Guess who just got back today? Them wild-eyed boys that had been away, haven’t changed, haven’t much to say but man, I still think them cats are crazy.
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but we’re back! When we last met the five revealed my affinity for German industrial racket, Miles Davis, and deep catalog soul records. I found out we’ve inspired a Wednesday version of the five over at Septenary and a Facebook group. Our ‘faithful fivers’ rallied before the storm knocked the lights out of the site for a few days. So for you first timer’s… I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and then show you my five with some words for each track.
Then it’s your turn!
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. Colin Hay – Overkill (acoustic version) (MP3) (from Man @ Work)
This has always been my favorite Men at Work tune. Long before Zack Braff turned it into a theme song for Generation Y, I regarded this as one of those seminal tunes. I got to see Colin last summer and was blown away at how alive and current this tune still sounds.
2. Joe Jackson – Is She Really Going Out With Him? (acoustic version) (from Live 1980/86)
I guess the shuffle is digging the acoustic versions today! In this case however, the original far exceeds this lifeless version. I’m an unapologetic supporter of all things Joe Jackson but every once in awhile his attempts at being clever fall just short of the mark.
3. Frank Zappa – A Token of My Extreme (from Joe’s Garage: Acts I, II & III)
“This is the CENTRAL SCRUTINIZER…” from the record that every self-respecting music fan should own at least one copy of (if not multiple), this is one of the transitional tunes meant to further the story. Even in these tracks Frank displays a sense of musicality and composition that had not been see in rock music before and has not been seen since. To say I’m a Zappa fan would be an understatement.
4. Spinal Tap – Hell Hole (MP3) (from This is Spinal Tap)
It’s been said that “parody is the highest form of making fun of someone else’s shit” and no truer words have been spoken when referring to Spinal Tap so I won’t even try. So say us all… “Tap into America!”
5. Brand Nubian – Hold On (from Everything Is Everything)
Revolutionary Hip-Hop dropping knowledge over the tender hook of Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years”. While I’m sure many aficionados will decry the overt commercialism of this track I’ll admit to it being the hook that reeled this suburban white boy in and expanded his mind.
Time to shuffle on and now it’s your turn, what comes up in your shuffle?