• Friday Five

    The Friday Five: June 17, 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:

    “Last Chance” by Maroon 5 (from Hands All Over, 2010)

    I was severely underwhelmed by this record. Given its pedigree, you would expect more, but I found myself pondering that age-old question: “where’s the beef?”

    “Severed Hand” by Pearl Jam (from Pearl Jam, 2006)

    I listened to this record earlier this week and was reminded just how much I dig it.

    “Welcome to the Club” by The Brothers Johnson (from Blast!, 1982)

    Get down with the git down!

    “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit” by Wu-Tang Clan (from Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, 1993)

    Form like Voltron!

    “The Marrying Kind” by Prince (from Musicology, 2004)

    This one is incomplete with out it’s funkier sister “If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life.” As a matter of face, I’m switching off the shuffle now.

    What’s on your shuffle today?

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: April 23, 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:

    “Nothin’ On You (feat. Bruno Mars)” by B.o.B. (from The Adventures of Bobby Ray, 2010)

    I remember first hearing B.o.B. — aka Bobby Ray – back in 2008 with his track “I’ll Be in the Sky,” and just as abruptly as he appeared, he was gone. A deft amalgam of Andre 3000 and Kanye with the sensibility and flow of Q-Tip, Bobby Ray manages to sound fresh, despite bringing some classic hip-hop clichés to bear. All that shit aside, this track made me giddy like a 12-year-old girl the first time I heard it. Evoking the classic summer single, there just in time to shake off the cold and ready to bump at maximum volume with the car windows down, this cut definitely deserves all the spins it’s getting. It may be “what the kids are listening to,” but in this case, I’m down.

    “Hole Hearted” by Extreme (from Extreme II: Pornograffitti, 1990)

    Take a open major D chord and shuffle it up the fretboard of a well mic’ed 12-string guitar and you’ve got yourself the recipe for the classic coda to Extreme’s magnum opus Extreme II: Pornograffitti. Seriously, could it get any more extreme? Is it cheesy as hell? Of course it is, let’s look at the lyrics: “If I’m not blind why can’t I see / that a circle can’t fit / where a square should be.” Pass the Gouda, please.

    “Head Crusher” by Megadeth (from Endgame, 2009)

    If given the choice between listening to a new Megadeth record and a new Metallica record, I will always choose the Megadeth, because no matter who is playing behind Dave Mustaine, you know exactly what it is going to sound like. Hell, at this point, the worst song on a new Megadeth record is still better than the best that James, Lars and company have to offer.

    “Ice Cream (feat. Ghostface Killah, Method Man & Cappadonna)” by Raekwon (from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, 1995)

    Speaking of songs that scream “summer,” this track was the jam back in the day, when I had a stereo system in the car that was worthy of turning up. While it might just be me, does anyone else feel like the Wu-Tang fell off after this? Take Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Method Man’s Tical, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s The Return To The 36 Chambers – The Dirty Version, Genius/GZA’s Liquid SwordsOnly Built 4 Cuban Linx…, and maybe Ghostface Killah’s Ironman – and that’s a big maybe – and you’ve got the makings of a legacy by which almost anything short of “classic” is really lesser. Sure, there have been shining moments after, but nothing that feels as raw and real as the freshmen releases.

    “You Are the Woman” by Firefall (from Greatest Hits, 1992)

    I’m not going to lie; I love this song. I love its stupid flute solo. I love just about every stupid thing about it.

    What’s on your shuffle today?