The Friday Five: September 30, 2011
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:
“Sleep With One Eye Open” by Chris Thile & Michael Daves (from Sleep With One Eye Open, 2011)
I kind of hate it when the first time I hear a tune is during the Friday Five. For one, I usually sit and scratch my head about what to write about it. Sure, I could give my visceral reaction, but I hesitate. The other thing is I rarely circle back to the record to listen to the rest of it.
“Seamus” by Pink Floyd (from Meddle, 1971)
Bluesy little ditty from Roger, David, and the boys. My dog started sniffing around the desk, trying to figure out where the dogs she was hearing were.
“Slow and Easy (a.k.a. Lawless Mike)” by The Dave Brubeck Quartet (from Time Further Out, 1961)
Not on the original track list for Time Further Out, this mid-tempo shuffle was included in the 1996 reissue.
“Crucial” by New Edition (from Hits, 2004)
“No my name isn’t Janet… ” oh, wait, wrong song. The Flyte Tyme crew’s signature sound is all over this late ’80s hit.
“Skin Ticket” by Slipknot (from Iowa, 2001)
While I don’t listen to as much metal as I once did, I still dabble here and there. Slipknot is by far the heaviest thing I can stand.
What’s on your shuffle today?
Ickmusic’s Friday Five: October 24, 2008
Is it 5:00 EST already? Who’s ready to shuffle out into the weekend?
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. Counting Crows – St. Robinson in His Cadillac Dream / Kid Things (from This Desert Life)
I’ve always connected with this tune. It’s laid back mid-tempo sing-song feel coupled with the big Hammond organ sound just hit me in the right spot. “Kid Things” is about as close to a ‘happy’ record as Adam Duritz could muster (this in the days before “Accidentally in Love” proved he could write a truly ‘happy’ love song).
2. Ayla Brook – Wake Up Early (mp3) (from After the Morning After)
This track makes you feel like you are sitting in the room with the band. This is one of my favorite records of 2008.
3. John Mayer – St. Patrick’s Day (from Room for Squares)
From his major label debut, this tune along with “City Love” and “Neon” showed the true potential that has come to fruition in his more recent records.
4. New Edition – If It Isn’t Love (from Hits)
My second favorite New Edition song… “Cool It Now” holds the top spot though.
5. Prince – 1999 (from Foefur’s Remaster: 1999)
Since it’s not likely that His Royal Badness is not likely to allow Warner Bros. to re-master and re-release his catalog, nor will he be inclined to do so when he obtains the masters, some brave and intrepid fans decided to take it on themselves. Truth be told, this version ‘sounds’ one hundred times better than the Warner Bros. CD version.
Ready! Set! Shuffle!
Let Me Introduce Myself
She’s from Ohio, she’s nuts about music, and she’s here to give this joint a woman’s touch. Please welcome Kelly – our newest contributor to Ickmusic! – Pete
Hello, Ickmusic readers! I’m thrilled to be contributing to Ickmusic, and I want to thank Pete for asking me to join the team. Some of you may know me as the commenter “Skittles” here on Ickmusic (most of my comments have been on the Friday Five). I am also the owner of the almost-defunct blog, Looking at Them. Because I am in the process of shutting my blog down, Pete’s offer to contribute to Ickmusic couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m excited to be able to still write about the music I love and not constantly have a guilt complex because I’m just too busy to post often.
Before I jump in with my first “real” post, I wanted to give you a little of my musical background, so to speak. I have been obsessed with music since I was a little girl, rifling through my parents’ modest, but excellent, record collection. I grew up on Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Chicago, just to name a few. Some of my fondest memories from childhood involve sitting around the turntable with my dad, listening to his favorite records and hearing him tell me why he loved a certain song so much.
As I got older, my music taste became more diverse. I loved almost all genres of music and always fancied myself a more sophisticated music lover than any of my friends. I remember one trip to the record store when I was 13. The friends I was with bought Color Me Badd and Vanilla Ice. I bought Prince & The New Power Generation’s Diamonds and Pearls. They were just as confused about my purchase as I was about theirs. There were times when I did follow the crowd and listened to what was popular, but when I strayed from the pack, I really strayed from the pack.
High school brought “alternative rock” to my attention and I think that time in my life had the biggest influence on my current taste in music. I started listening to WOXY (“97X…BAM! The future of Rock and Roll) and my discovery of some of the most amazing music I’ve ever heard came from the hours and hours I listened to that station. My collection now is more diverse than ever and I’m discovering new things to love every day.
I must tell you that I do tend to get obsessed with certain artists and won’t stop until I have everything they’ve ever done and every version of my favorite song I can get my hands on. I will see them live as many times as I possibly can (and, if finances and time allow, I have no problems getting on a plane or going on a long road trip in order to see my favorites perform) and I always do my best to meet the artist. So, don’t be surprised to see me post some of my tales of these adventures.
Now that you know a little bit more about me, I’d like to share some random songs I’ve been listening to a lot this summer. I hope you enjoy!
Betty Davis – He Was a Big Freak (from They Say I’m Different)
Edith Piaf – La Vie, L’Amour (from The Voice of the Sparrow: The Best of Edith Piaf)
Zach Galifianakis featuring Fiona Apple – Come on and Get It (Up in ’Dem Guts) (I believe this was all over the Internets a couple of years ago)
New Edition – My Secret (from New Edition)
Dolly Parton – Baby I’m Burning (from Heartbreaker)