The Friday Five: May 8, 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:
“Winter Hill” (mp3) by Doves (from Kingdom of Rust)
I’ve listened to this record quite a few times and it’s yet to leave any lasting impression on me beyond “the lead singer (Jimi Goodwin) sounds like a cross between Chris Martin of Coldplay and Kele Okereke of Bloc Party.” Overall it’s a solid indie rock record that I’m sure will grow on me, it’s just not there yet.
“Oh! Darling” by The Beatles (from Abbey Road)
Wringing every bit of soul his slight British frame could muster, “Oh! Darling” is as close to 50’s Rhythm & Blues (à la Fats Domino) as Paul McCartney and The Beatles could manage. In a 1980 Playboy interview John Lennon said of the song “‘Oh! Darling’ was a great one of Paul’s that he didn’t sing too well. I always thought I could have done it better – it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he’s going to sing it.” It’s hard not to agree as John clearly had the more soulful voice.
“To ‘B’ or Not to ‘B’” (mp3) by Chet Atkins & Tommy Emmanuel (from The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World)
The mentor and the apprentice, though to call Tommy Emmanuel an apprentice is like calling Kobe Bryant an ‘okay’ basketball player. This entire record is a celebration of the style that the legendary Chet Atkins loved and championed his entire career. It’s fitting that this would be his final recording before passing in 2001. This specific tune has a ‘club jazz’ feel and is beautifully orchestrated.
“Soul Clappin'” by Sly & The Family Stone (from Dance to the Music)
Come on… ya’ll know how to ‘soul clap’… on the one!
“Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution” (mp3) by Afro Fiesta (from Playing for Change: Songs Around the World)
By now I’m sure that you’ve all seen the video produced by the group of filmmakers who compiled buskers, street performers, choirs and the odd (and frankly out of place) superstar (yes, I’m looking at you Bono) from around the world and worked them into a single performance of “Stand by Me” (Pete posted it a while back). The group has released a record, the proceeds of which will go to the Playing for Change Foundation (Official Site) whose mission is simply “building and connecting music/art schools around the world” which is certainly a worthwhile cause. The album itself falls a little flat in places without the visual aspect to support it, but not to worry as there is a DVD included capturing the performances. This particular performance stood out to me and is one of my favorites from the record.
That’s it for me, what’s next on your shuffle?
6 Comments
allison
this is my 1st time – so bear with me…
1. washington square – counting crows
2. geek in the pink – jason mraz
3. hey girl – O.A.R.
4. when the world ends – dave matthews and time reynolds
5. run – collective soul
Owen Brown
“We May Never Meet Again” by Pearl Jam (from Live – Various)
High school student. Senior year. Bright and early Saturday morning. Target parking lot in small town Antioch, Tennessee. Ripping into the packaging of my first Pearl Jam album, “Ten”, just bought. Lifetime fan.
“Everything” by Buckcherry (from 15)
“If I had everything, would I still want to be alive or want to be high.” A friend at work turned me onto these guys. There are some really catchy runs in this song. I’m a sucker for a clever key change.
Millennium Of Love (Ireland) by Eamonn Toal (from Eurovision Song Contest)
This isn’t mine but rules are rules.
“Walking Shoes” by Tanya Tucker (from Greatest Hits 1990-1992)
Now that’s more like it. Good leaving song. “All you do is make me cry. So now I’m gonna say good-bye. Gonna put on my walking shoes tonight.”
“All Along The Watchtower” by Bob Dylan (from MTV Unplugged [Live])
Everywhere I go, there’s Bob. My father in law is a huge fan.
Pete
Quick workday edition:
1. “Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow” – Funkadelic
2. “Little Things” – Los Lobos
3. “In the Morning of the Magicians” – The Flaming Lips
4. “The Royal We” – Silversun Pickups (great band name)
5. “Life Can Be So Nice” – Prince (it really can, can’t it?)
Gonzo
re: “Oh! Darling” – I don’t know. I’m definitely a Lennon guy, but I can’t imagine John doing it. It’s one of the great McCartney ‘screamers,’ along with “Helter Skelter” and his Little Richard covers. But it would be interesting to hear. There’s a version on Anthology 3 that Lennon doubles McCartney’s vocal, but it’s not a very serious attempt by any stretch.
Anyway, on to the business!
1. Public Enemy – “Aintnuttin Buttersong.”
Muse-Sick-N-Hour-Mess-Age is hardly PE’s crowning achievement, but it’s still an album that I’m pleasantly surprised by when I dust it off.
2. Vah Halen – “You Really Got Me.”
The Kinks original is tops, but VH’s cover is pretty damn good.
3. Outkast – “Vibrate”
4. Rage Against the Machine – Know Your Enemy
Wow – this takes me back…
5. Van Halen – “D.O.A.”
More Diamond Dave! This is one of my favorites, for sure.
Mark
Winter Hill–great song. Has very personal meaning for me these days. I disagree with my hero (John) regarding Oh Darling. I thought Paul really did a good job with it. He sang himself horse for three weeks to get the right sound to his voice!
Matt
“Oh Darling” is one of my favorite tunes, and really one of the early tunes that hooked me on McCartney, and sent me spiraling into McCartney freak status for many years. How else can I explain how much I liked Give My Regards To Broad Street? (P.S. and the soundtrack too!)
Hmmmmm – here’s five from me on a Monday
1. Nada Surf – “No Quick Fix” – Gotta give credit to Heather at Fuel/Friends for really making me love this band with her posts about them. She posted an acoustic show that really hooked me in, and made me get the catalog.
2. Ryan Adams – “Come Pick Me Up” – This song always seems to come up in the shuffle on the perfect morning. This is one of those mornings.
3. Bill Champlin – “Organ Solo/In The Heat of the Night” – Got into Bill’s stuff after being a longtime Chicago fan. Started buying his solo albums in 1994, and this record “Mayday,” recorded live in the studio is a great career summary of Champlin’s solo work and also his work with Sons of Champlin. For the Champlin-curious, the Sons of Champlin “Live” album on Grateful Dead Records is also a good one, if you can find it.
4. Extreme – “No Respect” – I’m not going to say that I was a diehard Extreme fan, but I liked the hits, and bought “Waiting For The Punchline” as soon as it was released. Saw them on the tour for WFTP, and was stunned at how good they were, and I subsequently talked up Gary Cherone to anyone that would listen, when he was tapped for the VH singer slot.
5. Ernie and the Automatics – “The Best Is Up Ahead” – Latest band project from former Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau. For any of you that followed his solo work in the 90s (i.e. not RTZ) you might cringe a little bit, because some of it was pretty bad. This CD was one of my unexpected favorites of the year.