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The Friday Five: November 2, 2012

Michael Parr November 2, 2012 44

The Friday Five

Friday Five : |ˈfrīdā – fīv| : 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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About the author: Michael Parr View all posts by
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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  • http://twitter.com/mordalo Mordalo

    Being in the Midwest, I was fortunate to be spared Sandy’s wrath, but my heart goes out to the East Coast. You can take the boy from the ‘Burgh, but you’ll never take the ‘Burgh from the boy.

    As for the Five…kinda tame today, but that’s what the way my Winamp shuffled.

    1) Monty Python – Eric The Half-a-Bee Song

    25 years later and Monty Python’s The Final Rip-Off is still one of my favourite CDs. It never gets old…well, at least for me. The End.

    2) Sheryl Crow – Soak Up the Sun

    Not one of my favourite songs by Ms. Crow, but if you’re in the car, it’s a nice warm day, the sun is shining and you’re just out for a drive, it’s one that deserves to be cranked.

    3) Allen Toussaint – My Baby is the Real Thing

    When Mr. Toussaint graces my Five, it’s always a good day.

    4) Nana Mouskouri – Oh, Happy Day.

    I happen to love Nana Mouskouri. Her voice is just so unique, so magical. She’s one of those people who, IMHO, could sing the phone book and I’d be happy listening to her.

    5) Big Joe Turner – Shake, Rattle and Roll

    Oh, yeah! We’re leaving this Five on a big note! Get down and funky with your bad-a$$ selves tonight! ‘Scuce me while I dance my way outta here…

  • http://www.clangandclatter.com/ Phil

    Let’s get lyrical (a creative way for me to do a short Five since I’m swamped at work).

    Mae – “Painless” (The Everglow, 2005)

    Until this empty place is filled, I’ll keep pretending

    Devin Townsend Project – “Hyperdrive!” (Addicted, 2009)

    Sail away, Hey I’m sorry
    Every day’s a new day

    Metal Church – “Burial at Sea” (The Dark, 1987)

    I saw the charts, I saw the maps. I know we’re way of course.
    I’ve got to stop this captain, His twisted wicked force.
    We’re on our way to certain death to drown among the ice.
    I’ve got to stop this madness or the ship will pay the price.

    Leaving Araby – “Armistice Is A Dirty Word” (Slightly South of Scene, 2006)

    If it’s war, then you win.
    I’m just too tired, so hold your breath.
    It’s too late to talk about it.

    Anthrax – “Belly of the Beast” (The Greater of Two Evils, 2004)

    You walk this earth without a heart

  • http://www.clangandclatter.com/ Phil

    What say you, my Friday Fivers: should I honor the request to start Christmas music early, or keep steadfast in my denial?

    Stand your ground, my friend. Christmas season doesn’t officially start until the day after Thanksgiving in our household. Then it’s all Christmas songs all the time.

  • http://twitter.com/mordalo Mordalo

    Yeah, I’d wait until Thanksgiving. It’s what I’ve always done (even if I do have a couple Christmas songs in my rotation all year long, but who doesn’t love Fairytale of New York?).

  • http://www.clangandclatter.com/ Phil

    I’ve actually shunted all my Christmas tunes into a separate iTunes library that will probably get loaded up on one the accounts on the Mac and shuffled and streamed to the AppleTV this year.

  • http://redvioletblue.typepad.com/abyssgazing/ abyssgazer

    I mostly only like “seasonal” songs from the 40s and 50s like “Winter Weather” and “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”, so it really needs to be more wintry for me. I don’t load those on until much colder weather (I’m in the Mid-Atlantic), but then they’re pretty much non-stop until the end of January.

    My five are just too random–Tweaker, Suzanne Vega, Buffalo Springfield, Tim Hecker,….freaking Heart. I just can’t.

  • Rock_dawg

    Here’s hoping you (and everyone else affected) get your power back soon!
    1) Most of the Spice Girls hits were pretty forgettable, but “2 Become 1″ is easily one of their best.
    2) It is too damn early for Xmas music! Although I admit to being a notorious Scrooge as a result of too many years in retail. I don’t “get” Christmas Spirit until the afternoon of the 24th.

    On with the Five;
    “World Turning” – Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac
    Buckingham Nicks may have been the ready made duo, but the best collaborations of the ’75-’87 era were Buckingham/McVie’s.

    “Lucille” – The Hollies, Stay With…
    Did the world need more Merseybeat covers of American ’50′s rock and roll? Maybe not, but the Hollies vocal sound is too irresistible to dismiss.

    “Awaken” – Yes, Going for The One
    I have a love/hate relationship with Yes: for every album I think is amazing, there is one that I feel is a pretentious, meandering load of crap. For a 15 minute prog track, “Awaken” is pretty solid.

    “Mama’s Pearl” – Jackson 5, Compact Command Performances
    The great J5 hits are this perfect combination of MJ’s precocious talent, the other fours great harmonizing and the amazing arrangements cooking behind them.

    “Let It Rock” – Jeff Lynne, Long Wave
    The Mr. Blue Sky remake project will probably sell better, but this collection of early pop and rock covers is the better disc. Everything automatically sounds like everything else Lynne does, so I guess your mileage will vary based on how much you like his sound.

    Have a great (and hopefully warm and dry) weekend fellow Fivers.

  • Rock_dawg

    I keep what Xmas music I have digitally in an iTunes playlist that I can highlight all of and select “skip when shuffling”. Does a pretty good job of keeping out-of-sight-out-of-mind for eleven months a year.

  • Rock_dawg

    “Are all your pets called Eric?”

  • http://www.popdose.com/ Michael Parr

    Same here, though that Queen track was able to sneak through on a technicality.

  • http://www.popdose.com/ Michael Parr

    “Fairytale of New York” is acceptable any time of the year.

  • mc3

    Way too soon for Christmas music!

    1. “Evil Urges” My Morning Jacket (Evil Urges, 2008)
    My five from last week had “One Big Holiday” from the Wired CD, which was my intro to the band. “Evil Urges” was the first album I purchased and listened to it pretty heavily for a while. Love the falsetto vocals.

    2. “Steam” [Radio Edit] Peter Gabriel (Hit Disc 1, 2003)
    I’m lukewarm on Gabriel. This song (from 1992’s “Us”) strikes me as an obvious attempt to re-create the formula that sold so well in the 80’s. If that was the goal, he was successful. He makes a screaming sound that is exactly the same as one he makes in “Shock the Monkey”.

    3. “Purple Hearts” Stockholm Syndrome (Holy Happy Hour, 2004)
    Good tune from a great album from the fantastic, but only part time band of Jerry Joseph (Jerry & the Jackmormans), Dave School (Widepread Panic) and others.

    4. “Mahgeetah” My Morning Jacket (It Still Moves, 2003)
    OK, MMJ has now appeared 3 times in 2 weeks. You’d think I’m a fanatic, but I’m not really. While they’ve made up 30% of my last 2 Friday Fives, some quick iPod analytics reveals that they make up only 0.62% of my collection.

    5. “Message in a Bottle” The Police (Regatta de Blanc, 1979)
    An important tune from an important band that I couldn’t care less if I ever heard again.

    Bonus! today’s 6th tune was a piece of crap so awful that I may possibly be scarred for life. I have to nominate it for the “World’s Worst Songs” feature; It was “Painted Smile” from the Moody Blues’ 1981 “Long Distance Voyager” album. To give you a flavor, here’s what wiki has to say about it,
    “Written by Ray Thomas, “Painted Smile” is the first in a suite of three songs that concludes the album .”Painted Smile” has a circus theme, and tells the story of a circus jester.”
    Does that tell you enough?

  • Keith

    I think my 5 was inspired by Wardlaw’s inspiring interview with Debbie Gibson:

    “The Story of Us” by Taylor Swift from Speak Now. As the drums and guitars kicked in, I thought this was a Killers song.

    “Stay” by Cher Lloyd from Sticks & Stones UK Edition. This Shakespeare’s Sister cover shoulda been tacked onto the US edition — one of her best songs.

    “Creep” by Scala & Kolancy Brothers — the “choir” version of Radiohead’s classic is as chilling today as it was when The Social Network’s first preview hit theaters.

    “Elephants” by Them Crooked Vultures — time to wake up, time to rock!

    “Hard Shoulder” by Mark Knopfler from Get Lucky. Time to go back to bed.

  • jhallCORE

    1) Iris Dement — “Keep Me God” (The Way I Should, 1996).
    2) Public Enemy — “Nighttrain” (Apocalypse 91 … The Enemy Strikes Black, 1991).
    3) Matthew Sweet — “Does She Talk?” (Girlfriend, 1991).
    4) Branford Marsalis — “Dewey Baby” (The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, 1991).
    5) Tori Amos — “Leather” (Little Earthquakes, 1992).

    Enjoy the weekend.

  • MC_Snocap

    Don’t quarantine the holiday tunes! From Thanksgiving to New Year’s you can’t help but hear them; at other times, you can actually listen to them.

  • MC_Snocap

    Warning: You’re going to want whiplash after this Five. Clearly, the iPod is bummed.

    1) “The World Before Later On” – They Might Be Giants (The Spine, 2004)
    A draggy dirge about the world not being as sci-fi nifty as expected. Appropriately short and kind of witty, but no one’s kicking up their heels over this one.

    2) “Can’t Get It Out of My Head” – ELO (Strange Magic, 1974)
    The singer sounds less tortured than enthralled by his depression – “Robin Hood and William Tell and Ivanhoe and Sir Lancelot – they don’t envy me!” The production and song structure seems to agree. Big fan of this one.

    3) “Sweet Harmony” – The Beloved (The Chillout Session, 1993)
    This one runs down social issues with chorus mellowly yearning for vague action. 20 years later, the problems are still here. Not unappealing, but wan.

    4) “Che Notte!” – Mike Patton (Mondo Cane, 2010)
    It’s in Italian, so I can’t speak to its downheartedness quotient. But Patton’s wicked ringmaster delivery threatens to lift the five out of the doldrums …

    5) “It Was a Very Good Year” – Frank Sinatra (The Very Good Years, 1965)
    … and then Sinatra mopes in, drafting his own eulogy (at 50!), reminiscing about days gone by with no spirit for the future. Way to light up a room, Chairman. Sheesh.

  • http://www.popdose.com/ Michael Parr

    “An important tune from an important band that I couldn’t care less if I ever heard again.”

    Hallelujah!

    Look, don’t get me wrong, I love The Police, but I don’t ever say to myself, “self, I really want to listen to The Police today.”

    Also, I love the quick statistical analysis on your MMJ content.

  • http://www.popdose.com/ Michael Parr

    “Soak Up the Sun” is on the permanent no-play list for two very distinct reasons: one, it was the song playing during a particularly painful and mentally scarring emergency dental procedure that I endured many years ago, and two, it generally sucks.

  • http://www.popdose.com/ Michael Parr

    Phil, I specifically thought of you when The Lord Weird Slough Feg shuffled up. I highly recommend checking them out.

  • http://www.popdose.com/ Michael Parr

    Wait, Cher Lloyd did “Stay”? Damn, now I have to find that.

  • http://twitter.com/IrishJava Dennis Corrigan

    I’m a Sandy refugee, and hope everyone’s hanging in there in the Parr household. He’s my Five
    1. “He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’” by the Velvelettes from Hitsville USA the Motown Singles Colleciton 1959-1971. Some hot Motown by one of the labels early girl groups

    2. “My Biggest Thrill” by the Mighty Lemon Drops from the Brit Box followed up with some, jangle-y Brit pop from maybe my favorite box set ever

    3. “It’s All I Can Do” by the Cars from Candy-O. I was 13 when this record came out. I bought it because I liked “Let’s Go” and the smoking hot Vargas girl on the cover and not necessarily in that order

    4. “Spoonful” by Cream from the Clapton Crossroads box set. Thanks to this and the Stone’s “Little Red Rooster”, I discovered the greatness of Howlin’ Wolf who in turn led me to Charley Patton

    5. “No More” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers from Echo. And a quiet end.

    Hope everyone stays safe (and warm).

  • http://twitter.com/IrishJava Dennis Corrigan

    Too early for Christmas music. I have my set to not shuffle, although I will occassionally listen to Fairytale of New York

  • http://www.discoskonfort.com/artists/drxl/ drxl

    You are dead on about “Steam”, i.e., “an obvious attempt to re-create the formula that sold so well in the 80’s”, but I do not find the attempt as successful as you do. It ends falling miles short of Sledgehammer.

  • http://www.discoskonfort.com/artists/drxl/ drxl

    That Paul Gilbert video was awesome! Thanks

  • http://www.discoskonfort.com/artists/drxl/ drxl

    I also had to check it out immediately, and even though Cher Lloyd’s vocals are amazing (but lacking the smirkness of the original), those synth stabs for the crescendo are awful.

  • mc3

    Fair enough. I was ready to move on a little past the halfway mark.

  • http://twitter.com/mordalo Mordalo

    My apologies if the appearance of that particular tune has brought back any physical or emotional distress. I cannot argue the suckage, though.

  • http://twitter.com/mordalo Mordalo

    There’s nothing so odd about that.

  • http://twitter.com/mordalo Mordalo

    Vaughn Monroe approves.

  • Ernie G

    1. Roach In De Corner – Errol Scorcher (vintage reggae DJ fights a cockroach – “Bim! Kill ‘im!”)
    2. Down River – David Ackles (you probably know this one)
    3. Honey – Bobby Goldsboro (er, yes, well…)
    4. Vägen Gick Vindlande Grå – Contact (1970s Swedish prog)
    5. 105 – Banjo or Freakout (what I believe the young people call “dream-pop”)

  • http://www.clangandclatter.com/ Phil

    Had to hunt it down on YouTube to actually listen, but 10 seconds in, and I already like it! I’ll check out more, but you may have just given me another band to spend money on.

    For the last time, I will ask you to join … MY … CAAAAUUUUSE!!

    Nice.

    And yes, Folk Metal is (unfortunately) a real (sub-)genre. As is Pirate Metal, Power Metal, Viking Metal, and … Cello Metal?! WTF?! Can we just stop already?

  • http://www.clangandclatter.com/ Phil

    I ignorantly wrote Paul Gilbert off in the 80s during Mr. Big’s heyday, but I have since discovered that the guy is the real deal. He’s definitely very technical and discuss heady music theory with the best of them, but he’s also very musical, plays with a lot of feeling, and doesn’t let his guitar wankery get in the way of a good tune. And he can play just about anything as supported by this video.

  • mb

    Subudes – Social Aid & Pleasure Club (Behind The Levee, 2006)

    Damnwells – Texas (Bastards Of The Beat, 2004)

    Bob Kuban & The In-Men – The Cheater, 1966 (Beg, Scream & Shout, 1997)

    Joni Mitchell – Free Man In Paris (Court And Spark, 1974)

    Gentle Giant – Raconteur Troubadour (Octopus, 1972)

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Steve-Loring/1809690020 Steve Loring

    Hmmm… seems the Ipod was in a metal mood today…

    “Hell and Back” – Metallica – Beyond Magnetic EP
    I quite like this EP of rerecordings of supposedly unused Death Magnetic tracks. I also wonder why, since all of these are better than half the ones on that album, why they went unused. Anyway, this one’s a good midtempo rocker, but I much prefer Hate Train or Rebel of Babylon, tbh.
    “Die Laughing (Acoustic)” – Therapy? – Diane EP
    It’s an EP-alooza, folks! This one popped up on the 5 last week with the regular studio version, and much as I love the Mighty T?, I’m pretty tired of this one as there are something like 900000 versions in existence.
    “Black” – Drain STH – Freaks of Nature
    Stand out track off the very patchy sophomore effort from the would be Swedish supermodels. Co-written and guest guitar supplied by Tony Iommi, who later married the singer and swept her off the face of the earth to his castle keep. Lucky motherfucker.
    “We Rock” – Dio – The Last in Line
    “They come for killing… they leave and still it seems… the cloud that’s left behind… can penetrate your mind.” Damn, I miss Dio. RIP, buddy.
    “Auto Pilot” – Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R
    Nice, catchy space jam for a Friday from everyone’s favorite purveyers of catchy space jams. Just got into them a few years ago and have the debut, Songs for the Deaf and this. Thinking I need to get more.

    As far as Xmas music, having worked as much retail as I did in my twenties, I try to stay FAR FAR away, always. Have a good weekend all!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Steve-Loring/1809690020 Steve Loring

    A friend turned me on to Slough Feg. Ape Uprising is epic!

  • http://www.clangandclatter.com/ Phil

    Love me some Damnwells.

  • http://www.theseconddisc.com Mike Duquette

    As Halloween is over, I decree it fine for private Christmas music consumption (i.e.: within your home or on headphones). Not at work, etc., ’til probably after the 19th (my dad’s birthday). That’s how I do it. ANYWAY, a powered-up Five:

    1. Elvis Costello & The Attractions, “Miracle Man (Live @ The Nashville Rooms, 1977)”: from the bonus disc that came with the last deluxe edition of “My Aim is True.” I like the El Mocambo show better (which I own but recently realized isn’t on my iTunes), but I’m such an EC sap that I own most or all of those deluxe editions in some form or another.

    2. Sade, “I Never Thought I’d See the Day”: an OK Sade album side. There are far better, and others that take far less time to get moving.

    3. Featherbed, “Could It Be Magic”: oh, you think I’m going to shy away from my family-created Manilow tolerance? Nope! This is a sickly-sweet version of one of Barry’s best singles, performed by the man himself under the studio pseudonym “Featherbed,” a project produced by Tony Orlando.

    4. Mumford & Sons, “Dust Bowl Dance”: one of many artists whose works I own but I’m not a crazy big fan of (see also: Coldplay), this track is OK. A little edgier arrangement than what’s on the rest of their first album.

    5. Mariah Carey, “I’ll Be There (Unplugged)”: I’ve always loved this song (the one Jackson song that made me cry the day he died), as well as this cover version. Mariah’s vocal acrobatics aren’t as insane as they could be later on, and big ups to Trey Larenz on background vocals!

    Have a good weekend, and to my fellow East Coasters/Jerseyans – stay safe out there.

  • Keith

    Alas — I am a sucker for big swaths of Euro synth (hence my near obsession with Girls Aloud). If I ever had to lip sync for my life, I would choose something like this.

  • http://www.clangandclatter.com/ Phil

    I love “We Rock.” Can’t believe I don’t have Last in Line in my library. I would have sworn that I did.

  • http://www.popdose.com/ Michael Parr

    Paul Gilbert is easily my favorite “shredder.” If you love that video, Google Paul Gilbert vs. Marty Friedman.

    Also, Paul just put out a new record (Vibrato) that I highly recommend.

  • http://www.popdose.com/ Michael Parr

    He has an insane musical vocabulary, and is absolutely hilarious.

  • http://www.popdose.com/ Michael Parr

    I’d recommend starting with Traveller and Hardworlder.

  • Rock_dawg

    (Walks off to the CD shelves to get his DrainSTH CD’s)

  • Rock_dawg

    When I got home Friday evening, the big discussion on Facebook was that Shoppers Drug Mart (Canada’s biggest pharmacy chain) had received complaints about the fact that they had started piping in Christmas music on the 1st and pulled it “for a couple of weeks”. The string on their Facebook page runs to tens of thousands of comments both for and against (and some kind of racist from what I looked at). You’ve touched on a real hot button topic, Michael.