The Friday Five: February 27, 2009
For those who have not joined in the Friday Five here is all you need to know; each Friday 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 more the merrier!
The Five:
“18 Months” by Kingsbury (from This Place is Coming Down, 2004)
Kingsbury is a brilliant experimental indie rock act out of Orlando, Florida. Intensely personal and emotional it’s hard to imagine that they originate from the “Happiest Place on Earth”. Watch this space for much more on Kingsbury in the coming month.
“Squeeze Me Macaroni” (mp3) by Mr. Bungle (from Mr. Bungle, 1991)
By now the news of Faith No More reuniting has taken every corner of the internet by storm, but I’ll be damned if I would only be more excited if Mike Patton reformed Mr. Bungle.
“Here on Earth/The Opening” (mp3) by Leerone (from Imaginary Biographies, 2007)
I can’t get enough of Leerone‘s quirky piano driven singer-songwriter sharp-tongued pop (which she describes as “The musical equivalent of an ice-cream sundae with a vodka chaser”). She is an incredibly talented artist who goes as far as handwriting every correspondence with humble small-time blog editors (which is deeply appreciated). I expect that we’ll be seeing much more of her in the future.
“O salutaris hostia” by Jan Garbarek & The Hilliard Ensemble (from Officium, 1994)
This record takes the Gregorian Chants that your mother loved in 1994 and added the ‘smooth jazz’ sounds of Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek to a nauseating soothing effect.
“White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes (from Fleet Foxes, 2008)
I still do not care much for this record, but if I had to pick a track to listen to it would be this one. The folk-rock revival sound just does not depart enough from the forefathers enough to entice me to listen more, now where’s my copy of “Horse with No Name”…
What’s bringing the weekend home for you?
5 Comments
KathyB
Thank you, Michael, for sharing what’s on your shuffle, because it makes me feel not quite so bad about mine. (Mine’s still weirder, though.)
1. “Memphis” by Johnny Rivers. This would normally be the perfect song for a Friday afternoon if I didn’t have a big project due at the end of the day Monday–so today is the beginning of a long weekend of work instead of the end of a long week. This song is much more suited to the latter than the former.
2. Excerpt from Stephen Sondheim’s talk at the 92nd Street YMCA in 1973 [I believe], talking about the influence of Burt Shevelove. He also sings “Invocation,” an early opening number from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” This is eight minutes out of a two-hour interview.
3. “Round Midnight” by the Miles Davis Quintet, live, 11/4/1967.
4. “Murder by Mistletoe” by the Felice Brothers, from “The Felice Brothers” (2008). I admit to getting them mixed up with the Avett Brothers. I like them both. This is a great song.
5. “This and That” by Acid House Kings from “Advantage Acid House Kings” (2002). If somebody had told me a few years ago that I’d love a band called Acid House Kings, I’d have thought they were out of their mind. The name sounds like a death metal group, but they’re actually folk-pop from Sweden.
Slappy
Really? Bungle over FNM? Bay Area “kid” (at least used to be) here, so, I’ve seen them both a 5+ each and found Bungle to be really the lesser of the bands. What about them do you prefer?
Michael
Don’t get me wrong Slappy… I’m doing cartwheels for the FNM reunion (I even wrote my little virtual love letter here on Ickmusic back in September), I just dig the unbridled energy and unpredictable nature of Bungle and never got the chance to see it in person (I saw FNM twice back in the day and they were amazing).
whiteray
Ah, a magic time: 11:11 here in the Midwest as I start this.
1. “This Little Girl Of Mine” by Ray Charles, Atlantic 1063, 1955. I might have liked a few other tracks by Brother Ray a little more, but still . . .
2. “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” by Jim Croce, ABC 11328, 1972. As one writer said, Croce’s boast and brag was a breath of fresh air during the era of sensitive singer-songwriters. Still is a breath of fresh air 35 years after Jimmy left us.
3. “My Back Pages” by Bob Dylan from “Another Side Of Bob Dylan,” 1964. The Master in one of his times of transition. “I was so much older then. I’m younger than that now,” indeed.
4. “Peace – A Beginning” by King Crimson from “In The Wake of Poseidon,” 1970. A brief meditation intended mostly, I think, to provide respire for the neighbors on the floor above
5. “Take A Look” by Gary Walker & the Rain from “Album No. 1,” 1968. Literate, tuneful country-based rock. Why didn’t this guy make it?
And if there were a sixth, we’d welcome Howlin’ Wolf with his 1958 epic, “Moaning For My Baby.” Scary stuff indeed.
Until next week, may only pleasing sounds find you.
Gonzo
1. Jamie Lidell- “Hurricane”
2. Felix da Housecat – “Sequel2Sub”
Honestly, I got this for free when I worked at my college station and have probably listened to it once. I should probably take care of that.
3. Megadeth – “Hangar 18”
Classic.
4. Le Tigre – “Don’t Drink Poison”
5. Misfits – “Angel Fuck”