The Friday Five

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:

“Too Dramatic” by Ra Ra Riot (from The Orchard, 2010)

Two years on and this release still makes me weak in the knees.

“Sweet and Tender Hooligan” by The Smiths (from Louder Than Bombs, 1987)

Etcetera … etcetera … etcetera!

“Dark Eyes” by Bob Dylan (from Empire Burlesque, 1985)

Mm, I’m not sure I can sit through this. You see, I don’t dislike Mr. Zimmerman, but he is something that I enjoy in small, thoughtful doses. What I’m saying is: I don’t take well to shuffled up Dylan.

“Why Should You Come When I Call” by Counting Crows (from Hard Candy, 2002)

By my account, Hard Candy is likely the most ignored Counting Crows record in their discography. I’m guilty of this myself! When “American Girls” hit the airwaves it was far to bland and pedestrian to pique my interest, and seemed a far cry from the prior albums. I do go back to this record, now and again, and still fail to find that spark that ignites when I listen to just about any other record in the band’s collection.

“5 More Minutes” by Meaghan Smith (from The Cricket’s Orchestra, 2009)

Back before the arrival of my newborn son, my wife and I would burn the midnight oil on the weekend; often saying up well past the final act of Saturday Night Live, past LXTV, and still be bleary-eyed, but awake, for TALK STOOP. If this seems like a decidedly odd non sequitur, don’t worry … we’re getting there. At any rate, on occasion host Cat Greenleaf would feature musical acts, ranging from Paul Simon to The Roots. One night, this whisp of a chanteuse with a guitar joined Greenleaf on her stoop in Brooklyn, and I was hooked. She’s quirky and oh-so twee, which makes her pretty much right up my alley.

“I’ve Known Rivers” by Gary Bartz (from Living in the Streets, Volume 3: Busting Out of the Ghetto, 2002)

Beware: deep grooves ahead!

Kind of a hit or miss shuffle this week.

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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