The Friday Five: February 19, 2010
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:
“Another Day” by Dream Theater (from Images and Words, 1992)
Oh Dream Theater, how your melodrama seems to haunt the Friday Five. You may recall that this tune reared its ugly head back in October, where I speculated on David Fosters’ involvement in the high gloss production of the power ballad. Upon further research, it turns out that it was producer Jay Beckenstein — of the Smooth Jazz/Fusion group Spyro Gyra — that supplied the soprano saxophone solo. This doesn’t change the fact that this tune is a sappy lump of crap on an otherwise quality record.
“The Best of My Love” by The Eagles (from On the Border, 1974)
I unapologetically will proclaim my love for this song, though. Penned by Henley, Frey and J.D. Souther, this holds some magical nostalgia for me as I can recall listening to this, followed by England Dan & John Ford Coley’s “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” and “She’s Gone” by Hall & Oates in the back seat of my mothers Pontiac.
“Stuck With You” by Huey Lewis & The News (from Fore!, 1986)
Come on, how can you resist?
By the by, Huey and the boys recently spent some time in Ardent Studios in Memphis cutting a new record paying tribute to the Stax catalog.
“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” by Black Sabbath (from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, 1973)
I had nearly given up on this week’s shuffle providing some bite; enter my favorite Sabbath tune. I will admit that my introduction to the song came by way of Anthrax’s faithful cover on their I’m the Man EP. I had heard the tune before, both on Ozzy’s Speak of the Devil and a mix-tape a friend had made me with the original Sabbath version, but it was Anthrax’s take that sold me on the song originally. To this day, I’ll reach for this one when I want to bring the RAWK.
“Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” by Elton John (from The Greatest Hits 1970-2002, 2002)
The Saturday nights of my youth were often spent glued to the radio, listening to the “All-request Saturday Night with Dr. John Barron.” This track would make its weekly appearance and signal the start of the more rock-oriented portion of the evening.
What’s on your shuffle today?
The Friday Five: October 23, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week 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 Five:
Nirvana – “Come as You Are” (from Nevermind, 1991)
If I’m being completely honest this is probably the first time I’ve listened to anything from the seminal grunge record in probably the last couple of years.
The Gaslight Anthem – “Casanova, Baby!” (from The ’59 Sound, 2008)
The ’59 Sound is one of those records that gets under your skin and just hangs with you. Since discovering the band I’ve found myself coming back to the record time and again for a blast of tried and true rock n’ roll.
P.M. Dawn – “I’d Die Without You” (mp3) (from The Bliss Album…?, 1993)
Boys and girls, during the summer of ’93 this track was my ‘jam’.
Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds – “Granny” (from Live at Luther College, 1999)
Quite simply this is a perfectly simple and sweet love song.
Dream Theater – “Another Day” (mp3) (from Images and Words, 1992)
As much as I like this song I’ve come to realize that in the context of the rest of the band’s discography that this tune stands out as possibly the worst. With its Kenny G inspired sax breaks (lest we not forget that Mr. Gorelick’s Breathless was one of the biggest records of 1992) and overall adult contemporary leanings – I swear, it would not surprise me at all if David Foster had a hand in its creation – it could easily represent the group’s weakest moments.
What is shuffling up for you this week?