Ickmusic’s Friday Five: August 1, 2008
It’s my wife’s birthday in the coming week and as a special wink and nod to her I thought it appropriate to dedicate this week’s entry of “The Theme Days of Summer” to her (cue the “aww’s”). That said here’s the playlist:
Match ANY of the following conditions
NAME contains Happy
NAME contains Birthday
NAME contains Wish
NAME contains Cake
NAME contains Party
NAME contains Celebrate
This pulled up considerably less tracks then I expected and at least half of them were “Partyup” or “Partyman” by Prince.
Last weeks “Question the Answers” playlist is the first that has been promoted to a full-time playlist. From the comments from the Faithful Friends of Five it would seem that you are all enjoying these as well. So much so that I’d like to invite some of you to send me your ideas for future playlists. There are four Fridays left this summer and I’m giving two of the four back to the Fivers! So send your ideas to michael at ickmusic dot com with the subject line “The Theme Days of Summer” and I’ll choose the best two to be featured in a coming Friday Five.
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 some words for each track (and on occasion the song itself).
Then it’s your turn! You can play along with the themed playlist or just share the first five of your shuffle, either way the fun is in playing musical voyeur for the day.
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. Van Halen – Poundcake (from Best Of, Volume 1)
Originally from the cheeky titled For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, this was, to me, the second pinnacle in the bands career. Sure 5150 and OU812 were both excellent in their own right, but it was on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge that the band hit their stride. From the Makita vs. Guitar intro of “Poundcake” to the smash hit “Right Now” to the closer “Top of the World” (the opening lick which, for you astute students of Ed know, is actually the closing tag to “Jump”) the record never let up and delivered. It also was the last good record that the band has put out (save for the single “Humans Being” which kicks all sorts of ass).
2. DJ Shadow – The Number Song (Cut Chemist Party mix) (MP3) (from Midnight in a Perfect World)
DJ Shadow showing up twice in two weeks, what’s the chance? This is a great remix of “The Number Song” by Shadow’s partner in crime Cut Chemist, with a bit of Latin flair to bring that real party vibe. Seeing how it’s out of print, here is your chance to hear it as well.
3. Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry Be Happy (from Billboard Top Hits: 1988)
Here’s an admission of a guilty pleasure, I absolutely dig “So You Think You Can Dance?” and this week the aptly named Twitch performed his solo piece to this track and I’ve got to say he perfectly embodied the joy that this song brings. For the record I’m predicting Joshua to win, though any one of them really could and I’d be satisfied.
4. Prince – Life ‘O’ the Party (from Musicology)
Mama said if you ain’t got nuthin nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I will say that this is the only track on Musicology that I skip. Not as bad as “Jughead”, but damned close.
5. Beastie Boys – (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party) (from Def Jam Music Group Inc.: 10th Year Anniversary)
Now this is a send off into the weekend! From the box set that no one on this earth should be without this is the single that made all of suburbia sit up and take notice (and tremble a bit). The Beasties trademark blend of Hip-Hop and Rock with a three chord punk aesthetic. For the record, I tried to find and embed the video but apparently Universal does not like that. Hrmph!
So that’s the Five for this week, Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife Christine and if you see Pete around be sure to buy him a drink and give him a pound as I believe he’s got a birthday coming up in the next week as well… so now what’s helping you party through the day?
9 Comments
Eighth Deadly Sin
1. The Sugarcubes – Birthday
2. Happy Mondays – 24 Hour Party People
3. The Buzzcocks – Everybody’s Happy Now
4. Nine Inch Nails – Wish
5. Minutemen – Maybe Partying Will Help
Interesting mix, considering that only 39 out of 10496 songs on my iTunes came up that met any of the criteria.
ljhord
1. “If You Wanna Be Happy” by Jimmy Soul.
2. “Birthday” by The Beatles.
3. “Wish I Still Had You” by Alison Krauss.
4. “Farewell Party” by Joe Nichols.
5. “Tonight I Celebrate My Love” by Roberta Flack.
Gavinsdad
1) Birthday – The Beatles from The White Album >>>> I have played this song (loud) for all my kids birthdays for over the last 12 years.
2) Today is Your Birthday – Solomon Burke from The Definition of Soul >>>>> Great song from one of the best.
3) Happy Aniversary – The Bottle Rockets from Zoyzia >>>> I love this band. If you dont have The Brookly Side go get it now !!! Brian Henneman is a true american songwriter.
4) Happy Together – The Turtles from AM Gold. >>>>>> Yes !!!
5) I Wish – Stevie from Songs in the Key of Life >>>>>> What ? Did he really say Nappy Headed Boy ? I just saw him in Dallas and let me say it was a treat. Pretty sure we never even considered sitting down !!!!
Have a good weekend
Skittles
1. “Where’s the Party? (Remix)” by Maddona from You Can Dance. I’ve always thought of this song as sort of a companion to “Holiday.” I think that if she did a melody of the two live, it would be full of win.
2. “Wishing Well” by Terrence Trent D’Arby from Introducing the Hardline by Terrence Trent D’Arby. I used to love this song when it first came out. Then I got sick of it because MTV played it to death. I didn’t even realize I had this in my library.
3. “T.V. Party” by Black Flag from Damaged. Oh, I was hoping this one would come up! My secret boyfriend is Henry Rollins, just so you know.
4. “Happy Birthday” by Altered Images from Happy Birthday. This song appears in one of my favorite John Waters movies, “Sixteen Candles.” It’s playing in the background during the scene when Samantha is filling out the sex quiz. Good stuff.
5. “Party Girl (Turn Me Loose” by Ultra Nate from the soundtrack to Party Girl. Parker Posey is one of my favorite actresses, and this is one of my favorite movies of hers. This song appears at the end of the film.
Happy Birthday to Michael’s wife and Pete!
Skittles
oh, not John Waters. John HUGHES. I have John Waters on the brain because I just saw him perform This Filthy World a few days ago.
Pete
‘Tis true, my birthday is Sunday, August 3rd. I turn – um – 24. One of those statements is true.
1. “Party Chambers” by the Style Council – live in Chippenham, UK, March 10, 1984 – a jazzy soul instrumental from Paul Weller’s great 80’s band.
2. “The Real Morning Party” by Marco Benevento, from Invisible Baby (2008) – like you stepped into a funky Atari video game.
3. “Life o’ the Party” by Prince – live at the Fillmore in San Francisco, 2004.
4. “Private Beach Party” by Gregory Isaacs, from Private Beach Party (1985) – laid back reggae.
5. “Happy” by the Rolling Stones, live in Brussels, Belgium (1972) – killer show, classic boot, happy ending (just as I like it). 😉
whiteray
Happy Birthdays!
Since I can only sort for one term at a time on my RealPlayer (I believe), here’s one for each of the terms:
1. “Happy Minstrel” by Moonkyte from “Count Me Out,” 1971. Odd folk-rock with a lilting chorus, about as obscure as my collection gets.
2. “Fina’s Birthday” by Moonstone from “Moonstone,” 1973. Well, this is pretty obscure, too.
3. “I Wish You Would” by John Hammond from “Solo,” 1973. Acoustic blues, pretty well done by the son of the famous Columbia talent-finder.
4. “Here On Earth (I’ll Have My Cake)” by the Crash Test Dummies from “The Ghosts That Haunt Me,” 1991. Not sure how well known these folks are, but they were one of the highlights of the 90s for me.
5. “The Party” by the Cyrkle from the soundtrack to “The Minx,” 1968. Speaking of obscure . . .
6. “Celebrate” by Three Dog Night from “Suitable For Framing,” 1969. I figured this one would come up. I have only four songs with “celebrate” in the title, and this one came up fourth!
KathyB
This is the Saturday Five because of procrastination.
1. “Happy (Reprise)” by Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins, from “Rabbit Fur Coat.” 48 seconds of echoing a cappella and finger snapping. Or some kind of snapping that sounds a little too loud to be finger snapping.
2. “Birthday Party” by Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel. Not my usual kind of music, but a lot of fun. I have no idea how this song got in my iTunes.
3. “Wish I Hadn’t Stayed So Long” by Hayes Carll, from “Little Rock” (2005).
4. “No Wedding Cake” by Bedroom Walls. This is from the SXSW site this year (and the previous song was from SWSW in 2005).
5. “Violently Happy” by Björk, from “Debut” (1993). Another one that I don’t know how I ended up with. I admire and appreciate Björk a lot, but don’t much care for her music. Sorry.
6. (because I really like this one) “When You Wish Upon a Star” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, from “Dave Digs Disney” (1957).
Anne
1. Cake Parade by Georgie James from “Places”, 2007.
2. I Wish by Stevie Wonder from “Songs in the Key of Life”, 1976.
3. My Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne from “Under My Skin”, 2004.
4. I Wish it Would Rain Down by Phil Collins from “But Seriously”, 1989.
5. Happy Just to Dance with You by The Beatles from “A Hard Day’s Night”, 1964.