Friday Five : |ˈfrÄ«dā – fÄ«v| : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button in iTunes and 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 the media player of your choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.

The Five:

“The Dilemma” by Rebirth Brass Band (from Rebirth of New Orleans, 2011)

This… now this is the right way to kick off a Friday Five. Heck, I don’t even have much to say about this, I’m just going to enjoy it.

“Something Tells Me (Something Is Gonna Happen Tonight)” by Cilla Black (from Top of the Pops 1971, 2007)

Whoa, did someone catch the plate on that truck? This is a harsh bit of whiplash, one which I’m going to have to do a bit of research on. Friday Fivers, to the web! According to the Wikipedia Cilla Black OBE (that’s British for Lady-Knight) is “an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality” who is celebrating her 50 years in the entertainment industry. Also of note is her association with Messrs. Lennon and McCartney, who wrote her first single (“Love of the Loved”) and contributed other songs throughout her career.

See kids, the Friday Five isn’t just fun, it is educational!

“Paradise” by Sade (from The Ultimate Collection (disc 1), 2011)

Not my favorite Sade tune, but even a ‘bad’ Sade tune is still pretty good, no?

Speaking of Sade, have you all heard Rhye? I usually dislike making direct artist-to-artist comparisons, but if there was Sade throne to be abdicated, Rhye would be the heir to that throne. Their debut release, Woman, is some straight up, grown folks, baby makin’ music.

“Beautiful Strange” by Prince (from Dakota VI (disc 1), 2013)

Now how someone managed to sneak a recording device past Prince’s security (rumor is he was making people leave their cell phones at the door) into a joint that only seats 350 folks is completely beyond me, but I’m sure glad they did. Being that this was recorded in a small, confined club there is a bit more chatter than would normally be tolerable on a bootleg, but somehow the discussions overheard here just add to the effect. See, this date was one of a string of performances where Prince put his new band, 3RDEYEGIRL, through their paces and the performances are somewhere between rehearsals and a full-blown jam session. “Beautiful Strange” extends to an eight minute, slow jam workout that elevates the tune. Fans should seek this bootleg out.

“Not Tonight” by The Infamous Stringdusters (from Things That Fly, 2010)

In with a bang, out with a whimper. The Infamous Stringdusters do many things well but this ballad is a bit uninspired.

What’s on your shuffle today?

About the Author

Michael Parr

Husband, Father, Writer, Musical Voyeur, Pop Culture Glutton, Gourmet in Training. I'm the tall guy behind all these short guys. You can find me on the Twitter.

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