• Friday Five

    The Friday Five: June 18, 2010

    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:

    “She” by Kiss (from Double Platinum, 1978)

    I’ll admit to having a Beavis moment when this shuffled up first. No one does big dumb rock n’ roll better than Kiss. Well, early ‘70s Kiss, at any rate; I’m still not sure that I’d be willing to give it to them for anything past Dynasty. My Mother love telling the story of how, as a little kid, I would run screaming from my older cousin’s room, afraid of his black light Kiss posters. Thanks, Mom!

    “Nothin’ at All” by Heart (from Heart, 1985)

    It may be formulated arena rock, but I can’t help but love ‘80s Heart. I swear, to this day I will stop and turn up any of these singles when the come on the radio.

    “La Isla Bonita” by Madonna (from The Immaculate Collection, 1990)

    Someone needs to mash up Madge, Gaga and Ace of Base, because I’d probably pay to hear a masterful mix of “La Isla Bonita,” “Don’t Turn Around” and “Alejandro.” Fuck, as I’m listening to this song I’m singing “Don’t call my name, don’t call my name, Alejandro” in my head and it’s awesome.

    “I’m the Magnificent” by Special Ed (from Youngest in Charge, 1989)

    This is one of those party bomb records. Back in my DJ days, I always had a stash of record that would guarantee to get everyone on the floor and shaking their asses, and this was at the top of the heap, right next to “It Takes 2.” Hell, this came on in the headphone and I started wiggling in my seat.

    “And We Danced” by The Hooters (from Nervous Night, 1985)

    The iPod must know that I’m going to see Acoustic ‘80s tonight! Which reminds me, if you are in NYC, come on down to Wicked Willy’s – 149 Bleeker St (Laguardia Street) – and there is a good chance that you’ll find a slew of your favorite writers all rocking out to the acoustic styling’s of Jason Hare and Michael Burke. Now, I’ve just got to convince them to play this song!

    What’s on your shuffle today?

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: April 9, 2010

    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:

    “One More Try” by George Michael (from Faith, 1987)

    Oh, the overwrought teenaged melodrama that accompanies this tune in my memory bank. I could fill pages, upon pages, of the tales of the end of the world, listening to Chicago, Richard Marx, and so much more wuss-rock. It’s a wonder I didn’t get my ass kicked every day. (It was every-other day.)

    “Runaway” by Bon Jovi (from 7800º Fahrenheit, 1985)

    I never really gave a shit about Jon-Bon until Slippery When Wet, but I was fully aware of the band during the pre-slippery era thanks to the VCR tapes my aunt would send with 8 hours of MTV content.

    “Feels Good” by Tony! Toni! Toné! (from The Revival, 1990)

    This song was inescapable during the summer of 1990. In retrospect, I don’t think that I liked it then quite as much as I do now. To be fair, in 1990 I was likely still heavily under the influence of the crew of metal-heads that I associated with. I was forced – peer pressure is a bitch – to keep my guilty pleasures under wraps, stashing my Prince and MJ records in lieu of the latest Megadeth and Metallica.

    “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga (from The Fame Monster, 2009)

    While on some level I agree with M.I.A.’s recent assertion that Gaga is “the industry’s last stab at making itself important,” I can’t help but secretly enjoy the hell out of her over-the-top shtick.

    “The Dragon” by The Guggenheim Grotto (from Happy the Man, 2009)

    I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Ireland’s Guggenheim Grotto twice in the last month. With any luck, I’ll be seeing them again this weekend. If it seems a bit obsessive: I’ll fully admit it is, and with good reason. The duo’s songs are poetic and intimate, and tug at the heartstrings like few others can. If you are in the NYC area, I highly recommend making it to at least one of their upcoming shows. They are setting up residency at The Bowery Electric each Wednesday in June, and there is a good chance that you’ll run into me – and maybe Jason Hare – at any one of these shows.

    What’s on your shuffle today?

    Side Note: What do you guys think of the lala.com embedded tracks?