Ickmusic’s Friday Five: February 29, 2008
by Michael
Can I kick it? Yes I can! It’s Friday and it’s time for a shuffle to the weekend. So wipe your feet real good on the rhythm rug and join in.
Last week was a decidedly laid-back Five with Acid Jazz courtesy of Herbaliser, mellow 70’s grooves from The Doobie Brothers, some funk laced jazz from Madhouse, a live classic from Depeche Mode and a slice of melancholy from Iron & Wine. For those of you playing along at home here’s how it works I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and then show you my five with some witty quip for each track.
Then, if we’re lucky, you show us yours!
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. Portishead – All Mine (from Roseland NYC Live)
Portishead deserves an award for taking the longest time between releasing records and remaining relevant. If you haven’t heard the Brixton trio is set to release its third record, the aptly titled Third, on April 28th.
2. Panic! At the Disco – Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks (from A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out)
I will admit to this being one of my ‘guilty pleasures’. These kids have managed to write some of the catchiest songs of the last decade. I do, to some degree, think that they will go on to become this generation’s Duran Duran.
3. Huey Lewis & The News – Heart and Soul (from Time Flies… The Best of Huey Lewis & The News)
I know it, Seth Rogen knows it and his hordes of screaming fans know it, Huey Lewis is the man.
4. Sara Bareilles – Love Song (MP3) (from Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) – EP)
Half of you will hear this and go “Oh, it’s that song from the cable company commercial” and the other half already know all about this little gem of a pop song. I’ll admit that I was by in large disappointed by the full album but I hold hope for a sophomore blast with more well crafted pop ditties like this.
5. Richard Cheese – Nookie / Break Stuff (MP3) (from Lounge Against the Machine)
Gah! Fred Durst is following me around the blogosphere today! This morning while reading this weeks ‘ChartBurn’ over at PopDose not only did I end up watching all of Limp Bizkit’s “Re-Arranged” but then went on a self destructive watching spree of “N 2Gether Now” and “Stuck”. I feel so dirty! Thankfully, Richard Cheese is here to save my afternoon (and quite possibly my soul) from the ninja death grip of Mr. Durst.
Okay, so I showed you mine, now show me yours!!
February 29, 2008 - 4:53 pm
1. On the Bus Mall–The Decemberists from their album Picareaque. I enjoy listening to these guys although I do not pretend to be as big of a fan as many other people.
2. Real World–Matchbox 20: Nothing really to say about this one!
3. City of Love–Persphone’s Bees: Love this song. So much fun. Heard it when I was watching the movie “Bewitched”. Really, one of the few memorable things about the movie.
4. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing–Jack Johnson. OK, confession time. I went through a huge Jack Johnson faze with this album. Probably because of the song “Better Together” and my husband was in Iraq. I listened to him so much that my son had an imaginary friend named Jack Johnson. Now, I never listen to him.
5. One Sweet World–Dave Matthews Band, Live at Luther College. I enjoy listening to DMB. I don’t listen to them a huge amount now but I always enjoy them when they randomly pop up.
February 29, 2008 - 9:42 pm
1. “He’s Gone” – Grateful Dead, live March 5th, 1994 at Desert Sky Pavilion in Phoenix- this was my second time seeing the Dead – the first was the night before. There will always be a Deadhead lurking inside of me…
2. “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” – The Pogues – what a great opener to a great album.
3. “Ubangi Stomp” – John Prine – I love me some John Prine. This one closes his Pink Cadillac album.
4. “Trem, As Well” – The Lothars – it’s theremin Friday! Wacked out weirdness that I somehow find very gratifying….
5. “Lucifer Sam” – The Sadies (Pink Floyd cover) – I wasn’t even aware I had this. Sounds cool. The Sadies are a Canadian alt-country oufit (I guess you’d call them).
February 29, 2008 - 10:15 pm
Well, it’s after 11 p.m. here in the Midwest. Let’s see what the universa has in store for us.
1. “Dolphin” by Linda Perhacs from “Parallelograms,” 1970. This is one of those hippie-ish singer/songwriter albums that has been hailed in the past few years as a lost classic. Is it that good? Maybe not, but it’s well-done, and it’s very much of its time.
2. “Can’t Change My Heart” by the Cate Brothers, from “Arkansas Soul Siblings,” a collection of early recordings, ca. 1972. Some good R&B/bluesy stuff from the boys, all of whose stuff is worth finding.
3. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” by Hot Tuna from “Hot Tuna,” 1970. Supposedly, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Cassady wanted to name their acoustic blues project Hot S**t but the record company wouldn’t hear of it. Nice stuff, anyway.
4. “The Masked Marauder” by Country Joe & The Fish from “Electric Music For The Mind And Body,” 1967. Some of this album holds up yet, but this track doesn’t do as well. I guess you had to have been there.
5. “Take These Chains From My Heart” by Hank Williams, 1952. Every time I hear Hank I feel like I’m in “The Last Picture Show.”
March 1, 2008 - 6:06 pm
1, “Bileria” from the Philadelphia cast of Leonard Bernstein’s “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
2. “Minatomachi 13 Banchi” by Hibari. She was my mom’s favorite singer growing up in Honolulu in the 1940s. She still has a whole bunch of 78s of her. Hibari was an enormous star in Japan.
3. “Every Breath You Take” by the Police.
4. “I’ll Call You Wild” by Grant McLennan. From his amazing 1995 album “Horsebreaker Star,” which is one of my desert island discs. Rest in peace, Grant.
5. “Stay the Night” by Benjamin Orr. I loved this song when it first came out, and then it was if it completely disappeared from the planet. It took me about 15 years to remember its existence.
March 3, 2008 - 8:10 pm
Pete — agreed on the Pogues song.
Yes, I’m late again. So here’s the Monday five:
1. Led Zeppelin / Stairway to heaven (live boot, 1973, Southampton Univ.) I’ve never liked any version of a live performance of this before. This recently surfaced recording is the one. Holy shit — they *could* play this live after all…
2. Dave Brubeck featuring Ragu / Do not fold, staple or mutilate (1967, B-side of a 45) – another great find from the Crud Crud blog – Brubeck jamming with an Indian mridangam player (it’s a kind of drum).
3. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young / Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (1971, 4-way Street) – Now, this is one of the features of shuffle playing that I always enjoy, an out-of-context snippet. If you’re not familiar with this live album, it opens with a fade-in of the very end of this song, dropping you into the middle of the concert. On shuffle, it made a fascinating short segue.
4. Sheila Parker, John Parr / Perfect Stranger (1990, “Paris” studio cast recording) – a track from the best rock musical you’ve probably never heard. Done as a studio cast recording, like the early Lloyd Webber / Rice shows, it’s a Australian rock version of the Trojan War story, written by Jon English and David Mackay. I don’t know if it’s stageable, but musically it’s dynamite.
5. Wings / Blackbird (1976, Wings Over America) I admit it, I like (and own) pretty much everything McCartney’s ever done. My favorites are, like here, when it’s just him and the left-handed acoustic.
March 3, 2008 - 9:03 pm
A decent live version of “Stairway…”. color me intrigued.
March 4, 2008 - 7:49 am
I don’t know how long I can keep this here, but here it is:
http://mysite.verizon.net/russellhouse/lz-1973.01.22-southampton-sth.mp3
March 4, 2008 - 9:10 am
Got it, much thanks Jim!