The Friday Five: June 15, 2012

Double double, toil and shuffle…

“Dancing In The Dark” – Bruce Springsteen, Born In The U.S.A.
This song takes a lot of s###, but it’s still a favourite. I love the booming of the drums and Clarence’s great solo in the fade.
“Do It Anyway” – Ben Folds Five, free download
I’m not blown away by this first taste of their reunion album – it’s sounds like a Way To Normal out-take – but I’m just happy to have them back. They’ve reached their goal on the Pledge Music site, where this download can be found, and they’re planning on a “non-traditional” release in the fall.
“I’m Going Down” – Bruce Springsteen, Born In The U.S.A.
The Boss comes ’round again. Kind of a silly one, but still gets the toes tappin’. I make no apologies for loving this album. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s first exposure to Springsteen was in this era and I’m sure I’m not the only one who became a life long fan because of it.
“House Full of Reasons” – Jude Cole, A View From Third Street
Thanks Dave and your Bottom Feeders! This was one of those songs that fell though the cracks for me: I remember hearing it when it came out and really liking it, but I never followed up by buying the album or anything and it disappeared from the radio soon after. The second I read the title a few weeks ago, it came rushing right back to me and I’ve probably played it about twenty times since then. Just a great, great track.
“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” – Paul Simon, Graceland
How did I go 25 years without owning a copy of Graceland? Picked up the vinyl reissue on Record Store Day and it’s been in rotation ever since.

my Shuffle seems to be chastising me today for lack of follow-through:

1.) Prince “The Sex of It (Live) from Peach and Black Disc 2. Wherever this show is from, this is the only track I bothered to put into my iTunes. Good horns. Lots of energy. B+ grade audience recording. Sheila E. was on this tour. 2.) Eminem “Cold Wind Blows” from Recovery. I tend to hate all hip-hop that came out after de la soul’s 3 feet high. I bought this for my wife, doubt she ever listened to it.3.) Franz Ferdinand “Feeling Kind of Anxious” from Blood. I remember being so upset that FF released an exclusive 2-disc version of Tonight overseas that I did not buy the skimpy US version in protest. Turns out, CD2 the dub/dance record “Blood” (released in the US eventually), was not worth the fuss. If I wanted to listen to a Justice album, I would have… oh never mind, I doubt I would have.4.) Radiohead “A Punchup at the Wedding” Live From Earls’ Court 1/27/03. Another concert recording that I only sucked one track into iTunes from. Dreamy, soundboard quality. I should seek the rest of this out as soon as I listen to The King of Limbs Remix CD that I bought and promptly forgot.5.) Brandon Flowers “On The Floor” – I went though all the trouble of buying the Flamingo (Deluxe Edition) and then never listened to it twice. Not sure this album was “the album” that the rest of the Killers were holding him back from making.

Damn, I picked the wrong week to give up my 8:00 AM Mountain Dew.

Mike,

If you could boil down Emancipation into one album, which tracks would you choose?

Here are the ones that made it to my iPod: “Jam Of The Year”, “Get Yo Groove On”, “Betcha By Golly Wow!”, “We Gets Up”, “I Can’t Make You Love Me”, “Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife”, “One Of Us.”

Here is my jazz-heavy Friday Five …

1) Kelly Willis — “If I Left You” (Easy, 2002).
2) Pat Martino — “Inside/Out” (Undeniable, 2011).
3) Bonnie Raitt — “Cure For Love” (Fundamental, 1998).
4) Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane — “Epistrophy” (Live At Carnegie Hall, recorded 1957, released 2005).
5) Cyrus Chestnut — “It Is Well (With My Soul)” (The Dark Before The Dawn, 1994).

Enjoy the weekend.

Everyone should have a little Dream Theater in their library.

I skipped the Brandon Flowers record, completely.

1. “How You Love Me Now” – Hey Monday
2. “Not Myself” – John Mayer
3. “I Say Nothing” – Voice of the Beehive
4. “Falling” – Ben Kweller
5. “I’m Alright” – Kenny Loggins

Oh, the capriciousness of the iPod shuffle! Also, when you’ve merged your music library with your wife’s, you get some interesting stretches of music. While I find all of these tunes tolerable, I’ll leave it to the reader to decide which two are ones that I really enjoy.

I am in a foul mood. And here is what my office’s iTunes shuffle had in store for me when i returned froma visit to the dentist:

1. “July” by Youth Lagoon. It takes more than a minute before anything seeming like a melody appears. Then, it is all dreamy downer twee dark pop. It lasts 4:47 but subjectively seems to be much, much longer.
2. “Hey Stoopid” by Alice Cooper. Glam Metal by numbers, and I mean that in a good way.
3. “Cumbia Mundial” by Javier Estrada, Copia Doble & Phase de 5. Javier Estrada has quickly made a name for himself by uploading loads and loads of Latin Bass tracks online, each bunch substantially better than the previous. Now he is signed to the hyper-hip label Mad Descent, and I am very glad for him. On the other hand, there is nothing very special about this digital cumbia track and I do not know who Phase de 5 are.
4. “Song for the Painter” by Lost in the Trees. Chamber Pop. Many people complain of music labels, but most times, they work, period. Case in point, here, anything that has been said about any chamber pop track can be repeated about this gorgeous track. I do not knwo if that is a good thing or not.
5. “Inverno” (Hot and Cold mix) by Zeep. After leaving Smoke City, Nina Miranda and Chris franck became Zeep, and judging by this remix, there is little difference between the two bands. Afrobrazilian chill out. Not fashionable anymore, but still very enjoyable.