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:
“Taxman” by The Beatles (from Revolver, 1966)
“Taxman” is the rare Beatles tune that I have very indifferent feelings about. I don’t dislike it, nor do I particularly love it. I actually dig Stevie Ray Vaughan’s cover. Hey, enough about this Beatles tune; have you all heard Sir Paul McCartney’s new tune, “New“? I fully realize that it is the tinge on nostalgia struck the moment the harpsichord begins belting out that jaunty phrase that hooks the ear, but I’m damn excited to hear the rest of the record nonetheless.
“On My Way Up” by The Constellations (from Southern Gothic, 2010)
I don’t recall much about The Constellations other than the fact that their publicist really liked sending me material, which is an southern-rock through an hip-hop sized, indie rock filter. If I remember correctly Cee-Lo shows up somewhere on this record. I don’t know, I’m ambivalent about this tune. Next!
“What Does Your Soul Look Like, Part 4” by DJ Shadow (from Endtroducing….., 1996)
Time to sit back, relax, and just melt into the headphones. The downbeat groove just breathes under the repeating bass line; peaking with just enough of a crescendo to keep your mind occupied while your soul takes a ride. If I’m not mistaken I mentioned this record as being “essential” on an episode of Four and a Half Mikes earlier this month. (Yes, that was a shameless plug.)
“The Morning After” by Maureen McGovern (from Have a Nice Decade: The ’70s Pop Culture Box (disc 3), 1998)
Maureen McGovern, not Maureen McCormick. So … uh, I’m not going to lie: that just sent me down such an abysmal rabbit hole that I’m not sure that I want to even admit where I landed before finally looking up (20 minutes later) and realizing that I had stopped paying attention to the Friday Five.
“Garden of Simple” by Ani DiFranco (from Revelling / Reckoning (disc 1: Revelling), 2001)
I love it when Ani channels John Fahey. Vastly underrated for her ability as a guitarist, DiFranco has a manner of coaxing a huge range of dymanics from her Alvarez Yairi ADY1 utilizing her vast amount of alternate tunings and some Lee Press-On Nails. You know, I may just have to go back and finish listening to this record. After I listen to that new Macca tune about a dozen more times, that is.
What’s on your shuffle today?
Comments