Its days like today that test the limits of my ability to stay focused on the work at hand. Its 77°F, 50% humidity, sunny and the great outdoors (not to mention the pool) is beckoning and I’m doing my best to block it out. Thankfully I’ve got the Friday Five to keep my attention focused for the next little bit. Last week we celebrated the fourth with a themed playlist and the Fivers represented with their patriotic best. And since the playlist concept seemed to really spark some interesting tracks, here’s a playlist for this Friday:

Match ANY of the following conditions

NAME contains Sunny
NAME contains Beautiful
NAME contains Warm
NAME contains Summer
NAME contains Day
NAME contains Weekend

This called up a staggering number of tracks for me to shuffle through!

For those who have not joined in the Five, here’s the scoop: … I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and then show you my five with some words for each track.

Then it’s your turn! You can play along with the themed playlist or just share the first five of your shuffle, either way the fun is in playing musical voyeur for the day.

That said…

Here are this week’s tracks:

1. Zwan – Endless Summer (from Mary Star of the Sea)

One of the few Billy Corgan projects that I’ve truly enjoyed since Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Zwan had a purity to it that could clearly not be sustained with a maniac like Corgan at the helm. It’s a damned shame, really as I truly believe that the combined creative forces of Zwan could have really produced some amazing music together. I would also be remiss if I did not at least mention the beautiful foil of Paz Lenchantin. She somehow balanced Billy‘s nasal falsetto and made it nearly accessible.

2. The Beatles – Good Day Sunshine (from Revolver)

Pleasant, I suppose.

3.  New Order – Blue Monday (from Retro)

While I can appreciate New Order (and even more so Joy Division) for the influence they have provided to countless bands that I enjoy, I’ve never really been a huge fan of their discography. I certainly enjoy all the hits to no end, but that’s about where it ends.

4. Prince & The Revolution – The Beautiful Ones (from Purple Finale)

From the final show of the Purple Rain tour (Orange Bowl, Miami: 7th April 1985), this is nothing short of astounding. The Revolution are as tight as ever and Prince provides a highly charged performance.

5. Flickerstick – Beautiful (from Welcoming Home the Astronauts)

One of my favorite records of the past decade, it kills me that these guys never made it the way they deserved. I suppose the dual curse of having been a reality show contest winner and releasing your major label debut on September 11^th, 2001 really was too much to overcome. The band has persisted through some line up changes and can still be seen occasionally in and around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Now, excuse me while I slip outside for a quick walk, yeah that’s it… Tag! You’re it!

The post lunch dip is kicking in boys and girls and I need something to push me through the next two hours. The finish line for the week is in my sights and I’m ready to shuffle up and deal! Last week we covered everything from Travolta to Arquette, here’s hoping that this week uncovers yet more gems in my music library.

For those who have not played along yet here’s the scoop, open up whatever provides you with tunes and hit the shuffle button and let the music take you where it will and if you feel so inclined share the results with the rest of the musical voyeurs in the comments section.

So let’s see what comes up this week…

Here are this week’s tracks:

1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Manic Depression (from Live at Winterland)

While I do love me some Hendrix, this particular performance is, to me, a mess. The rest of the recording is stellar and the performance is inspired, but this track just seems to meander too much for my tastes.

2. Kiss – Beth (from Double Platinum)

Boy, two stinkers in a row. Don’t get me wrong, I kinda like Beth, for what it’s worth but it’s just not doing much for me at the moment. Thankfully it’s short.

3. America – Tin Man (from History: America’s Greatest Hits)

Have I died and ended up in Jason Hare’s shuffle? Again, don’t get me wrong, I actually love the mellow gold of America, but it’s not exactly helping in my plight to stay awake. This is a great song though.

4. Green Day – Jesus of Suburbia: I. Jesus of Suburbia / II. City of the Damned / III. I Don’t Care / IV. Dearly Beloved / V. Tales of Another Broken Home (from American Idiot)

I give Green Day a ton of credit for managing to stay “punk” by pulling the most un-punk career moves time and time again. Let’s face it, it rings true that living well is the best revenge and they’ve certainly done just that. Clocking in at just over 9 minutes this is a great tune with more twists and turns then a roller coaster. Five individual movements make up the sum that is “Jesus of Suburbia”, each with its own tone and tempo.

5. Incubus – Stellar (acoustic) (from When Incubus Attacks, Volume 1)

I guess we’re wrapping on a very chill note again. I’m going to have to start setting some conditions for my Friday shuffles to get some boogie back in the Five.

So that’s mine for this week, what’s carrying you out to the car?

Tomorrow is officially the first day of summer, the longest day of the year, but today it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a fine slice of Friday Five! Last week I let the Junior Pantherz take over in the kitchen, but I’m back this week to take the reigns. The Fivers have been representing in droves and as always I’m amazed at the range of music that appears in the comments. We must be doing something right here at Ickmusic to get such a diverse crowd together. For those who have not played along yet here’s the scoop, open up whatever provides you with tunes and hit the shuffle button and let the music take you where it will and if you feel so inclined share the results with the rest of the musical voyeurs in the comments section.

Here are this week’s tracks:

1. John Travolta – Greased Lightnin’ (single version) (from Grease – The Original Soundtrack From the Motion Picture)

Seriously, vividly remember being a kid running around singing “You that no shit, we’ll be getting lots of tit” and “I ain’t bragging she’s a real pussy wagon” and no one batting an eye.

2. Jellyfish – The Man I Used to Be (from Bellybutton)

They may have only released two records, but I’ll be damned if they were not two of the best slices of power pop to come out in the early 90’s. While I prefer Spilt Milk to Bellybutton, this is just a matter of splitting hairs. If you’ve not ever experienced Jellyfish I cannot recommend doing so enough. Sure they dressed as if they were stuck in the cover of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and sound like an amalgam of The Beatles and Queen, but since when is that a bad thing?

3. Dave Matthews Band – Lie in Our Graves (from Warehouse 8, Volume 3)

This reminds me that I need to write up my review of last weeks show! This is a great version from the ’95 tour with a stellar sax solo from Leroi Moore. As much flack as these guys can sometimes take (which I’ve never understood) for being ‘frat guy’ rock they really are an amazing group of musicians who’ve managed to make a living doing what they love and compromising very little (except maybe for every summer vacation for the last 15 years).

4. Toto – Rosanna (from Super Hits)

This song is the only good thing that any Arquette has ever contributed to this world.

5. Counting Crows – Colorblind (from This Desert Life)

Well this is no way to end an otherwise upbeat Friday Five. Not to say that this is not a brilliant song. I’ve always been a huge fan of Adam Duritz‘s more intimate moments.

(Just as an aside, the very next tune to pop up on the shuffle was “Delicious” by Catherine Wheel, now that’s the proper kick off into the weekend!!)

So what’s kicking off your summer?

Very often there is not much in the way of “Rock” in our “Indie Rock” but Saskatoon’s Junior Pantherz must have missed the memo. Pete beat me to the punch in posting a review of their latest record Rejoice, Remain but in the spirit of one-upping the boss man, I’ve invited the crew to log our first Special Guest Friday Five. Much to my pleasure the band accepted and drummer Arnold Van Lambalgen II turned in the following saying “he had fun doing it”.

For the uninitiated, the rules of the Friday Five are quite simple; first rule is you do not talk about fight… I mean, be honest! Open up whatever provides you with tunes and hit the shuffle button and let the music take you where it will and if you feel so inclined share the results with the rest of the musical voyeurs in the comments section.

Here are this week’s tracks:

1. My Morning Jacket – Sec Walkin (from Evil Urges)

“A song from their brand new album. Catchy as hell. Such a simple – yet powerful – song. It’s one of those tracks you put in on a Friday after a long work week.”

2. Sloan – Believe in Me (from Parallel Play)

“Canada’s best Indie Pop/Rockers have just released their 9th album…..and if the track above is any indication, I know we’ll see at least 9 more. I like them so much in fact; we named our band after one of their songs. They haven’t even sued us for defamation of character…….yet!”

3. The Mongrels – The Answer (from Oshawa)

“A band that you, your parents and your guitar teacher will all love. Equal part rock and soul, with TWO drummers! Can’t have too many drummers….”

4. Sly & The Family Stone – I Want to Take You Higher (from Stand!)

“No introduction needed. No explanation needed. A necessity. You dig?!”

5. Swervedriver – Duel (from Mezcal Head)

“They’ve just kicked off their reunion with a stop at Coachella. By the time you read this, I’ll be (safely) landed in Toronto ready to play a Junior Pantherz showcase and gearing up to see THE Swervedriver shortly after. I can hardly contain myself.”

I want to thank Arnie for playing along and Jesse at Killbeat Music for making this happen.
If you haven’t already, check out Junior Pantherz record Rejoice, Remain: Amazon | iTunes

Now what’s getting your weeking moving in the right direction?

I’m Late, I’m Late for a very important date, No time to say hello, goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!!

They say the best laid plans, right? I took the afternoon off of work, had a small project and was going to roll out a very special Five before heading out to dinner with friends. Well you know they said about the best laid plans…

At any rate, though he chooses not to celebrate it anymore, I thought it appropriate to dedicate this week’s Friday Five to his royal badness on the eve of his 50th birthday. That said it’s late so let’s lower the lights, light some candles and let the funk flow. I apologize to the friends of the Five for last week’s rush job. There are some exciting things brewing in Friday Five land so stay tuned! If you’ve missed the ‘Friday Five’ to date its quite easy, I hit the shuffle button and share the first five tracks along with thoughts, quips and memories.

The rest is up to you; feel free to add your random five in the comments.

Here are this week’s tracks:

1. Prince – Sleep Around (from Emancipation)

I don’t think that this song gets it’s due. Buried on disc three of Emancipation, this slice of horn laden funk delivers a one two punch of a witty lyric and great driving beat. I remember the anticipation of hearing this one live during the Jam of the Year tour.

2. Prince – When You Were Mine (from The Hits/The B-Sides)

This is in my all time top 5 favorite Prince tracks to jam along with.

3. Prince & The New Power Generation – Jughead (from Diamonds and Pearls)

I can’t even defend this one. You know how sometimes things are so bad they are good. This is not one of those cases. I’d sooner listen to a David Archuletta record than listen to this track.

4. Prince – Mustang Instrumental (from The Beautiful Experience)

I miss the days of single and EP’s jam packed with mixes, remixes, B-Sides and 5 different tracks. Dang this five is starting to get depressing.

5. New Power Generation – Mashed Potato Girl Intro (from Exodus)

Have you ever seen Under the Cherry Moon? Remember the comical Tricky/Christopher moments? Times that by about a million and you’ve got the Mashed Potato Girl intro.

So Happy 50th Birthday Mr. Nelson and to the Fivers, what doin’ you like you wanna be done this Friday (or maybe Saturday…)