The Friday Five: March 16, 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:
“Lemon Yellow” by Plasticene (from BASEketball, 1998)
I have absolutely no recollection of this song. Clearly, there was no short supply of soundtrack fodder in the ’90s.
“Rock in This Pocket (Song of David)” by Suzanne Vega (from 99.9 F°, 1992)
I was duped into purchasing this record for the oh-so-catchy title track, and the even more efficient earworm, “Blood Makes Noise.” The juxtaposition of Vega’s folksy leaning against the pseudo-industrial production of Vega’s husband Mitchell Froom.
“I Found a Girl” by The Valadiers (from The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 3: 1963, 2005)
Motown’s first white vocal group, and they don’t even rate a Wikipedia page? Ain’t that a bitch.
“Green Room” by Dig (from Dig, 1993)
“All I really want to do is get high …” Well, it would appear that my shuffle is attempting to expose just how much bad ’90s music is lurking in the dark bowels of my library.
“The Betrayer” by Kaki King (from Junior, 2010)
I’m not going to lie: I preferred Miss King when she just played guitar.
What’s on your shuffle today?
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?
The Friday Five: October 14, 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:
“Come See About Me” by Tedeschi Trucks Band (from Revelator, 2011)
“Mary Ann” by Bob Dylan (from Dylan, 1973)
“Get Up to Get Down” by Brass Construction (from Phat Trax: The Best of Old School, Volume 1, 1997)
“(He’s) Seventeen” by The Supremes (from The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 2: 1962, 2005)
“Nasty” by Janet Jackson (from Control, 1986)
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?