Hmmmmm – here’s five from me on a Monday

1. Nada Surf – “No Quick Fix” – Gotta give credit to Heather at Fuel/Friends for really making me love this band with her posts about them. She posted an acoustic show that really hooked me in, and made me get the catalog.

2. Ryan Adams – “Come Pick Me Up” – This song always seems to come up in the shuffle on the perfect morning. This is one of those mornings.

3. Bill Champlin – “Organ Solo/In The Heat of the Night” – Got into Bill’s stuff after being a longtime Chicago fan. Started buying his solo albums in 1994, and this record “Mayday,” recorded live in the studio is a great career summary of Champlin’s solo work and also his work with Sons of Champlin. For the Champlin-curious, the Sons of Champlin “Live” album on Grateful Dead Records is also a good one, if you can find it.

4. Extreme – “No Respect” – I’m not going to say that I was a diehard Extreme fan, but I liked the hits, and bought “Waiting For The Punchline” as soon as it was released. Saw them on the tour for WFTP, and was stunned at how good they were, and I subsequently talked up Gary Cherone to anyone that would listen, when he was tapped for the VH singer slot.

5. Ernie and the Automatics – “The Best Is Up Ahead” – Latest band project from former Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau. For any of you that followed his solo work in the 90s (i.e. not RTZ) you might cringe a little bit, because some of it was pretty bad. This CD was one of my unexpected favorites of the year.

Anyway, on to the business!

1. Public Enemy – “Aintnuttin Buttersong.”
Muse-Sick-N-Hour-Mess-Age is hardly PE’s crowning achievement, but it’s still an album that I’m pleasantly surprised by when I dust it off.

2. Vah Halen – “You Really Got Me.”
The Kinks original is tops, but VH’s cover is pretty damn good.

3. Outkast – “Vibrate”

4. Rage Against the Machine – Know Your Enemy
Wow – this takes me back…

5. Van Halen – “D.O.A.”
More Diamond Dave! This is one of my favorites, for sure.

1. “Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow” – Funkadelic
2. “Little Things” – Los Lobos
3. “In the Morning of the Magicians” – The Flaming Lips
4. “The Royal We” – Silversun Pickups (great band name)
5. “Life Can Be So Nice” – Prince (it really can, can’t it?)

“Everything” by Buckcherry (from 15)
“If I had everything, would I still want to be alive or want to be high.” A friend at work turned me onto these guys. There are some really catchy runs in this song. I’m a sucker for a clever key change.

Millennium Of Love (Ireland) by Eamonn Toal (from Eurovision Song Contest)
This isn’t mine but rules are rules.

“Walking Shoes” by Tanya Tucker (from Greatest Hits 1990-1992)
Now that’s more like it. Good leaving song. “All you do is make me cry. So now I’m gonna say good-bye. Gonna put on my walking shoes tonight.”

“All Along The Watchtower” by Bob Dylan (from MTV Unplugged [Live])
Everywhere I go, there’s Bob. My father in law is a huge fan.