The Friday Five: July 29, 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:
A quick Friday Five for all you patient girls and boys. It’s also the first Friday Five shuffled up from Spotify!
“Cold Day in the Sun” by Foo Fighters (from Skin and Bones, 2006)
“Tame” by Pixies (from Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies, 2004 )
“You Left a Long, Long Time Ago” by Willie Nelson (from One Hell of a Ride, 2008)
“Down incognito” by Winger (from The Very Best of Winger, 2001)
“Not the Red Baron” by Tori Amos (from Boys for Pele, 1996)What’s on your shuffle today?
Willie’s Spirit
Since stumbling across it on Rdio yesterday, I’ve become quickly enamored with Willie Nelson’s Spirit
album. “She Is Gone” is the only song I was really familiar with from the record. It’s a sparse, heartbreakingly gorgeous tune – one that I moped along to in the late 90’s during a breakup or two. But I had no idea it was nestled into an album of equally sparse and beautiful songs, and also no idea that the song that comes before it – the album opener and instrumental “Matador” – actually enhances the beauty of “She Is Gone”. It serves as sort of an introduction to the song – and to the album as a whole.
Spirit is a somber affair, to be sure – the theme heartbreak and loss – but oh the delicate beauty of it.
Excuse me while I jump back in…
The Friday Five: June 12, 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:
Willie Nelson – “Always on My Mind” (mp3) (from The Essential Willie Nelson)
I may be committing an act of blasphemy, but this is – in my opinion – the quintessential version of this song. Released in 1982, this earned Willie a Grammy award (Best Male Country Vocal Performance) and the songwriters Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson Thompson the Song of the Year and Best Country Song statues. This tune is easily in my top 10 favorite ballads.
Incognito – “Rivers Runnin’ Black” (mp3) (from Life, Stranger Than Fiction)
Not my favorite Incognito record, but this is a specifically strong (mostly instrumental) track. This band never lacks for groove.
Chrisette Michele – “Playin’ Our Song” (from Epiphany)
This record, while good in it’s own right, was a disappointment for me. After the power and range displayed in her debut I Am, this record feels flat. It’s a decent modern R&B record but suffers from the input of her songwriters trying to hard to sell a ‘hit”. The biggest offender here is the track “Another One” which is essentially Beyoncé‘s “Irreplaceable” with different lyrics. Oh, and the real rub here is they were both written by Ne-Yo.
Janet Jackson – “That’s the Way Love Goes” (from Design of a Decade: 1986-1996)
Mmm… Good Tune!
Old Californio – “From the Mouths of Babes” (from Westering Again)
You may recognize Old Californio from Pete’s Ick Pick column (link). This is actually one my favorite cuts from that record and has stood up to multiple listens. As a matter of fact I think that I’m going to go listen to the whole record again now.
What tunes are brightening your day?