• 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: April 16, 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:

    “Uptown Girl” by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (from Have a Ball, 1997)

    This week’s shuffle accompanied me during my early morning visit to the gym. This sped-up version of the Billy Joel classic got my blood pumping!

    “I Won’t Spend Another Night Alone” by The Ataris (from Blue Skies, Broken Hearts…Next 12 Exits, 1999)

    Before the band covered Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer,” and climbed aboard the MTV-fueled wave of pop-punk in the early aught’s, they were just a little band from Indiana with a penchant for writing the intensely personal songs. This little ditty was sent to me by a friend back in 2000, and I promptly ran out and purchased the CD after hearing it.

    “Would?” by Alice in Chains (from Dirt, 1992)

    This is, without a doubt, my favorite Alice in Chains tune.

    “Sweetness” by Jimmy Eat World (from Bleed American, 2001)

    In the groove, just listen…

    “Fell on Black Days” by Soundgarden (from Superunknown, 1994)

    By the time this track came up, it completely disturbed my groove; I was mid-sprint and lost my steam. Making for a less-than productive treadmill session, I hit stop and headed to the next machine.

    What’s on your shuffle today?