• Friday Five

    The Friday Five: January 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:

    Nothin’ Comes Close” by Journey (from Arrival, 2001)

    “Nothin’ Comes Close” is a perfectly serviceable bit of AOR that just seemed completely out of place in 2001. I always liked Augeri’s voice, though. He sounded like Perry enough when he had to, but had enough of his own identity that he didn’t seem like a puppet on the end of Schon’s hand.

    Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night” by Bon Jovi (from Cross Road, 1994)

    Oh, it’s going to be like that, huh? I can’t say I care much for this tune. I recall thinking it was pandering when it was initially released.

    God” by The Smashing Pumpkins (from The Aeroplane Flies High (disc 3: Zero), 1996)

    I’m beginning to question what I ever saw in The Smashing Pumpkins.

    Remember” by Bryan Adams (from Anthology, 2005)

    I’m not going to lie: I kind of dig this song. This is Adams before he started growling his way through every damn song. He definitely has a knack for writing a hook that sinks right in.

    Outshined” by Soundgarden (from A-Sides, 1997)

    One of the handful of Soundgarden tracks I actually like. You know what my favorite part is? The pre-chorus with Matt Cameron’s background vocal!

    What’s on your shuffle today?

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: December 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:

    Winter Wonderland” by Peggy Lee (from Ultra-Lounge: Christmas Cocktails, 1996)

    This is a positively swinging take on the holiday classic. A secret Santa dropped this under my Christmas tree last week and it has been in heavy rotation ever since.

    Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight)” by The Ramones (from The Big ’80s Christmas, 2001)

    YES!

    “What Can You Get a Wookie for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)” by Meco (from Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album, 1980)

    Double YES! This song couldn’t be more awful if it were sung by young Bon Jovi. (For those not in the know, the single “R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas” was, in fact, sung by a teenaged Jon Bon. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.) I was actually listening to this song before I started the Friday Five, and had posed the question on Facebook. My friend responded with “a Flobee.”

    Christmas Time Is Here” by Steve Vai (from Merry Axemas: A Guitar Christmas, 1997)

    This sounds exactly like what you would think it does. Imagine “For the Love of God” with a holiday slant. Oh so dramatic! I can see Vai’s contorted “O” face as he laid this down. Damn, I kind of feel dirty now.

    White Christmas” by Bing Crosby (from The Time-Life Treasury of Christmas, 1987)

    What better to close out this Holiday-themed Friday Five than with a classic from the indisputable King of Holiday croon.

    What’s on your shuffle today?

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: April 9, 2010

    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:

    “One More Try” by George Michael (from Faith, 1987)

    Oh, the overwrought teenaged melodrama that accompanies this tune in my memory bank. I could fill pages, upon pages, of the tales of the end of the world, listening to Chicago, Richard Marx, and so much more wuss-rock. It’s a wonder I didn’t get my ass kicked every day. (It was every-other day.)

    “Runaway” by Bon Jovi (from 7800º Fahrenheit, 1985)

    I never really gave a shit about Jon-Bon until Slippery When Wet, but I was fully aware of the band during the pre-slippery era thanks to the VCR tapes my aunt would send with 8 hours of MTV content.

    “Feels Good” by Tony! Toni! Toné! (from The Revival, 1990)

    This song was inescapable during the summer of 1990. In retrospect, I don’t think that I liked it then quite as much as I do now. To be fair, in 1990 I was likely still heavily under the influence of the crew of metal-heads that I associated with. I was forced – peer pressure is a bitch – to keep my guilty pleasures under wraps, stashing my Prince and MJ records in lieu of the latest Megadeth and Metallica.

    “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga (from The Fame Monster, 2009)

    While on some level I agree with M.I.A.’s recent assertion that Gaga is “the industry’s last stab at making itself important,” I can’t help but secretly enjoy the hell out of her over-the-top shtick.

    “The Dragon” by The Guggenheim Grotto (from Happy the Man, 2009)

    I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Ireland’s Guggenheim Grotto twice in the last month. With any luck, I’ll be seeing them again this weekend. If it seems a bit obsessive: I’ll fully admit it is, and with good reason. The duo’s songs are poetic and intimate, and tug at the heartstrings like few others can. If you are in the NYC area, I highly recommend making it to at least one of their upcoming shows. They are setting up residency at The Bowery Electric each Wednesday in June, and there is a good chance that you’ll run into me – and maybe Jason Hare – at any one of these shows.

    What’s on your shuffle today?

    Side Note: What do you guys think of the lala.com embedded tracks?

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: January 8, 2010

    Friday Five

    Friday Five : ‘frī-(,)dā,-dē ‘fīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. 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 File:

    1. “6 Underground (Filla Brazillia remix #1)” by Sneaker Pimps (from Abstract Vibes 2 More Vibes, 1997)

    Is it possible that the ’90s produced more one-hit wonders than any previous decade? Sometimes, it certainly seems like it. Case in point; British trip-hop group Sneaker Pimps, whose 1996 track “6 Underground” was inescapable. Adopted by mainstream pop and alternative radio, not to mention being featured in a slew of movies and television shows, the track was and still is the most homogenized distillation of the genre. File this one under my “guilty pleasures.”

    2. “Mean Mr. Mustard” by The Beatles (from Anthology 3, 1996)

    One of the great things that the Anthology series provided was a peek behind the curtain, showing — warts and all — the recording process behind some of the Fab Four’s greatest songs.

    3. “The Little Things Give You Away” by Linkin Park (from Minutes to Midnight, 2007)

    Despite their entire discography lurking in the corners of my library, I rarely listen to anything from Linkin Park. I’d say this track is pretty indicative of the reason why.

    4. “Work for the Working Man” by Bon Jovi (from The Circle, 2009)

    This is just plain awful. It’s not bad enough that the band has recycled the bass line from “Living on a Prayer,” but to add insult to injury, they’ve done so behind an shamefully disingenuous attempt to play on the struggles of the “working man.”

    5. “Fifty Years After the Fair” by Aimee Mann (from Whatever, 1995)

    Add Roger McGuinn’s signature 12-string chime to Aimee Mann’s beautiful voice and you’ve got the recipe for magic. I have not listened to this record in probably six or seven years, time to rectify that.

    What’s on your shuffle today?

  • Friday Five

    The Friday Five: November 06, 2009

    https://ickmusic.com/pics/FridayFive04.png

    Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have 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.

    Editor’s Note: While short on time, it occurred to me that I always have time for some twitter-sized goodness so this week’s five is all in 140 characters or less. @michaelparr

    The Five:

    The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Little Wing” (From Axis: Bold as Love, 1967)

    While possibly cliché, this is my favorite Hendrix tune. Simple, soulful and beautiful, this is easily on my desert island song list.

    Enuff Z’Nuff – “New Thing” (mp3) (from Enuff Z’Nuff, 1989)

    Day-glo attire and pop-metal leanings aside, Enuff Z’Nuff were one of the most underrated power pop bands of the ’80s and ’90s.

    Bryan Adams – “Heat of the Night” (from So Far So Good, 1993)

    Does anyone truly dislike Bryan Adams? If pressed to name the essential ’80s records, Reckless would always be mentioned in the top 10.

    Counting Crows – “Angels of the Silences” (from Recovering the Satellites, 1996)

    I recall seeing the band on the Recovering the Satellites tour and how powerful this track is live. Adam is dynamic when he wants to be.

    Bon Jovi – “Never Say Goodbye” (mp3) (from Slippery When Wet, 1986)

    The ultimate prom song, I look at this record and wonder how it is that 23 years later this band is still flogging the same dead horse.

    What’s your Five?