Friday Five : |ˈfrÄ«dÄ – 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:
Neither wind nor rain nor lack of power nor gloom of night stays this courier from the swift completion of the Five! Hurricane Sandy might have knocked out the power, but I couldn’t let down the faithful Fivers, so tell me: who’s ready to shuffle?
“2 Become 1 (Spanish version)” by Spice Girls (from 2 Become 1, 1997)
First, I can’t hear this without recalling the scene in THAT THING YOU DO! where Tom Hanks’ character, Mr. White, calmly, but sternly, explains that The Wonders would be recording the titular track in Spanish. Second, is there no Spanish translation for “wanna make love to you, baby,” or did they just forget to record that line?
Say what you will, but “2 Become 1” is as finely crafted a pop ballad as we’ve seen in the last twenty years. Oh, there is also this.
“Gene-ocide” by The Lord Weird Slough Feg (from Traveller, 2003)
Whiplash!
Galloping guitars! Epic record spanning concepts! Not only is Slough Feg one of the finest Folk-Metal bands (yes, Folk-Metal is a thing) in the land, they spawned on of my favorite side-projects in the form of Hammers of Misfortune.
“You Really Got Me” by Van Halen (from Van Halen, 1978)
Man, I hate it when “You really Got Me” shuffles up; it means that I have to stop the shuffle and listen to “Eruption” in its proper sequence before it. I won’t count it towards the tally, but it would just be like Frankie Beverly without Maze to separate the two.
“I Could Have Lied” by Red Hot Chili Peppers (from Blood Sugar Sex Magik, 1991)
Like much of Blood Sugar Sex Magik, “I Could Have Lied” is like a raw open wound. The production has you sitting in the middle of the room as John Frusciante, Will Farrell and Flea hammer out a quiet groove, Truly, this is likely one of Rick Rubin’s greatest accomplishments.
“Thank God It’s Christmas” by Queen (from The Platinum Collection (disc 3: Greatest Hits III), 2000)
I’m not ready for Christmas music yet. Actually, I would normally skip this during a Friday Five. This has actually become a point of contention in my household, as my lovely wife and teenage son have petitioned to have holiday music start early in November. I’ve flatly denied the request, conjecturing that we should focus instead on the next proper holiday before skipping to Christmas. What say you, my Friday Fivers: should I honor the request to start Christmas music early, or keep steadfast in my denial?
What’s on your shuffle today?
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