The Friday Five: March 21, 2014

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:

“Cult of Personality” by Living Colour (from Vivid, 1988)

<Beavis voice> Yes! Yes! Yes! </Beavis voice>

Seriously, how many metric tons of ass does this opening riff kick? Vernon Reid’s tone is a curious thing; overdriven, but completely articulate with that reverb that doesn’t so much echo, as envelops the sound. As much as I’ve always been a fan of this record, I’ve really grown to appreciate the underlying politics as the years have passed and the messages have become more clear.

This is a helluva way to kick off a Friday Five.

“If I Ruled the World” by Kurtis Blow (from Tommy Boy Presents: Hip Hop Essentials, Volume 8 (1979-1991), 2006)

And to you sucker MC’s that sing my song
And it’s a song that’s strong about right and wrong…

Eleven years before Nas would set the world on fire with his ‘cover,’ Kurtis Blow was schooling MCs and making the world a happier place for all the good B-Girls and B-Boys.

“Baby-Baby-Baby” by TLC (from Now & Forever: The Hits, 2003)

If I had to choose a favorite TLC track, this might be it. Well, today, anyway; on other days we might be talking about “Creep,” or “Red Light Special.” Oh, hell … there’s no point in trying to pick a favorite. That “Oh baby” that Chilli drops in the Anita Baker range at the end of the tune just kills me.

“Untitled (Love Song)” by Counting Crows (from Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow, 2013)

I’ve never heard the original The Romany Rye version of this tune, but I sure to love the Crows’ version.

“Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & The News (from Live at 25, 2005)

There is something so antiseptic about this entire record that it completely obscures what a great live act Huey Lewis & The News are. As someone who has been to see the band more times in the last 10 years than he’d care to admit, I’d have to say this is not a good live record.

What’s on your shuffle today?