Music. According to Kim.

I'm pretty sure that this is the first lullabies album I've ever gotten. I don't have any children of my own, but this appealed for me for two reasons. The first being that it's be The Hound + The Fox and I've come to really like them. If you don't know, The Hound + The Fox is the husband and wife duo of McKenzie and Reilly Zamber. I did a video spotlight on them earlier this year which you can find here, if you're interested. When they announced that this album was coming, I knew that I'd be getting it.  The other reason this album appealed to me is that as some of you reading this might know, I struggle with anxiety. Music can be such an important tool in helping to deal with certain things like anxiety. And a lullabies album seems like a good way to go as you expect the songs to be calming. Plus it's The Hound + The Fox and they make beautiful music. This album is no exception to that. So how about we look at each track by itself? It'...

Welcome to the newest installment of my Music Therapy series. Arthritis Awareness Month is coming to a close and I couldn't let it end without doing another one of these. This one is going to be a bit different from the others. See, sometimes you need to listen to encouraging songs and other times you need to cry it out for the more emotional songs. But you know what? Sometimes what you really need is to listen to something that makes you want to move. This month has been a tough one, but I've noticed that I've been gravitating more towards those kinds of songs. The ones that make me want to dance. The songs that are just plain fun. Sometimes that's enough to pull you out of a funk or at the very least lift your spirits for a bit. There are so many songs I could have picked and it's safe to say they'll be other installments of this series that include more of them. This time I decided to narrow it down to YouTube artists. The next time I'll be focusing m...

It's been way too long since I've gotten up a new post in my Music Therapy series and I thought it might be a good idea to go with a theme this time. Namely, beauty and self-image. In this society, it's so easy to get caught in the trap of thinking that we have to look a certain way. To think that if we don't fit in, if we don't look that way, that there's something wrong with us. We might feel insecure. We may feel ugly and unwanted and unlovable. This can lead us down some dangerous paths if we aren't careful. The way I see it, even the most secure of us need some reassurancesometimes. Maybe we don't fit into what Hollywood considers beautiful. That's okay. Maybe we've been picked on and made to feel worthless because of the way we look. That's not okay, but you know what the good news is? Our worth does not come from other people. As a Christian, I believe that our worth is given to us by God. We are beautiful because we're His creat...

After deciding that I did not want to do a best albums of 2016 post after all, I knew that I still wanted to do something to commemorate the year. I first came up with the idea to highlight my favorite music related events from the year and you can find that post right here . While working on that, I realized that I wanted to do something else. But what? Finally, it hit me. 2016 was a terrible years in some respects, but a great one in others. For instance, it was a great year for me musically speaking. I learned about some new acts that I've come to love. What's more, I ended up becoming a bigger fan of some acts that I loved coming in. So, why not find a way to honor those acts? And why not do so by highlighting some of my favorite videos of theirs from the year? After all, 2016 was the year that I decided to launch my video spotlight series. In fact, it was my love for the music video that first inspired me to start this blog in the first place. The decision was made. ...

Something strange has happened to me. I used to have a fairly strict rule about waiting to listen to Christmas music until December. Or rather about choosing to listen to it on my own, since it seems like the stores start playing it earlier and earlier. But generally, I like to save Christmas music for December. Now as you're of course aware, it is definitely not December yet. It's definitely still November. And yet, I find myself writing a review of a Christmas album. This is mainly for three reasons. The first being that it seems like there's a lot of Christmas albums coming out. I know that I, in all likelihood, will not be able to write about all of them. But there's a few that I'm definitely planning on getting to. Seemed like a good idea to start now. The second reason I wanted to write about this album? It's the first new album that I've listened to in its entirety and it's great. The third reason? Peter has worked so hard getting it right and ...

This was originally not going to be my next post, but seeing as how negative pretty much all of my social media feeds have been over the past few days made me want to write about this now. See, this song was originally done by Alessia Cara and it's all about body image and loving yourself. No matter what the rest of the world thinks. This is an important message these days. Especially lately. I'll be honest and admit that it annoys me that I feel a need to write about this because it shouldn't be this way. But it is. Denying that truth changes nothing. I never wanted to get political on my blog and I'm not. Not exactly. But right now the country is in a state of turmoil. The election is over and the hate is flowing. Friendships are ending because apparently learning someone voted differently than you did means that you're all of a sudden some kind of evil person. At least that seems to be the implication. As if they suddenly aren't the same person that they...

I was combing through various videos, trying to think of another one I could highlight for these last couple of days before Halloween. There's so many options to choose from that it makes me feel bad that I didn't decide to feature creepy or dark videos earlier in the month. There were some other, more Halloween-y videos I could have gone with, but this one popped up in my suggested videos on YouTube. I'd forgotten this video and thought it'd be a great choice.  The song is "Stitches", originally by Shawn Mendes. This version is performed by the incredible Evynne Hollens. As I've said, Evynne has become one of my favorite female singers. She might even be my absolute favorite. She has such a beautiful voice and an ability to make it do whatever it needs to do to suit whatever song she's singing at the time. Listening to Evynne singing is always a treat. On top of that, she's a wonderful performer who always makes you really feel the lyrics. Thi...

Ladies and gentleman, I am pleased to present the very first Video Spotlight Double Feature. See, I knew that I wanted to feature both Evynne and Peter Hollens at least one more time before Disney month ended. Time was starting to run out and I had some other videos I wanted to include and I worried that I would only be able to feature one of them. Then I remembered that they had sung "I See the Light" from Tangled. Twice. One for her channel and the other for his. But which one would I pick? The answer was obvious. Why pick one when I could very easily do both? As fabulous as they both are on their own, they are so much more so together. Their voices complement each other so beautifully. So take a moment to get comfy and watch this oh-so-charming husband and wife perform their versions of "I See the Light". You're going to like them. I'm sure of it.

As I said at the beginning of Disney month, I feel like I could have done a month of the Disney videos by Evynne Hollens and her husband Peter Hollens alone. So it was really only a matter of time before featuring one of them again. I kicked off the month with Evynne's fabulous "Evolution of the Disney Princess" and have been in a quandary about which of her other terrific Disney covers should be highlighted next. I love that it was hard to choose - I know that no matter which one I went with, there was no way I could possibly go wrong. Ultimately, as you can see, I decided to go with her version of "Almost There" from The Princess and The Frog . While Evynne is the special kind of singer than can pull off any song she wanted, I really feel like her voice was made for this song. She gives such a wonderful performance in this. A performance that was made so much better by the backup band and all the extras. It's so well done. Watch.

A while back I said that I would be devoting a week to all things Disney. Upon trying to decide what all I wanted to include, I determined that a week or even two weeks wouldn't be enough. See, I love Disney. Like I imagine was the case for many of you, I was raised on Disney. We had all the movies, a fair amount of Disney related toys and videos. We had a bunch of the old Disney Sing-along Songs videos (we're talking VHS here, people) and I think I about wore them out. "Part of Your World" was my favorite; I'd say "Part of Your World" was the "Let It Go" of its day. Anyway, my parents took us to see some of the Disney on Ice shows and even a Disney cruise when we were growing up. The only cruise I've ever been on and it was a blast. And then, I've seen a few of the Disney musicals live and even did one of the songs from Beauty and the Beast musical ("Home") at the junior high talent show when I was in 8th grade. The Disne...

Welcome to the 2nd installment of this series! In Part 1, I focused on emotional songs with the intent of moving from the dark to the light. Or, as is the case with many of the videos in today's post, the lighthearted. Lately, I've been gravitating a bit more towards more upbeat songs. You know, the ones that make you want to dance along. The ones that make you smile and just put you in a happy place. The ones that are flat out fun. If you ask me, you can never have too much fun. There's so many people who take themselves way too seriously and I think the world would be a better place if more people made a point to enjoy themselves more often. From a chronic pain standpoint, I think anything that encourages us to move is a good thing. Now obviously, this is not always possible. Be it due to pain or stiffness or overwhelming fatigue, sometimes the best thing to do is rest. Listen to your body.  That said, if you feel up to it and the music moves you, let it. Not a dance...

Evynne Hollens has become one of my favorite singers lately. She has such a Broadway voice, one that's a pretty perfect blend of technique and emotion. Watching this woman sing feels kind of like watching a vocal master class. In fact, Evynne has a voice lessons series on her YouTube channel that I really like. She explains things very well and is always so much fun to watch. Plus she's so encouraging that in a way it's like getting lessons from a friend. Aside from that, I believe everything she sings, which is wonderful. If I have any problem with Evynne, it's that she puts out so many great videos so consistently that it's nearly impossible to pick which one to write about. I want to write about them all, especially the ones she's been doing lately. She's actually got me thinking that I might do a couple of weeks devoted strictly to Disney related videos. It'd have to be a couple because between her and her husband, Peter, there's so many grea...

For the third day of Phantom of the Opera  week, I bring you a video from Peter Hollens that features his wife Evynne. I have to say that as much as I enjoy both of their solo works, I especially love when they join forces for a project. Their voices are perfectly suited for each other and their collaborations are usually pretty special. Now Evynne usually sings with a pianist, but Peter is an a cappella artist. This video is completely a cappella and it's truly a lovely medley. Watch.

If you know me or have been following my blog than you know that last year I fell in love with a cappella music. I've been a music lover for as long as I can remember, but a cappella has made that love feel brand new again. This love has also led me to discover all kinds of different groups and singers. Some of whom have joined the ranks of my favorite artists. Evynne Hollens being the most recent addition to that group. There are few things better than listening to great singers singing great songs. Especially emotional ones. In a culture that seems to value flashiness and over the top stage antics, I sometimes feel as if many of us have lost the ability to truly connect with a lyric. Now don't get me wrong; I can appreciate a huge production. Some of the videos I include in this series will probably fit it that category. It can be fun to get lost in the spectacle of a big, showy number. But consider this: oftentimes the flashiness is just a way to cover up the lack of talent ...

You can find Part 1 directly under this post or right  here  if you're feeling lazy. No judgement here. I'm going to keep up the pattern I started in part 1 meaning that we're kicking things off with...

Merry Christmas everyone! Last Christmas, I  wrote about my favorite versions of Christmas  carols ,  standards  and  lesser known originals . This year, I knew I wanted to do some kind of Christmas post, but couldn't pinpoint exactly what that would be. Then it hit me: this would be a good opportunity to promote the artists that I support on Patreon. I've written a fair amount about a couple of them, but not all. That's about to change. I know some of you are familiar with Patreon, but others of you aren't. So first things first: Patreon is a crowdfunding platform that helps content creators create content on a regular basis. It's not about funding one big project; it's about helping them make multiple projects over time. This is done through the use of subscriptions. You choose your level of support and each level comes with its own perk. You also have the option of not receiving any perks, if that is your preference. Worth nothing that you can change your l...