The Friday Five: October 19, 2012

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:

“Nowadays” by Ron Sexsmith (from Long Player Late Bloomer, 2011)

I don’t know a heck of a lot about Ron Sexsmith, but this simple, planitive tune is so good that I actually hit repeat to get a better listen to the lyrics. I hear a bit of Nick Drake, with a touch of nashville. This, right here, my fellow Fivers is why I do this week after week, every once in awhile I stumble on a diamond hiding in plain sight. Brilliant.

“Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends” by Fall Out Boy (from From Under the Cork Tree, 2005)

I make no bones about how much I dig Fall Out Boy.

“Pussycat Meow (Murk Boys remix)” by Deee-Lite (from Sampladelic Relics and Dancefloor Oddities, 1996)

There was a time when listening to Lady Miss Kier purr would have, well it would have been enough. Today is not that time.

“Tamburitza Lingua” by Ani DiFranco (from Revelling / Reckoning (disc 1: Revelling), 2001)

As much as I love Ani in “little folk singer” mode, it is her more experimental side that keeps me listening. “Tamburitza Lingua” recalls “Tiptoe,” over a sparse electronic beat and droning acoustic lines. DiFranco muses, “TV is, after all, the modern day roman coliseum / human devastation as mass entertainment.” This, years before reality television became the new normal.

“Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do” by Huey Lewis & The News (from The Heart of Rock & Roll: Live in San Francisco ’85, 1985)

As strong as anything on Sports, this is one of my favorite Huey Lewis & The News tunes. Probably one of the more under appreciated tunes in the band’s catalog, it was written by Mike Duke, the same man responsible for “Doing It All for My Baby” and “Let Her Go and Start Over” (which are, incidentally, also high on my favorite HLN tunes list.) This live version, featuring the Tower of Power horns, is nothing short of perfect.

What’s on your shuffle today?