  (Twang is right, and the other guy's definitely round – that being said, a nice hybrid of country and hip-hop; WARNING: A few mild expletives are interspersed throughout the lyrics – I'd rate it a PG at worst)

10)  Bottleneck  ~  "Ride On"  (Simple, easy flow with a good country tune backing it – good stuff!)

Songs That Try To Tell You What NOT To Do

I'm not a bossy person by nature. Nor do I particularly enjoy being bossed around. But apparently some singers and songwriters are, how shall we say, more bossily inclined. These artists have the audacity to try to tell me what NOT to do. They're like, "Don't this..." and "Don't that..." and frankly, I'm tired of it. The nerve of some people! Well, I'll show them. I'll respond to each "bossy" title with my own snarky comments. That'll teach 'em a lesson! (Yeah. Right.)  ~  JH

1)  Swedish House Mafia ft. John Martin  ~  "Don't You Worry Child"  (I'll worry if I feel like it. And I do feel like worrying. So there! And BTW, I'm not a child.)

2)  No Doubt  ~  "Don't Speak"  (You just try and shut me up, lady!)

3)  Michael Jackson  ~  "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"  (I'll stop whenever I feel like it, thank you very much!)

4)  Nicole Scherzinger  ~  "Don't Hold Your Breath"  (You're lucky that I wasn't planning on it – a person could turn blue doing that.)

5)  Guns N' Roses  ~  "Don't Cry"  (Give me a break. I already don't cry!)

6)  Gabrielle Aplin  ~  "Please Don't Say You Love Me"  (Can I at least say I love your voice? Sorry, my snark ran out on this one.)

7)  Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers  ~  "Don't Come Around Here No More"  (I'll come around here whenever the notion strikes me, ya weirdo!)

8)  P!nk  ~  "Don't Let Me Get Me"  (Oh, I couldn't stop you anyway.)

9)  Lecrae ft. Cam  ~  "Don't Waste Your Life"  (Okay, that's some advice I don't mind taking.)

10)  Olivia Newton-John  ~  "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"  (Is it bad that I sing this song to my kid when he's crying for irrational reasons? Seriously, that wasn't a rhetorical question.)

11)  Kenny Chesney  ~  "Don't Blink"  (Too late. I just did.)

12)  Madonna  ~  "Don't Tell Me"  (Who's gonna stop me? You've probably heard it all before anyway.)

13)  Blake Shelton  ~  "Don't Make Me"  (I wouldn't even try it. That's God's job.)

14)  Thelma Houston  ~  "Don't Leave Me This Way"  (Okay, I'll muss up your hair a bit, then I'll leave.)

15)  Blackstreet  ~  "Don't Leave Me"  (Tough noogies, I ain't stayin'!)

16)  The Band Perry  ~  "Don't Let Me Be Lonely"  (That's what Match.com is for, isn't it?)

17)  The Police  ~  "Don't Stand So Close To Me"  (No problem there, fella. You have body odor.)

18)  Amy MacDonald  ~  "Don't Tell Me That It's Over"  (Okay, I won't tell you. But it is.)

19)  Creed  ~  "Don't Stop Dancing"  (Fuhgeddaboutit – as long as there's a beat, I'm dancing! At least, in my head I am.)

20)  Liz Lawrence  ~  "Don't You Dare"  (While I previously had no intentions of daring, now I can think of nothing that I want to do more. Than to dare.)

BONUS TRACK:  Journey  ~  "Don't Stop Believin'"  (And the Kings of Bossiness are...Journey!)

"Dead" & "Alive" Songs

This is where I write my intro. Yep, that was it.  ~  JH

1)  Bon Jovi  ~  "Wanted Dead Or Alive"

2)  Krewella  ~  "Alive"

3)  Ludo  ~  "Love Me Dead"

4)  Empire Of The Sun  ~  "Alive"

5)  Kerli  ~  "Love Is Dead"

6)  Hillsong Young & Free  ~  "Alive"

7)  Miranda Lambert  ~  "Dead Flowers"

8)  Adelitas Way  ~  "Alive"

9)  Oingo Boingo  ~  "Dead Man's Party"

10)  Capital Kings  ~  "I Feel So Alive"

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11)  The Lumineers  ~  "The Dead Sea"

12)  Yellowcard  ~  "Here I Am Alive"

13)  Stars  ~  "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"

14)  Flyleaf  ~  "Fully Alive"

15)  Newsboys  ~  "God's Not Dead"

16)  Bo Bruce  ~  "Alive"

17)  Sean Lennon  ~  "Dead Meat"

18)  Skillet  ~  "Awake And Alive"

19)  Our Lady Peace  ~  "Superman's Dead"

20)  Metric  ~  "Help I'm Alive"

Veteran's Day Songs

I have never served in the military, but several people close to me – including my father – have served, and for this I salute them and thank them. Veterans and patriots alike, this one's for you.  ~  JH

1)  Mark Schultz  ~  "Letters From War"

2)  Tedashii ft. Benjah  ~  "Last Goodbye"

3)  Toby Keith  ~  "Courtesy Of The Red, White, And Blue (The Angry American)"

4)  Saving Abel  ~  "Miss America"

5)  Alan Jackson  ~  "Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?"

6)  Darryl Worley  ~  "Have You Forgotten?"

7)  Lonestar  ~  "I'm Already There (Message From Home)"

8)  Big & Rich  ~  "8th Of November"

9)  John Michael Montgomery  ~  "Letters From Home"

10)  Toby Keith  ~  "American Soldier"

BONUS TRACK:  Lee Greenwood  ~  "God Bless The USA"