• Friday Five

    The Friday Five: September 2, 2011

    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:

    “AC/DC Bag” by Phish (from 2004-06-18: KeySpan Park, Brooklyn, NY, USA, 2004)

    Nothing like easing back into the Friday Five with a jammy bit o’ goodness from Vermont’s finest. After six days without power, I probably resemble a touring phan more than I’d care to admit.

    “Crank Me Up” by BulletBoys (from BulletBoys, 1988)

    Well it isn’t “Smooth Up in Ya,” or “For the Love of Money,” so … next!

    “Now” by Prince (from The Gold Experience, 1995)

    “Don’t worry about my name, it’s 2 long 2 remember. I could tell U now, but we’d be here ’till next September” For as clunky, and dated, as some of the material on The Gold Experience is, it still kicks a good bit of ass.

    “Beck’s Bolero” by The Jeff Beck Group (from The Rolling Stone Collection: 1967-1969, 1993)

    Duh-da-da-da-duh-da-da-da-duh-da-da-da-duh-duh-duh

    “Snakes in Schubas” by Jason Mraz (from Selections for Friends, 2007)

    So before I close this out, I want to thank Jeff Giles for picking up my slack last week. I also want to give a plug, and plea, for everyone to check out After the Flood: A Compilation to Benefit Upstate New York Victims of Hurricane Irene. It’s a few bucks for a good cause, and in return you’ll get a great collection of tunes from some of New York’s finest singer/songwriters.

    What’s on your shuffle today?

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: February 18, 2011

    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:

    “Make It Mine” by Jason Mraz (from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things., 2008)

    It feels like it has been forever since I last listened to this record. (According to iTunes, the last time was September; not quite forever.) Taken in small doses, it is impossible to be in a  bad mood after listening to Mraz.

    “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele (from 21, 2011)

    I haven’t had a chance to dig into this album properly, yet. What I’ve heard, though gives me hope that Miss Adkins has taken her craft to the next level. With a bit of delta blues spirit, and just a touch of gospel, “Rolling in the Deep” is a slow burn that builds to a full-blown blaze at its close.

    “The Game Gets Old” by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (from I Learned the Hard Way, 2010)

    One of my favorite live acts, Jones is nothing short of a powerhouse. Popdose’s new music editor, Ken Shane, had a recent opportunity to catch the stellar soul singer in Rhode Island, which he came away from equally blown away. If you have any opportunity to catch the Jones, do not hesitate. I guarantee you’ll have a great time.

    “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” by  Michael Jackson (from Thriller, 1982)

    The King is dead. Long live the King.

    “Boogie Chillen” by Buddy Guy & Junior Wells (from Alone & Acoustic, 1991)

    This record, mmm-hmm. Hell, I’m not even sure I can put it into words. Two master bluesmen, hold up in a studio somewhere in Europe with just an acoustic guitar, absolutely throwing down.

    What’s on your shuffle today?

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: August 7, 2009

    https://ickmusic.com/pics/FridayFive01.png

    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:

    Jason Mraz – “Life Is Wonderful” (from Selections for Friends, 2006)

    Originally from his largely (and criminally) ignored Mr. A-Z, “Life Is Wonderful” is a beautiful bit of alliteration.

    Wilco – “It’s Just That Simple” (from A.M., 1995)

    A fine country ballad from the bands debut.

    Chet Atkins – “Steeplechase Lane” (mp3) (from Chet Atkins: Guitar Legend: The RCA Years, 2000)

    Originally from the long out of print Chet Atkins Picks on Jerry Reed.

    Estelle – “No Substitute Love” (mp3) (from Shine, 2008)

    Complete with a tongue in cheek quote from George Michael‘s “Faith” this is pure pop bliss.

    Bryan Adams – “Heaven” (from So Far So Good, 1993)

    It’s not “All I Need” but it will have to do.

    What’s up next on your shuffle?

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: July 10, 2009

    Splash Shuffle All Over. Generate another slogan!

    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:

    Foo Fighters – “My Hero” (from The Colour and the Shape, 1997)

    One of, if not my absolute favorite Foo Fighters track.

    Warrant – “Heaven” (mp3) (from The Best of Warrant, 1996)

    We all have our musical skeletons, mine just happen to have lots of hair… 20 years (!!!) later I still love this tune.

    Jason Mraz – “Butterfly” (from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things., 2008)

    Don’t let his sensitive singer-songwriter facade fool you, Mr. A-Z can write some downright dirty tunes. Our example today: a romantic ode to a lapdance…

    Wilco – “I’ll Fight” (from Wilco (The Album), 2009)

    I just got around to listening to this record yesterday and am looking forward to listening to it again.

    Lazlo Bane – “Overkill” (mp3) (from 11 Transistor, 1997)

    I vividly recall the first time I heard this… catching the video (when MTV still cared enough about the ‘M’ to do so) and being glued to the television. Opening on the familiar chord progression followed by Colin Hay in a bellboy outfit and giving to what, to this day, is one of my favorite covers ever. Mr. Hay even comes in after the bridge to lend his signature vocal to the final verse. Brilliant finish to today’s five!

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

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: January 02, 2009

    I feel the need - the need for shuffle!

    Happy New Year!

    Welcome to the first Friday Five of 2009.  We’re kicking the New Year off with a look back as I hit shuffle on my Top 100 of 2008. As you can guess I have a bevy of playlists that I maintain to keep a good balance of new/unheard music and my personal favorites. This particular playlist was created to help me write up the Year in (Ick)Music 2008 column and I liked it so much that I put it on countdown style (counting down from 100 to number 1) on New Years Eve.

    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!

    But hey, enough of my yakkin’…  Whaddaya say, let’s boogie!

    The Five:

    “Staying In Love” – Raphael Saadiq (from The Way I See It)

    A rave up to kick off the first shuffle of the year, this song is a great start to any playlist!

    “Say You Will” – Kanye West (from 808s & Heartbreak)

    As far as track one, side one cuts go this one definitely is up there. Setting the mood of Kanye’s heartbreak perfectly this track is an introduction to the state of his (apparently) fragile psyche.

    “Details in the Fabric (feat. James Morrison)” – Jason Mraz (from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.)

    This one has made a previous appearance on The Five. From September 26, 2008… This tune opens to an answering machine message from Mraz cohort Bushwalla clearly dealing with a bad day. The song itself has a lilting yet uplifting message “Everything will be fine, everything in no time at all, Hearts will hold”. The song closes with a second message where he strikes the single oddest metaphor I’ve ever heard “I feel like you’re an island of reality in an ocean of diarrhea. And I love you buddy. Ok. Bye.”

    “Another Day” – Jamie Lidell (from Jim)

    True blue-eyed soul from the UK. This one made my Top 10 and I have a feeling it will continue to spin up whenever I need a little lift. Jamie stopped by KEXP (Seattle) back in May ’08 and turned in this brilliant stripped down performance…

    “I Wanna Know” – Alan Wilkis (from Babies Dream Big)

    You know that scene in Pretty In Pink where Jon Crier does his best Otis Redding impersonation? That’s what I always think of when I hear this track, Alan is a rather unassuming white guy who is able to capture so damned much soul that it should be illegal. If you still have not picked this record up, you are missing out.

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

  • Best of Lists

    The Year in (Ick)Music – Michael’s List

    Like Pete I spend a good bit of time finding ‘new’ artists that are not exactly new so parsing out the records that are truly from this year takes a bit of doing. But using iTunes and last.fm I was able to do pull the data together that is the basis for my year end list. It’s not entirely scientific, but this list is truly representative of my favorites of 2008.

    But hey, enough of my yakkin’.  Whaddaya say, let’s boogie! – Michael

    Albums of the Year:

    https://ickmusic.com/pics/jmraz-wesing.jpg

    1. Jason MrazWe Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.

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    2. Kings of LeonOnly by the Night

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    3. Ra Ra RiotThe Rhumb Line

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    4. TV on the RadioDear Science

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    5. Girl TalkFeed the Animals

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    6. Ayla BrookAfter the Morning After

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    7. EstelleShine

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    8. Vampire WeekendVampire Weekend

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    9. Kanye West808s & Heartbreak

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    10. Black KidsPartie Traumatic

    The Rest…

    Kensington Prairie – Captured in Still Life
    Incognito – Tales from the Beach
    The Great Outdoors – Spring, Summer, Fall
    Counting Crows – Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings
    Coldplay – Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
    Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis – Two Men with the Blues
    Q-Tip – The Renaissance
    Raphael Saadiq – The Way I See It
    Nine Inch Nails – The Slip / Ghosts I-IV
    Paul Gilbert – Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar

    Songs of the Year:

    1. Kings of Leon – “Sex on Fire” (from Only by the Night) :: This track is, in a word, undeniable. The Followill clan have grown into the sound that the areas they play demand. Just one listen will implant the tune deep in your subconscious and have you wanting to hear it again.

    2. The Roots – “Rising Up (feat. Wale & Chrisette Michele)” (from Rising Down) :: It’s rare that I’ll actually use the repeat function but this track has spent many a spin back to back. The D.C. Go-Go backbeat combined with Chrisette Michele‘s heavenly vocal hook serve as a dynamic bed for Black Thought and Wale to drop a vicious set of verses. Black Thought professes “The best is that which I accept and nothing less” and provides nothing short.

    3. Jason Mraz – “A Beautiful Mess” (from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.) :: Jason Mraz has built his career around mind bending metaphors served over a bed of light, airy and sun kissed acoustic pop. For the closer to his We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. he offered up a humble assessment of a relationship that I think everyone can relate to in some form or another.

    4. Hot Chip – “Wrestlers” (from Made in the Dark) :: Attentive readers will know this one made my Valentines Day Card to my wife this year. The sentiment of “It’s me versus you in love” plays out over a sparse and simple (for Hot Chip, anyway) arrangement.

    5. Adele – “Chasing Pavements” (from 19) :: An unrequited love song for the ages, Adele delivers with a soul much older than her nineteen years on this earth.

    6. Ra Ra Riot – “Too Too Fast” (from The Rhumb Line) :: I’m still a bit puzzled as to why more folks are not all over the indie pop of Ra Ra Riot. This track is as good (albeit not as twee) as anything on Vampire Weekend‘s record.

    7. Black Kids – “Hurricane Jane” (from Partie Traumatic) :: Internet taste-makers be damned, this is one of the best Prince tunes of the last 10 years.

    8. Jamie Lidell – “Another Day” (from Jim) :: A few bars short of a straight up gospel barn burner, this bit of blue eyed soul raises the roof to one of the more underrated records of 2008.

    9. Ayla Brook – “Leave Anymore” (from After the Morning After) :: A stark and lovely recording, the kind where you can hear the creaking of the floor and rattle of the snare is exactly why this record made my Top 10.

    10. Alan Wilkis – “It’s Been Great” (from Babies Dream Big) :: Hi-Fi for the Lo-Fi set, “It’s Been Great” is a testament to the talent that is Alan Wilkis. Sure, you may not have heard of him yet but I’m certain that you will be hearing plenty from him in the future.

    The Rest…

    Estelle – “American Boy (feat. Kanye West)”
    Kensington Prairie – “Photographs”
    Katy Perry – “I Kissed a Girl”
    Raphael Saadiq – “Staying In Love”
    Duffy – “Serious”
    R.E.M. – “Supernatural Superserious”
    Panic at the Disco – “Nine in the Afternoon”
    TV on the Radio – “Halfway Home”
    Q-Tip – “Dance on Glass”
    Coldplay – “Viva la Vida”
    Kanye West – “Heartless”
    Santogold – “Shove It”

    Cover Songs of the Year:

    Prince – “Creep” (from Purple Storm in the Coachella Valley) :: There was no lack of oddity to Prince‘s turn as headliner at this year’s Coachella Festival. Be it the fact that he could not seem to pronounce the namesake properly to the disjointed but funky as hell set list it was by all accounts an amazing experience capped off by his brilliant take on Radiohead‘s “Creep”.

    Susanna and the Magical Orchestra – “Condition of the Heart” (from Controversy: A Tribute to Prince)
    Soweto Gospel Choir – “Pride (In the Name of Love)” (from In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2)
    Doveman – “Almost Paradise” (from Footloose)

    Disappointment of the Year:

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    You know it’d be easy to call out The Chinese Democracy as the Disappointment of the Year, but I can’t say that I’ve even heard all of it. I have, however, heard the live record that Prince included with his 21 Nights coffee table book and can say that I would have expected much more from a run of 21 nights (plus all those aftershows), than the mere morsel provided by the man himself.

    Best Live Show of the Year:

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    Photo Courtesy of B.Rosen

    Dave Matthews Band at Hartford, CT June 14, 2008 :: When word came that keyboardist Butch Taylor would not be joining Dave Matthews Band for their 2008 summer tour I wasn’t sure what to think. While not an original member of the band he had been a fixture since 2001 and had put his fingerprint on the band’s live sound over the last few years. With stunt guitarist extrordinaire Tim Reynolds in his space I was moved by the reinvigorated band that I saw. Alive with an energy that I had not seen in years. It is bittersweet for me that this would be the last time I would get to see Leroi Moore perform. On more than one occasion I recall turning to my wife and saying “I can actually hear Roi’ again” during the show.

    Best New (to me) Artist:

    Incognito :: I was on a huge Acid Jazz trip late in the summer and it was discovering Incognito that kicked it off. Under the uncompromising leadership of Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick the band has consistently produced some of the best Jazz Club fusion over the last 29 years.

    Chrisette Michele :: Had her record I Am been released in 2008 it would have been at the top of my list. I was introduced to Miss Michele via her spot on The Roots track “Rising Up”. Her voice shined so bright that I felt compelled to track back to pick up her record.

  • Acoustic

    A Truly Beautiful Mess

    From the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway. This is quite possibly one of my favorite songs of 2008 let alone Jason Mraz‘s catalog. The power of the vocal performance combined with the orchestra provided for the perfect combination.

    Buy We Sing, We Dance. We Steal Things Expanded Edition (2 CD/DVD): Amazon | iTunes

    Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace

  • Live

    Review: Jason Mraz at Radio City Music Hall

    Mamma Mia, That'sa Spicy Mraz!

    Despite listening to him since his days at Java Joes, Friday night was my first experience seeing Jason Mraz live. I was not alone in my first experience as it was Mr. A-Z’s first show at the legendary Radio City Music Hall, a that fact did not seem lost on him as he pulled out all the stops for what was one of the most entertaining and memorable shows I’ve attended in the last few years.

    The evening started with Irish chanteuse Lisa Hannigan. I was really only familiar with her in the context of her work with Damien Rice and really enjoyed her solo set. With a 4 piece band of multi-instrumentalists to back her up, she performed a selection from her debut Sea Sew. “An Ocean and a Rock” was simply beautiful and captivating. “Lille” was delicate and lovely, which seems to be the essence of Miss Hannigan. I will definitely be picking up the record based on this performance.

    After a brief intermission it was time for Mraz. The night started with the full 7 piece band taking the stage for “Make it Mine” the lead track from his latest release We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Wasting no time, the band segued directly into a fresh (and lively) take on Mraz’s first hit “The Remedy”. This was the first of many times that the crowd would fill the hallowed hall with their voices in unison with Jason and he wasted no time in using it to his musical devices and creating a live mash up with the ladies singing the chorus and the boys (what few were in attendance) layering Oasis‘s hit “Wonderwall” over top to great effect.

    The band slowly began to recede during “If It Kills Me” and a quiet “You & I Both” and whittled down to the core trio of Ian Sheridan, Toca Rivera and Mraz for the stark and utterly heartbreaking “A Beautiful Mess”. Sheridan even broke out the stand up bass for the occasion bringing to mind the small club feel and making this one of the moments that Jason managed to make Radio City seem like an intimate club for five minutes. This feel continued with the simple and lovely “Life Is Wonderful”.

    The rest of the band returned as well as four additional microphones as the back drop took on a decidedly religious slant. It was clear that it was time to go to church! “Live High” came to a grand crescendo with the Broadway Inspirational Voices choir joining in to bring the house down. The choir stayed on for an uplifting rendition of “Oh! Happy Day”. I should mention here that over the band, the crowd, and the choir Jason maintained a presence and a quality of voice that was astounding.

    “Dynamo of Volition” brought the crowd to it’s feet for some well choreographed dance moves. It’s interesting to see 5,000 happy fools raising the roof in unison at Radio City. The crowd stayed on its feet for the remainder of the show as Jason kicked into “I’m Yours” to a crowd ready to make a joyful sound. I’ll let the video do the talking on this one.

    After and incredibly short encore break Mraz brought Lisa Hannigan back out to play Colbie Caillat’s part in the duet “Lucky” and from there it was non-stop from the rave up of  “Build Me Up, Buttercup” to the  beautiful finale of  “Song for a Friend” the significance of how grand a night it was long on nobody in the room. This was a perfect cap to the concert season and for my wife and I a beautiful way to celebrate our first year of marriage.

    Pre-Order A Thousand Things: MusicToday

    See the full setlist and the rest of the tour dates after the jump.

  • Friday Five

    Ickmusic’s Friday Five: September 26, 2008

    Shuffle? Where we're going we don't need shuffle.

    When the world seems set to implode on itself we look to different forms of media to distract, entertain and overall escape from the reality of our situations. Whether personal or global, no problem is too big or too small to escape for a bit with the Friday Five!

    Last week the ladies of the Friday Five held court on their own. 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. DJ CamSuccess (MP3) (from The Beat Assassinated)

    I went through a rather obsessive trip-hop phase in the mid to late 90’s, and while I’ve outgrown that phase there are a few artists that stuck with me. DJ Cam is one of the few that were able to blend Hip-Hop, Jazz and down tempo and not make it seem contrite.

    2. Frank Zappa – Jewish Princess (from Sheik Yerbouti)

    Classic Zappa at his satirical height, Music is indeed the best!

    3. Jason Mraz – Details In the Fabric (feat. James Morrison) (from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.)

    This tune opens to an answering machine message from Mraz cohort Bushwalla clearly dealing with a bad day. The song itself is a lilting yet uplifting message “Everything will be fine, everything in no time at all, Hearts will hold”. The song closes with a second message where he strikes the single oddest metaphor I’ve ever heard “I feel like you’re an island of reality in an ocean of diarrhea. And I love you buddy. Ok. Bye.”

    4. Dryden Mitchell – Friday, I’m in Love (from 50 First Dates)

    Dryden Mitchell is the lead singer of alt-rockers Alien Ant Farm. For this track he drops the rock and brings a quirky electro pop tilt to The Cure’s classic ode to our favorite day.

    5. John Lennon – Love (from The John Lennon Collection)

    Love is free, free is Love

    What’s getting you through today?