Ickmusic’s Friday Five: April 18, 2008
by Michael
Good Morning Friday Five Family!!
My wife and I are in the midst of home improvements and the iPod and iTunes have been providing the soundtrack. In honor of my current project I set up the following smart playlist in iTunes (I’m including this in case any of the faithful fivers want to play along at home:
Name > contains > House
Name > contains > Home
Name > contains > Work
Name > contains > Improve
Name > contains > Better
I was pretty surprised by the number of tracks that came up (just over 300). And thus the first ‘themed’ Friday Five is born. Last week the fearless fivers picked up my slack by bringing it, this week I’m giving back with this very special edition of the Friday Five.
Now Driver, Move That Bus!!
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. City and Colour – Comin’ Home (from Sometimes)
I came across City and Colour while I was working in Toronto a few years ago. The acoustic side project (and polar opposite) of Alexisonfire front man Dallas Green really resonated deeply with me when I first heard the track “Save Your Scissors” on MuchMusic (that’s the Canadian version of MTV for those who are not aware). I highly recommend this record to just about everyone.
2. John Legend – Coming Home (from Once Again)
I remember reading an article last year where John Legend was talking about how much Jeff Buckley influenced him. This track, to me, is one example of where I can hear that influence. Stark and honest this is as close to topical as Legend comes and the delivery is without doubt heartfelt.
3. Francis Dunnery – Homegrown (MP3) (from Fearless)
In the early 90’s I had a friend who worked A&R at Warner Records and he introduced me to Francis Dunnery. To this day I still pull this record out at least once every other month and it feels as fresh and vital as it did the first day I listened to it.
4. Bruce Springsteen – Long Walk Home (from Magic)
This to me has all the makings of a classic Springsteen track. Topical without beating you over the head, great lyrical hook and a healthy dose of Jersey shore imagery. “Long Walk Home” is without a doubt one of my favorites from Magic.
5. Jon Regen – Better Days (MP3) (from Let it Go)
From New Jersey’s favorite son to another New Jersey native with a penchant for writing beautiful and moving songs. When I said in my review of Let it Go that it felt like home, this was the song that earned it that description. There is something familiar and warm not just to the timbre of Jon’s voice, but the song itself in the way it wraps around you and lifts you up.
So what’s taking you home today?
April 18, 2008 - 11:29 am
“House Full of Reasons” by Jude Cole from “A View From 3rd Street, 1990.
“Down Home Blues” by Etta James from “The Right Time”, 1992
I didn’t get any results for Work, Improve or Better so I just shuffled for the next three songs…
“A Good Day For The Blues” by Storyville from “A Piece of Your Soul”, 1996
“I Won’t Stand In Your Way” by The Stray Cats from “Runaway Boys: A Retrospective: ‘81-’92, 1997
“Macon Hambone Blues” by Wet Willie from “Drippin’ Wet”, 1973
April 18, 2008 - 2:30 pm
I can’t do combined searches, so here’s a random choice for four of the five words (nothing comes up for “Improve”):
For House (172 mp3s): “Hyacinth House” by the Doors from “L.A. Woman,” 1971.
For Home (420): “Homeward” by the Sundays from “Static & Silence,” 1997.
For Work (122): “Brother’s Gonna Work It Out” by Willie Hutch from the soundtrack to “The Mack,” 1976.
For Better (84): “Better Days” by Graham Nash from “Songs for Beginners,” 1971.
To get to five I went back to Home for a second shot: “Sweet Home Chicago” by Eric Clapton from “Sessions for Robert J,” 2004.
April 18, 2008 - 3:16 pm
I have 335 tracks that fit, and absolutely none of them have “Improve” in the title. I have 11 tracks just called “Home”! (I probably have at least a couple others on CD; I should make a mix of them sometime.)
1. “Celebrate Me Home” by Kenny Loggins
2. “Going Home” by Mary Fahl, from the Gods & Generals soundtrack
3. “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Alison Krauss, from the Crossing Jordan soundtrack.
I like this cover better than the original. (Is that blasphemy?)
4. “Nothing Better” by The Postal Service, from Give Up
5. “It’s Better to Be Alone” by The Lonesome Sisters, from Follow Me Down
And, because I love the sixth shuffled song so much:
6. “Buffalo River Home” by John Hiatt, from KBCO Studio C Vol. 4
This solo acoustic version is miles above the (rather dull) studio version. This may be my favorite of all the Studio C recordings–it’s definitely in the top three.
April 18, 2008 - 3:17 pm
No fancy theme here, just the usual:
1. Groove Armada – “Lazy Moon.” Nice sweet laid back track. Reminds me of summer. Too bad it’s a spring flood outside.
2. Van Halen – “Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)”
From Diver Down, my least favorite of the Diamond Dave era discs.
3. Analog Brothers – Analog Brs. vs. Silver Surfer
Kooky side project featuring Kool Keith and Ice-T
4. Run DMC – “Run’s House”
CLASSIC!
5. Clash – “Lost in the Supermarket”
3.
April 18, 2008 - 5:14 pm
Only 82 songs match here… Guess my library is a little smaller!
1. Bruce Springsteen – Working On The Highway (from Born In The U.S.A.) I rarely listen to Born In The U.S.A., even though it was my introduction to Springsteen. It’s good, but there are too many better Springsteen albums.
2. Klark Kent – Away From Home (from Just Can’t Get Enough: New Wave Hits (Vol. 2)) – This CD set is kind of hit and miss. I would have no idea what this song was if you asked me, but it’s actually not bad.
3. Sufjan Stevens – They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For The Homeless In Muskegon) (from Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State). I really enjoy Illinoise (which I owned first), but I find this CD is too similar for me to get into it.
4. Bob Dylan – Subterranean Homesick Blues (from Greatest Hits). There was a good chance this song was going to show up since it appears 3 times in the playlist. Dylan is one of my favourite artists (probably my favourite), but I never really liked this song that much.
Ok, song 4 showed up again (this time from Biograph Disc 1), so I skipped to the next song.
5. The Beatles – She’s Leaving Home (from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band). I’ve recently gotten back into the Beatles after seeing Across The Universe. I’m not usually into musicals, but that was an excellent movie.
April 18, 2008 - 5:57 pm
I have less than 100 songs that filled the play list. What surprised me the most is that none of the versions of “Bring it On Home to Me” made it into the shuffle. Here is what came up:
1. Going Home With You by “The Alternate Routes” from “Good and Reckless and True”
2. “Home” by Zero 7 from “When it Falls”
3. “Today Will Be Better, I Swear” by Stars from “In Our Bedroom after the War”
4. “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” by Bon Jovi from “Have a Nice Day”. (I should be embarrassed but I really enjoy this song for road trips.
5. “House By the Sea” by Iron & Wine from “The Shepherd’s Dog”
April 18, 2008 - 9:33 pm
Okay – made a little playlist of every home, house, work, improve, and better song (anyone have an “Improve” song?)
213 songs, evening in the Arizona desert, 79 degrees. and away we go…
1. “I Ain’t Got No Home” – Springsteen – from a Folkways tribute album to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly. I have the cassette. Bruce also does “Vigilante Man” on this one.
2. “Powerhouse” – Springsteen & Friends – from one of the Asbury Park holiday shows back in 2000. Amazing quality boot – you may have downloaded it a few months ago. Just looked up info about the song. It was written in 1937. See here.
3. “Stuff that Works” – Guy Clark – one of the country outlaws who’s music I need to spend a lot more time with.
4. “Wide Awake on the Voyage Home” – Liam Finn – Neil’s little boy coming into his own. A nice album – a lot of familiar melodies a la his dad’s Crowded House work, but original in its own right.
5. “Broken Household Appliance National Forest” – Grandaddy – everyone go buy the Sophtware Slump. LastFM has the full track streaming. Can never get enough of this spaced out, beautiful album.
June 4, 2008 - 10:35 am
That is really cool Pete…
Very nice work!