The Friday Five

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:

“The Darkest Star (Monolake remix)” by Depeche Mode (from Remixes 2: 81-11 (disc 2), 2011)

Remixes 2: 81-11 is the definition of “contractual obligation” in that it required next to no involvement from the band themselves. There are some highlights in the expanded triple-disc set, including remixes from original members Vince Clarke, and Alan Wilder.

“Giant Steps (take 3) (incomplete)” by John Coltrane (from The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (disc 7), 1995)

This serves as a great reminder of the days when recording a track required captured the bands performance (as opposed to current recording techniques.) This particular take falls apart right around the 2:15 mark, with no discernible mistake made. The track fades with the producer calling out, “You set, John? “Giant Steps,” take four.”

“Madsex” by Prince & The New Power Generation (from newpower Soul, 1998)

This is possibly the most ignored Prince record in my library. As such, I’m not sure I’ve got much to say about this … next!

“Lifetime of Dreams” by Journey (from Arrival, 2001)

No one does power balladry like Journey.

“I Remember” by Damien Rice (from O, 2003)

Well, this is no way to lead into a Friday afternoon! As much as I adore the sad bastard crooning of Mr. Rice, (and Lisa Hannigan, on this track—wait, can a woman sing “sad bastard” music? “Sad bitch” just doesn’t convey the same connotation) I don’t think I can actually listen to it without soaking in some of the gloom.

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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