Country Music, Y'all!

[ebk57]

Thanks @UYI!  I enjoyed reading the list along with your thoughtful insights.  

[Chaos Theory]

Well I just went to the Ryman.  The place to go in Nashville for country music.  Awesome songs an artist. My favorites were Smithfield, Demta Tae and Suzy Bogguss. 

[SunnyBeBe]

Does anyone think it's strange that this story just never seems to end?  I recall reading about how it seems to keep getting so much attention earlier on this site.  I know it was a horrible ordeal, but, how many times will that be the topic of headlines?  Just seems strange to me.  Maybe it is PTSD.......

It was on Page Six ONCE again today. 

https://pagesix.com/2018/11/09/carrie-underwood-it-was-impossible-to-sing-after-face-injury/

Edited November 9, 2018 by SunnyBeBe

[UYI]

On 11/3/2018 at 10:56 PM, Chaos Theory said:

Well I just went to the Ryman.  The place to go in Nashville for country music.  Awesome songs an artist. My favorites were Smithfield, Demta Tae and Suzy Bogguss. 

I went to the Grand Ole Opry last May and wanted SO badly to at least tour the Ryman (I went to the Opry on a Saturday evening and then went downtown the following Sunday afternoon, so no shows to see there that day, sadly), but my main priority after the GOO was the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which is MASSIVE and an entire day excursion unto itself. The Ryman is definitely a bucket list item for me though, and I did get to walk by the building and get a picture of it. 

I LOVE Suzy Bogguss! I won't pretend to have listened to her entire discography yet (which is true of me and many country artists, really--I am a very recent convert, having only started to grow truly interested and invested in the genre these last three years or so), but I do love her song "Hey Cinderella", which was probably her last big hit single on the country charts, and not to start the Christmas music too early (Thanksgiving is its own holiday, damn it!), but one of my favorites has a version by her:

 

That's one thing I've appreciated about coming to country music a bit later in life (okay, I'm 29; I'm not THAT old yet): There's a lot I simply never heard or even knew about growing up, so there's so much to discover and learn about. Becoming a country music fan has truly been one of the joys of my life these last few years. :) 

ETA: Oh, before I forget, here are three of the people I saw at the Opry last May: Jeannie Seely, Connie Smith, and Bobby Bare. All legends, all great. 

Edited November 14, 2018 by UYI

[Stuffy]

On 11/9/2018 at 10:07 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

Does anyone think it's strange that this story just never seems to end?  I recall reading about how it seems to keep getting so much attention earlier on this site.  I know it was a horrible ordeal, but, how many times will that be the topic of headlines?  Just seems strange to me.  Maybe it is PTSD.......

It was on Page Six ONCE again today. 

https://pagesix.com/2018/11/09/carrie-underwood-it-was-impossible-to-sing-after-face-injury/

 

I have no problem with it because I know most of it isn't because of her. It's what the media and interviewers focus on. She keeps getting asked about it over and over and over.  Meanwhile she gets blamed for still talking about it a year later. She's just answering questions.  Carrie mentioned a recent interview where she had talked with someone for over an hour covering a variety of subjects. She was really happy with the interview and thought it was a great conversation. When the article finally came out, the entire thing was about the accident and none of the many other topics they discussed. She doesn't have control over that kind of stuff or the made up stuff in the tabloids. 

People magazine reported a ridiculous story about Carrie looking to move because she didn't want to live in the house where she had the accident.   The real story was that she and her husband bought a lot a land many years ago before their son was born. They have been preparing the land and building their dream home for years. They moved because their house was finally done. 

When she was accused of hiding out and being vain about her face, she was really recovering from her third miscarriage.  Meanwhile she kept working on her album to keep busy during the heartbreak. I get the impression the miscarriages have had a greater emotional impact than the accident everyone keeps talking about. 

Edited November 14, 2018 by Stuffy

[UYI]

^^^^This. All of this. I'm sure her accident didn't help, but I feel what was really keeping her down was related to the miscarriages she suffered. And I can see her wanting to keep that private, but feeling to some extent that she had to share it/felt more comfortable sharing it much later on, even though she had every right to keep it to herself.

Did you read that whole interview? The journalist who spoke with her was Jewly Hight, a well-known country music reporter, certainly among women in the industry. The accident only came up near the very end of their discussion, as they were talking about the power behind her voice/vocal range, and her concern about whether her voice might be affected by her accident, at least at first, just because she didn't know how she would heal. The majority of the interview focuses on the work she did co-producing her most recent album, and of course, the very real concern about how more women in country music can find themselves on the radio and on the charts, as Carrie was basically the last hold-out among women in the genre until she gave an interview recently about this very topic, where promotion on "Cry Pretty" (the single) was suddenly pulled. And yes, country radio programmers ARE that petty.

...Anyway, yeah, it's a good interview.

https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/carrie-underwood-interview.html?utm_source=tw

For that matter, here's the interview that apparently got her in trouble with country radio. She doesn't swear or anything like that, I'd argue that it's perfectly benign...but I guess that's more than country radio is used to from her, so they flipped. SMH. (The interview is at the bottom of the following link; it's a podcast.)

http://www.nashcountrydaily.com/2018/09/03/women-want-to-hear-women-with-elaina-featuring-carrie-underwood/

Edited November 14, 2018 by UYI

[UYI]

I almost forgot! There was recently an all-female CMT Artists of the Year ceremony, and in a victory speech for Little Big Town, Karen Fairchild named a list of female singer/songwriters in country who the radio should playing. (So many names!)

Edited November 14, 2018 by UYI

[UYI]

Okay, one more post for the night, and I promise I'll be done! I've monopolized this thread enough already, lol. 

Recently on WSM, I heard this more obscure country song from 1989 (the year I was born--yikes!) called "Jones on the Jukebox" by a little-known artist named Becky Hobbs. She didn't have a super successful career on the charts, but this song was a minor hit at the time. The song was playing then because she had an interview on the radio show Nashville Today, which is hosted by Devon O'Day, the older sister of actress Faith Ford. Yes, Corky Sherwood from Murphy Brown has a sister in the country music industry. Kind of fits, doesn't it? :)

Here's the song:

 

And for those who, like me, don't live in Nashville but want to hear WSM (the "Air Castle of the South", as its been called), here's the stream for it. You get local Nashville commercials and everything!

https://wsmonline.com/listen-live/

There is also the online-only station Route 650, which is specifically Americana music:

https://wsmonline.com/listen-live-americana/

[Stuffy]

12 hours ago, UYI said:

^^^^This. All of this. I'm sure her accident didn't help, but I feel what was really keeping her down was related to the miscarriages she suffered. And I can see her wanting to keep that private, but feeling to some extent that she had to share it/felt more comfortable sharing it much later on, even though she had every right to keep it to herself.

Did you read that whole interview? The journalist who spoke with her was Jewly Hight, a well-known country music reporter, certainly among women in the industry. 

https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/carrie-underwood-interview.html?utm_source=tw

http://www.nashcountrydaily.com/2018/09/03/women-want-to-hear-women-with-elaina-featuring-carrie-underwood/

 

Yeah I read and listened to both of those. She had another great interview during her album promotion time that also didn’t have much about the accident. I can’t for the life of me remember who it was with. It was one of the best interviews Carrie has done.

I get the feeling that the men in charge of country music want the women to stay in their place. To let some of them continue to be inappropriate and/or shut up and sing or they’re punished. Carrie isn’t shutting up anymore so maybe she’s being punished.  

That stupid Keith Hill guy from the tomato-gate doubled down on not playing women this year. He even complained to someone (I think on Twitter) that one reason women are getting played even less than they were is because people are sick of them complaining. No idiot don’t blame women own it. It’s because people like you keep telling country radio not to play them. Even though he’s not a woman, he’s telling radio women don’t want to hear other women. Supposedly he dropped women in the late 90s at a country station and their radio ratings went up.  However he says doing the same test with male artists is ridiculous. Dude that’s not how science works. You test both sides. He’s also relying on a test he tried 30 years ago for his data.

I rarely listen to country radio anymore because I’m tired of so many men singing basically the same song in a different way over and over. They unfortunately don’t have Stapleton’s quality. Why listen to mediocre people like Kane Brown, Jason Alden, or Florida Georgia Line etc.  when I can make my own playlists on Spotify and it has fewer commercials. 

People do want to hear women which was proven by the ratings of the all female CMT artists of the year show. 

Edited November 14, 2018 by Stuffy

[UYI]

Oh God, yes, Keith Hill needs to climb back in his hole and GO THE FUCK AWAY. Why this guy keeps popping up like a garden gnome to beat his drum about how women shouldn't be on country radio because people apparently don't want to hear them (courtesy of the source he pulled directly from his ass, I'm assuming) mystifies me. I mean, it's clear he wants attention--his relentless Twitter rambling every time women in country music--both musicians and journalists--more or less tell him to fuck off proves that--but DAMN, he is really committed to digging this hole until there's nothing left!

And despite all of that and a serious lack of airplay, the Pistol Annies STILL debuted at number one on the Billboard Country Album Chart this week with their third album, Interstate Gospel, so SUCK IT, KEITH HILL!

I cannot WAIT to see them perform at the CMAs tonight!

Edited November 14, 2018 by UYI

[UYI]

With almost zero airplay, Kacey Musgraves won the CMA Album of the Year for Golden Hour. And all she needed was to be herself.

FUCK OFF, COUNTRY RADIO!

 

[Silver Raven]

Miranda Lambert was complaining about how there haven't been any women number ones.  I guess Bebe Rexha isn't a woman.

[Stuffy]

5 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Miranda Lambert was complaining about how there haven't been any women number ones.  I guess Bebe Rexha isn't a woman.

A. Miranda was talking about solo number ones

B. Rexha is not a country artist.

C. Rexha also still needed men to get that number one. Women can get number ones if they're duetting with a man but rarely by themselves. That was the point Miranda was making. 

[SunnyBeBe]

On 11/13/2018 at 9:21 PM, Stuffy said:

I have no problem with it because I know most of it isn't because of her. It's what the media and interviewers focus on. She keeps getting asked about it over and over and over.  Meanwhile she gets blamed for still talking about it a year later. She's just answering questions.  Carrie mentioned a recent interview where she had talked with someone for over an hour covering a variety of subjects. She was really happy with the interview and thought it was a great conversation. When the article finally came out, the entire thing was about the accident and none of the many other topics they discussed. She doesn't have control over that kind of stuff or the made up stuff in the tabloids. 

People magazine reported a ridiculous story about Carrie looking to move because she didn't want to live in the house where she had the accident.   The real story was that she and her husband bought a lot a land many years ago before their son was born. They have been preparing the land and building their dream home for years. They moved because their house was finally done. 

When she was accused of hiding out and being vain about her face, she was really recovering from her third miscarriage.  Meanwhile she kept working on her album to keep busy during the heartbreak. I get the impression the miscarriages have had a greater emotional impact than the accident everyone keeps talking about. 

I see.  Well, that is one explanation. Thanks for sharing. 

[UYI]

This makes me so angry. It's just getting worse and worse.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8488730/no-women-country-airplay-chart-top-20

[Stuffy]

That’s country radio for you setting the wrong kind of records.  

[UYI]

Ashley McBryde, Brandi Carlile, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris, and Margo Price are all up for Grammys this year, with Brandi and Kacey's albums up for the all-genre ALBUM OF THE YEAR category! Country radio may not give them the attention they deserve, but at least the Grammys are! 

 

I will say this, though:

I was very surprised to see Carrie Underwood's "Cry Pretty" shut out from any country song nominations. It's not her BEST single (that honor goes to "Blown Away", IMO), but it's pretty damn good, so that was a bit jarring to me.

Also: congrats to Loretta Lynn and Lee Ann Womack for their nominations, too! 

Edited December 7, 2018 by UYI

[Stuffy]

17 minutes ago, UYI said:

I will say this, though:

I was very surprised to see Carrie Underwood's "Cry Pretty" shut out from any country song nominations. It's not her BEST single (that honor goes to "Blown Away", IMO), but it's pretty damn good, so that was a bit jarring to me.

Also: congrats to Loretta Lynn and Lee Ann Womack for their nominations, too! 

I expected vocal performance and that's it from Carrie. I'm actually surprised she didn't get that.

I may be a fan, but I can recognize when she doesn't deserve nominations. I knew Cry Pretty wouldn't get song or album. My favorite songs on the album haven't been singles yet. The album is not my favorite from Carrie. I probably skip more songs on it than any of her previous albums. I don't really have confidence they'll release my favorites either. I think they'll release "Southbound" which is so mediocre and like every other bro-country song on the radio now. 

[UYI]

2 hours ago, Stuffy said:

I expected vocal performance and that's it from Carrie. I'm actually surprised she didn't get that.

I may be a fan, but I can recognize when she doesn't deserve nominations. I knew Cry Pretty wouldn't get song or album. My favorite songs on the album haven't been singles yet. The album is not my favorite from Carrie. I probably skip more songs on it than any of her previous albums. I don't really have confidence they'll release my favorites either. I think they'll release "Southbound" which is so mediocre and like every other bro-country song on the radio now. 

Oh, I knew the album itself wouldn't be up; it's not eligible until next year (not that I really expect any nods for it then, either). But I agree that a Vocal Performance nod for the song itself at least seemed possible. 

[Stuffy]

2 hours ago, UYI said:

Oh, I knew the album itself wouldn't be up; it's not eligible until next year (not that I really expect any nods for it then, either). But I agree that a Vocal Performance nod for the song itself at least seemed possible. 

Cut off is the end of September, so it was eligible this year.

[UYI]

A must read. What a great article.

https://medium.com/@Pittelman/another-country-80a05dd7fc15

[UYI]

I wanted to highlight one of the most famous country songs written and performed female country artists: "Easy From Now On." I know I could have easily put this in the covers thread, like I did recently with "Sunday Morning Coming Down", but I wanted to post this here instead. It is absolutely one of my favorite songs ever. 

It was written by Susanna Clark--wife of Texas country legend Guy Clark--and Carlene Carter (daughter of Carl Smith and June Carter Cash, stepdaughter of Johnny Cash, and stepsister of Rosanne Cash), when Susanna called up Carlene and told her she had a great lyric for a song: "quarter moon in a ten cent town." They wrote the rest of the song together around that one lyric. Emmylou Harris originally recorded it for her 1978 album--Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town!--but there have been other versions as well, perhaps most notably by Carlene Carter herself, Terri Clark, and Miranda Lambert.

Here they all are:

[UYI]

Merry Christmas, country music fans! (Judge me if you must.)

[27bored]

Ashley McBryde’s album was great. She seems like a tough yet sweet Southern woman. The title track especially is good. 

Came here to show some love for Tenille Arts. I’m not familiar with her but apparently she’s Canadian and was on the Bachelor. I’ll ignore the reality tv pedigree. I don’t want to ruin the love I have for “I Hate This”. She does a good job acting with her voice. She’s like Taylor Swift with actual chops.

[UYI]

If any of y'all are interested, I might occasionally post here about some lesser-known country artists who I really like/have recently discovered and been listening to lately.

I'll start right now with Deborah Allen.

She is best known by most country fans as the artist behind the 1983 song "Baby I Lied", but she was also a songwriter for many other country artists as well (two of her more notable co-writes to become hits? Janie Fricke's "Don't Worry 'Bout Me, Baby" and Patty Loveless' "Hurt Me Bad (In a Real Good Way)") , and after several years of mostly staying behind the scenes, she released the critically acclaimed album Delta Dreamland in 1993, and another album, All That I Am, in 1994. She has released a few more albums over the years since then, but has mostly resumed her sole focus on songwriting otherwise. 

[UYI]

Have to add this, too!

[UYI]

I am so curious how this is going to sound. After she had such a big pop hit with "The Middle" last year, I wouldn't be surprised if this sounds even less country. But we shall see. It may very well just be that she had the chance to sing lead on a pop song and took it; she DOES say it will be premiering on country radio. 

[UYI]

Maren Morris update: It's going to be an all-women tour!

[UYI]

I should probably take over this thread at this point, it's basically just me posting here over and over again haha.

Anyway: I like it, but I'm definitely going to need to listen to it a few more times before I have a more firm opinion. It's a bit slower than I expected, I will say that.

And honestly, despite the fact that she seems to be courting a crossover audience more and more these days, this still slots in pretty easily with the rest of the mainstream country radio scene of today. And of course, the women are still largely better than almost any of the men at this point, whether they get airplay or not. ;) 

[UYI]

The music video for GIRL is here!

[UYI]

A woman just reached number one in Canada (granted it's on Mediabase, but still). The American country charts sure don't know how to do that now.

[UYI]

Here's the song in question, by the by:

[vibeology]

I actually hate Somebody's Daughter but I'm still happy to see her top the charts. I don't see another solo woman in that entire list so it's a step forward but a fairly small one.

[UYI]

9 hours ago, vibeology said:

I actually hate Somebody's Daughter but I'm still happy to see her top the charts. I don't see another solo woman in that entire list so it's a step forward but a fairly small one.

TBH this was the first time I had even heard it or her voice, which...is a bit of an acquired taste, it seems, but yeah, at least one country wants to play women on country radio. I hope that chart list is an anomaly in Canada; it may only be because of the requirement to play a certain number of Canadian artists, but I can see them generally being a lot better at supporting female country artists.

I wonder if her last name (which is a stage name) is a shout out to Townes Van Zandt? That would be pretty cool if it is. 

[UYI]

Lauren Alaina released this song, "Ladies in the 90's", a few months ago. It is JUST now finally beginning to get more airplay. I'm hoping it can still become a hit and maybe we can finally get a music video for it. Really my only complaint is that I wish there were more references to country artists, but it still works for me.

[trudi-tru]

That’s a very fun song, I am glad it’s doing well.

[UYI]

Doug Supernaw has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer:

[UYI]

There will be a Dolly tribute at the Grammys this Sunday!

Also, I must confess that I got this very fun new book for Christmas this past year:

 

 

[UYI]

There has been too little of Tanya Tucker for far too long. Brandi Carlile is here to help change all that.

https://variety.com/2019/music/news/brandi-carlile-tanya-tucker-comeback-album-documentary-1203130190/

[Bastet]

36 minutes ago, UYI said:

There has been too little of Tanya Tucker for far too long. Brandi Carlile is here to help change all that.

https://variety.com/2019/music/news/brandi-carlile-tanya-tucker-comeback-album-documentary-1203130190/

I don't know a lot about Brandi Carlile, but I saw her perform at Lilith Fair (2010) and really enjoyed her set.  After reading that article, I think she's a kick-ass feminist I need to learn more about. 

I love Tanya Tucker's voice, so I will definitely get the album (and I love the concept behind titling it While I'm Living), and I don't remember specifics but remember thinking she was a hoot on her reality show, so I'll probably check out the documentary, too. 

[UYI]

Kacey Musgraves just became the second female country artist to win the Grammy for Album of the Year, for her record Golden Hour; the first was Taylor Swift, when she won for her "country" (yes, I'm being petty here, deal with it) album, Fearless, in 2010. However, the Dixie Chicks DID win two as well: in 2003 for Home, and in 2007 for Taking the Long Way.

Country girls ROCK! 🙂 

[trudi-tru]

Kacey cleaned house last night. I am so beyond happy for her. Take that, country radio.

[UYI]

At this point, if they don't start playing her, they are even dumber than I think they are already. They can't ignore her anymore; this is too big an honor, and the publicity nightmare they would endure if they did wouldn't be worth it at ALL. And an official single was announced right before the Grammys a few days ago: the final song on the album, "Rainbow." I'm waiting to see if that's going to skyrocket, because I have a feeling that after last night, it most certainly will. Here's the video, released yesterday evening.

[Thumper]

On 12/17/2018 at 5:19 PM, UYI said:

A must read. What a great article.

https://medium.com/@Pittelman/another-country-80a05dd7fc15

That was one long article, but I got through it! Thanks, @UYI.

From the article:

"White supremacy is designed to destroy this connection, to obliterate any possibility of poor people, especially poor white people and poor Black people, uniting in a common cause. Choose any moment in American history where there was even a chance of this — like Bacon’s Rebellion in 1675¹²¹ or the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968¹²² — and you can see how those in power reacted with both enormous violence and the granting of just enough benefits to poor whites to undermine coalitions and reestablish their allegiance to the status quo."

“By ‘white supremacy’ I do not mean to allude only to the self-conscious racism of white supremacist hate groups. I refer instead to a political, economic and cultural system in which whites overwhelmingly control power and material resources, conscious and unconscious ideas of white superiority and entitlement are widespread, and relations of white dominance and non-white subordination are daily reenacted across a broad array of institutions and social settings.” — David Gillborn, quoted in Vann R. Newkirt II, “The Language of White Supremacy: Narrow Definitions of the Term Actually Help Continue the Work of the Architects of the Post-Jim Crow Racial Hierarchy,” The Atlantic, October 6, 2017."

From a social justice program I attended at our church, I learned that politicians and others often tried to pit poor white against poor black so as not to let the "poor" become too powerful.  I think most of us white people have no knowledge of that or of the concepts I copied from the article.  Food for thought and action!

-----------------------------------------

So anyhow, I took you up on your invitation to those of us in The Grammy's thread to come on over here to Country Music!  Had no idea such a forum existed.  I was a big country fan in the 70's and 80's, then lost track of a lot of it after having kids and family activities take over.  Looking forward to learning more about the new crop of artists!

Edited February 11, 2019 by Thumper

[Thumper]

I had no idea that there was this huge conflict about women Country artists not being played on the radio! I don't listen to country radio much, maybe because it is mostly male and too LOUD.  lol . Confess I love the ballads. 

I became familiar with country back when my siblings were listening to Kris & Rita, Waylon & Willie; mid-1970's.  Then evolved to Janie Frickie, Suzie Boggus (what a voice!), Mary Chapin Carpenter, Eddie Rabbit, and others -- eventually my BF (now husband) introduced me to Alabama.  LOVE!!!!!   Love their sound. Still love them.   Keith Whitley (RIP) and "Don't Close Your Eyes."  

Loved Reba until she made fun of the Dixie Chicks and went too far.   Still love her older (my age) music.

Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard -- so much respect.

Love the Dixie Chicks and what they stood for.  Hope to see them again.

More to come!  lol

Edited February 12, 2019 by Thumper

[UYI]

58 minutes ago, Thumper said:

Keith Whitley (RIP) 

The 30th anniversary of his death is this May 9th. There's a song he recorded around the time he married Lorrie Morgan called "Tell Lorrie I Love Her", which he recorded at home (you can clearly hear some background noise and fuzz, like he recorded it in his bathroom); it was only released after his death on one of his compilation records. Even though it's very romantic and sweet, the line "and if I leave this old world, tell her she's the only girl for me" suggests he somehow knew he didn't have much longer to live. I cry every time I hear it. 😞 

Lorrie's first album, Leave the Light On, was released TWO DAYS after his death. She is one of my favorite country artists EVER, both for her voice and her love for Queen Tammy. 🙂 

"Dear Me", the album's second single, was the song out at the time of Keith's death; it went to #9 on the country charts (it actually was released in February of 1989--the same month I was born!).

[UYI]

My favorite version of "It's a Heartache" by Lorrie. It's an album track from 1992's Watch Me, her third album. 🙂

Edited February 12, 2019 by UYI

[Bastet]

It's a Heartache -- get a woman with a cool voice to sing it, and that song is instantly fantastic.  I like Juice Newton's version best, but Bonnie Tyler's original is a very close second, and I quite like Lorrie Morgan's, and Trick Pony's, too.  Jill Johnson's version, I don't love the music, but I do love her voice on it.  I like Ronnie Spector, and her version is fine, but it isn't a favorite because she doesn't have the growl the others have and this song needs it.

Edited February 12, 2019 by Bastet

[ChiCricket]

On 2/11/2019 at 9:23 AM, UYI said:

At this point, if they don't start playing her, they are even dumber than I think they are already. They can't ignore her anymore; this is too big an honor, and the publicity nightmare they would endure if they did wouldn't be worth it at ALL. And an official single was announced right before the Grammys a few days ago: the final song on the album, "Rainbow." I'm waiting to see if that's going to skyrocket, because I have a feeling that after last night, it most certainly will. Here's the video, released yesterday evening.

I was lured here by your shameless plug in The View forum, because I wanted to see why Kacey Musgraves won.

Me: (before watching this video): I don't like country music.

Me: (after watching this video) OMGosh, I have goosebumps!

(I guess I *do* like some country music) 😊

[UYI]

Reba has a new album coming out on April 5th called Stronger Than the Truth, and the track list includes a song called "Tammy Wynette Kind of Pain."

um...HELLO, yes I'm excited! 😄