The Friday Five: January 27, 2012
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:
“A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend (from Vampire Weekend, 2007)
Opps! Somebody forgot to hit shuffle before hitting play! I imagine that this is the first song in many folks library —sorted by track, that is. So let’s add that to the sharing today: if you sort your library by song name, what is the first track?
“Right on Time” by The Brothers Johnson (from Right on Time, 1977)
Hot damn, if I don’t love me some Brothers Johnson. Funkier than Dave LIfton’s gym socks, the one-two combo of Louis’ monster bass lines, and George’s fluid guitar work absolutely kills.
“Running With the Night” by Lionel Richie (from The Definitive Collection, 2003)
I can’t listen to this without the video:
“Cold as Ice” by Foreigner (from The Very Best…and Beyond, 1992)
Matt Wardlaw has ruined Foreigner for me.
“Out 4000” by Rappin’ 4-Tay (from Don’t Fight the Feelin’, 1994)
I rarely rate tunes with one star. This is a one-star tune.
What’s on your shuffle today?
The Friday Five: September 9, 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:
“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?
The Friday Five: November 20, 2009
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.
The Five:
Foo Fighters – “This Is a Call” (mp3) (from Foo Fighters, 1995)
From the “Fraiser” of spin-off bands, this single was the official death knell for Grunge and the launch of a wave of the radio-friendly post-grunge alternative music that still rules the airwaves today. The thing that gets most often overlooked is the fact that, outside of some small guitar parts by Afghan Whigs mastermind Greg Dulli, the entire record was written and performed by Dave Grohl himself.
Prince – “Temple House Dub (fade)” (from Thieves in the Temple, 1990)
Once upon a time Prince would release singles. These singles would include, at minimum, three to four remixes and alternate versions, not to mention b-sides. The b-sides were often as good (see: “Love or $”, “17 Days”) and oft times better (see: “Erotic City”, “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore”) than the single itself. By the early ‘90s he was swept up with the advent of the ‘CD Maxi Single’ and used the format to its fullest extent creating EP length masterpieces. I miss those singles.
Joan Osbourne – “Midnight Train to Georgia” (from Breakfast in Bed, 2007)
In his last installment of Chart Attack!, Jason Hare exposed the true inspiration behind the Motown classic. I’m a huge fan of the original and had the pleasure of seeing the Indigo Girls perform it with Spearhead and (ironically) Joan Osbourne as guests. This version, however, is far too mellow and feels forced and utterly lacking in the soul that is tied to the very fabric of the tune itself.
Gary Moore – “Still Got the Blues” (mp3) (from Still Got the Blues, 1990)
Okay, listen to this (Ex. 1). Now, listen to this (Ex. 2). Sounds a bit similar, no? I remember learning this song earlier on in my bedroom rock star days and thinking “how the hell did he get away with that?” And in researching the track for this post, it turns out that he didn’t. What’s worse is it wasn’t even Lionel that took him to court, rather an obscure German band who claimed – and won a settlement in 2008 – that their 1974 single “Nordrach” was the track that Moore allegedly plagiarized.
Band of Horses – “Our Swords” (from Everything All the Time, 2006)
As the hordes of decade end lists come pouring in – you can follow the action at largehearted boy – the one omission that I’m most consistently surprised by is the debut record by Band of Horses. Taking elements of country, folk, southern rock and an indie rock ethos the band were darlings of the music blogs in 2006, and their follow up Cease to Begin only cemented them as a band to watch in the coming years. Perhaps their upcoming release will bring them the mainstream success they so richly deserve.
That’s my five, what’s spinning you right ‘round this week?