• Friday Five

    The Friday Five: January 16, 2009

    Shuffle matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my Shuffle, do you?

    If you’ve been working for the weekend, well you are in luck because it’s just about that time. That’s right, it’s Friday and it’s time to kick back hit the shuffle button and let the music take us where it will. Today we’re firing up iTunes to battle the post-lunch dip!

    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:

    “Jamie’s Cryin'” – Van Halen (from Van Halen)

    … Hey you two I was once like you and I liked to do the wild thing

    “Crash Into Me” – Dave Matthews Band (from Live in Chicago 12.19.98)

    I’ve recently discovered that Dave Matthews has a twitter account that he uses quite actively (clearly via his iPhone and Twitterific). He provides a view into his twisted head and preoccupation with his farts (and sharing photos of himself in various states of clown make-up).

    “Golden Ring (feat. Tammy Wynette)”  – George Jones (from The Bradley Barn Sessions)

    An absolutely classic tune from the master

    Direct Line to the Telepathic” (mp3) – Flickerstick (from Welcoming Home the Astronauts)

    Before American Idol, Rockstar:INXS, Making the Band and other awful music-based reality programs was VH1’s “Bands on the Run” which placed 4 bands in vans and sent them out to tour with challenges along the way. It was sort of like MTV’s “Road Rules” with twice the alcohol and prima donnas’. Dallas, Texas’ Flickerstick won the competition and a recording contract. The band released one major label record and an indie follow up (along with a pair of live recordings) and it was announced late in 2008 that they had decided to go their separate ways. They will play a final show on Jan 24th at the House of Blues in Dallas. In honor of this great band I’m sharing this epic track with you all.

    “Jet City Woman” – Queensrÿche (from Empire)

    I’ve got a real soft spot in my musical heart for Queensrÿche, specifically this time period between Operation:Mindcrime and Empire.

    Okay, I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours!

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: January 09, 2009

    Why don't you come up sometime and see Shuffle?

    If you’ve been working for the weekend, well you are in luck because it’s just about that time. That’s right, it’s Friday and it’s time to kick back hit the shuffle button and let the music take us where it will. Today we’re firing up the iPod to battle the post-lunch dip!

    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:

    “Sister Christian” – Night Ranger (from Midnight Madness)

    Yeah! Now this… this is the way to kick off a shuffle. In the world of truly kick-ass power ballads this definitely is ‘all-time’ material. Who would ever think that a tune written by a big brother watching his little sister grow up would cement’s the bands place in history.

    “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad” – Prince (from Prince)

    Here’s the thing, Purple Rain is classic, Parade is sublime and there are few that would argue that Sign “” the Times is anything but a masterpiece. But for me Prince‘s 1979 self-titled album is the record that I turn to time and again for my purple fix. From “I Wanna be Your Lover” to “Bambi” this is, for me, the best quick fix.

    Your Boyfriend Sucks” (mp3) – The Ataris (from Blue Skies, Broken Hearts… Next 12 Miles)

    This power pop gem pulls absolutely no punches. Hell, the first line about sums it up… “You’re better off without him, don’t call him… He’s breaking your heart.”  From the band’s 1999 release, this tune along with “I Won’t Spend Another Night Alone” won me over as a fan back then and I still look forward to hearing their brand of pop-punk brashness.

    “Crush” – Dave Matthews Band (from Before These Crowded Streets)

    Writing the perfect love song is a task where many a man falls short; Dave Matthews is not one of them.

    The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove” (mp3) – Dead Can Dance (from Into the Labyrinth)

    In the early 90’s my desire for new and ‘different’ music was insatiable and one of my favorite ‘finds’ was the dark baroque (and often Celtic) music of Dead Can Dance. Recorded at Quivvy Church (in County Cavan, Ireland) Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry blend world and ethereal music to a profound effect. This track features Perry‘s deep baritone singing of, as Perry put it, “the abstract relationship of myself and woman “.

    Okay, I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours!

  • 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!

  • Best of Lists

    Michael’s Year in (Ick)Music: 2007:

    Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Write a Year-End Best of Column

    I’ll be honest, the thought of figuring out a ‘Top 10’ for the year is far more daunting a task than I had imagined. So much so that I found it difficult to pare down the list to ten. Why is it always the top 10, anyway? In the spirit of non-conformity and as a big nudge to ‘the man’ here’s my ‘Year in (Ick)Music’

    Before we get started, I’d like to note that both Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen are not on my 2007 list as I obtained copies of the UK release of both Back to Black and Alright, Still in 2006. While they certainly got tons of play in 2007 they remain last year’s news to my ears.

    Now that I’ve got that out of the way, here’s…

    Michael’s Year in (Ick)Music: 2007

    Songs of the Year:

    1. “F.U.N.K.”, by Prince – What “Chelsea Rodgers” should have been this is the funkiest track that His Royal Badness has graced us with in years. Hell, I don’t even care about the circumstances that it was released under. Here’s hoping that it’s not just another tease.

    2. “No One Is Gonna Love you”, by Band of Horses – There is something so decidedly simple and beautiful about this tune. Ben Bridwell delivers the lyrics with such heartbreaking, self effacing honesty that you almost feel wrong for listening to his tortured soul.

    3. “Just Fine”, by Mary J. Blige – This one snuck in at the close of the year. I’ll tell you that the first time I heard this I listened to it at least three times. Something about the lyrics really just grabbed me. This is a different Mary than we’ve seen in years and it’s a great to hear her belting out an upbeat track.

    So I like what I see when I’m looking at me
    When I’m walking past the mirror
    Don’t stress through the night, at a time in my life
    Ain’t worried about if you feel it
    Got my head on straight, I got my vibe right
    I aint gonna let you kill it
    You see I wouldn’t change my life, my life’s just Fine…

    4. “Good Life”, by Kanye West featuring T-Pain – Not many artists can get away with releasing three singles within a few weeks of each other and have them all blow up the way the first three tracks from Kanye’s Graduation did. And while I cringe at almost everything that has the tag “featuring T-Pain” this was the exception. It’s hip-pop at it’s best. And I’d be remiss if I did not give you guys the video. These are the type of videos that make me actually miss when MTV showed videos.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmX9ci9Fczw 450 400]

    Cover Songs of the Year:

    1. “Don’t Stop Believing”, by Petra Haden – This is an easy one. Take a beloved song that’s inclusion in the closing scene of “The Soprano’s” put it back in the hearts and minds of just about everyone and add the ethereal voice of Petra Haden and you’ve got a masterpiece.

    As a bonus, this video is too good to not share

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kXbHf1SwGk 450 400]

    2. “Valerie”, by Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse – Nearly every track on Ronson’s solo debut is a smash, but this track stands head and shoulders above the rest.

    3. “Hard Sun”, by Eddie Vedder – Though it stands on this list as the cover that almost no one knows is a cover, this track shows the power of Eddie’s voice.

    Albums of the Year:

    1. Cease to Begin, by Band of Horses

    2. In Rainbows, by Radiohead

    3. 100 Days, 100 Nights, by Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings

    4. Planet Earth, by Prince

    5. Magic, by Bruce Springsteen

    Honorary Mention: Finding Forever, by Common; Graduation, by Kanye West; Chase This Light, by Jimmy Eat World; Kala, by M.I.A.; Version, by Mark Ronson; Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, by The Foo Fighters; Sky Blue Sky, by Wilco.

    Underground Hip-Hop Double Blast of the Year:

    Ahead of the Curve, by Lateef & Z-Trip

    From the Corner to the Block, by Galactic

    Pete and I both fell upon the Lateef & Z-Trip release around the same time and he beat me to the punch featuring them here. Between that and the stellar release of the jam-band favorites Galactic (featuring many of the underground hip-hop communities finest) my faith in Hip-Hop was well and alive.

    Best Live Show of the Year:

    Dave Matthews Band at New England Dodge Music Center, August 4th. – The wife and I make a yearly pilgrimage to see Dave and the boys and I’m not sure if it was the great seats or the overall vibe of the show but it was the best since MSG in Dec of 2002 (when the Godfather of Soul, James Brown joined the band for a 15 minute jam on “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine”).

    Best New (to me) Artists

    Alice Smith – I foresee her blowing up in 2008. With her soulful yet rocking tunes she’s sure to win over fans.

    Amel Larrieux – I had loved Groove Theory and a last.fm friend pointed me towards he solo releases and I’ve since become a full on advocate.

    The Brothers Johnson – One of two (realated) ‘digging in the crates’ finds for 2007, this act lays down some of the funkiest grooves ever committed to tape.

    Saul Williams – I had heard his name before but never had the opportunity to listen and with the free release of “The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!” I’ve become an instant fan. I’d highly suggest everyone taking the chance to listen as it’s still a free download.

    Shuggie Otis – As Pete said in a previous post, this is like “Prince 1.0”. Shuggie not only displays great musicianship and songwriting but he is one of the more underrated guitarists of the last few decades.

    In Conclusion

    As Pete said in conclusion of his year in review, I can’t wait to hear what 2008 has in store and look forward to sharing it with you.

    Happy New Year!