Dan + Shay Unveil a Great Way to Beat The Winter Chill

Need some pleasant distraction to keep you from going apeshit over the many times you've had to shovel the snow off your driveway in recent months? If you're tuned to calm oasis in the epicenter of your mind you'd be wise to check out country duo Dan + Shay's introduction to the musical hemisphere, "19 You + Me." Yes, it is possible for visions of alluring sandy beaches to give your skull a friendly massage. We're not talking brain surgery level concept, but therein lies its brilliance. The song works on every level that matters, no matter what age you are. As I've grown to discover more and more in recent years, nostalgia has a powerful pull on many people's hearts. Why do you think The Eagles were a big concert draw not too many years ago? In more recent times why do you think Bill Cosby can still generate laughs as if he was in the infancy phase of his career? Why is Aerosmith reliable to this day? In all three cases, the audience knows it's going to be rewarded for expending time, money, and energy with an amazing group experience. If you were ever a child (not biologically possible) and if you ever had a special place you dreaded having to distance yourself from either for a little while or for good, "19 You + Me" is going to have you crying tears of joy with a little bittersweet throat lumpiness tossed in for good measure. Try taking this song with you to the beach when Old Man Winter isn't unleashing his wrath on the global population. Sunglasses could also boost the overall effect. Don't worry about not being to fit into the bathing suit you prized so much in college. "19 You + Me" is too touching for you to become obsessed with such trivialities. Who are Dan + Shay. Any rewarding conversation starts with a resounding hello so let's take a peek at the twosome's background, what there is of it at this point. Simply put Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney come from Nashville, Tennessee, one of the major see and be seen outlets for country music. They are currently signed to Warner Brothers Nashville, a state of being that only got started in 2012. Oddly enough Shay has a business affiliation with T-Pain. There have certainly been times when artists of differing persuasions have hooked up together to create seminal songs. Run DMC and Aerosmith both got a career jolt when they re-worked the latter's classic "Walk This Way". Johnny Cash was highly praised for doing a reboot of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" late in his storied career. Kudos to Shay for thinking of burnishing some street credentials into his burgeoning reputation. Back to the melody at hand. Gentle is the prevailing adjective. The bass guitar licks are inviting. The drum beats are shoreline friendly. The piano transports you to the satisfied zone in your head that can't be rubbed raw by any of the outside world's craziness. Surely someone in my audience has gotten a close enough look at swinging blonde hair that the recollection prompts ear to ear grins at the least, knowing chortles of pleasure at the most. Cascading blond hair swinging in time to the enchanting music. It's pretty brash to pen lyrics like "It was everything we wanted it to be" at a time in American history like this where it doesn't seem like anyone's life is anything like what they wanted or expected it to be. Nothing wrong with exuberant fantasy. Keeps the boredom blahs from consuming you down to the last toenail fiber. Textbook excellent use of simile with waves crashing compared to tears falling. We as listeners don't have to try to hard to slip into a easygoing mood. Dan + Shay have done an incredible job of setting the script up for us. We only need head for the beach, close our eyes, and let in the positive radiance of Dan, Shay, and their time capsule thrill factory. Welcome to the big leagues, you two.