The Friday Five: February 19, 2010
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:
“Another Day” by Dream Theater (from Images and Words, 1992)
Oh Dream Theater, how your melodrama seems to haunt the Friday Five. You may recall that this tune reared its ugly head back in October, where I speculated on David Fosters’ involvement in the high gloss production of the power ballad. Upon further research, it turns out that it was producer Jay Beckenstein — of the Smooth Jazz/Fusion group Spyro Gyra — that supplied the soprano saxophone solo. This doesn’t change the fact that this tune is a sappy lump of crap on an otherwise quality record.
“The Best of My Love” by The Eagles (from On the Border, 1974)
I unapologetically will proclaim my love for this song, though. Penned by Henley, Frey and J.D. Souther, this holds some magical nostalgia for me as I can recall listening to this, followed by England Dan & John Ford Coley’s “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” and “She’s Gone” by Hall & Oates in the back seat of my mothers Pontiac.
“Stuck With You” by Huey Lewis & The News (from Fore!, 1986)
Come on, how can you resist?
By the by, Huey and the boys recently spent some time in Ardent Studios in Memphis cutting a new record paying tribute to the Stax catalog.
“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” by Black Sabbath (from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, 1973)
I had nearly given up on this week’s shuffle providing some bite; enter my favorite Sabbath tune. I will admit that my introduction to the song came by way of Anthrax’s faithful cover on their I’m the Man EP. I had heard the tune before, both on Ozzy’s Speak of the Devil and a mix-tape a friend had made me with the original Sabbath version, but it was Anthrax’s take that sold me on the song originally. To this day, I’ll reach for this one when I want to bring the RAWK.
“Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” by Elton John (from The Greatest Hits 1970-2002, 2002)
The Saturday nights of my youth were often spent glued to the radio, listening to the “All-request Saturday Night with Dr. John Barron.” This track would make its weekly appearance and signal the start of the more rock-oriented portion of the evening.
What’s on your shuffle today?
20 Comments
Tammy
Checking in to share my 5 as well! —
1. John Mayer – “Why Georgia”
I’ll be seeing him tomorrow in DC. Hoping he doesn’t break down on stage. I still maintain that the interview with Playboy was probably more funny in person and did not translate well to text. Whatever – so long as he continues to make music, I don’t care what he has to say.
2. Missy Higgins – “Steer”
Australian singer-songwriter who keeps a nice combo of vocals and instrumentals. Well mixed stuff!
3. Amy Winehouse – “Me & Mr. Jones”
I still hold out hope that the drugs haven’t ruined her voice forever. I just dig her music!
4. Finley Quaye – “Even After All”
I’ve only ever heard this song by this artist, but its very Ben Harper meets Amos Lee. Perhaps I’ll have to dig up some more on this one sometime.
5. Nneka – “Mind vs. Heart”
LOVE this gal. Very Erykah Badu, but with a more pronounced reggae vibe.
Mike (Popblerd)
Totally co-signing what Tammy had to say about Mayer and Nneka (although she doesn’t really give me a Badu vibe, I have seen her live twice and she is AMAZING).
Anyhow…my five…
1) Pete Rock feat. Little Brother “Give it To Ya”: A lot of “backpacker” rap is kinda humorless and boring, and Little Brother definitely fits that description. This track isn’t bad, though…thank Pete Rock, who’s one of the best hip-hop producers in the history of ever. Nice Gladys Knight sample at the beginning too.
2) Digable Planets “Dog It”: From their second album, which no one bought although it was vastly superior to their Grammy-winning debut.
3) Dr. Dre “Dre Day”: Man, my iTunes must have been jonesing for some hip-hop today.
4) Ben Folds Five “Regrets”: I’m still trying to get into “The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner”. It just seemed like a letdown after “Whatever and Ever Amen”.
5) Aerosmith “Livin’ on the Edge”: I have nothing interesting to say about this song or the band, except that a lot of the hits they had from this period don’t sound as good now as they sounded 17 years ago.
apurva
1. Circle – Sarah Mclachlan ….never forget seeing her in Harmony House long time ago
2. Sub Culture – New Order
3. Can’t Believe – Staind
4. Tiempo – Manuel Franjo
5. Why I Am – Dave Matthews Band
Shannon
1) Sheryl Crow “Home”. From her eponymous album of the late 90s. Best one she made IMHO.
2) L.T.D. “Back In Love Again”. Before Jeffrey Osborne sailed on the wings of love. Slightly irresistible.
3) Fleetwood Mac “Seven Wonders”. Because I uploaded all of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac. Not certain this really is one of their very best but it’s ok.
4) John Prine “Illegal Smile”. Sublime.
5) Mark Knopler “El Macho”. From Sailing to Philadelphia, a seriously good album.
Jason
My library is just too varied for this! I swear, the first eight songs I pulled up, I had never heard before. I gotta get this under control. Okay, here we go.
1) Michael Jackson, “Carousel.” Poor Michael Sembello wrote this track for Thriller, then had it bumped because Quincy heard a skeleton of a song called “Human Nature.” It deserved to be bumped — “Human Nature” is sublime — but just think how rich Sembello would be right now.
2) Evil Prince Ludwig the Indestructible, “Amie (live 4/10/09).” (This is my band. I swear this track came on randomly!) I love this song, originally by Pure Prairie League. And I love playing it because it’s such a smooth, easy crowd pleaser, and I get to sing a low harmony under the melody, which I don’t do often.
3) James Taylor, “Sweet Baby James (live 4/27/98).” This is taken from an audience bootleg of Sting’s Rainforest Benefit Concert. The quality is pretty poor, but I have it because the concert included some amazing stars (Sting, JT, Billy Joel, Elton John, Joe Cocker, Roberta Flack, Herbie Hancock) doing as many Beatles covers as they could. As for this song, I’ve always loved it, but I have to be in a certain mood to listen to JT. Doesn’t everyone?
4) Michael McDonald, “Christmas on the Bayou.” I gotta get my holiday shit out of iTunes for at least 8 months out of the year. Duly noted. (Jeff and I discussed this one for Mellowmas a couple of years ago.)
5) England Dan & John Ford Coley, “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight.” Synchronicity with Michael! And this is especially appropriate, because the last time I heard this song, I too was in the back of his mother’s Pontiac.
Michael
That’s funny, as I was giving your mom “the best of my love’ while listening to the five this morning.
Pete
Hahaaa.. Michael, you should know better. That was the ultimate setup.
For once, Jason goes on the Mom Joke offensive!
Gonzo
“I can recall listening to this, followed by England Dan & John Ford Coley’s “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” and “She’s Gone” by Hall & Oates in the back seat of my mothers Pontiac”
———-
I’m resisting the urge to make a lewd comment.
Gonzo
And of course Jason beat me to it anyway!
Bill C
I must say, my five left me totally uninspired today. I hope this isn’t an omen for the weekend.
1. Wallflower-Dylan-The Bootleg Series. I am a huge Dylan fan, but one of his negatives is that he has so much music there are bound to be some that are not great. This is one of those.
2. Baggage-Graham Parker-Acid Bubblegum. Ditto. I love GP, but this is only an average song.
3. Country Feedback-REM. I have no idea how or why this is on my shuffle. I am not a big REM fan, and this song reminds me why.
4. I Feel So Good-Richard Thompson. At last some redemption. A great song.
5. Drift Away-The John Doe Thing. John Doe has released a series of solo albums that are all generally very good, but none of which are overwhelming. This is a fairly nondescript song.
Yawn. Better luck next week!
Ok, things are looking up. While I was typing this Cheyenne by the Del Lords came on. A great song by one of America’s best bands. I love this song.
Anne
1. Nothing Good About This Goodbye-Rachel Stevens. Pure pop music with just a touch of disco. Think Madonna’s Confessions album.
2. Ooh Girl–The Red Button. Another pop song–very Beatleseque. Come to think of it, this is a great song and I need to get more of there stuff. Will have to check emusic after this.
3. Indoor Fireworks–Elvis Costello. I really love this song.
4. Unwritten–Natasha Bedingfield. I have this song for my 13 year old and I really think it is a great song for our teens to listen to and think about. And quite frankly, a heck of a lot better than half the crap she likes.
5. God Put a Smile Upon Your Face–Coldplay.
I don’t think this is the best sampling of my music library. All of these artists are English except for the guys in The Red Button and quite frankly, they sound like they should be. Most of this music is very pop and that is not the majority of my library. Honestly though, I am not really too embarrassed by any of the songs that have come up–maybe I should be though. 🙂
EightE1
“Indoor Fireworks” is one of my fave Costello songs, too. King of America, y’all!
Michael
While I agree that Unwritten has a great, positive message; it’s quite possibly one of the most grating songs of the last ten years.
Anne
Yes but still better than so many other songs that my daughter insists on listening to on repeat.
KathyB
I’m actually quite happy with these five– no weird songs from out-of-town tryouts of Broadway shows this time (that was just before these five).
1. “How to Rob a Bank” by Willy Porter (from “How to Rob a Bank,” 2009)
2. “Never Can Say Goodbye” by the Hot String Quintet (from “Saturday Night Hay Fever: Bluegrass Artists perform Disco Hits,” 2002) This was a CD that I had to get after hearing a couple of tracks. I have never been a disco fan (unfortunately), but I can’t resist bluegrass covers of anything. To me, the best songs on this album are the covers of “Night Fever” and “Funkytown.”
3. “Storm Warning” by Syd Straw (from “Pink Velour,”) I love this woman.
4. “Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian” by John Prine (from “German Afternoons,” 1986) It must be John Prine day!
5. “When Doves Cry” by the Be Good Tanyas (from “Hello Love,” 2006) See above for comments on “bluegrass covers of anything.”
EightE1
Bon Jovi, “She Don’t Know Me.” I prefer to think of Jon-Bon and his boys as a hair metal band from, say, ’84 to ’89. My wife fucking drools over the sumbitch to this day, to the point that she and her giggly thirty-something friends are going to see Jon-Bon play at Hershey Stadium in May. I love my wife, but fuck all of ’em. The only Jon-Bon I care to hear, really, is the first three records and “Bad Medicine” off the fourth. “She Don’t Know Me” is perfect. I remember Jon-Bon and his then-hairy chest being prominently featured, particularly when he speaks of “‘oldin’ her so teeender.”
Peter Frampton, “Do You Feel Like We Do.” Live version from Frampton Comes Alive, of course. Had a debate with my bartender this afternoon about whether Frampton was worth a hill of beans. He tends to think not; I tend to think that, for one record (Comes Alive), he definitely mattered. I quite enjoy this album. Always have.
Gary U.S. Bonds, “Love’s On the Line.” A Springsteen song, I believe. Highlight of the On the Line record, produced by The Boss and Steve Van Zandt. I met Bonds once. I was manager on duty for an amusement park where he was performing, and had to warn him that one of our local religious nuts might try to disrupt his show. He just smiled at me and said, “Robert, we’re gonna have some fun this afternoon.” He had a weak handshake, but the strongest fucking voice. God bless him; I hope he’s still performing. I love this song and this album, and, yes, I love Gary U.S. Bonds.
Dokken, “In My Dreams.” Oh, FUCK yeah. Hair metal at its finest. One of my two bands in high school featured a guy who was a George Lynch disciple — knew all the licks, all the solos. I hope he’s still playing (my buddy, not Lynch, though, okay, I hope Lynch is still playing, too). I was the background vocals guy, the rhythm guitar dude,(except on Van Halen’s “I’ll Wait,” where I took lead gee-tar duties, Eddie be praised). I love this song. TOTALLY hair metal, but pretty fucking awesome.
Van Halen, “Not Enough.” As if on cue, THE ballad off Balance, the last cool ballad from the Sammy Hagar version of the band.
Michael
I’ll extend my Jon-Bon net to include most of New Jersey, if only for “Born to Be My Baby.” I read somewhere that the band trotted out “Only Lonely” at a recent gig, the thought of which made me cringe.
As for Frampton, I firmly fall in your camp. Frampton Comes Alive is a classic record.
Gonzo
1. Prince-Slow Love. Some live version from I don’t know what. This unintentionally loaded onto my Zune.
2. Dr. Dooom – Bitch Gets No Love
Seriously, why does Kool Keith seem to come up every week?
3. Prince – 3121
One of to slammin’ tracks from the album. Love the Crystal Ball-esque vibe.
4. MIA – Hussel
This reminds me of running in Iowa City. This album was all I listened to for a summer. That’s clearly an exaggeration, but it was in heavy heavy rotation, especially on runs.
5. Prince – Feel Better, Feel Good, Feel Wonderful
An ok track from the last album.
Pete
1. “In the Still of the Night” – Lester Bowie – With Bowie on trumpet, this is a cover album with the full brass band treatment – including Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People”.
2. “Requiem, Op. 48: Introit et Kyrie – Lisa Beckley” – Colm Carey / Choral-classical stuff. Makes me feel like I’m in church in the middle ages. Kinda spooky and kinda cool.
3. “Sister” – Prince (live) / From Funk City – a boot of a Lovesexy Tour rehearsal. My first 2 times seeing Prince was the Lovesexy Tour. September 1988 – Rosemont Horizon, Chicago.
4. “Calling Elvis” – Dire Straits (live) / Appropriate. I’m reading (and loving) Peter Guralnick’s Elvis bio right now.
5. “Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio” – Los Lobos / I couldn’t have scripted this any better. Tomorrow night, I’ll be seeing 2 Lobos shows! An 8pm and 11pm show. Can’t wait…
Jay
#1. “Smoke on the Water” – The Replacements – Live – Duke Ellington Ballroom, Dekalb, IL, 4.5.85 – Mat’s played tons of covers, this one just ok
#2. “Funny How Love Is’ – Fine Young Cannibals – Fine Young Cannibals – Roland Gift’s vocals just catch me every time a FYC song pops up
#3. “Stranger In The House” – Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True (Bonus Disc) – Country Elvis
#4. “You Don’t Get Much” – BoDeans – Home – Sounds like most BoDean songs
#5. “Running On Faith” – Eric Clapton – Journeyman – Saw Clapton once in the early 80’s, one of the worst concerts I’ve ever seen. Love his albums though