It’s been a long and busy week here at Ickmusic East full of ups and downs. Between the shocking and untimely passing of LeRoi Moore, Jerry Finn, Issac Hayes and Jerry Wexler the music community has lost many members these past two weeks. On the positive side it’s been a week of some cool discoveries (Paul Thorn, Ra Ra Riot) and some great live shows to remind me of the bonds we do create with these musicians and the healing power of music. This week’s playlist is influenced by this sentiment.
Match ANY of the following conditions
NAME contains Dance
NAME contains Light
NAME contains Friend
NAME contains Heart
NAME contains Soul
The tunes rang in aplenty from this combo…
For those who have not joined in the Five, here’s how it works: … I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five with some words (though not so many this week) for each track.
Then it’s your turn! You can play along with the themed playlist or just share the first five of your shuffle, either way the fun is in playing musical voyeur for the day.
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. Bryan Adams - Straight From the Heart (from So Far So Good)
Ah Friday. The day most of us look forward to beginning at around 9:30 AM on Monday morning. The gateway to the weekend and the only thing standing between you and the release from the daily grind… I think that I can easily say for everyone, Thank God it’s Friday.
Friday also means it’s time for the Five. This week I struggled a bit with the theme as we head into the final stretch of “The Theme Days of Summer”. It hit me that we’ve covered a good bit of ground to date and that one thing we’ve not covered is direction. Furthering upon that thought the “Feng Shui” playlist was born.
Match ANY of the following conditions
NAME contains North
NAME contains East
NAME contains West
NAME contains South
NAME contains Heaven
NAME contains Earth
The playlist populated with 216 tracks, with nearly half of them being Prince related, go figure!
Last week’s Olympic inspired theme saw everyone going for the gold and some bringing home the bronze. Everything from Dylan to Bowie to the Godfather of Soul made appearances (some more than once) to represent their home country and bring back the glory.
For those who have not joined in the Five, here’s how it works: … I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five with some words (and on occasion the song itself) for each track.
Then it’s your turn! You can play along with the themed playlist or just share the first five of your shuffle, either way the fun is in playing musical voyeur for the day.
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. The Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden (from Forty Licks)
Yes friends of Ickmusic, this is my favorite Stones tune. Actually it’s tied with “Waiting on a Friend” for the top spot. There’s something about the laid back soul side of Mick and the boys that resonates with me more than some of their more up-tempo numbers.
I am surprisingly unashamed of having this disco-era gem pop up. Featuring Joe “Bean” Esposito (who you can find much more than you ever wanted to know about by paying a visit to our friend Jason Hare over at Popdose) this was a Number 2 hit for Miss Summer and was the last of her purely disco hits.
Did anyone else see Bryan Adams on Jimmy Kimmel Live! the other night? It was a far cry from the lackluster performance that he turned in at this year’s American Idol finale. He belted out “Summer of 69′” like it was 1984 all over again. This one brings memories of school dances and Saturday nights with Dr. John Barron on WSPK.
4. The Ohio Players - Heaven Must Be Like This (MP3) (from Skin Tight)
Back to the 70’s for what was likely the soundtrack to many a session of “7 Minutes in Heaven” in 1974. Clocking in at just over 7 minutes it’s hard to picture this track on the same record as the funk tour-de-force of the title track.
5. The Escape Club - Wild, Wild West (from Wild Wild West)
Cliché in just about every respect from the faux reggae breakdown to the super compressed guitar over the electronic drum beat to the innuendo laced lyrics you could not escape this tune in the late 80’s and well into the early 90’s. Released in 1988 the track reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November and lingered on radio playlists for damned near a decade. Oh and the video, how could I forget the video…
Well we started in the East and ended in the West with a whole lot of Heaven in between, what’s bringing balance to your day?
So if you are reading this you clearly have been on the internet long enough to know that today 8-8-08 is the official beginning of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. And in honor of the occasion, I thought it only appropriate that we take part in the festivities with an Olympic themed playlist. So in the spirit of “One World One Dream” here is your playlist for this week’s Friday Five.
Match ANY of the following conditions
NAME contains One
NAME contains World
NAME contains Dream
NAME contains Games
NAME contains Flame
NAME contains Gold
NAME contains Silver
NAME contains Bronze
756 Tracks, not bad… (at Pete’s suggestion I’ve added the other medals)
Last week’s birthday celebration brought out a parade of everyone’s party favorites and served as the basis for some interesting juxtapositions across the genres, tempos, moods, you name it.
“The Theme Days of Summer” are coming to a close and as I mentioned last week I’m looking to give back to the faithful fivers so send your playlist ideas to michael at Ickmusic.com with the subject line “The Theme Days of Summer” and I’ll choose the best two to be featured in a coming Friday Five.
For those who have not joined in the Five, here’s how it works: … I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five with some words (and on occasion the song itself) for each track.
Then it’s your turn! You can play along with the themed playlist or just share the first five of your shuffle, either way the fun is in playing musical voyeur for the day.
I love me some Maceo Parker, but this is not really the Maceo I know and love. Part of a brilliant overall record this is Maceo with Sly Stone, Bobby Byrd and Bootsy Collins performing a track from Maceo’s For All the King’s Men.
From what I consider the bands magnum opus, this song stands as a testament to the power of music to heal. Written by bassist Stefan Lessard after the death of his infant daughter, the songs protagonist questions his faith in dealing with death while clinging to the perfect world in his mind (The Dreaming Tree). Lyrically and musically it’s one of the most beautiful and moving songs in the bands discography.
It’s my wife’s birthday in the coming week and as a special wink and nod to her I thought it appropriate to dedicate this week’s entry of “The Theme Days of Summer” to her (cue the “aww’s”). That said here’s the playlist:
Match ANY of the following conditions
NAME contains Happy
NAME contains Birthday
NAME contains Wish
NAME contains Cake
NAME contains Party
NAME contains Celebrate
This pulled up considerably less tracks then I expected and at least half of them were “Partyup” or “Partyman” by Prince.
Last weeks “Question the Answers” playlist is the first that has been promoted to a full-time playlist. From the comments from the Faithful Friends of Five it would seem that you are all enjoying these as well. So much so that I’d like to invite some of you to send me your ideas for future playlists. There are four Fridays left this summer and I’m giving two of the four back to the Fivers! So send your ideas to michael at ickmusic dot com with the subject line “The Theme Days of Summer” and I’ll choose the best two to be featured in a coming Friday Five.
For those who have not joined in the Five, here’s how it works: … I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five with some words for each track (and on occasion the song itself).
Then it’s your turn! You can play along with the themed playlist or just share the first five of your shuffle, either way the fun is in playing musical voyeur for the day.
Originally from the cheeky titled ForUnlawful Carnal Knowledge, this was, to me, the second pinnacle in the bands career. Sure 5150 and OU812 were both excellent in their own right, but it was on ForUnlawful Carnal Knowledge that the band hit their stride. From the Makita vs. Guitar intro of “Poundcake” to the smash hit “Right Now” to the closer “Top of the World” (the opening lick which, for you astute students of Ed know, is actually the closing tag to “Jump”) the record never let up and delivered. It also was the last good record that the band has put out (save for the single “Humans Being” which kicks all sorts of ass).
DJ Shadow showing up twice in two weeks, what’s the chance? This is a great remix of “The Number Song” by Shadow’s partner in crime Cut Chemist, with a bit of Latin flair to bring that real party vibe. Seeing how it’s out of print, here is your chance to hear it as well.
Here’s an admission of a guilty pleasure, I absolutely dig “So You Think You Can Dance?” and this week the aptly named Twitch performed his solo piece to this track and I’ve got to say he perfectly embodied the joy that this song brings. For the record I’m predicting Joshua to win, though any one of them really could and I’d be satisfied.
Mama said if you ain’t got nuthin nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I will say that this is the only track on Musicology that I skip. Not as bad as “Jughead”, but damned close.
Now this is a send off into the weekend! From the box set that no one on this earth should be without this is the single that made all of suburbia sit up and take notice (and tremble a bit). The Beasties trademark blend of Hip-Hop and Rock with a three chord punk aesthetic. For the record, I tried to find and embed the video but apparently Universal does not like that. Hrmph!
So that’s the Five for this week, Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife Christine and if you see Pete around be sure to buy him a drink and give him a pound as I believe he’s got a birthday coming up in the next week as well… so now what’s helping you party through the day?
This week it’s time to “Question the Answers” on the Friday Five with the following playlist…
Match ANY of the following conditions
NAME contains Who
NAME contains What
NAME contains Where
NAME contains When
NAME contains Why
NAME contains How
As we continue “The Theme Days of Summer” I’m calling this in as I do some chores around the house.
For those who have not joined in the Five, here’s how it works: … I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five with some words (and the occasional rant) for each track.
Then it’s your turn! You can play along with the themed playlist or just share the first five of your shuffle, either way the fun is in playing musical voyeur for the day.
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. Prince - Whole Lotta Love (from My Band’s Tight!)
From a 2002 aftershow in Copenhagen, the recordings title says it all. This is as rockin’ a version as I’ve ever heard Led Zeppelin perform. This is a classic aftershow and is well worth seeking out.
From Prince covering Led Zeppelin to the criminally underrated Grant Green covering Miles Davis it would appear that the shuffle is doing a little theme of its own. While not the household name that his contemporaries Wes Montgomery and Charlie Parker became, Grant Green had a swing and groove that was all his own. Sunday Mornin’ is his ‘Gospel’ record, showcasing the brilliant tone and bop that he possessed. The record is out of print, so here’s the track for ya’ll to groove to.
If I were a betting man, I would not have guessed but the third track up on the shuffle would be another cover, this time its Sheffield’s favorite son’s Def Leppard covering the Badfinger classic “No Matter What”. This kicked off a record (the peculiarly titled Yeah!) that I did not care much for. Let’s move on.
4. DJ Shadow - What Does Your Soul Look Like, Part 1: Blue Sky Revisit / Transmission 3 (from Endtroducing…)
If you had asked me what my favorite record was in 1997 the record that would immediately spring to mind is Entroducing…. Culled from a record collection so deep it knows no bounds the record was later cited in Guinness World Records as being the first album created entirely from sampled sources. This is a brilliant record that came out at just the right time.
5. The Afghan Whigs - What Jail is Like (from Gentlemen)
Speaking of brilliant records, Gentlemen is a record that has stood the test of time. I can listen to this record twenty times in a month and it still inspires and sounds brand new.
I’ll admit that I got through the first 4 hours of my work day without even realizing what day it was. Time flies, or so they say. Now if one of you could kindly point me in the direction of where this “they” sit I’ll be on my way. Oh, this baseball bat in my hand, it’s… um, a gift. That’s it, a gift for “them”. In keeping with what I’m now dubbing “The Theme Days of Summer” I’ve cobbled together the following playlist to reflect my current mood with hopes of pulling some uplifting tunes to pass the hours until I’m free to count down to Monday. That said, here’s the playlist for this Friday:
Match ANY of the following conditions
NAME contains Work
NAME contains Time
NAME contains Passing
NAME contains Quick
NAME contains Slip
NAME contains Flash
This pulled about half the amount of tracks as last week’s playlist.
For those who have not joined in the Five, here’s how it works: … I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five with some words for each track.
Then it’s your turn! You can play along with the themed playlist or just share the first five of your shuffle, either way the fun is in playing musical voyeur for the day.
That said…
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. The S.O.S. Band - Take Your Time (Do It Right) (from The 70’s Preservation Society Presents Disco Fever)
Now there is nothing like a little slice of premium 80’s funk (I do realize this particular track is a 1979 vintage) to kick off a Friday Five. More and more lately I’ve been a sucker for the likes of The S.O.S. Band, The Dazz Band and The Brothers Johnson. If anything this one was too short and went by to quickly, so I’m going to do something I rarely do and listen to it again.
You know you ought to slow down
You been working too hard
And that’s a fact
Sit back and relax a while
Take some time to laugh and smile
Lay your heavy load down
So we can stop and kick back
It seems we never take the time to do
All the things we want to, yeah
Now I don’t want to go ruining this by saying something, but this is a turning out to be one funky five. While Controversy was never my favorite Prince record, it does contain quite a few of my favorite individual tracks. I mean come on, who can resist “Do Me, Baby”?
It might not be funky, but this is damned soulful. I’ve had an odd love/hate relationship over the years with The Black Crowes. To me, this is where they shine. Soulful, Bluesy and with a passion that seems to play hide and go seek with every other record they release. This one is brilliant though, and I’m enjoying hearing it after a long while.
And right back to the funk, bubbling up from the Louisiana Bayou. I had the pleasure of seeing The Meters live a few years back at the “From the Big Apple to the Big Easy” benefit show at Radio City. So funky.
5. The Dave Matthews Band - Stay (Wasting Time) (from Listener Supported)
Recorded September 11, 1999, this was the second live record that Dave and the Band released and to me really captured the essence of the live DMB experience at the time. Featuring “The Lovely Ladies” this down-tempo version of their funky as hell New Orleans tribute is a perfect coda on today’s Friday Five, cause don’t it make you wanna stay?
Okay, now it’s your turn, what’s wasting time with you this Friday?
Its days like today that test the limits of my ability to stay focused on the work at hand. Its 77°F, 50% humidity, sunny and the great outdoors (not to mention the pool) is beckoning and I’m doing my best to block it out. Thankfully I’ve got the Friday Five to keep my attention focused for the next little bit. Last week we celebrated the fourth with a themed playlist and the Fivers represented with their patriotic best. And since the playlist concept seemed to really spark some interesting tracks, here’s a playlist for this Friday:
Match ANY of the following conditions
NAME contains Sunny
NAME contains Beautiful
NAME contains Warm
NAME contains Summer
NAME contains Day
NAME contains Weekend
This called up a staggering number of tracks for me to shuffle through!
For those who have not joined in the Five, here’s the scoop: … I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and then show you my five with some words for each track.
Then it’s your turn! You can play along with the themed playlist or just share the first five of your shuffle, either way the fun is in playing musical voyeur for the day.
One of the few Billy Corgan projects that I’ve truly enjoyed since Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Zwan had a purity to it that could clearly not be sustained with a maniac like Corgan at the helm. It’s a damned shame, really as I truly believe that the combined creative forces of Zwan could have really produced some amazing music together. I would also be remiss if I did not at least mention the beautiful foil of Paz Lenchantin. She somehow balanced Billy’s nasal falsetto and made it nearly accessible.
2. The Beatles - Good Day Sunshine (from Revolver)
While I can appreciate New Order (and even more so Joy Division) for the influence they have provided to countless bands that I enjoy, I’ve never really been a huge fan of their discography. I certainly enjoy all the hits to no end, but that’s about where it ends.
4. Prince & The Revolution - The Beautiful Ones (from Purple Finale)
From the final show of the Purple Rain tour (Orange Bowl, Miami: 7th April 1985), this is nothing short of astounding. The Revolution are as tight as ever and Prince provides a highly charged performance.
One of my favorite records of the past decade, it kills me that these guys never made it the way they deserved. I suppose the dual curse of having been a reality show contest winner and releasing your major label debut on September 11th, 2001 really was too much to overcome. The band has persisted through some line up changes and can still be seen occasionally in and around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
Now, excuse me while I slip outside for a quick walk, yeah that’s it… Tag! You’re it!
Today is the Fourth of July, better known in the United States as Independence Day, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
This also means many of you will be off today and enjoying time with your friends and families, but we here at Ickmusic are dedicated to ensuring our readers have their Friday Five fix. In spirit of the holiday I’ve cooked up this playlist to get some patriotic tunes going for the days activities.
Match ANY of the following conditions
NAME contains Independence
NAME contains U.S.A.
NAME contains America
NAME contains Fourth
NAME contains July
NAME contains Declaration
This pulled up a few more tracks than I suspected it might. I hit the shuffle and away we go!
For those of you reading this for the first time, here’s how it works… I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and then show you my five with some words for each track.
Then it’s your turn!
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. (from Greatest Hits)
This song, along with “Glory Days”, is to me the epitome of summer songs. It stands beside Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Fortunate Son” and John Mellencamp‘s “Jack and Diane” as true American Standards. I could go on, but I’m just going to enjoy listening to the rest of the track.
2. Frank Zappa - Food Gathering in Post-Industrial America, 1992 (from The Yellow Shark)
As performed by Ensemble Modern, this is perhaps one of Frank’s most challenging works. I didn’t come to truly appreciate the depth of this record until much later in life. And in the spirit of the day there is something to be said of Frank’s ardent support of the First Amendment and the fight against censorship of any sort.
3. Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (from Bleed American)
I actually purchased this record in its pre-9/11 configuration (my copy is titled Bleed American as opposed to the self-titled change) and had been a JEW fan for a few years prior. I still think this song is underrated and had it come out in a different time it would have been a huge single.
What a great send off into the holiday weekend! My 10 year old has recently discovered early Weezer (thanks to Guitar Hero) so I’ve been listening to the Blue Album and Pinkerton quite a bit lately.
So what’s not letting you go quietly into the night?
The post lunch dip is kicking in boys and girls and I need something to push me through the next two hours. The finish line for the week is in my sights and I’m ready to shuffle up and deal! Last week we covered everything from Travolta to Arquette, here’s hoping that this week uncovers yet more gems in my music library.
For those who have not played along yet here’s the scoop, open up whatever provides you with tunes and hit the shuffle button and let the music take you where it will and if you feel so inclined share the results with the rest of the musical voyeurs in the comments section.
So let’s see what comes up this week…
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Manic Depression (from Live at Winterland)
While I do love me some Hendrix, this particular performance is, to me, a mess. The rest of the recording is stellar and the performance is inspired, but this track just seems to meander too much for my tastes.
Boy, two stinkers in a row. Don’t get me wrong, I kinda like Beth, for what it’s worth but it’s just not doing much for me at the moment. Thankfully it’s short.
Have I died and ended up in Jason Hare’s shuffle? Again, don’t get me wrong, I actually love the mellow gold of America, but it’s not exactly helping in my plight to stay awake. This is a great song though.
4. Green Day - Jesus of Suburbia: I. Jesus of Suburbia / II. City of the Damned / III. I Don’t Care / IV. Dearly Beloved / V. Tales of Another Broken Home (from American Idiot)
I give Green Day a ton of credit for managing to stay “punk” by pulling the most un-punk career moves time and time again. Let’s face it, it rings true that living well is the best revenge and they’ve certainly done just that. Clocking in at just over 9 minutes this is a great tune with more twists and turns then a roller coaster. Five individual movements make up the sum that is “Jesus of Suburbia”, each with its own tone and tempo.
I guess we’re wrapping on a very chill note again. I’m going to have to start setting some conditions for my Friday shuffles to get some boogie back in the Five.
So that’s mine for this week, what’s carrying you out to the car?
Tomorrow is officially the first day of summer, the longest day of the year, but today it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a fine slice of Friday Five! Last week I let the Junior Pantherz take over in the kitchen, but I’m back this week to take the reigns. The Fivers have been representing in droves and as always I’m amazed at the range of music that appears in the comments. We must be doing something right here at Ickmusic to get such a diverse crowd together. For those who have not played along yet here’s the scoop, open up whatever provides you with tunes and hit the shuffle button and let the music take you where it will and if you feel so inclined share the results with the rest of the musical voyeurs in the comments section.
Seriously, vividly remember being a kid running around singing “You that no shit, we’ll be getting lots of tit” and “I ain’t bragging she’s a real pussy wagon” and no one batting an eye.
2. Jellyfish - The Man I Used to Be (from Bellybutton)
They may have only released two records, but I’ll be damned if they were not two of the best slices of power pop to come out in the early 90’s. While I prefer Spilt Milk to Bellybutton, this is just a matter of splitting hairs. If you’ve not ever experienced Jellyfish I cannot recommend doing so enough. Sure they dressed as if they were stuck in the cover of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and sound like an amalgam of The Beatles and Queen, but since when is that a bad thing?
3. Dave Matthews Band - Lie in Our Graves (from Warehouse 8, Volume 3)
This reminds me that I need to write up my review of last weeks show! This is a great version from the ‘95 tour with a stellar sax solo from Leroi Moore. As much flack as these guys can sometimes take (which I’ve never understood) for being ‘frat guy’ rock they really are an amazing group of musicians who’ve managed to make a living doing what they love and compromising very little (except maybe for every summer vacation for the last 15 years).
Well this is no way to end an otherwise upbeat Friday Five. Not to say that this is not a brilliant song. I’ve always been a huge fan of Adam Duritz’s more intimate moments.
(Just as an aside, the very next tune to pop up on the shuffle was “Delicious” by Catherine Wheel, now that’s the proper kick off into the weekend!!)
Welcome to Ickmusic. I'm Pete (the Ick in Ickmusic). If you're like me, and your tastes in music are all over the map, I think you'll like it here. The audio files I post are here to give you a taste. If you like what you hear, buy it! You can use the links I provide, or use any method you like, but please do support the artists. Thanks for stopping by.
