The Friday Five: March 2, 2012
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:
“Nice Guys” by We Are Scientists (from Barbara, 2010)
I love tripping over songs that I forgot about. Ironically, the music blogosphere completely forgot about We Are Scientists by the time this release came out, which is a damn shame as it contains some of their strongest songs.
“The Stars of Track and Field” by Belle and Sebastian (from If You’re Feeling Sinister, 1996)
Oh, the toothache! Now with 90% more trumpet!
I kid, because I care. I stumbled onto Belle and Sebastian during my stint working at a record store in the mid-’90s. Yes, an actual record store.
“Long Kiss Goodnight” by The Notorious B.I.G. (from Life After Death, 1997)
Goddammit, Diddy is one annoying motherfucker.
“Leave in Silence (longer)” by Depeche Mode (from A Broken Frame, 1982)
Just lovely.
“Granny” by Dave Matthews Band (from Warehouse 8, Volume 3, 2007)
“Love! Baby!” Nothing like wrapping up another Friday Five with a little bit of love. To quote my friend Dennis, “Hope you all hear something good this weekend!”
What’s on your shuffle today?
The Friday Five: February 17, 2012
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:
“Armageddon It” by Def Leppard (from Vault: Greatest Hits 1980-1995, 1995)
It’s not my favorite Def Leppard song, but it is as catchy as VD at the Jersey Shore (or, somewhat ironically, a Def Leppard show during the Hysteria tour.)
“Candy Store Rock” by Led Zeppelin (from Boxed Set, 1990)
The Zeppelin box set was standard issue for high school students in the early ’90s.
“Nobody But You” by The Apples in Stereo (from Travellers in Space and Time, 2010)
Phew, I was getting worried that Matt Wardlaw had somehow possessed this week’s shuffle.
“Wrapped Up in Books” by Belle and Sebastian (from Dear Catastrophe Waitress, 2003)
I’m suddenly getting sleepy.
“Come Up to My Room (feat. Tha Dogg Pound)” by Jodeci (from Murder Was the Case, 1994)
Whoa, that is like puling the emergency break while speeding—albeit rather gently—down the highway.
What’s on your shuffle today?
Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John [Belle and Sebastian, Norah Jones]
The latest Belle and Sebastian album crossed my radar a few weeks back, thanks to the “Recent Activity” social feature on Rdio. One of the people I follow had added it to his collection. I decided to take a listen, so *click*… and now, a few weeks later, I must have listened to it four or five times straight through.
It’s simply a great, accessible pop record. Great melodies, and just a nice overall vibe.
The album includes a song called “Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John”, with Norah Jones joining singer Stuart Murdoch. Of course, the mere mention of Norah Jones means I get to perform a thorough Google Image search. Woo hoo! Be right back.
Nice, but need something more current, right? 
But I have to include this one. Stubebaker? 
That’s more like it. Updated Norah. There. That was nice.
So listen to the song – a slowed down ditty about l-o-v-e just out of reach. The song appears not only on B&S‘s latest one, but also on …Featuring Norah Jones, an album of Norah’s collaborations.