The Friday Five: May 9, 2014

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:

“Hey Jude” by Paul McCartney (from Good Evening New York City (disc 2), 2009)

When I was but a wee little music geek I would espouse—ad nauseum, to just about anyone who would listen—the depths to which “Hey Jude” was my favorite Beatles song. Come on, the power that McCarney wields with that “na na na-na na na” refrain is as close to religious experience as a young Beatles fan in the ’80s. As I’ve gotten older my tastes have changed, but I still love the tune (though, maybe not enough to call it my “favorite,” anymore.)

“X.Y.U.” by The Smashing Pumpkins (from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (disc 2: Twilight to Starlight), 1995)

Seven minutes of “Hey Jude,” or seven minutes of Billy Corgan’s self-fellating fever dream, you choose. I read in a recent piece on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness that he envisioned it like The Wall. Nope, not close.

For the record, I hit “next” at the 3:56 mark.

“The Angels Were Singing” by Matthew Perryman Jones (from Land of the Living, 2012)

This is some pretty, singer-songwriter fare with a touch of post-rock goodness undulating underneath the waves. I’m not all that familiar with Mr. Perryman Jones outside of this record, but I do quite enjoy this record. Vocally he is a bit like Jeff Buckley, without all the silly affectation. Good stuff.

“Sexy Mexican Maid (original long version)” by Red Hot Chili Peppers (from Mother’s Milk, 2003)

Included on the 2003 remaster, I have remarkably little to say about this tune.

“Alone Apart” by Glen Hansard & MarkÁ©ta IrglovÁ¡ (from The Swell Season, 2006)

MarkÁ©ta IrglovÁ¡’s voice moves me like few others do. Add to it Glen Hansard’s deft ability to write lyrics that pluck my heartstrings, and it’s just magic. I sincerely hope they can find a way to work together again.

What’s on your shuffle today?