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:

“You Always Say Goodnight, Goodnight” by The Juliana Theory (from Emotion Is Dead, 2000)

There are two bands from this era that I miss dearly: The Juliana Theory, and Flickerstick. Stylistically they were not all that similar, with Juliana Theory leaning more towards the Sunny Day Real Estate end of the spectrum, and Flickerstick more U2. Their respective career arcs, however, ended with similarly worded messages that summed up to “we’re going back to our familes and our day jobs.” The Juliana Theory did return, albeit breifly, for a reunion tour a few years back, playing Emotion Is Dead front to back to the thrill of their hardcore fanbase.

“360° (Natty prep)” by Timex Social Club (from Vicious Rumors, 1986)

Six minutes and twenty-eight seconds long and I can’t thnk of a damn thing to say about this tune. I love me some “Rumors,” though.

“(Not Just) Knee Deep” by Funkadelic (from Phat Trax: The Best of Old School, Volume 1, 1994)

Try as I might to enjoy this tune on its own merits, I can’t help but spin De La Soul’s “Me, Myself, and I” in my head. That decending/ascending lick is so stinkin’ infectious. Okay, now that I’m bobbing my head to it I can get down with the git down. Man, this track goes on forever. This might go down as the longest Friday Five in history. The Juliana Theory track clocked in a 9:30, the Timex Social Club was 6:28, and this monster right here is a mind-numbing 15:30. At this length I have time to nip off and get a cup off coffee. Maybe some tea and a sandwich. Mmm…

“That Girl’s a Man” by Jellyfish (from Fan Club (disc 1), 2002)

I want to start a Kickstarter to raise whatever amount of money it would take to get Jellyfish back together, who’s with me?

“Onamission” by Coldcut (from If Ya Can’t Stand Da Beatz, Git Outta Da Kitchen (disc 1), 1996)

I’ve made no bones about my love of mid-’90s EDM (we called it “techno” back then.) Coldcut, along with DJ Shadown, DJ Cam, DJ Food, and a handful of other artists we’re my go-to picks for many hours spent with the headphones on.

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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