Top Five on Friday–10/15/10

From Music Memoirs, of course:

Top 5 artists to listen to while you exercise

1)  Los Lobos.  They usually have some great upbeat tunes, especially the Mexican dance tunes.  I always quicken my step if I’m walking and listening to “How Will The Wolf Survive?”

2)  Afro Celt Sound System.  Their upbeat songs are perfect for exercise.

3)  The Ramones.  Fast, loud, nasty.

4)  BeauSoleil.  They really get your toes a’tapping.

5)  Natalie MacMaster.  Most of her stuff is fast reels and jigs, perfect for getting yourself moving.

Top Five On Friday–10/8/10

It’s Friday:

Top 5 songs with names in the title

1)  “To Sheila” by Smashing Pumpkins
2)  “Alison” by Elvis Costello
3)  “Jimmy Jazz” by The Clash
4)  “Jack Haggerty” by Touchstone
5)  “Konstantine” by Something Corporate

Top Five On Friday – 9/24/10

Top 5 songs that you have liked "forever"

I’m very tired, but I’ll do this anyway.

1)  “Baba O’Riley” by The Who
2)  “Colossus” by Afro Celt Sound System
3)  “Last Goodbye” by Jeff Buckley
4)  “I Wish” by Skee-Lo
5)  “If It Isn’t Love” by New Edition

Top Five On Friday – 9/17/10

From the Music Memoirs:

Top 5 recent musical discoveries

~ This can be bands, songs, albums a mixture of all of them

1)  “The French Song” by Joan Jett
2)  Sonic Youth
3)  Charles Mingus
4)  “The Rare Ould Times” by Flogging Molly
5)  Steve Shelly, drummer for number 2.  He’s awesome!  Check him out in this clip.  He really gets going three minutes in.

Top Five On Friday – 9/3/10

Labor Day weekend Five:

Top 5 albums you'd recommend to a friend

Kinda depends on the friend, doesn’t it?  Well, I’ll give it a shot.

1)  Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus.  This is my latest purchase.  Get the remastered version with unedited songs, or better yet get the Legacy Edition with Mingus Dynasty on the second disc.

2)  Tomorrow The Green Grass by The Jayhawks.  Is it rock?  Is it country?  Who cares?  It’s good!

3)  All Things Must Pass by George Harrison.  Harrison gets an entire album to himself, and makes the most of it.

4)  Wolf Tracks: The Best of Los Lobos by Los Lobos.  Get to know the best American rock band out there and see their sound evolve over 20 tracks.

5)  Colour Me Free by Joss Stone.  Old school soul, R&B and more by a rising star.  This album is pure fun.

Top Five On Friday – 8/20/10

Time for Top Five:

Top 5 songs with "time" in the title

1)  “Time” by Pink Floyd
2)  “The Longest Time” by Billy Joel
3)  “Strict Time” by Elvis Costello
4)  “Further In Time” by Afro Celt Sound System
5)  “A Matter Of Time” by Los Lobos

Can’t forget Morris Day and The Time:

Top Five On Friday – 8/13/10

Top Five:

Top 5 albums you would buy right now if you had the money

You mean besides the three Beatles albums I bought on Amazon today?

1)  “Ah Um (Legacy Edition)” by Charles Mingus.  I’m starting to get into jazz, and I’m REALLY liking this guy and this album in particular. 
2)  “Kind of Blue (Legacy Edition)” by Miles Davis.  Another great jazz album to buy.
3)  “Dream Letter” by Tim Buckley.  I usually prefer his son Jeff, but I’m now starting to “get” Tim too.
4)  “Disconnect From Desire” and “Alpinisms” by School of Seven Bells.  Both great albums.
5)  “You Made Me Realize EP” by My Bloody Valentine.  This is extremely hard to find, but extremely great. 

Top Five On Friday – 7/30/10

Time for Top Five:

Top 5 songs by one of your favorite artists

I don’t talk much about Robert Randolph and the Family Band, so I will today.

1)  “Walk Don’t Walk.”  This is off their new album and it always makes me smile.  It’s a Prince cover.
2)  “Going In The Right Direction.”  Tons of energy and a positive message.
3)  “Thrill Of It.”  A sentimental favorite, since it’s the first Robert Randolph song I ever heard.
4)  “Ted’s Jam.”  Just a rollicking good time.
5)  “Squeeze.”  The Family Band’s best instrumental.  Robert’s guitar really sings here.

Top Five On Friday (and more) – 7/23/10

I’m going to do the Tuesday Tunes as well as the Top Five today.  I need to catch up.

Tell us about the WORST concert experience you ever had.

I think the worst I’ve concert experience for me was the time I saw a band-not-to-be-named (because I’m too nice) and they started playing an hour and a half after the show was scheduled to start.  Normally that wouldn’t be too much of a problem (except the boredom of waiting), but I was to be given a ride home only an hour after the band actually started.  I didn’t get to see that much of the show.  I was disappointed!

Top 5 songs you think of when you hear the word "old"

1)  “Love Me Do” by The Beatles
2)  “Hound Dog” by Elvis
3)  “In The Mood” by the Benny Goodman Orchestra
4)  “I’m Going Home” from the Cold Mountain soundtrack
5)  “If I Had My Way” by Robert Randolph and the Family Band

Top Five On Friday - 7/9/10

Here's the Top Five:

Top 5 songs that help you beat the heat

1)  "If I Had My Way" by Robert Randolph and the Family Band
2)  "Amsterdam" by Coldplay
3)  "Ice Age" by Pete Yorn
4)  "Soft As Snow (but warm inside)" by My Bloody Valentine
5)  "Strange Brew" by Cream

Top Five On Friday - 6/18/10

Five for fathers:

Top 5 songs father's wrote for their children

1)  "Tears In Heaven" by Eric Clapton
2)  "I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain" by Tim Buckley.  Ok, technically not all about Jeff, but a very good song anyway.
3)  "Good Night" by The Beatles (John wrote it for Julian)
4)  "Chanson Pour Ezra" by BeauSoleil (Michael wrote it for his son)
5)  "Martha My Dear" by The Beatles.  Well, pets can be like children, can't they?  (Ok, I just ran out of ideas.)

Tuesday Tunes - 6/15/10

Tunes:

If you could experience one band/artist in their hey day, who would it be and why would you choose them?

As Andrea said in her post, the Beatles are an easy choice here.  I'd love to see them not in the Beatlemania days, but in Hamburg when they really kicked some ass. 

However, the above is not my answer to the question.  I'd like to see the Smashing Pumpkins right around the time of Siamese Dream.  Why?  Because it was a more innocent time for them, when the band was mostly functioning with all its original members and was largely free of Swollen-Ego Billy.  They still had a lot to prove, but had already made some great music and weren't yet to the point where they'd screw it all up.  Whenever I listen to their first four albums, I feel nostalgia for a band I didn't fully experience until years later.  Part of me wishes Billy and his former bandmates could patch things up and make music as magical as they made in those first years, but another part of me realizes that you can't go back.  So I just listen to those wonderful early albums and enjoy the music they did make instead of wishing for more.

Top Five On Friday - 6/11/10

Here's the Top Five.  Shhh, I'm actually posting this on Saturday, but let's pretend it's Friday.

Top 5 songs that make you think of your best friend.

1)  "Konstantine" by Something Corporate
2)  "Bonnie and Clyde '03" by Jay-Z and Beyonce
3)  "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne
4)  "Black Magic Woman" by Santana
5)  "Strong Enough To Break" by Hanson

Top Five On Friday - 6/4/10

Top 5 albums you take with you for a day at the beach

1)  Legend by Bob Marley.  Of course!
2)  Any album by Jack Johnson
3)  Under The Table and Dreaming by Dave Matthews Band
4)  Revolver by The Beatles, just so you can play "Good Day Sunshine"
5)  Quadrophenia by The Who.  Some of the story takes place at the beach.  There's a song called "Sea and Sand."

Top Five On Friday - 5/28/10

Top 5 Songs That Put A Little Love In Your Heart

Here are five songs that put a little love in my heart for the artists who perform them.

1)  "Luna" by Smashing Pumpkins
2)  "Morning Theft" by Jeff Buckley
3)  "Warning Sign" by Coldplay
4)  "Sleepy Maggie" by Ashley MacIsaac
5)  "Smoothie Song" by Nickel Creek

Top Five On Friday - 4/30/10

Top Five, last of April:

Top 5 bands you wish you had discovered sooner.

1)  My Bloody Valentine.  For years I had heard about the greatness of Loveless, but I hadn't experienced it for myself until earlier this year.  I can't believe I didn't hear it sooner, and I'm glad I did.

2)  Crowded House/Neil Finn.  I had only heard "Don't Dream It's Over" and didn't even know who Neil Finn was, until a friend told me about him and his music.  I bought one of his solo albums and became a big fan of his intelligent, catchy pop rock.

3)  Los Lobos.  All I knew of them was "La Bamba" until I saw them perform live.  It was then I realized how much great music I had been missing because I only knew "La Bamba."  Ok, actually I knew a little more than that, but not more than the La Bamba soundtrack.

4)  The Dhol Foundation.  I knew about them as a side project of one of the Afro Celt Sound System members, but didn't think to listen to their music until last year (has it already been that long since I bought their music?)  It's good stuff, and I should have listened a long time ago.

5)  Last, and the best.  The Beatles.  I don't think I'd heard any of their albums until about 2004 or 2005.  I bought Abbey Road and a year later bought Sgt. Pepper.  How did I spend 25 years without listening to the Beatles?  It's insane!

Top Five On Friday - 4/23/10

Five:

Top 5 music videos you can watch over and over

1)  "Skeletons" by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, one of the most haunting and beautiful videos and songs ever:



2)  "70 Million" by Hold Your Horses.  Works of art come to life and play instruments!



3) "Her Morning Elegance" by Oren Lavie.  Stop motion, very creative:



4)  "Persistence Of Memory" by Afro Celt Sound System



5)  "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" by Jack Johnson:

 

Top Five On Friday - 3/19/10

Here's the Top Five:

Top 5 Power Pop Songs

I don't know how to define the term, but these songs are all powerfully poppy.

1)  "Veronica" by Elvis Costello
2)  "Mean To Me" by Crowded House
3)  "One Man's Problem" by The Jayhawks
4)  "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" by Joe Jackson
5)  "3 AM" by Matchbox Twenty

I had "Baby Stick Around" by Joe Jackson at #4 originally.  That's another good one, so check it out.

Top Five On Friday - 3/12/10

Top Five, coming to us from a new site:

Top 5 musical things that make you think of St. Patrick's Day

1)  The Chieftains.  Of course.
2)  Uilleann pipes.  The haunting sound of the Irish soul.
3)  Altan.  One of the best Irish bands ever, in my opinion.
4)  Fiddles.  Can't have much of a session without a fiddle.
5)  Reels.  Here's a good set to get you in the St. Patrick spirit:

Top Five On Friday - 3/5/10

It's Friday:

Top 5 concert experiences

1)  The first 'real' concert I attended.  It was in 2000, in Portland, and I saw three famous Scandinavian folk acts on one bill.  There was JPP, Annbjørg Lien and Vasen.  These performers rarely come to the states, so that was a special treat.

2)  My first time seeing BeauSoleil.  I think this was also in 2000.  It was an all-day festival, and I also saw Darol Anger, Mark O'Connor and Vasser Clements.  BeauSoleil was the last act of the night, and I remember the anticipation and the excitement I felt when I finally saw them play.  Also, it was a beautiful summer day.

3)  My first time meeting BeauSoleil.  I'm forgetting the year, but I think it was 2005.  It was an honor to meet Michael Doucet and the rest of the band.  I won't go into details, but I made a slight fool of myself. 

4)  Seeing Keri Noble in a very small venue.  There were maybe 30 people there.  It was a local pizza place/coffee shop.  My buddy and I went and sat in the front row.  Keri was right in front of me.  Keri still hasn't become too famous, but it was nice seeing her perform and meeting her after the show. 

5)  Los Lobos in 2006.  They made a fan of me that very night.