Friday Five : |ˈfrÄ«dÄ – 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:
“Rearviewmirror” by Pearl Jam (from Live on Ten Legs, 2011)
“Rearviewmirror” is already Pearl Jam in full rave-up mode; live, this tune treads straight into punk territory. In the course of its seven-minute run time the tune careens dangerously between the engine-like riff, breaks down to a near standstill, and ends in a glorious train wreck—accurately portraying the lyrical content. I always forget how much I dig this tune. Good, all the same, as I enjoy it that much more when it does pop up.
“Cuts Like a Knife” by Bryan Adams (from Anthology (disc 1), 2005)
Much is said of the effect that nostalgia has on the perceived quality of art, in that ones value is colored by the time in life which they first experienced it. Bryan Adams’ hits have always been a litmus test of this theory for me. On paper, these tunes are pretty much your standard fare ’80s pop-rock, yet they elicit so much more love than—I suppose—they should.
“Funk It (Funkadelala)” by The Brothers Johnson (from The Very Best Of: Strawberry Letter 23, 2003)
“The History of The Brothers Johnson” might have been a more appropriate title for this tune, as they trace their musical story from early starts through meeting “The Duke” and bringing the funk to the masses. It’s clunky from a lyrical perspective but that doesn’t matter much when you get caught up in the groove. If you aren’t familiar with The Brothers Johnson’s work as a duo (you have, no doubt, unknowingly heard them if you’ve heard a tune from Thriller), I implore you to get familiar.
“I Can’t Wait” by The Sundays (from Static & Silence, 1997)
… for another Sundays’ record? No, really, I’m not joking. Harriet Wheeler’s voice is far too precious a commodity to never be heard from again.
“1984” by David Bowie (from Diamond Dogs, 1974)
In the right hands, the wah-wah pedal is an awesome tool.
What’s on your shuffle today?
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