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:

“Comin’ Home” by City and Colour (from Sometimes, 2005)

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the songs that find you at the just the right moment in your life; this is another one of those songs. In the mid-aught’s my job had me shuttling back and forth to Toronto, Ontario on a monthly basis. On one hand, I got to know my host city in intimate detail, finding favorite restaurants, pubs — P.J. O’Brien, just in case you are curious — and hidden corners of Canada’s largest city. I was lucky enough to have my wife join me on more than one trip, but more often than not, I was alone and far from home. Around the same time, I discovered singer/songwriter Dallas Green’s City and Colour. I vividly recall listening to the album on one of many flights home and this song coming on, sealing it forever in that time and place.

Well I’ve been down to Georgia
I’ve seen the streets in the West
I’ve driven down the 90, hell I’ve seen America’s best
I’ve been through the Rockies, well I’ve seen Saskatoon
I’ve driven down the highway 1 just hopin’ that I’d see you soon

Cause I’m comin’ home, I’m comin’ home

“We Can Work It Out” by The Beatles (from Mono Masters, 2009)

If you had asked 13-year old me what my favorite Beatles tune was I surely would have responded with “We Can Work It Out.” These days I find myself gravitating to other, deep catalog tracks to find my favorite, but always come back to this as a great example of the Lennon/McCartney songwriting style. Listening to it now does reaffirm it as one of my Top 10 Beatles songs.

“Misunderstanding” by Genesis (from Turn It On Again: The Hits, 1999)

Somehow I had never put this together, but if you listen to “Misunderstanding” and follow it up with Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain” — which you call may recall is my favorite Zeppelin tune — you’ll notice certain similarities. Not just in its rhythmic swing feel, but lyrically it covers the same ground. Originally written by Phil Collins for his solo debut, Face Value, the track was a real departure from the rest of Duke. It is also one of my favorite Genesis tunes, which is probably somehow related to the whole “Fool in the Rain” thing, odd how that happens.

“Fragile Tension” by Depeche Mode (from Sounds of the Universe, 2009)

Why this is still on my iPod, I am not sure. As much as I dig Depeche Mode, this album was just awful.

“Misery Business” by Paramore (from RIOT!, 2007)

The little subtle things in this song are what make it so damned awesome. Sure, it is an arena-ready rock anthem, on par with some of the greats. The little things, like the half-time drums that build the tension in the second half of the chorus show attention to detail that is rare in a band so young.

What’s on your shuffle today?