• Friday Five

    The Friday Five: April 6, 2012

    Friday Five

    Friday Five : ‘frī-(,)dā,-dē ‘fīv : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes, then share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we’ll have a guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.

    The Five:

    “No One Like You” by Scorpions (from Hard Rock Gold, 2009)

    (In my best Beavis voice:) YES! RAWK!

    Do you know why this song rocks so hard? It isn’t the notes that guitarists Schenker and Jabs play, it’s the space they leave in between that builds the tension and makes you nod your head. (See also: AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”)

    “I Walked In” by Brougham (from Can’t Hardly Wait, 1998)

    Who? Oh, dear God, this is awful. I rarely do this, but I’m not submitting myself to any more torture than required. Skip!

    “Revolution” by Judas Priest (from The Essential Judas Priest, 2006)

    Wait, this isn’t Jane’s Addition’s “Mountain Song”? Let’s see when it came out … according to Wikipedia: “Revolution” is a song on the album Angel of Retribution, by the heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was their first single since 1992’s “Night Crawler” to enter in the United States charts.it reached #23 in the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

    Okay, so this is totally inspired by “Mountain Song,” right?

    According to the producer Roy Z: “The bass intro to ‘Revolution’ is actually from a cassette tape the band recorded back in the 1970s. We loaded the riff into Pro Tools and built the rest of the song around it. We went for a raw, modern ’70s vibe. It is a wide-open rock and roll song.”

    Way to CYA, boys.

    “I Found Love (C+C Underground club mix)” by C+C Music Factory (from Ultimate, 1995)

    I don’t have any issue with C+C Music Factory. At the time, I’d happily dance my ass off to these tunes once or twice a week. Nowadays, I can’t bear to listen for more than a minute or so. Skip!

    “Best of Your Heart” by Rufus & Chaka Khan (from Street Player, 1978)

    Every single one of you should be listening to more Chaka Khan. The world would be a better place.

    What’s on your shuffle today?

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: February 13, 2009

    https://ickmusic.com/pics/FridayFive06.png

    The best laid plans… I had intended on launching the new (and improved) format, but alas time and life got in the way, next week I promise the new look (and a new take) on the Friday Five… until then here’s this weeks all to brief five!

    For those who have not joined in the Friday Five here is all you need to know; each Friday I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me.

    The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments. The more the merrier!

    The Five:

    “All Night Long (All Night)” – Lionel Ritchie (from Can’t Slow Down)

    “I Know” – The Derek Trucks Band (from Already Free)

    “Fopp” – The Ohio Players (from Honey)

    “I Don’t Care” – Fall Out Boy (from Folie à Deux)

    “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” – AC/DC (from Back in Black)

    What’s playing in your neck of the woods?

  • Friday Five

    Ickmusic’s “Black Friday” Five: November 28, 2008

    If you are a minority of one, the shuffle is the shuffle.

    Now that everyone has slept off their L-tryptophan induced coma and quite possibly spent the morning hunting down the best deal on the latest greatest gizmo it’s time to relax and what better way to do that than with a shuffle through some tunes. And in celebration of the day, we’re limiting the results to only tunes with the word “Black” in them.

    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 a bit of insight for each track.

    Then it’s your turn! Just share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments and see what your fellow readers are listening to as well.

    Here are this week’s tracks:

    1. Weather Report – Black Market (from 8:30)

    An absolutely masterful live performance highlighting the genius of Joe Zawinul, Peter Erskine, the brilliant Wayne Shorter and the incomparable Jaco Pastorius. Jaco’s bass percolates along the afro beat rhythm as Shorter blows hard bop lines that are out of this world.

    2. Metallica – Fade to Black (from Ride the Lightning)

    It has always been my theory that the entire Black Album is a vein attempt to capture what the band did in what is easily one of the bands most significant tunes. From the opening movement to the fade it is Metallica at their best.

    3. AC/DC – Back in Black (from Back in Black)

    Classic.

    4. Pearl JamBlack (mp3) (from Ten)

    This is easily one of my favorite songs from the 90’s period. Eddie Vedder is a master of conveying the depths of the human condition and this is by far one of his finest moments.  Up for grabs is the classic MTV Unplugged version.

    5. Prince – Black Sweat (from 3121)

    This is as close to the funk as he’s come in ages.

    What’s saving you from long lines and aggressive shoppers?

  • Friday Five

    Ickmusic’s Friday Five: October 31, 2008

    Tell me something, Billy. How come a cute little shuffle like this can turn into a thousand ugly monsters?

    I thought it only appropriate to celebrate Halloween with a special playlist:

    Match ANY of the following conditions

    NAME contains Halloween
    NAME contains Trick
    NAME contains Treat
    NAME contains Haunt
    NAME contains Black

    iTunes only came back with a measly 180 tunes, at least ¼ of which were “Black Sweat” or “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?”. I will readily admit to skipping each of these tracks at least once in the course of this shuffle. 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. AFI – Bleed Black (from Sing the Sorrow)

    This is certainly a fitting start to the Halloween edition of the Friday Five. Creepiness abounds in the atmospheric info and acoustic breakdown mid-way through the tune. Off to a good start!

    2. Billy Bragg & Wilco – Black Wind Blowing (from Mermaid Avenue Volume 2)

    While I own both volumes of the Mermaid Avenue series they do not see the light of day very often. I’ll have to make a mental note to bring them out of hiding more often.

    3. Dave Matthews BandHalloween (mp3) (from Before These Crowded Streets)

    This song is definitely in my Top 10 DMB tracks. Live, there are not many other tunes that can touch the focused energy that goes into the performance. While it’s true that Dave usually mangles the lyrics and just sings nonsense save for specific lines (think of it as Dave’s “Yellow Ledbetter”) there is something to hearing him spew the venomous lyrics (“Tell us are you satisfied with f**king?”, Love is Hell, My Love is Hell“) written for the woman who turned down his proposal of marriage three times.

    I’ve only heard the song live once on 12.21.2002 and it came as a the first encore after a blazing set featuring a 15 minute jam with James Brown on “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine”. Dave walked out wearing a Santa hat and the crowd expected “The Christmas Song” (it was even on the printed set list), he must have been possessed by the devil that night as he tossed the hat across the stage and the band kicked into a sick version of the track. And since it’s Halloween and you all deserve a treat, here is a recording of that very version.

    4. Run-D.M.C. – It’s Tricky (from Can’t Hardly Wait)

    Back in the day (or is it’s tha day) this was my jam! One of the first rhymes that I learned from start to finish and could flow unaccompanied, this is still one of my favorite hip hop jams.

    5. AC/DC – Back in Black (from Back in Black)

    Man, this shuffle kicked all sorts of ass. Short of “Hell’s Bells” or Type O Negative’s “Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)” I can’t think of a better track to close this Halloween Friday Five.

    So what’s keeping the lil ghosts and ghouls busy in your neck of the woods?

    Happy Halloween!

  • Giveaway,  Rock

    AC/DC DVD – Let There Be Free Stuff

    I’m giving away a brand spankin’ new copy of AC/DC‘s new DVD release ‘No Bull: The Director’s Cut‘. It’s a 1996 concert from a bullring in Madrid, Spain – Plaza De Toro De Las Ventas. I lived in Madrid when I was a kid, and I’m pretty sure I went to a bullfight there (about 21 years prior to this show). I’ll have to ask my mom.

    I caught this on Palladium HD channel a few weeks back, and, well, it’s pretty sweet if you like to rock out with AC/DC once in a while, and really, who doesn’t?

    So leave a comment below to throw your hat in the (bull)ring (*rimshot*).

    You know how I love my haikus and my limericks in situations like this, but I’ll leave it up to you. Leave the typed equivalent of a belch if you want. Or maybe a link to a funny Family Guy episode. You decide.

    The winner will be announced in a week. Good luck!

    Check out the Trailer | Buy It

  • Rock

    Live AC Bleepin’ DC

    I realized something yesterday. Or actually I re-realized it. “Highway to Hell” is extremely gratifying to the soul when played at a very loud volume – which happened yesterday at work (earphones on, of course). I work in a techy environment where a lot of us often choose to plug into our tunes and get our work done. I’d love to have an electronic ticker up on the wall streaming all the the music playing at any one time around the office. It would make for an interesting study, wouldn’t it? Or am I really a geek? Don’t answer. Let’s move on.

    So these are rough times in these United States – the financial world in turmoil, hurricanes, gun-toting Alaskan hockey moms, dead patches of grass in my front yard – it’s enough to make one wonder if we are indeed on the highway to hell (in a hand basket).

    It’s live shows like this that can help get some of the aggressions out, and escape for a bit, if you will. We reach back here to 1979 when Bon Scott was still AC/DC’s lead singer. I won’t pretend to be an AC/DC aficionado, but I do know that I love ‘Back in Black‘, ‘Highway to Hell‘, and ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap‘ (great memories of listening to “Big Balls” as a guffawing 10-year old). Mr. Scott sadly left us in 1980, dying from acute alcohol poisoning after a night out in London town.

    Enjoy every moment people. For it’s times like these when you need to go back to basics and Let There Be Rock!

    AC/DC
    Towson University
    Towson, Maryland
    October 16th, 1979

    Live Wire
    Shot Down in Flames
    Hell Ain’t a Bad Place To Be
    Sin City
    Problem Child
    Bad Boy Boogie
    She’s Got the Jack
    Highway To Hell
    High Voltage
    Whole Lotta Rosie
    Rocker
    If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)
    Let There Be Rock

    ================

    Unless your head’s been under a rock, you’ve picked probably picked up on AC/DC’s media blitz to promote their new album and tour, called Black Ice

    • The album is available on ACDC.com and at Wal-Marts across this land beginning Oct. 20th (go the AC/DC.com route, mm-kay?).
    • SIRIUS XM Radio “announced that legendary rock band AC/DC will host their own music channel on SIRIUS.  The channel celebrates AC/DC’s iconic career and the upcoming release of Black Ice, the band’s first studio album in eight years.   AC/DC Radio will be broadcast on SIRIUS channel 29 and debuted on Monday, September 15, 2008 at 6 pm ET, to run through January 15, 2009.”
    • And you can check out the Tour Dates here (December 10th here in Phoenix).