Friday Five

The Friday Five: September 9, 2011

Friday Five

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:

Darling, I Hum Our Song” by Martha and The Vandellas (from The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 3: 1963, 2005)

There is nothing like a bluesy torch song to kick off the Friday Five. A few weeks back I mentioned the most intimidating set in my collection was The Complete Stax-Volt Singles: 1959-1968. I have to recant, and give that title to The Complete Motown Singles.

Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned” by Public Enemy (from Fear of a Black Planet, 1994)

Damn segues!

“Under the Gun” by Schleprock (from (America’s) Dirty Little Secret, 1996)

ANGST! ANGER! ANARCHY! CORPORATE SPONSORS! Schleprock’s dirty little secret was the fact that they were Atlantic Records’ last grasp at the mid ’90s punk revival.

Wolfman’s Brother” by Phish (from 2004-06-19: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA, 2004)

For as much Phish as I have in my library, I’m not intimately familiar with it all. The good thing about this is I’m always discovering new jams. This one is a greasy slice of funk, featuring a great bit of sparring between Trey and Mike.

Deep River Woman” by Lionel Richie (from Dancing on the Ceiling, 1986)

I’m really not sure what to say about this. Lionel, for all his R&B and Pop leanings loves him some country music. Case in point: “Deep River Woman”; which blends Lionel’s smooth vocal with the equally polished harmonies of Alabama.

What’s on your shuffle today?

12 Comments

  • Anonymous

    1.  “No Matter What” – Badfinger – The Very Best of Badfinger
    2.  “You Really Got A Hold On Me” – The Miracles – Greatest Hits
    3.  “Texas” – Chris Rea – The Road To Hell
    4.  “Clean Up Woman” – Betty Wright – The Platinum Collection
    5.  “Dear Landlord” – Joe Cocker – Joe Cocker

  • Phil

    Let me start by saying that I’m loving participating in The Friday Five. It’s giving me an opportunity to listen to music in my library that I either have forgotten about, haven’t heard in ages, gloss over, or totally ignore.

    Dokken – “Lightnin’ Strikes Again” (Under Lock and Key, 1985)
    Typical Dokken fare from the 80s. I like pretty much everything about this one except the goofy low bass vocal delivery on the first line of every verse section. George Lynch was one of my favorite guitarists for a long time, and he somehow manages to redeem even the worst Dokken song.

    Queens of the Stone Age – “I Was a Teenage Hand Model” (Queens of the Stone Age, 1998)
    These guys really are hit or miss with me. I loved virtually everything off Songs for the Deaf, but for some reason I have a really hard time getting into their earlier stuff. This one is the typical album closer from QoTSA and really seems to drag on and on. I really wish they would end an album on a high note for once.

    Neal Morse – “The Angels Will Remember” (It’s Not Too Late, 2001)
    Solo album track from former Spock’s Beard frontman that recalls a musical theme similar to that band’s “Can’t Get It Wrong” from Day for Night. Morse is an excellent songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, and he has had a large hand in the progressive rock revival of the 90s and 00s. This song, however, is a straight-ahead, ballad-y, sugary-sweet, piano-based pop tune. But if you’re a prog-rock fan and haven’t heard his material, do yourself a favor and check out Spock’s Beard’s catalog up through 2002’s Snow. Then go listen to Transatlantic, the prog supergroup he formed with members of Dream Theater, Marillion, and The Flower Kings.

    The Goo Goo Dolls – “Iris” (Dizzy Up the Girl, 1998)
    I used to absolutely love this song, but then City of Angels, FM radio, and MTV went and completely ruined it for me. Thanks a lot. I don’t particularly like the direction these guys have gone in the past few years, but I love the material from their albums A Boy Named Goo through Gutterflower (not to say I don’t like their earlier efforts). Rzeznik’s pop sensibilities combine with Takac’s power pop punk edge to create just the right mix for my tastes. I just wish I could still listen to this song and hear it for what it is rather than all the imagery that it now conjures.

    Toad the Wet Sprocket – “Hey Bulldog” (I Know What You Did Last Summer, 1997)
    Excellent execution by one of my favorite bands covering one of my favorite bands . ‘Nuff said.

  • Anonymous

    “Celebration” by Madonna from Celebration (2009). Still some Madge on the MP3 player from when I was working on the Popdose Guide to Madonna (read it, if you haven’t yet — pretty please?). This was a new track on her last greatest hits album and it is a lot of fun.

    “When the Rain Comes” by Valley Lodge from Semester at Sea (2009). This is one of my new favorite bands (new to me, that is). Their lead singer is comedian/musician Dave Hill, who also has a fantastic, hilarious podcast. If you like power pop/rock, you will love this band.

    “Surgeon” by St. Vincent from Strange Mercy (2011). I’m declaring this my favorite album of 2011, even though there are are four months of releases left. It is that good.

    “Poses” by Rufus Wainwright from Poses (2001). Kind of appropriate that a song from this album would come up. I listened to it a lot after 9/11/01, when I drove back and forth between Cleveland and Cincinnati as I was working on moving from one city (CLE) to the other (CIN). A lot of emotional memories of that awful period of time tied to this record — but a lot of good ones, too.

    “Going Places” by Kid Creole & the Coconuts from Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places (1981). I am currently obsessed with this band. I have always been a casual fan, but never really dove into their catalogue. I really wish it hadn’t taken me this long to get into them.

  • dslifton

    “Very Best Years” – The Grays. I love it, but I still can’t hear this without thinking of Beavis and Butt-head describing this as “a cross between Stone Temple Pilots and…my butt.”
    “Do Right Woman – Do Right Man” – Counting Crows & Sheryl Crow. A nice live cover of Aretha’s classic.
    “Nebraska” – Bruce Springsteen (Chicago 12-3-95). Yesterday I was listening to a discussion about The Rising on WNYC’s Soundcheck program. Somebody was against it, saying that there was no way that Bruce could have known what was going through the head of a firefighter rushing into a burning building. The guy who loved it countered by saying that Bruce wasn’t a serial killer about to be electrocuted, but Nebraska came out fine.
    “Peg Leg” – Leo Kottke. There’s a reason I don’t pick up my 12-string much anymore, and his name is Leo Kottke.
    “This May Not Be The End Of The World” – John Mellencamp. I’m pretty sure I got this from the Popdose (or jefitoblog) Guide back in the old days.

  • Chris Holmes

    1. Toni Braxton, “I Don’t Want To” (from Secrets) – The little woman with the giant voice. I don’t care much for her modern style of R&B (which pretty much has no R), but her pipes are undeniable.

    2. The Exciters, “Tell Him” – Pretty typical pop single from ’63, but it’s fun.

    3. Al Haig Trio, “Tabu” – Part of the fantastic and comprehensive “The Vibe!” series.

    4. Genesis, “Duke’s Travels” (from Duke) – I love the Duke album so much. It is the zenith of the Phil Collins era. This is one of the last great Genesis instrumentals.

    5. The Animals, “Bring It On Home to Me” – I never really bothered to listen to the Animals much until I heard “A Girl Named Sandoz” in a Turntable.fm room. So then I downloaded one of the compilation albums. Pretty good stuff.

  • Dennis Corrigan

    Firing up the grill as I fire up my Friday Five:

    1. “Another Town” by Steve Earle from Transcendental Blues – such solid album all around2. “Leah” by Bruce Springsteen from Devils & Dust – I keep debating this record with myself. There are parts I really love and parts that are just OK.  This one’s in the latter category
    3. “Warsaw” by Joy Division off No Thanks! The 70’s Punk Rebellion 
    4. “Dear Prudence” by The Beatles from The Beatles.  My favorite song on the album
    5. “Racing In The Street” by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live at the Nassau Coliseum New Year’s Eve 1980.  An epic run of shows.

    Hope everyone hears something good this weekend.  I’m hoping to hear the Victory March early and often tomorrow night…

  • EightE1

    The “Fuck the Hurricane” Shuffle:

    The Beatles, “She Loves You”
    REM, “Feeling Gravity’s Pull”
    The Clash, “White Man in Hammersmith Palais”
    Keith Jarrett, “Tributaries”
    Sammy Muthafukkin’ Hagar, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”

  • Mike

    1) “Angels In The Snow” by Elliott Smith: I don’t profess to be a big fan of his; still starting to get into his music. This song feels about right for sitting in my apartment on a Friday night, struggling to overcome writer’s block!

    2) “High Fashion” by The Family: Album comes out in less than a month. If I get tickets to their show at Joe’s Pub, guess who’s coming with me?

    3) “Wouldn’t It Be Good” by Nik Kershaw: Perfect ’80s pop song.

    4) “Girls’ Best Friend” by Jay-Z: I prefer mature Jigga to his early stuff (“Reasonable Doubt” excepted), but this is one of his best older songs.

    5) “Bubble Toes” by Jack Johnson: This is probably Rex Ryan’s favorite song. Woo hoo! Happy football season!

  • Pete

    Jacob Miller – “Sinners”

    Prince – “Purple Rain” – live in Milan, 2010

    Elvis Presley – “Tonight Is So Right For Love” (G.I. Blues Revisited)

    Gong – “MEDLEY: Tropical Fish/Selene” (Camembert Electrique)

    Bruce Springsteen & Friends – “My City of Ruins” – from the 2000 Holiday Show. Wow, a fitting ending on this solemn weekend…

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