Clang & Clatter

Ramones - “You Should Never Have Opened That Door (Demo)” (Ramones (Expanded), 2001)
Meh. It’s a demo. A good demo mind you, but still a throwaway for the Ramones. They could probably have written a song like this every day.

Dio - “Shoot Shoot” (Sacred Heart, 1985)
Not my favorite tune from Sacred Heart. That honor would have to go to album opener “King of Rock and Roll” or the title track. One of the weakest tracks on the album, “Shoot Shoot” was probably not the best choice for an album closer, and while his playing was always phenomenal in Dio, Sacred Heart was probably not the best way for Vivian Campbell to have departed the band.

Eagles of Death Metal - “Don’t Speak (I Came to Make a Bang)” (Death by Sexy, 2006)
This has all the hallmarks of a Josh Homme project. I was just never able to get into it enough to really care despite the rave reviews from music sites and friends. My favorite part on this track is probably the drums. Silly me, I figured it was Joey Castillo behind the kit, but it turns out it’s Homme on this one. Go figure. He’s one super-talented dude.

Queens of the Stone Age - “Give the Mule What He Wants” (Queens of the Stone Age, 1998)
Another one from Homme, this time the pre-Oliveri Queens of the Stone Age. I really like the groove on this one. I came late to the QOTSA party, Songs for the Deaf being my introduction, and I doubt Homme will ever top that effort in my opinion.

Counting Crows - “I Wish I Was a Girl” (This Desert Life, 1999)
Counting Crows closes out this strange Five with one of Duritz’s trademark tunes made up of deep, almost depressive lyrics about Elisabeth, Hollywood, and being alright (when he’s really not) with a sleek, glossy, sticky-sweet coating of pure pop that makes you almost overlook the darkness beneath. Almost.

Counting Crows - “Angels of the Silences” (Across a Wire: Live in New York City, 1998)
As irritated as I get at Adam Duritz’s live performances at times, Across a Wire is probably my favorite Counting Crows album, containing my favorite versions of some of their biggest songs, especially the VH1 Storytellers disc. These guys really shine in a live setting.

Ramones - “7-11” (Pleasant Dreams, 1981)
I (ahem) acquired this album from a friend along with Too Tough to Die, and honestly, I can’t remember ever hearing this song. iTunes informs me that I’ve listened to it one other time, but I think iTunes is a liar. But I’m glad I listened to it this time.

Sixpence None the Richer - “The Garden” (This Beautiful Mess, 1999)
This Beautiful Mess was my introduction to Sixpence None the Richer, and it’s still the gold standard by which I judge all their output. Sure, this track is late-90s jangly-alterno-pop navel-gazing music, but last time I checked, there wasn’t anything particularly wrong with that.

Jars of Clay - “Whatever She Wants” (The Eleventh Hour, 2002)
I still can’t quite put my finger what it is, but I remember thinking at the time The Eleventh Hour was different from anything Jars of Clay had done, and I still feel that way today. Maybe it’s that the band redefined itself by taking complete artistic control over everything for this album. Or maybe it’s that the songs feel darker, even the happy, upbeat ones. They continued in the more electric direction they had dabbled with on If I Left the Zoo (although there were enough acoustic instruments to satisfy fans of the first two albums), but the songs weren’t as immediately poppy and singalong. Still, it’s probably one of my favorite Jars releases.

Johnny Cash - “Danny Boy” (American IV: The Man Comes Around, 2002)
I was never a huge Johnny Cash fan, but I was definitely intrigued by his reworkings of popular songs in his American series, especially on tunes like “Personal Jesus,” “One,” and “Rusty Cage.” His version of “Danny Boy” has just the right amount of reverence, somberness, and sorrow for it to have been included alongside an excellent rendition of “In My Life” and my personal favorite “Hurt,” a song I like 100 times more than the original and the main reason I have this album in my collection.

Every now and again I get lost in a Friday Five over at Popdose.

Ramones - “We Want the Airwaves” (Pleasant Dreams, 1981)
Alright. Already off to a good start. A slicker, heavier, more polished sound for the Ramones, but good nonetheless.

Mae - “Anything” (The Everglow, 2005)
Wall-of-sound production that is equal parts heavy, sweet, soaring, and shimmery. I can’t talk enough about how much I like this band.

The Wildhearts - “Tim Smith” (¡Chutzpah!, 2009)
Heck yeah! 3 for 3. This song from the most recent Wildhearts release—and probably the last unless something changes in the near future—is a sort of dedication to the Cardiacs frontman who suffered a heart attack and stroke in 2008. Heavy, thrashy verses and harmony-vocal-laden singalong choruses. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Glen Phillips - “The Hole” (Live at Messiah College in Grantham, PA, 11/15/2003)
Another great bootleg from this Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman. “The Hole” is one of those rare strange tunes that Glen has come up with during his solo career that has a way of digging into your subconscious and coming out when you least expect. I really need to try to get to one of his solo shows sometime.

Ginger Wildheart - “Westward Ho! (A New Reputation)” (555%, 2012)
Second track from the more experimental second set of songs from Ginger’s triple-album PledgeMusic project. This song in particular plays around with an island feel and electronic elements and prominently features vocalist Victoria Liedtke as it builds into a middle portion that sounds like an African tribal singalong with Victoria doing her best black gospel choir imitation à la Pink Floyd’s “The Great Gig in the Sky.” Lots of twists and turns and very enjoyable if you’re up for the ride. I can’t recommend the entire album enough.

Excellent Friday Five this week! Hope you enjoy yours.

What do you do for Friday Fives? How do you get your kicks?

AC/DC - “What Do You Do For Money Honey” (Back in Black, 1980)
Yeah! Off to a good start so far. I absolutely love the chorus on this one.

Andrew Peterson - “Mystery of Mercy” (The Far Country, 2005)
Peterson has popped up on previous Friday Fives. This is a song of his that CCM act Caedmon’s Call recorded for their 2003 album Back Home and is one of the strongest tracks on this album.

U2 - “God Part II” (Rattle and Hum, 1988)
Meh track from a meh-ish kind of album. I never really got the point of Rattle and Hum, although I do dig their version of “All Along the Watchtower.”

Ramones - “Bop ‘Til You Drop” (Ramones Mania, 1988)
Just over 2 minutes of Ramones goodness. Nice.

Phil Keaggy - “Passing Thought” (Acoustic Sketches, 1996)
Looks like my iTunes is all over the place today. Acoustic Sketches is (true to its name) an acoustic album from criminally underrated and largely unknown CCM guitarist Phil Keaggy, and as the song title suggests, this is a sort of segue track on the album. Keaggy is an amazing guitarist. He does this thing live with digital delays where he lays down a guitar part and loops it, then starts layering on more and more parts so that he can play along with himself. This album was one of the backing tracks for my web programming years ago.