Clang & Clatter

iTunes hates me today, but I’m betting you’ll like IckMusic’s Friday Five.

Extreme - “Kid Ego” (Extreme, 1989)
Meh. I was never much of an Extreme fan. Don’t get me wrong, I like Cherone’s voice, I think Nuno is a talented guitarist, and together they make a good songwriting team. I also liked some of their big hooks, and the funky groove they tried to inject into their music. In theory, all of this should have worked for me, but the implementation never grabbed me.

U2 - “The Unforgettable Fire” (The Unforgettable Fire, 1984)
Nice driving bass and ethereal Edge soundscapes combine to make this one of the better tracks on the album. Unfortunately much of the rest is pretty forgettable to me.

The Cure - “10:15 Saturday Night” (Staring at the Sea: The Singles, 1986)
What’s up, iTunes?! You trying to bum me out? Why did you pick this song among all the other good material here? Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip.

Yes - “Mood for a Day” (Fragile, 1972)
In and of itself, it’s a pretty cool little acoustic guitar instrumental, but after awhile I start thinking, “OK, I understand that you can play. When am I gonna get some Chris Squire or Jon Anderson?” Just too much noodling and not enough of the rhythmic interestingness for me for such a short song. Sigh.

King’s X - “Black Flag” (King’s X, 1992)
“A year in the hole had taken its toll when I took a good look at me.” Now that’s more like it, iTunes. But sorry—too little, too late.

Friday. Five songs. On shuffle. Here we go…

I’m beginning to get the impression that maybe I have different musical tastes than most in these here parts and that there’s the possibility that some of the IckMusic regulars may not have heard some of the songs that I post here. So beginning with this Friday Five, I plan to include links to the tracks that exist in Spotify for any of the more curious among us. I hope that’s OK.

Collective Soul - “Giving” (Disciplined Breakdown, 1997)
There was a period where I was absolutely infatuated with anything Collective Soul put out. The band’s third album may not have produced as many hits—only two—or as many instantly familiar tunes as some of its other albums, but I actually like it better than most of the others. Maybe it’s because it was born in the midst of management difficulties, money troubles, and lawsuits. Or maybe it’s simply that Ed Roland knows how to write a good song.

Joe Satriani - “Hands in the Air” (Is There Love in Space?, 2004)
One of the things I have always liked about Joe Satriani is that he doesn’t just noodle around on the guitar just for the sake of noodling. The man can shred with the best of them, but he always seems to be more concerned with creating a real song with a real melody and a groove. Give me that over guitar wankery any day.

Yes - “Changes” (Yesyears, 1991)
A live version of one of my favorite songs off 90125. Not much else to say.

KISS - “Black Diamond” (KISS, 1974)
Klassic Kiss. And while the first album did not capture the spirit or the energy of the band’s live performances, I will always have a soft spot for it in my heart. I love the unpolishedness of Peter Criss’ vocals, and it contains some of my favorite guitar work from Ace Frehley. That being said, I really could do without the outro effect of the tape slowing down.

Toad the Wet Sprocket - “Comes a Time” (Coil sessions outtake, 1996)
I have had this song in my collection for so long, and since Glen Phillips has performed it live so often and recorded versions of it for other projects, I have become so familiar with it to the point that I forget it’s not an official TTWS release. Beautiful mostly acoustic tune with electric embellishments underneath and even a solo, and it contains Phillips’ typical poetic lyrics and themes.