Friday Five

The Friday Five: April 13, 2012

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:

“Upstairs” by Women (from Women, 2008)

It’s all a bit “indie rock by the numbers,” but this record got quite a few spins back in 2008. They remind me a bit of Pavement; maybe too much, even.

“A Roller Skating Jam Named “Saturdays” (LP version)” by De La Soul (from A Roller Skating Jam Named “Saturdays”, 1991)

Our friends over at Popblerd had a running discussion on their Facebook page last week looking for the greatest Hip-Hop band, to which I inquired if we could just include the Native Tongues. This right here—along with the Native Tongues remix of “Buddy”—is the reason why I’m lobbying for their inclusion. When Tip, Phife, Plugs 1 + 2, and the Jungle Brothers get together, magic is made.

“Piece of Me” by Skid Row (from 40 Seasons: The Best of Skid Row, 1998)

Sleazy, with a side of pop.

“To Lose My Life” by White Lies (from To Lose My Life…, 2009)

England’s answer to The Killers, White Lies does the disaffected new wave schtick even better. I don’t think they caught on much in the states, perhaps a cameo on a CW show would solve that problem?

“Little Light” by Rachel Platten (from Be Here, 2011)

Miss Platten possesses the sticky sweet voice of an angel, and the songwriting chops to back it up. Well worth checking out.

What’s on your shuffle today?

16 Comments

  • Chris Holmes

    “I Believe in You” by Lambchop (from OH (Ohio)) – Pretty typical Lambchop, which is to say it’s laid back and dense at the same time. You either dig what they do or you don’t at this point. Generally I dig it, but sometimes I need to step away.

    “Thunder and Lightning” by Argent (from The Argent Anthology) – Cool tune. Very Deep Purple-ish, from their Machine Head era. I don’t know who is singing lead on this, but he sounds a bit like Rod Stewart.

    “Truck” by The Octopus Project (from Hello, Avalanche) – I was really into this album when it came out in 2007, the height of my indie pop/rock phase. It’s still good 5 years later. A peppy but rocking instrumental.

    “It Never Occurred to Me” by The Four Freshman (from Capitol Collectors Series) – It’s instantly clear how much of an influence these guys were on Brian Wilson, but man are they square. Gorgeous harmonies, though.

    “Boogie Child” by Bee Gees (from Children of the World) – Get well Robin. That’s all I have to say.

  • Phil

    Dream Theater – “Ytse Jam” (When Dream And Day Unite, 1989)
    Excellent instrumental from Dream Theater version 1. The title is “Majesty” spelled backwards and alludes to the band’s name in its previous incarnation. The album as a whole has not aged well in places, but in others, it remains an excellent showcase of the band’s songwriting and playing prowess.

    Alice in Chains – “Nutshell” (Unplugged, 1996)
    This album which was recorded as part of MTV’s Unplugged series is probably my favorite from this “grunge” band, with “Nutshell” being one of the best performances from the set. Known more for his chunky guitar riffs than for his acoustic work, Jerry Cantrell shows just how well-rounded he is, providing his usual excellent harmony vocals behind Layne Staley’s unique—though sometimes annoying—voice. I think the songs benefit from the laid-back acoustic arrangements here, and given that AIC had not performed together as a band for nearly three years, they are amazingly tight. Unfortunately this would become one of Staley’s last shows prior to sliding into deep depression and his eventual overdose in 2002, giving many of the songs a weight and somberness in hindsight that they may not have carried at the time.

    Caedmon’s Call – “Thousand Miles” (Back Home, 2003)
    I’m not sure why iTunes keeps picking Caedmon’s Call, and this album specifically, from my library for Friday Fives, but in the case of this song, I don’t mind one bit.

    Iron Maiden – “Moonchild” (Flight 666: The Original Soundtrack, 2009)
    Another live cut from Flight 666, this time an often forgotten Maiden gem that popped up in my Friday Five for August 26, 2011. “Moonchild” is from a Puerto Rican show on the tour, and the crowd there is as wild as the South American audiences. And frontman Bruce Dickinson hams it up as usual. Maiden is such a tight unit, and you would be hard-pressed to find a better live metal band.

    Mae – “Release Me” (Singularity, 2007)
    I am pretty open about my love of this band on my blog, which may seem odd to many given my metalhead and snobbish musical tendencies, but I just can’t help it. I love just about everything Dave Elkins and company have ever put out, and this song and the album it comes from are no exception.

  • Tammy Greynolds

    My five…

    1. “The Dynamo Of Volition” by Jason Mraz (from We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things) – Between his quirky lyrics and acoustic style, this man regularly tugs at my heartstrings.

    2. “On the Bus Mall” by The Decemberists (from Picaresque) –
    I feel like they’re the Skittles of indie music. (Also, wow – if that sentence is any indication of how my morning is going, I need caffeine.)

    3. “Against All Odds (Cover)” by The Postal Service (from the void of the internet) – 
    Oh, Ben Gibbard, you’ve done it again.

    4. “Keep Yourself Warm” by Frightened Rabbit (from The Midnight Organ Fight)
    I would bring this album to a desert island and play this song on repeat.

    5. “The Atom” by Ani Difranco (from Red Letter Year) –
    Is it possible for this woman to become any more prolific? I love this song purely for its use of religious metaphor and scientific content. Simply divine.

  • KellyStitzel

    Today’s Friday Five is brought to you by procrastination (specifically, procrastinating writing a sketch for my Second City class that’s due tomorow):

    “Johnny Stew” by Lindsey Buckingham from Law & Order (1981). This is one of my favorite of Lindsey’s solo songs and I’d really love to see him play it live. I don’t think he has been on his most recent tours, though. Dip deeper into the back catalogue, Linds! We love the old stuff.

    “Love You Didn’t Do Right By Me” by Rosemary Clooney from The Essential Rosemary Clooney (2004). Oh, how I adore this song. Her performance of this in White Christmas is my favorite part of that movie.

    “Walking on Broken Glass” by Annie Lennox (Live from St. Luke’s London) (2009). I just published a piece on Popdose about the 20th anniversary of Annie’s solo debut, Diva, so it’s appropriate that this song popped up. This isn’t the best live performance I’ve heard of this song, but Annie’s mediocre live performances are better than many acts’ best performances.

    “Endless Love” by Lionel Richie with Diana Ross from Endless Love Soundtrack (1981). I’m pretty sure the only reason this song is in my collection is because it was once nominated for Best Original Song and I used to write about that Oscar category for my Soundtrack Saturday column. Yeah, that must be it.

    “Love Will Save the Day” by Whitney Houston from Whitney (1987). I have recently decided that this is my favorite Whitney Houston song. 

  • jhallCORE

    1) Bonnie Raitt — “Ain’t Gonna Let You Go” (Slipstream, 2012). Really digging Bonnie’s new album out this week.
    2) Pat Martino — “Midnight Special” (Undeniable, 2011). Great jazz guitarist playing a hometown show in Philly tonight. Hmm …
    3) Paul Simon — “Hearts And Bones” (Concert In The Park, 1991). I never get tired of this live album. Great show, great music.
    4) Norah Jones — “Turn Me On” (Come Away With Me, 2002). Subtle the lyrics are not but the sultry nuance of the vocals seeps into every pore of this song.
    5) Abbey Lincoln — “Storywise” (A Turtle’s Dream, 1994). Not sure if jazz vocalist albums get much better than this classic from the late Abbey Lincoln, who was flanked by some of the leading players in jazz on this disc.

    Enjoy the weekend.

  • Mike

    Happy Friday, everyone:

    1) “Welcome to the Occupation” by R.E.M. (from “Document”): “Document” was the album that led to my R.E.M. fandom, thanks to the presence of “The One I Love” on American Top 40. Good sweet spot in between the unintelligble earlier stuff and the more mainstream later stuff.

    2) “Nipple to the Bottle” by Grace Jones (from “Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions”): Grace + Sly & Robbie=awesome. It’s impossible not to sit down when listening to this song. And I’m still attempting to figure out the lyrics here.

    3) “Cool Thing To Do” by Soulposition (from “Things Go Better With RJ & Al”): One of the many things RJD2 has his hands in is this occasional side project with rapper Blueprint. Strangely, I find this guy dead boring unless he’s rapping to one of RJ’s tracks. 

    4) “Crying” by Bjork (from “Debut”): This has a VERY early ’90s club sound, like Bjork mixed with something off of Madonna’s “Erotica,” which would essentially be…Madonna’s “Bedtime Story.”

    5) “Sara Smile” by After 7 (from “The Very Best Of After 7”): I’m a little pissed because I opted out of the Daryl Hall concert last night, but I’m sure (I hope) I get the chance to see him again. At any rate, Babyface’s brothers (and the random third guy) came up with one of the better H2O covers here.

  • Dennis Corrigan

    Is it Friday already?  This week’s been a blur (with a touch of Indigo)

    1. “Rib Joint” by Sam Price & His Texas Bluesicians from Blues Masters. Vol. 14; More Jump Blues.  These 15 CDs from Rhino are a great overview of the Blues in all its sub-genres and glories.  This one’s especially fitting given the weather forecast here for this weekend.  Bought a few slabs of ribs to smoke up this weekend, and this track’s on my BBQ playlist (which some day this summer will get its own Friday Five treatment).2. “Lorelai” by Fleet Foxes from Helplessness Blues – gorgeous
    3. “Hill Farmer’s Blues” by Mark Knopfler from The Ragpicker’s Dream.  I really like this album, but it’s on a really long list of records I feel like I don’t listen to enough
    4. “Many Miles Travelled” by B.B. King from the King of the Blues box set.  A previously unreleased, pretty unremarkable track produced by Vernon Reid
    5. “Lights” by Journey from Infinity I liked this record, parts of the next one, but after that Journey pretty much joined the likes of Styx & Loverboy for me

    Have a great weekend, and hear something good!

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