The Friday Five: June 7, 2013

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:

“Round Kid” by Buck-O-Nine (from Twenty-Eight Teeth, 1997)

While I don’t know for certain, I’d be willing to bet good money that Buck-O-Nine’s story goes a little something like this: earnest little ska-punk band gets swooped up in the music industry’s mad dash to sign the next No Doubt / Goldfinger / Reel Big Fish / Less Than Jake; releases one lackluster record; releases one less impressive EP with a decent cover of an ’80s hit; gets dumped by said label as soon as they realize that the Third Wave Ska movement was over before they signed them. Harsh? Perhaps, but likely nonetheless. Now I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t disclose that I was–and still am–a fan of a good chunk of the Third Wave Ska bands that came up in the early ’90s.

“Mind Over Matter (I’m Gonna Make You Mine)” by The Pirates (from The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 2: 1962 (disc 9), 2005)

Ah, Complete Motown Singles, you confound me yet again. A bit of research reveals that this is actually The Temptations. If you are interested in going down the rabbit hole, Motown Junkies has the low down. Long story short, Berry Gordy is a crafty motherfucker.

“Different Ways” by The Greenberry Woods (from Big Money Item, 1995)

While The Greenberry Woods’ first record was a strong slice of ’90s power pop, their second record (and final) seemed to fall more into the mid-’90s ‘grunge lite’ mold.

“Think” by Main Source (from Breaking Atoms, 1991)

Possibly one of the most slept on Hip-Hop record of the ’90s. If you love Hip-Hop and haven’t heard this record, you need to fix that as quickly as possible.

“If Yr Not” by Ani DiFranco (from ¿What Side Are You On?, 2012)

Can’t say that I have much to say about this tune. As much as I love just about everything Ani puts out, her overtly political material just doesn’t jibe with me ears. ¿What Side Are You On? got maybe three listens before being relegated to the back of the shelf, and listening to this tune doesn’t make me want to pull it out.

What’s on your shuffle today?