The Friday Five: November 25, 2011
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:
“Deck the Halls” by John Denver & The Muppets (from A Christmas Together, 1977)
I swear, I did nothing to rig this. I opened iTunes, hit shuffle, and this is the first thing that played. I’ll let you in, however, on a little secret: on a normal Friday I will skip any random holiday tune that presents itself during the Friday Five. Since today is “black” Friday, I’m going to let this one play. Besides, it’s from one of my favorite Christmas records!
“Goin’ Against Your Mind” by Built to Spill (from You in Reverse, 2006)
I always forget how much I like Built to Spill. Drive-By Truckers, too! They fall into that category of bands that when I hear them I instantly fall in love with all over again.
“Still Water (Love)” by Four Tops (from The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 10: 1970, 1996)
Still the most intimidating collection in my library, The Complete Motown Singles continues to turn up tunes that I’ve not heard before.
“New Tattoo” by Mötley Crüe (from New Tattoo, 2008)
Naming your record after a lazy mid-tempo ballad can never lead anywhere good. Did Vince really just sing “I will be your Dorian Grey”? You can’t see it, but I’m sitting at the kitchen table shaking my head in disappointment.
“Never” by Gravity Kills (from Gravity Kills, 1996)
You know, I was kind of hoping that this Friday Five would finish strong. C’est la Vie!
What’s on your shuffle today?
9 Comments
Anonymous
1) Patty Griffin – “Crying Over” (Children Running Through, 2007).
2) Patty Griffin – “Death’s Got A Warrant” (Downtown Church, 2010).
3) Prince – “Cindy C” (The Black Album, 1987).
4) Tracy Chapman – “She’s Got Her Ticket” (Tracy Chapman, 1988).
5) Ben Harper – “Black Rain” (Both Sides Of The Gun, 2006).
Pete
Happy Thanksgiving!
1. The Fireman – “Lovers In A Dream” (Electric Arguments, 2008) 2. A Tribe Called Quest – “Push It Along” (People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, 1990)
3. Billy Squier – “I Need You” (Don’t Say No: 30th Anniversary Edition, 2010)
4. Steve Earle – “I Remember You” (Just An American Boy, 2003)
5. John Travolta – “Sandy” (Grease soundtrack, 1978). Don’t judge, this soundtrack rules.
dslifton
“Saturday’s Child” – The Monkees
“Broken Harpoon” – The Jayhawks
“Ceremony” – Galaxie 500
“New York City Serenade” – Bruce Springsteen (MSG 11-7-09)
“Skin I’m In” – Sly & The Family Stone
Mike
Happy belated Thanksgiving, and happy birthday, Michael!
1) “Sweet Dreams” by De La Soul (their B-sides are better than most rap groups’ A-sides)
2) “You Are My Heroin” by Boy George (his solo career has been so spotty and weird…then again, the Culture Club albums haven’t held up especially well, either. This is easily one of his better songs.)
3) “Riverwide” by Sheryl Crow (another one who runs hot and cold with me. LOVE this song though.)
4) “Jungle Boogie” by Kool & The Gang (and now it’s a party…)
5) “Lifting Off” by Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek (that last Reflection Eternal album? Garbage. But this song is a keeper.)
Anonymous
1. “Money’s Too Tight (To Mention) – Simply Red – Greatest Hits
2. “No More Lonely Nights” – Paul McCartney – All The Best
3. “It Doesn’t Matter” – Stephen Stills – Stephen Stills & Manassas
4. “Every Time You Go Away” – Hall & Oates – Live At The Apollo
5. “That’s The Way God Planned It” – Billy Preston – Concert For Bangla Desh , Disc 1
Anonymous
“You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King from Tapestry (1971). I’m going through a lot right now and the fact that this is the first song that came up is really appropriate.
“Huge on the Luge” by Moxy Fruvous (Internet-only track, circa 1999). One of my favorite holiday tunes. I miss these dudes.
“Sh-Boom” by The Crew Cuts from The Best of the Crew Cuts – The Mercury Years (1998). It is impossible for me to listen to this song and not think about the movie CLUE.
“Forever Your Girl” by Paula Abdul from Forever Your Girl (1988). What a strange five this is turning out to be.
“The Very Thought of You” by Billie Holiday from Love Songs (1996). Oh, how I adore Billie’s version of this song.
Eric Lowe
1. “Survival of the Fittest”, Herbie Hancock (Maiden Voyage, 1965)
2. “Lorraine”, Dizzy Gillespie (Compact Jazz: Dizzy Gillespie, 1987)
3. “The Guns of Brixton”, The Clash (London Calling, 1979)
4. “Sycophant”, KMFDM (Adios, 1999)
5. “Hijack”, Thunderball remixed by Thievery Corporation (Abductions and Reconstructions, 1999)
….. looks like the beginnings of a concept album describing a Walmart on Black Friday
Dennis Corrigan
Happy Birthday, Michael! Sorry, no gift, just my Friday Five (but I will buy you a beer or two at Little Pub sometime):
1. “Mabel” by Branford Marsalis & John Lee Hooker from I Heard You Twice The First Time. This is a great collection of blues by Marsalis and guests including Hooker and B.B. King. This is my favorite track from the record, capped by Hooker caught on tape saying “give me some liquor” at the end. John Lee was a straight up badass.
2. “2120 South Michigan Avenue” by the Rolling Stones from 12 X 5. And the blues roll on with this homage to (and recorded at) Chess Records in Chicago. The story/myth about the Stones walking in to find Muddy painting the place and then helping carry their gear in is one of the classics.
3. “Aeroplane” by The Everybodyfields from Nothing Is Okay. Have to give a special hat tip to Greg (aka @Captainsdead:twitter ) for turning me on to this fantastic record. Jill Andrews’ release, The Mirror, from this year is also highly recommended.
4. “Love In Vain” by The Big Pink from A Brief History of Love. No, not that one, but not bad
5. “Runnin’ With The Devil” by Van Halen from the debut album. This song has everything that made Van Halen what they were – great harmonies, Michael Anthony’s throbbing bass, a couple of brief but smokin’ Eddie solos, and, of course, this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNJNCazmNnI (OK, there’s a gift for you after all!)
Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend. Hope you hear something great!
EightE1
Marc Cohn, “Silver Thunderbird”
Wilco, “Side With the Seeds”
Ryan Adams, “Cry on Demand”
Pink Floyd, “In the Flesh”
Van Morrison, “Cleaning Windows”