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:
“Kill You” by Eminem (from The Marshall Mathers LP, 2000)
The issue of listening to (let alone reconciling) the abhorrent misogyny, violence, and downright juvenile nature of the music we listened to in our younger years came up in a recent episode of Popblerd radio. A part of me is down with the visceral nature, and the ‘character’ that Em is playing, but the lyrics make me cringe. I guess this is growing up, eh?
“God” by John Lennon (from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, 1970)
I’ve said before that in the great Lennon vs. McCartney debate, I generally fall soundly on the “Paul” side of the argument. This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy Lennon’s music—contributions to The Beatles, or otherwise—as evidenced by the large number of his records in my library. This tune, I don’t know. “I don’t believe in The Beatles, I just believe in me.”
“Dreams” by The Kills (from Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac, 2012)
“Dreams” as a blues-rock dirge doesn’t work quite as well as I imagine The Kills thinks it does. That’s the tricky thing about tribute records, though, isn’t it? That thin line between a straight cover, a clever reinterpretation, and a self-indulgent train wreck is put to the test by these tribute records.
“The Battle of Epping Forest” by Genesis (from 1970-1975 (disc 4: Selling England by the Pound), 2008)
I purchased this Genesis boxed set years ago and have yet to really listen to it.
“Ruff in the Jungle Bizness (Uplifting Vibes mix)” by The Prodigy (from Out of Space, 1992)
What do we call this: proto-EDM? Old school EDM? Techno?! Whatever we call it, it is safe to say that it has not aged particularly well. The production, specifically, is so identifiable with the early ’90s aesthetic (read: tinny) that it’s almost hard to listen to.
“Almost Saturday Night (live)” by John Fogerty (from The Long Road Home: The Ultimate John Fogerty – Creedence Collection, 2005)
So… I listened to this tune about 4 hours ago, and I can barely recall it. I do recall thinking that Fogerty’s voice is buried in the mix, but his guitar is right where it belongs (out in front, friends, that man can burn.) This is peril of trying to get the Five done early.
What’s on your shuffle today?
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