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:

“Overlap” by Ani DiFranco (from Out of Range, 1994)

I’ve definitely espoused my general adoration for Ani’s songwriting and “Overlap”—really, the entirety of Out of Range—is the reason. Her ability to wrap a story around an emotion is well beyond that of most; with the dialog familiar enough to sound plausible. Tunes like “Letter to a John,” and the devastatingly beautiful “You Had Time,” are held as high-water marks in my book.

“A Long Term Plan” by Acid House Kings (from Sing Along With Acid House Kings, 2005)

TWEE!

There must be something in the water in Sweden that produces the effortlessly twee music the likes of Acid House Kings and Club 8. I envision everyone walking around like they are in an Martin + Osa ad, looking longingly away from each other.

“Give It Up” by Public Enemy (from Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age, 1994)

…and we’re back to 1994! I don’t recall if it was just a sign of the times, or something more, but “Give It Up” is just toothless when compared to Public Enemy’s output prior to Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age.

“Keep Together” by The Brand New Heavies (from Brother Sister, 1994)

…and, once again, we’re firmly in 1994! The Brand New Heavies + N’Dea Davenport = Acid Jazz Heaven.

“Amazing (feat. Pharrell)” by T.I. (from No Mercy, 2010)

Occasionally the Friday Five will prompt the question, “why do I own this?”

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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