Ickmusic’s Friday Five: September 26, 2008
When the world seems set to implode on itself we look to different forms of media to distract, entertain and overall escape from the reality of our situations. Whether personal or global, no problem is too big or too small to escape for a bit with the Friday Five!
Last week the ladies of the Friday Five held court on their own. 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. DJ Cam – Success (MP3) (from The Beat Assassinated)
I went through a rather obsessive trip-hop phase in the mid to late 90’s, and while I’ve outgrown that phase there are a few artists that stuck with me. DJ Cam is one of the few that were able to blend Hip-Hop, Jazz and down tempo and not make it seem contrite.
2. Frank Zappa – Jewish Princess (from Sheik Yerbouti)
Classic Zappa at his satirical height, Music is indeed the best!
3. Jason Mraz – Details In the Fabric (feat. James Morrison) (from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.)
This tune opens to an answering machine message from Mraz cohort Bushwalla clearly dealing with a bad day. The song itself is a lilting yet uplifting message “Everything will be fine, everything in no time at all, Hearts will hold”. The song closes with a second message where he strikes the single oddest metaphor I’ve ever heard “I feel like you’re an island of reality in an ocean of diarrhea. And I love you buddy. Ok. Bye.”
4. Dryden Mitchell – Friday, I’m in Love (from 50 First Dates)
Dryden Mitchell is the lead singer of alt-rockers Alien Ant Farm. For this track he drops the rock and brings a quirky electro pop tilt to The Cure’s classic ode to our favorite day.
5. John Lennon – Love (from The John Lennon Collection)
“Love is free, free is Love”
What’s getting you through today?
7 Comments
Anne
Wow, a mix where I really like all of the songs!
1. “Under My Thumb” by The Rolling Stones from Forty Licks, 1966.
2. “Red Clay Halo” by Gillian Welch from Time (The Revelator), 2001.
3. “Everything Hits at Once” by Spoon from Girls Can Tell, 2000.
4. “Weightless” by Nada Surf from Lucky, 2008.
5. “Can’t Run But” by Paul Simon from Rhythm of the Saints, 1989.
whiteray
Well, first one in, and the song playing as I click in is a sweet one:
1. “Suavecito” by Malo, Warner Bros. 7559, 1972. Some Latin rock from a year when there were a lot of bands following in Santana’s footsteps. What a nice spring and summer single this was!
2. “Hidden Charms” by Howlin’ Wolf, Chess 1890, 1964. From a time when the Wolf’s singles were pretty much ignored, this is a nice piece of funkiness with a Diddley-esque beat.
3. “Fresh Water” by the Trout from “The Trout,” 1968. I’ve never decided if The Trout preferred Sunshine Pop or hippieish country rock. Fun but insubstantial.
4. “De Elskende” by Sebastian from “Tiderne Skifter,” 1979 (Denmark). A college year in Denmark left me with a love of Sebastian’s work, and although I don’t always understand the lyrics, his music brings me lots of mellow.
5. “Where Are You” by October Project from “October Project,” 1993. This has popped up a couple of times in the last week, and I love the timbre of lead singer Mary Fahl’s voice!
Michael
October Project, man… it’s been YEARS since I’ve listened to that record. Hell, I have to see if I even still have it!
KathyB
This actually isn’t too bad.
1. “I Saw a Ship” by The Czars from “Goodbye” (2004?) A hometown band for me. (Denver, CO)
2. “I Saw Three Ships” by Bruce Cockburn from “Christmas (1993). I swear iTunes is using some sort of intelligent algorithm to make this song come up right after that first one.
3. “Topanga Canyon Road” by The Fun and Games from “Elephant Candy” (1968). Probably has the lyrics “I saw a couple of ships” somewhere in it. 🙂
4. “Just Like a Woman” by Charlotte Gainsbourg and Calexico from the “I’m Not There” soundtrack (2007)
5. “Little Torch” by Chris Whitley from “Rocket House” (2001)
Zack
Apologies for my absence last week. Was out of town and the Zune died! But here we go…
1. Le Tigre – “LT Tour Theme”
Been getting into this band lately. I’m a latecomer, I know. But I overall dig their style and overt politics.
2. Faith No More – “Smaller and Smaller”
Not the first time FNM has shown up for me. Hmm. Not one of my favorites, but reminds me that I still need to buy some of their other records.
3. Detroit Cobras – “Baby Help Me”
The Cobras keep it real with garagey-r&b. This is from my fave disc of theirs, Baby.
4. Detroit Cobras – “Slippin’ Around”
Damn, wtf!?!?!? This song is from the same album, and probably my favorite on the disc.
5. Ozomatli – “Timido”
From their second LP, “Embrace the Chaos.” I liked their debut much more, but this album is decent. They’ve done more work since then, but I’ve tuned out.
Michael
I listened to FNM for the first time in a long time this week and realized that I forgot how great they really were. Hmm, I think you’ve just inspired a new post…
whiteray
Well, nobody had posted when I began to list my five, but obviously I was too slow . . . so it’s not that I can’t count. 🙂