5 of the mostly now

I've been a bit lax in posting any 5 of the now music recently, so some of these tracks are finely aged at this point. All still good though. A nice mix of some mainstream, and some really fine remixes.

1. Cage the Elephant - Ain't No Rest For The Wicked - Ain't No Rest For The Wicked
Good, solid rock. I thought for sure this was a hair metal track that I somehow missed, only to learn it was brand new. I've only heard this on KRNA on rare terrestrial radio listening occasions, so I don't know if it has gotten much airplay or not. I dig it.

2. Lateef & Z-Trip - Ahead of the Curve - Time (Freestyle)
Z-Trip is hands-down one of my favorite DJ's, and I've been a fan of Lateef's since his work with Lyrics Born. This track is the current favorite off of what is a great mixtape.

3. Rhianna - Umbrella (Travis Barker Remix)
Since becoming more interesting in drums, I've been even more amazed with what Travis can do. His work with DJ AM was incredible. This track is very much along those lines.

4. DJ Earworm - Heartless (In a Bottle). I first came across DJ Earworm after his "United State of Pop 2008 (Viva La Pop)" mashup of the top 25 pop songs of 2008. He has a number of other very smooth mashups, with this one being one of my favorites. The Fray doing Kanye + The Police + Black-Eyed Peas + others. Fabulous.

5. Toby Keith - American Ride - American Ride
Toby Keith is often hit or miss for me. This one nails it though.

Albums of 2009

For the past few years (initially started by Ryan, I believe) at the end of the year I have assembled a list of my favorite albums that I purchased during the year. These are not individual songs, instead they are whole albums that ended up getting lots of play during the year.

This year proved to be particularly challenging. First, in something that should be a sign to the ignorant record companies, I did not buy a single, silver, shiny disc this year. Not one. I didn't do this to purposely not buy CD's any longer. Instead, I have just found that price, convenience, and ease of use by me all lead to me buying nearly all of my music as Amazon MP3 downloads. Second, I also greatly loaded up on the amount of free music I was finding, and a healthy dose of Pandora. All of this lead to a rather small list of possible albums. However, out of that list, I was able to find 4 albums that had significantly more listening mileage than others.

These are in no particular order. They are simply 4 albums that I purchased this year and found to be the most interesting of 2009:

1. Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon: The End Of Day [Explicit]
I was first pulled in by "Day and Night", and the "Make Her Say" remix was far better than the original. Good stuff overall.

2. LMFAO - Party Rock (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version) [Explicit]
Raw fun. That's really all you need to know. This stuff never gets old, it just perks up your day when you hear it. "I am not a whore" remains my favorite.

3. Shinedown - The Sound Of Madness
Yes, this album got a significant amount of standard radio airplay. Despite that, this is the real deal. These guys are how I want my rock to sound. The title track still kicks me in the rear when I need it.

4. Steinski - What Does It All Mean? - 1983-2006 Retrospective
If you dig people such as Girl Talk, DJ Shadow, etc., you need to give Steinski a listen. In my mind, he's the Grand Wizard Theodore of the mashup/sampling movement. He's the originator who almost nobody knows - he doesn't have the mainstream name. However, this stuff is top-notch. More info on Steinski is here.

5 for July

Billy Currington - People Are Crazy - Little Bit of Everything
I've been in the mood recently some simple, feel-good country music. This is a really light track, but I have yet to get tired of it. "God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy." I can't disagree with that.

Rodney Atkins - It's America - It's America
More simple country goodness. Not really a good explanation on this one, but I enjoy it.

Primus - The Toys Go Winding Down - Frizzle Fry
"This isn't even AC/DC - it's just some techno band". Yeah - true that. Les Claypool and Primus have been beyond cool since I was in high school. Couple that with AC/DC, and I'm sold. I can't believe I didn't know about this until I got it as a free track somewhere. Free music FTW!

Ben Harper & Relentless7 - Keep It Together (So I Can Fall Apart) - White Lies for Dark Times
This is the BEST SONG EVER. That comes straight from my son's drum teacher. I don't disagree. The intro, the heavy metal yell, the drum, and the bad-ass guitar. Listen to it at high volume. Do not resist.

A Perfect Circle - The Noose - Thirteenth Step
Possibly the smoothest song ever. Maynard has unparalleled vocals, and the production on this is amazing. One of my favorites for a long time. Here's looking at you, Cheney and Bush.

5 of the now

Wow - haven't touched the blog since February. Unfortunately (maybe), Twitter has mostly replaced blogging for me it appears. The 140 character bursts fit my available time better.

However, the blog still provides a great place for 5 of the now to land.

Charlie Robison - Good Times - Good Times
True Blood has one of the best mixes of music I have ever heard on a TV series. An eclectic mix of primarily swamp rock, country, and folk. Charlie Robison brings the perfect stoner band song to the mix. Mellow out and enjoy.

Lyrics Born - Funky Hit Records - As U Were
I already knew Lyrics Born was badass. This track just blew the lid off the place though. Just try listening to this and not nodding your head and rocking out. It's free to boot.

Shinedown - Sound of Madness - The Sound of Madness
Shinedown was on the last 5 of the now, and here they crank up the rock. This thing rocks out hard, and has a chorus that is beyond catchy. There is a hint of vintage Metallica running through the beginning, and then they make it their own. Definitely my favorite rock group of the moment.

I'm Just Raw (Remix) (feat. Del The Funky Homosapien & Pigeon John) - Lyrics Born - Overnite Encore: Lyrics Born Live!
Yes - a 2nd appearance by Lyrics Born. Until I saw him live in Iowa City, I actually didn't get this song. Now I do. One of the single best performances I have seen. This track isn't actually live, and you can now get it on his 3rd mixtape album, but Del puts this one over the top.

A Little Bit Of Riddim (featuring Cherine Anderson) - Michael Franti - All Rebel Rockers
Now for something completely different. Open up wide and enjoy some music that is different than anything you have been hearing. This entire album is great, but this is probably my favorite.

5 of the now

2NU - The Best of 2NU - Crossroads (Chaos)
Great flashback to the early 1990's (for me at least). I was a huge fan of 2NU and "This is Ponderous" back in the day, and one of few people to actually own their CD it turns out. This track came out on one of their later discs, but I find it very cool still. A bit of spoken-word mixed with odd humor, so not for everyone.

Shinedown - The Sound of Madness - Second Chance
This is one of the best songs I have heard in years. I really liked Shinedown's previous album with "45", and I picked up this album before this track really started getting a lot of airplay.

Team 9 vs. Stereogum - Stereogum & team9 Present... MySplice The Third - Lockdown Shelter
Team9 makes some of the best mashups I have heard this side of Z-Trip. Pairing Kanye with the Stones is an unusual and completely fantastic mix. This might be the best mashup I have heard to date. Plus it's free!

The Flying Burrito Brothers - Hot Burritos! The Flying Burrito Bros: Anthology 1969-1972 - Christine's Tune (A.K.A. Devil In Disguise)
This one was picked up by watching True Blood. This plays on the radio during the final episode of the 1st season. A catchy little number, especially if you have the show context behind it. Once I found out that Gram Parsons wrote it, I understood why I liked it so much.

Tom Morello The Nightwatchman - The Fabled City - The Iron Wheel
I admit - I got this track (and album) originally because Shooter Jennings is on this track with Tom. They go way back to when Tom actually produced albums for Stargunn. However, I enjoyed this particular track much more than expected. The Nightwatchman is Tom's folk/country alter-ego for those who don't know, or can't believe it.

Albums of 2008

Ryan nudged me to say that it was time to post my favorite albums of the last year. I actually had this done in time for the New Year, but never posted. So here it is now. As with him, I bought almost no physical CD's in the past year. In fact, the ACDC (no other choice) and Waylon CD's on this list are the only ones I bought all year. Amazon is now my drink of choice over iTunes, but they are both where I get 99% of my purchased music.

Also of interest - this year my free vs. purchased ratio was far in favor of free. I think that is the first year for that.

These are in no particular order, they were simply the 5 albums that I own and found to be the most interesting of 2008.

1. AC/DC - Black Ice
Surprisingly, as AC/DC is one of my absolute favorite bands of all time (XM channel 53 is really the only XM channel I need), I didn't buy this CD right away. Partially because I could only get it at WalMart or ACDC.com (yeah - I got it from the latter). Partially because I wasn't sure how good it would be given their last effort. I'm now mad at myself for waiting. This is the best stuff since Razor's Edge, if not Back in Black. As good of hard rock and blues as there has ever been.

2. Waylon Jennings & The 357's - Waylon Forever (The Final Recordings)
Waylon sends us some tunes from the great beyond, courtesy of Shooter. This was an effort of Shooter's nearly 10 years in the making. In the end, we get an eerie reminder of Waylon's greatness as he re-imagines stripped-down versions of some of his great songs. A fantastic original collaboration with Shooter is included as well.

3. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
I don't think this needs any more accolades, although it deserves them all. There's a reason this is overlapped with Ryan's list. I know I said these weren't in a particular order, but this album takes #1 for this year hands down. The most original and incredible work I have come across in years - possibly ever.

4. Jamey Johnson - That Lonesome Song
I originally got a sampler song from this for free, and then my wife told me about another on the radio. I bought the whole album, and was amazed at how good it was in its entirety, especially for a freshman effort. A great new country voice I hope to hear continue.

5. Various Artists - Music from the Motion Picture 21
This CD got a ton of play this year. It has an assortment of great songs and acts. The LCD Soundsystem track was good, as always. More importantly, this album introduced me to MGMT, who I had somehow managed to not stumble upon. Correcting that mistake makes this album worthwhile by itself.

5 of the Recent

I've had this post and these songs queued up for a while, so they aren't exactly "of the now". However, they are all still high on my playlist.

Before hitting the list of 5, I have to throw in a plug for an album I bought last night. Del (aka Deltron, aka Del the Funky Homosapien) just threw down his first "real" album in at least 8 years, and the first to be listed as just from him in over a decade. As always, Del is awesome.

Pick it up from iTunes, or grab it from Amazon for a buck cheaper. In either case, you can grab it before it is even available in stores on Tuesday.

Now, on to the list:

Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild (Music for the Motion Picture) [Deluxe Version] - Hard Sun
I wouldn't recommend this movie unless you're looking to get depressed. However, this song reminded me of why Pearl Jam rocked so hard back in the 90's. I think Eddie is finally back to his roots, when I enjoyed listening to them. This is a bit of alt-rock mixed with folk, but mostly it just showcases Eddie's voice.

Pearl Jam - Love, Reign O'er Me (As Featured In the Motion Picture "Reign Over Me") - Single - Love, Reign O'er Me
This movie is also a bit on the downer side - the difference being that there are 2 amazing actors in it. I recommend this highly (which I would for pretty much any Don Cheadle movie). This song (mostly the original by The Who) is a central theme to the movie. Pearl Jam's version plays just as the credits begin to roll. Eddie easily has the pipes to emulate Roger Daltrey on this one.

Craig Morgan - Little Bit of Life - International Harvester
Here's something to liven up the list a bit. You might have to have grown up in a small, farm town in Iowa, playing with farm implement toys to truly appreciate this one. You might also need a 3 year old who loves to sing along. I happen to have both.

The White Stripes - Icky Thump - You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)
This is my surprise song of the list. I always knew that Jack White was a great producer, but I was never a fan of his band's music. I happened to catch this song on a rock station one day and assumed it to be some long-lost classic rock song I didn't know. Nope, new White Stripes.
This has a mixture of Black Crowes, with some 70's Cheap Trick thrown in. In other words, catchy as hell and exactly my type of music.
Overall, I've been happy with the whole CD. This is the brightest spot on it, but I dig it all.

Miley Cyrus - Hannah Montana 2 - Meet Miley Cyrus - See You Again
So, I threw this on here mostly to prove that I can. Yes, that's right, I just put a Hannah Montana song on here. That's because I'll admit that I think it's a damn catchy song, and that Miley Cyrus actually has a really cool voice. Go actually listen to it and just try to claim that it isn't catchy.

I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but I swear it was influenced by "Sunglasses at Night" - see if you agree.

Besides, the Cyrus family has a dynasty in the making, so you can't avoid them. Billy Ray is getting the last laugh at everyone. Not only are he and his daughter making millions (or billions), now his son has his own band on the radio too.

Albums of 07

Ryan switched up a bit from our 5 of the now format, and gave us his favorite full albums of last year.

I'll admit, I'm as big of an album fan as him. As much as I like just finding new music, and skipping around in my playlist, I'm still thoroughly impressed and amazed when I find an album that truly works from start to stop. This should be obvious I guess, Floyd never put out anything as a single that wasn't ten times better within the context of the album.

I had to stretch a bit to figure out my 5 favorite of last year. I can't say it was the best year for the album, but these were all at least ones that earned repeat from me. Also, this is a list of albums I enjoyed this year, not necessarily albums released this year.

1. Shooter Jennings - The Wolf
Yeah, this probably seems obvious, I'm a huge Shooter fan. That said, even I was amazed how much I liked this album. It just grew even better over time. Hands down his best effort yet. See you in August, Shooter.

2. Timbaland - Timbaland Presents Shock Value
This stretches the concept of album a bit. The amount of collaboration here makes it difficult to get a consistent theme going...or does it? The consistent theme here is Timbaland's continued incredible production value. That and the fact that I kept finding a new track to be my favorite. "Bounce" is the current one - Missy and Dre along with JT, that's just good business.

3. Z-Trip - All Pro
Old-school hip-hop masters, with some nice metal behind it. Where was this in high school?

4. Aesop Rock - Fast Cars, Danger, Fire, and Knives
This album and I had some difficult times. I often referred to this as the devil album, due to it having superhuman DRM from iTunes somehow. I also thought that it wasn't nearly as good as some of his former or his current album. I was wrong, it just took some time.

5. Various Artists - Lost in Translation Soundtrack
Yes, this is fairly old at this point. I just finally got around to watching this movie this year though, and then getting the soundtrack. RZA is a master minimalist.

5 + 1

Rock and Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) - Handsome Boy Modeling School featuring Lord Finesse, Mike Shonoda, Chester Bennington, Rahzel, Qbert, Grand Wizard Theodore & Jazzy Jay - White People
I had to start with this one, as it really kicked off my listening for nearly the past month. I originally found this song when Ryan first introduced me to "Handsome Boy Modeling School". I was hooked immediately, but this song in particular is awesome. References and performances by some of the true greats of Hip-hop. These are the creators of the whole genre, and most of them still kick ass. I recommend taking down names, grabbing some Wikipedia info, and then working your way through some of their works.

Missy Elliott - Supa Dupa Fly - The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
The song that pretty much kicked off her career (and continued to prove that Timbaland was really on to something). This track holds up perfectly yet today, I never tire of it. My kids never tire of the "Beep beep, who got the keys to the jeep?"

Shooter Jennings - The Wolf - Slow Train
Anyone knowing me or paying attention to my blog for any period of time knows Shooter might very well be my favorite artist right now. The perfect mix of country lineage and southern rock. I've been impressed as usual with his latest album, but this track with the Oak Ridge Boys takes it to another level. Nothing like working with some of the best to bring out the best in an already great artist.

Kanye West - Graduation - Homecoming
I've flipped on my opinion of Kanye completely over the years. I disliked him at first when "Gold Digger" was being overplayed. I slowly started to get into his music though, all the way until he teamed up with DJ Premier for the kickass "Classic" single. After that, buying "Graduation" seemed like an obvious move. I wasn't expecting it to be so good though. The Daft Punk-sampled track would be the obvious pick for a 50tn with its incredible energy. However, I went with a bit more intriguing track. His collaboration with Chris Martin of Coldplay would be intriguing by itself, but I find the lyric play in the song fantastic also.

Z-Trip - Kiss (Remix / 2006)
Raise your hand if you like free music. Okay, raise your hand if you like hip-hop and rock mashups done by the best in the business. Even if I'm the only one still raising my hand, you still need to check this out. Z-Trip invented and perfected the modern version of the rap/rock mash-up (Aerosmith and Run obviously creating the original...). On top of that though, he provides some great mixes for free on his site. His remix of Prince featuring Murs is more than worthy of a listen.
If you don't feel like browsing, here is a direct link to the song

Holiday Bonus (since I've had this post waiting for so long)
Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong - The First Noel/Mary Mary
It's that time of year, where my wife attempts to drown me in holiday music. I generally just ignore it, and sometimes become a bit annoyed. However, this CD and this song in particular are a different story. Her version of Noel is about the darkest Christmas song you will ever hear, bordering on a very Celtic sound. Incredible.
(Note: You can now get this for free right here)

5 of the Now

Some new tunes to bump to, not really any theme this time around, just stuff I have been finding interesting. No links right now, the iTunes link maker thingy/pile o' crap is not working at the moment. I'll try to add them later when it is fixed. All of these are available on iTunes.

Scientific Lifestyle - Flight 273 - The Arrow EP
I chose this song, because this was the one that Blender was showcasing that led me to find this group. I like the whole EP quite a bit, and their other album available on iTunes as well. Smooth beats, with some interesting vocals. A good blend of mellow and beats.

Big and Rich featuring Wyclef Jean - Please Man - Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace
In this case, I chose this song to spite several reviews who have trashed it (plus I know nobody will listen to it anyway...). First, this whole album is incredible. In fact, the only songs I'm not sold on are the 2 more stereotypical-styled rockabilly songs (and the horrendous cover of "Shook Me All Night Long", that should be surgically removed from all future CD printings). Everything else on here is solid, modern country and done fantastically.
This song however, is all about just having fun. Wyclef gets it, these guys have always gotten it. Sometimes it's more important to just have fun with music, than to produce some epic. Great stuff.

Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Mix featuring Lil Mama) - Girlfriend Single
I'm throwing this on here first because I think it's cool that this made it out as an officially-sanctioned remix. Second, it's on here because it's one of the few tracks featuring lil' mama that you can get from iTunes right now. The original song I can pretty much take or leave, but I'm extremely impressed right now with lil' mama's rap skills. She has some fierce flow to her rhymes.

Air - Alone in Kyoto - Lost in Translation Soundtrack
I finally saw "Lost in Translation" this past week (yes, I'm not sure why it took me so long). Great movie, and the soundtrack is equally on-par. I have lots of other stuff by Air already, and I think this is one of the top 2 tracks on the soundtrack. Jesus and Mary Chain would be a close second.

Carbon Leaf - Learn to Fly - Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat
I would have never heard of this group if one of their videos wasn't playing on a cruise we took a few months back. More on the alternative side, but this is just generally a good song. Doesn't hurt that they cribbed the title of a great Pink Floyd track either...

5 of the Now

You'll notice a definite hip-hop flavor to this list. That's been the majority of my listening lately...perhaps MTV is to blame.

Queen & Wyclef Jean - The Platinum Collection - Another One Bites the Dust
This track rocks hard. Queen was hands down my favorite group as I was getting into Classic Rock back in high school, and Freddie's stripped-down vocals own the track here. Couple that with Wyclef's smooth production, and the seriously amped-up bass, and it's a winner.

KRS-One, Kanye West, Nas & Rakim - Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been) [DJ Premier Remix]
I like Kanye, but I bought this for the wealth of original hip-hop talent that he brought along. KRS-One alone would have been enough to intrigue me, but bringing along Rakim and Nas just improves it all. Good stuff. Thanks to Blender for pointing me in the direction of this track.

Rihanna featuring Jay-Z - Umbrella - Good Girl Gone Bad
This track has grown on me a ton, and is now my favorite track that she has done. Smooth, good beat, all-around great track. This was obtained at the request of Shannon who wanted it for driving music on a trip we were taking. I would give an iTunes link, but this won't actually be released until June. If you listen, make sure you have XM, as the crap that passes for FM radio cuts Jay-Z off the track entirely.

Busta Rhymes, DMX, Lloyd Banks, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Papoose & Rah Digga - Touch It Remixes (Explicit Version) - Single
Music tips can come from unusual places. This was on Nelly Furtado's Summer Top 10 list on MTV Hits recently. I liked her quite a bit (at least her music), but man she came off dumber than hell on that show. However, her pick of this is impeccable. The video trots out an endless lip of hip-hop celebs, and Mary J throws down with some force. The whole track has a very Missy-Timbaland influenced feel to it. Great track. Welcome back Busta.

DJ Khaled featuring Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Baby & Lil' Wayne - We Takin' Over - Single (USA)
I can't say I condone the theme of this song, but screw it, I like Fat Joe and his gang. Akon's unique vocals are a great contrast to people like Joe and Rick Ross. Still can't stand Lil' Wayne, but I'll let it slide this time. This and "Make it Rain" by Fat Joe are both incredible.

Now, one last tidbit to leave you with. It turns out MTV.com has tons of music videos that you can watch on your computer. Who knew? http://www.mtv.com/music/video/

I was impressed to see they had both new and old videos on there. I also did not expect Aesop Rock to look anything like this: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1225460&vid=65229

5 of the Now - Long and Varied

Something different this time. 5 albums rather than songs (that's the long part), and in a progressively different range of music (that's the varied).

This will start with rock-influenced rap, to rap, to rap + orchestra, to folk. Dig? (I aplogize, I can't get iTunes to very elegantly link to just an album. I did try to link to my favorite songs on each of these.)

1. Lyrics Born - Overnite Encore: Lyrics Born Live!
It's no secret that this guy is hands down one of my favorite performers. This performance blows the doors off about anything else you might hear too. Find somebody else with more energy in their performance. Seriously, because I want to hear them if they exist.
I would suggest listening to some of his other stuff first though, as this is almost better as you hear him improvise with his existing material. Rock/rap cannot be combined better than this.

2. Dilated Peoples - Expansion Team LP
I discussed in a previous 5 of the now track how I found out about Dilated thanks to Evidence being on a track with Lyrics Born (check out that smooth segway..). Shortly after that, I actually bought all 4 of their albums, mostly unheard. I liked their stuff that much.
I'm actually recommending their initial release from 2000 as the one to get if you can get only one. Check out the final track, "War", especially. The 'Dubya should be required to have this as his bedtime music (or the asshole from Diebold...but I digress).

3. Nuttin But Stringz - Struggle from the Subway to the Charts
This stuff is crazy good. These brothers are equally adept at rapping or playing classical violin. I first saw them while watching Noggin with the kids, but it turns out they were recently in the movie "Step Up" which I watched as well. Fantastic stuff.

4. Phish - The Story of the Ghost
Time to chill. Most people would not be surprised in the slightest to see a Phish album pop up on the blog of somebody with some pretty obvious interest in Pink Floyd. However, I'm actually not a big Phish fan. This is one of the few exceptions. I recently found this CD buried in a box, and began listening to it again. Smooth, flowing tracks.

5. Patty Griffin - Flaming Red
Shannon was the one who found this, which makes sense because this is very much her style of music. A cross between Sheryl Crow and more folk-influenced singers such as Loreena McKennitt. Very mellow music. The track, "One Big Love" was the one I originally helped her track down, and is probably my favorite as well.


Let it never be said that I don't listen to a wide range of music...

5 of the Now

Here you go, your first holiday five of the now...

Side Two - DJ Ese, Aesop Rock, and Babbletron - Side Two

This was actually a free track that I got somewhere. I don't recall it being the free song of the week from iTunes (go here for keeping track of that BTW), so I think it must have been from when the Apple group on Facebook gave away some songs each week.
Regardless, this has a fantastic hook that sticks in your head. With Aesop Rock on it, how can you go wrong?

Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

At first my intense, burning hatred for Emo would not let me give this a listen. Thankfully, I like to at least give most music a chance. That, coupled with a resounding recommendation from the SO led me to listening and watching the video. These guys are not Emo. They just haven't quite realized that they just plain rock hard, and don't need the mascara.
This song just plain rocks. At times they evoke an image of Queen at their height in the late 70's. Coming from me, that's a resounding recommendation.

(Check out the video too, not as trippy balls as The Fountain, but cool nonetheless)

U + Ur Hand - P!nk - I'm Not Dead

Poor grammar aside, this songs kicks. I had found Pink a bit too mainstream for a while, but with this album, and this song especially, I think she is back in her own niche. This is way too raw and powerful to be classified as pop, but still a bit more polished than rock.
This is again a song where the video got me into the song as much as the music. It turns out having a bajillion channels can be good, MTV Hits actually plays music videos all of the time still.

Pack Up (Remix) - Lyrics Born with KRS-One and Evidence - Same !@#$, Different Day

Lyrics Born is almost too simple of a choice for a 5otn. The guy can do no wrong in my book. I have specifically been giving this track some additional listening lately though. Anyone interested in this better already know who KRS-One is, so I don't need to preach on that.
However, Evidence is the reason I have really included this track. I have picked up a few tracks from Dilated Peoples recently, and they are fantastic. "Neighborhood Watch" is the album I have been liking lately.

My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) - Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps

Reaching back to the classics here. Neil and Crazy Horse blurred the lines between folk and rock, birthing grunge in the process. I got back into this song as part of a pseudo-obsession with tracking down some obscure bootlegs a few weeks ago.
Specifically, there was a version of Daughter by Pearl Jam performed on Saturday Night Live back on April 16, 1994. This version was performed very shortly after the death of Kurt Cobain. Eddie Vedder segwayed from Daughter into "My My, Hey Hey", in a very cool performance (I would post it here, but unfortunately it isn't all that easy to find a live link for it).
Instead, I submit the original from Neil.
To really do this justice, make sure to follow it up with, "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" from the same album. The two songs represent one of the best "bookend" set of songs ever.

5 of the Beat

More music for you. This time, it's pretty much an assortment of rock with some kick to it, great stuff.

Dick Dale and His Del-Tones - Dick Dale and His Del-Tones: Greatest Hits 1961-1976 - Misirlou

Killer guitar line. Maybe one of the best ever. Probably the only song in my collection that started in the 30's as a middle-eastern wedding dance song. Dick Dale demonstrates that he can do more with one string of a guitar than most people do with 4-6. Yes, you probably know this best from "Pulp Fiction." I hope you don't only know it from the Black Eyed Peas song: "Push It."

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love - Little Wing
I actually wanted to give you the Stevie Ray Vaughn version of this here, but of course, iTunes doesn't have him in the catalog :-( Stevie gives it just a little bit more kick than even the original. In either case, your productivity will instantly change. You will either kick into high gear while grooving out to this, or you will stop everything as you sit back and chill to it.

Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists - Land of Confusion

You wouldn't normally expect a Genesis song to make it onto an upbeat rock list (at least I wouldn't). I also wouldn't have expected to have liked so many rock covers of their songs in the past few years. First Nonpoint and now this. Great remake.

Kanye West - The College Dropout - Jesus Walks

I know, this is rap, not rock you're thinking. So? I've been grooving out to it lately and it had to make the list. I didn't like Kanye at first, but I really dig his stuff now. If you're looking for G's and Hustla's and Ho's, this ain't it. Check out his "Late Orchestration" CD for some really good live performances.

T.Rex - 20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection - 20th Century Boy

Once again, disappointed by the iTMS. This is one of the top guitar licks of all time, by a group that has been influencing rock bands since "The Who". Nowhere to be found. Amazon to the rescue.

Okay, I know that was 5, but I need to add a 6th. I just recently picked up a single that I saw as a kid. It is the "Ruined by Rick Rubin" remixes of Queen's "We are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You." Hard to come by this single anymore. I'm going to bring it to work and let Ryan have a listen.

5 of the Eclectic

Some new tunes for you. In this case, most are not new at all. This is a very odd assortment, but it's what I have been enjoying so I thought I would share. Expand your horizons a bit.

Gary Allan - Tough All Over - Life Ain't Always Beautiful

Amazing song, and very obvious the tragedy he has gone through in the last year while listening to this.

Kenny Chesney - When the Sun Goes Down - Anything but Mine

I hate Kenny Chesney. So, why do I have one of his songs in here? Because he somehow got everything right on this one.

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin 1 - Dazed and Confused
THE shit. You want to hear how Rock and Roll, true guitar rock was created? Check this out. Killer bass line, screaming guitars, Page, Plant, Bonham, and Jones. Nothing more needs to be said.

Harvey Danger - Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone? - Flagpole Sitta
A wacky fun song from back in my college days. Still good stuff even if he dropped off the face of the planet after this.

Alex Kapranos, Barrington Levy, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & Handsome Boy Modeling School - White People - The World's Gone Mad

Automator, possibly at his finest. All of his work, especially that with Handsome Boy Modeling School is incredible. Throw in Del, and it's off the charts. Thanks to Ryan for hooking me up with this orginally.

As usual, I was annoyed when I found a song that wasn't available from iTunes when creating this post. I really want to go there for one-stop shopping. Harvey Danger, I can see maybe having a problem getting licensed. Zeppelin? Fix that now Apple, that's just sad. I'm assuming in that case it is a band issue, much like the Beatles and Radiohead, but Jobs and crew just need to work harder (IMO).

5 of the Weekend

Time for an update on tunes I have been listening to recently.

1. George Harrison - What Is Life: This song was stuck in my head ever since the Sheryl Crow concert I went to last week. It is the song she plays right before she begins, after the volume is cranked up, on this tour. Many thanks to the people on the forum for kicking me into remembering who sang it. Killer guitar riff if it doesn't do anything else for you.

2. Julien Civange and Louis Haeri - Lalala: This was actually one of the free iTunes tracks a while back, and I finally got to listen to it. Fantastic rock instrumental, I could have sworn I was listening to The Who.

3. Rascal Flatts - Life Is A Highway: This is from the Cars soundtrack. It also happens to be a remake of one of my absolute favorite tracks of all time, and a track that just so happened to be on the first CD I ever purchased. This is a spot-on remake, and it appears in a perfect portion of the movie.

4. Panic! At the Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies: Thanks to Blender and others, this group has become much more popular than I anticipated. I find this track very quirky and cool, just beware that it may become overplayed.

5. Handsome Boy Modeling School Feat. Del The Funky Homosapien, Barrington Levy & Alex Kapranos - The World's Gone Mad: This is off an album that Ryan let me listen to on Friday named White People. Fantastic stuff, and this immediately jumped to my short list since it was a Del track I hadn't heard before. Dan the Automator wrote and produced nearly every song on the album, so if you know who he is, that should be sufficient.

(Sorry, no iTunes links on any of these. My iTunes, although I can still purchase songs and listen to my library, will no longer let me search through the music store. It just dies. I'm not reinstalling though, so tough.

5 of the Me

As Ryan does, periodically I like to throw out a list of 5 songs that I have been listening to quite a bit recently.

Here are the five tracks, in no particular order: (Artist-Track-(Album)).

1. Staind - Right Here (Chapter V)
2. Beastie Boys - Flowin' Prose (Hello Nasty)
3. Led Zeppelin - Hey Hey What Can I Do - (Box Set disc 1)
4. George Jones - It don't get any better than this - (It don't get any better than this)
5. Lou Donaldson - Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky (from now on) - (Everything I play is Funky)

This list turned out pretty eclectic. The first is pretty tame and a popular current song. Next, we move into something a bit more obscure. I have had Hello Nasty for quite a while, and enjoy it as I do with pretty much all Beastie's music. However, I have revisited it recently and was happy with how fresh it all sounded, especially my selected track.

The Zeppelin choice is just a good, classic rock staple.

The George Jones track may be a bit too extreme country for most people. However, it is pretty much a sampling of the greats of country music. The track features George, Waylon, Cash, Hank Jr., Merle, and Willie. When you can have 6 artists who can all be referenced by a single name on one track, it's very cool.

Finally, we have the Donaldson track. I actually bought this from iTunes after having a mix for years that sampled this song. Lost n' Alive did a remix back in the 90's that used this, and it is one of my favorite tracks. After doing some research and finding the original sample, I had to download it. When it recently popped up on my playlist, I figured I should share it with others.

Have at it, give them a sample, they are Amazon links because I'm not supacool enough to have an iTunes referral account, and Ryan was busy.