Posts tagged U2
The Friday Five: December 18, 2009
Dec 18th
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:
Ani DiFranco – “Hell Yeah” (from Out of Range, 1994)
It’s been a while since an artist has appeared two weeks in a row. I lost touch with Ani somewhere after Revelling/Reckoning, but never lost love for her frank and beautiful songs. Out of Range was a record that came along at a turning point in my life, providing solace within its reflective songs.
Richard Hell & The Voidoids – “Love Comes In Spurts” (mp3) (from Blank Generation, 1977)
My memory of this song is tied entirely to the 1990 film “Pump Up the Volume”. I remember spending weekends at my friend’s house and watching marathons of it over and over.
Ugly Kid Joe – “Cats in the Cradle” (mp3) (from America’s Least Wanted, 1992)
I’ll admit to having this album primarily for the track “Everything About You”. When Tesla took their take on the Five Man Electrical Band track “Signs” all the way to number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it became customary for the pop metal acts of the day to include a slightly obscure folk song in lieu of a power ballad. Ugly Kid Joe topped Tesla by taking the Harry Chapin classic all the way to number six.
Radiohead – “Karma Police” (from OK Computer, 1997)
This record took nearly 10 years to connect with me. When released in 1997, I was far too preoccupied with the Third Wave Ska and Indie Rock bands of the day to be bothered with Radiohead. I came back to the record after hearing the brilliant Kid A and now consider it to be one of my favorite records of all time.
U2 – “Get on Your Boots” (from No Line on the Horizon, 2009)
Every time I hear this track I can’t help but think it’s just a sub-par version of The Escape Club track “Wild, Wild West”. This release was disappointing to me, more for its lack of the caliber of songwriting that I’ve come to expect than anything else.
I showed you mine, what is on your five?
A Nudge in the Right Direction
Mar 4th
Editor’s Note: It’s been a busy ‘music news’ day, here is what has my attention…
U2 is following this weeks “No Horizon on the Line” with what Bono describes as a “sister release” titled “Songs of Ascent” later this year. Here’s hoping it’s the pretty sister. [stereogum]
Phish kicks off their reunion tour on Friday and is giving away free high quality downloads of the first three shows. [livephish.com]
Wayne Coyme of The Flaming Lips is not a fan of Arcade Fire. [Rolling Stone]
From the ‘no duh’ file, Daft Punk will be providing the soundtrack to Tron 2.0. [The Yellow Stereo]
Looks like Prince is recycling a few old tracks for his upcoming “LotusFlow3r”, peep the full track list at Prince.org (as it’s already been pulled from Amazon by the Purple Police) [Prince.org]
Finally, our friends at Popdose open the crates and pull out the brilliant remixes of Peter Gabriel’s “Steam” for White Label Wednesday. [Popdose]
Bonus! I happened to have the underrated “Quiet Steam” version in my collection (which was available on the “Digging in the Dirt” single), now you can add it to your collection…
“Quiet Steam” (mp3) by Peter Gabriel
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Ickmusic’s Friday Five: December 12, 2008
Dec 12th
Welcome to week two of our “Holiday Edition” of the Friday Five!
As we wind down to the New Year the last four editions of the Friday Five will be shuffled from my vast collection of Holiday music. I encourage everyone to play along and spin up some holiday cheer. With the holiday season being short and the duress of the current economic climate being ever present we could all use a little lift in spirits.
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. Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime (from The Best Christmas Album in the World… Ever!)
I can’t really say why I like this tune so very much, but it is among my favorite contemporary holiday songs.
2. U2 – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (from A Very Special Christmas)
Does anyone else remember the video for this one?
This is a traditional Irish Christmas song? Um, last I checked Phil Spector was from the Bronx and Darlene Love from California. And seriously, could The Edge look any more annoyed? Regardless this stands as Top 5 list material… I truly love this song.
3. Bobby Helms – Jingle Bell Rock (mp3) (from Rockin’ Little Christmas)
Nothing beats the original.
4. Run-D.M.C. – Christmas in Hollis (from A Very Special Christmas)
“It’s Christmastime in Hollis Queens, Moms cooking chicken and collard greens, rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese, and Santa puts gifts under Christmas trees…”
An ’80s classic! To this day I can rock this a cappella on demand.
5. Meco – R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas (mp3) (from Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album)
I’ve made no attempt to cover my geekdom here; yes this is a Star Wars Christmas record. Yes I’ve owned not one, but multiple copies of this record over the years and it is as much a part of my holiday tradition as trimming the tree. And since I’m sharing, yes I have not one, but two Millennium Falcon ornaments along with an R2-D2. And in the spirit of giving I’m sharing this holiday classic with all of you. And yes, the lead vocal is a young John Bongiovi, Jr. Enjoy!
What’s helping you count down the days until Santa pulls his sleigh?
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