Jennifer Nettles love

Several months ago I was on the treadmill flipping through channels in search of anything that would take my mind off of the fact that I was sweating and puffing, and CMT was playing the Baby Girl video by Sugarland. I was intrigued. Three members in the group--a hot girl on lead vocals, plus a beautiful woman that was not hot and a dorky sweet guy on guitars and background vocals. You just knew they came together for the music, and not because they were packaged together to sell something. There's beauty in that. I love it when people don't try to be sexy and they totally are. None of them seemed to be too cowboyed up, just natural, fun, and talented. And the lead singer's voice made my spine tingle. Jennifer Nettles.

When our Baton Rouge friends were in town about a month ago we got in the car to go somewhere and I was playing Sugarland, and one of them said something about the lead singer's voice sounding familiar. When I said it was "some girl named Jennifer Nettles" she flipped out and said this girl had a whole library of solo CD's out. Then I started flipping out. You mean there's more to this greatness? We found her website later on and after I had listened to the tracks for about thirty seconds I ordered three CD's. (This is not a paid endorsement, I swear.) She's amazing! I like smart music with a soul, and that's exactly what Jennifer Nettles pumps out.

I love this lyric from Awakening on the Story of Your Bones CD: "I will live out of love and I will act out of fairness, and be the richness that lies beneath the surface of awareness." Deep, and it strikes a chord. And Story of Your Bones just plain makes me melt. There is so much more to Jennifer Nettles than Sugarland. I like Sugarland and I'll probably buy every CD they ever put out, but they can't make me fall flat on the floor like a Jennifer Nettle power ballad can. I probably shouldn't listen to her on the treadmill.

So right now it's Jennifer Nettles on the way to and from work. It centers me and makes me all fresh and happy inside. I do love me some Gwen Stefani and I'm still in love with the new Blackeyed Peas CD, but to be a well-rounded music lover I must continue to broaden my horizons. I hope this Jennifer Nettles fascination is hip. It's Bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S! Fer shizzle.