So here’s the deal, for the uninitiated: listen to the songs, the whole songs & nothing but the songs. Leave your extremely biased feedback on said songs and share your critique with the world in the comments section below. Do they make you happy? Sad? Make you think of other songs? Curse your speakers (and perhaps, by extension, me) for playing these dastardly songs?

We wanna know.

So without further ado, let’s get it on:

Song #1:

Song #2:

Song #3:

Song #4:

Song #5:

Track 1:  “Fake It” by Seether

I love this song…not a little because I feel exactly this way on LOTS of days.  Plus, the music has just enough edge without trying too hard to be grating or angst-ridden or creepy.  Funny, I haven’t sought out more Seether – maybe because this song stands alone and I don’t want to sully it by hearing anything that might possibly fit the aforementioned description…

Track 2:  “Dreamer” by Supertramp

Yep, this is the same Supertramp from Breakfast in America fame…but this song came earlier – 1974, to be exact.  I imagine the use of “Far Out!” as an interjection might have tipped you off that it wasn’t a new release.  (What?  Yeah, I’m old.  I was seven at the time.)  I’ve always loved Supertramp – there’s something about the Hodgson and Davies vocals that just works for me.

Track 3:  “Candy” by Paolo Nutini

Ahhhh, Paolo – Scottish Boy Wonder.  Forget the fact that I’m old enough to be his mother -  that voice with the accent melts me. (Looks don’t hurt, either.) He really is an old soul and a very versatile musician.  Can’t say I’ve disliked anything I’ve ever heard of his!  Yeah, must be that Italian connection we’ve got going…wink, wink, nudge, nudge, fahgeddaboutit.

Track 4:  “Wooden Ships” by  Crosby, Stills & Nash

“If you smile at me, I will understand…’cause that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language.”  Think about that – pretty powerful lyrics, especially for 1969  when this song came out – on their first album.  Yeah, an album which spawned not only this classic, but “Suite Judy Blue Eyes”, “Marrakesh Express” and “Long Time Gone”, the latter being their response to the assassination of Robert Kennedy.

Maybe take a listen again with fresh ears and hear this not just as one of those songs you hear on the oldies radio station, but as the bold statement that it was meant to be from three young idealistic folk rockers just starting out in their career.  In that context, it blows me away.

Track 5:  “The Dead Parrot Sketch” by Monty Python

Oh, like YOU don’t have any Monty Python in your mp3 collection!  (…if you don’t, don’t tell me.  I don’t want to be disappointed in you.)

No rhyme, no reason, no filtering, no planning whatsoever – wherever my mouse landed is what we’ve got. Some are likely to be embarrassing, I’d imagine.  I’ll be back Sunday to face the music…(yuk, yuk, yuk!)

Track 1:

Track 2:

Track 3:

Track 4:

Track 5:

Track 1: Simulated Life – In Union

This Oklahoma City-based band followed me on Twitter and piqued my interest. Featuring former Nixon’s guitarist, the goal of this band is to write great original rock music, and that’s a cause I can get behind. More on them, and their surprising cover of the Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby, later.

———-

Track 2: Harlem River Blues – Justin Townes Earle

Found this on a free Amazon label sampler, by Steve Earle’s son so right there it’s got mad cool points from me. I like this song, I like new music that harkens back to old-school outlaw country. This particular pick won the 2011 song of the year award at the Americana Music Awards. Earle is currently touring, so be sure to check the schedule on his website for a date near you.

———-

Track 3: Cannonball – the Breeders

This one was included because it came up on random the other day & I listened to it with fresh ears. This is what is magical and good about the early 90s music scene, all distortion and guitars and irony. My favorite point in the song is at the 1:40 mark, where the music loosens up like a fist you didn’t realize was clenched.

———-

Track 4: A Quarter to Three – Shy Blakeman

More music that found me on Twitter (seriously, I love when that happens). An outlaw country rocker from Texas, Shy Blakeman is outspoken and fun to listen to. He’s got a duet on his newest release (Long Distance Man, his third CD) with Miranda Lambert and I love her too. Check his website for a free download of Long Distance Man if you want to hear more.

———-

Track 5: Rusty Cage – Johnny Cash

You are under arrest for general badassery

A day without Johnny Cash is like a day without a good dose of tonic with a shot of whiskey that you kick back after reading a few lines of poetry or a Bible verse. That’s the magic of the man; he didn’t cross genres; he just plowed through them and owned it. I love this song because of the before & after aspect contained within it, along with the general badassery.

Are you as happy that I am that it’s 2012? I mean, Mayan death calendar prediction aside, I’m pretty damn hopeful that this is going to be an awesome year of win.

Here be your first official Fiver of the new year, and you know how to play along, yes? Listen to the unmarked tunes and play music critic. We’ve got a little something old, something new, something borrowed & something blues, so hopefully there’s a little something there that will make you happy.Tell your friends to come & have a listen, too! Then on Sunday, all will be revealed.

So what’re you waiting for? Let’s dig in!

Track 1:

Track 2:

Track 3:

Track 4:

Track 5:

Scratch that, I still LOVE The Smiths.

Recently, a tribute album was released.  You can find it on iTunes HERE.  Please, Please, Please – A Tribute to the Smiths started me searching for other covers of their songs.  Musicians love The Smiths so I had lots of choices.  Below are four versions of Please, Please, Please Let me Get What I Want for your perusal:

The Original by The Smiths

She & Him

William Fitzsimmons

Muse

So listeners, what do you think?  Are you still in love with the original or open to some new versions?  Personally, nothing will top The Smith’s original version for me, but I still own most of these covers as well.  A girl can never have too many options.

It is with a somewhat heavy heart that I bring  you today’s “Whatever Happened To….” update, for today would have been Peter Steele’s (singer/songwriter/bassist, Type O Negative, 1962-2010) 50th birthday.  I thought it would be a good time to see what the other guys are up to these days, and I was able to find a bit on Johnny and Kenny….

Drummer Johnny Kelly and Guitarist Kenny Hickey formed Seventh Void, adding Hank Hell (Inhuman) and Matt Brown (Uranium 235), and  released an album even before Peter Steele’s untimely passing and the end of Type O Negative.  They’ve since toured and had Matt Brown leave the band, but Johnny said in the band’s most recent Myspace Blog and Facebook news update that the band is recording demos and hope to record a new album soon.

Kenny also filled in for Kirk Windstein of Kingdom of Sorrow in 2008 and again in 2010 for Ozzfest dates.

Playlist.com had no Seventh Void songs to share, but you can see plenty of the band’s official videos, fan made videos, and interviews at YouTube.

I personally like their sound and hope we’ll be able to hear more from them in the future.

And? You probably don’t need me to tell you that it’s been quite a year. It seems like it’s been “quite a year” across the board for pretty much everyone I know. There were good times, bad times, and there was lots of change. But one thing I can say that 2011 was absolutely great for was live music. I think nearly all of my favorite bands toured this past year, and I was lucky enough to be able to see many of them.

Here, in photos, is a brief retrospective with a playlist at the end. Enjoy!

30 Seconds To Mars – Atlanta, 1.28.11

Jared Leto of 30 Seconds To Mars

I blogged all about this show here, in case you missed it. What a way to start off the (concert) year! One of my favorite shows of the year.

Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights  - Birmingham, 2.23.11

Jonathan Tyler of Jonathan Tyler And The Northern Lights (courtesy of Tiffani)

This was Music Mama Tiffani (Sound Check Mama)’s birthday show. The music was loud, soulful, bluesy, and rockin’; the place was packed; and we had a blast catching up with the band post-show. I think all concert experiences need to end like this one did.

100 Monkeys – Atlanta, 7.26.11

Jerad Anderson of 100 Monkeys

I finally got a 100 Monkeys show that didn’t end in utter misery for me.  For more on that AND this show, go here. This was also the last show I actively tried to review for this site, as I’m thinking folks are not all that interested in posts about concerts.

Honda Civic Tour featuring Matt & Kim, My Chemical Romance, and Blink 182 – Atlanta, 9.21.11

L-R: MCR's Frank Iero, Mikey Way, and Gerard Way (courtesy of Laura)

Now THIS was a show that should have been reviewed.  We spent most of Matt & Kim’s set walking around, but made our way to our pit “seats” for MCR’s performance….and they were so ON!  The energy in that place was out of this world, and they’re such amazing performers that their songs sound incredible live as well as recorded.  Laura was particularly happy to have the show started with “Na Na Na (NaNaNaEtc, NaNaNa ad infinitum, NaNaNa4Eva! I am not counting all the “Na Na Na”s in parentheses, get it ?), and I was happy to hear “S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W” live.

Blink 182's Mark Hoppus (courtesy of Laura)

Blink 182 was amazing to see live as well.  We got all the old songs we loved and a few of the new ones.  We got a LOT of suggestive banter via Tom DeLonge, lots of blurriness from Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker was his usual phenomenal self.  And?  He made the whole show for me, with the drum solo, a medley of songs from his album Give The Drummer Some, on his mighty levitating drum kit!

Both bands kept us on our feet, jumping and moving all night long in the sweltering Georgia heat, and was, hands-down, my favorite show of the year.  Laura and I discussed this at length on the car ride home, and we honestly couldn’t decide whose performance we liked better.  Off the chain, indeed.

Foo Fighters/Social Distortion – Atlanta, 11.7.11

The one and only Dave Grohl! (courtesy of Laura)

This is definitely another show that should have been reviewed, or gushed about, or something.  We made it into the arena in time to see Social D perform a few songs before closing out with their rockabilly rendition of “Ring of Fire”, and the guys still have it.  They’re definitely a band I’ll be back to see as soon as I’m able!

But the Foo Fighters?  Gah, where to start with that one……

First off, my friend Laura should be doing this one, as she’s really the only one who can do it justice (and the only one who hasn’t forgotten one single teensy tiny detail about it like I have!)  This was just an incredible night all around.  The band still performs with an energy which rivals that of their much younger counterparts.  They played to a sold-out (or very close to it) Gwinnett Center arena for nearly four hours, during which we were treated to the band’s many hits, some classic rock covers, acoustic versions of their own songs, and a promise to come back and play a smaller venue.

Of the four of us in our little group, two sets of hands actually touched a stick thrown by Taylor Hawkins before it bounced on down to…who knows?  My hands were not among the two, but I am told it felt “sweaty.”  Ah, good times.

Jason Isbell – Huntsville, 12.23.11

Jason Isbell, via BlackBerry w/no flash!

I’ve STILL not managed to see the Drive By Truckers live, but at least can now say I’ve seen Jason Isbell.  This show was local-ish boy Jason’s last performance of the year, and was at Crossroads, which is my absolute favorite place to catch live music in Huntsville. I have so many fond memories of that place, and this was the perfect show to wind down the concert year.

I know you’re just dying to know what my favorite show of the year was, aren’t you? Well, based on performance and pure musicianship alone, it should be the Foo Fighters. Based on those same things, it should also be 30 Seconds to Mars. But I think my favorite performance of the year was MCR’s. I couldn’t really pinpoint why, either. Sure, their musicianship and performance was top-notch as well, but even that’s not it. I just know it was somehow pure magic, and that’s all that really needs to happen to make a show your favorite, right?

So, what shows did you see this year? Go ahead and tell me all about them in the comments

I believe that the title of this post might give away which side of the line I flop on: I’m in camp Diamond Dave, 100%. When Van Halen broke up, it was tragic. As a teen, my room was papered (literally; all walls AND ceiling.) with pictures of DLR. I was a bit of a fanatic.

When Van Halen broke up, for me, it was like the end of my youth. What would happen??

Here’s what happened: DLR recorded Eat ‘Em & Smile, picked up guitar virtuoso Steve Vai and when I saw them in concert, I was blown away. Close my eyes and I was at a Van Halen show. For me, Dave was the show. The bombastic & inimitable frontman. I saw first-hand that Eddie’s guitar playing could be duplicated; but how could they duplicate Dave?

Well, as we all know, they didn’t. VH carried on with Sammy Hagar, the Red Rider taking on lead singer duties.

I was underwhelmed.

I’m sorry; I’m a purist. I couldn’t fathom Van Halen sans David Lee Roth’s mighty swagger any more than I could imagine Pink Floyd sans the mad growl of Roger Waters.

I’ll give Van Hagar props for having some good-bordering-on-great songs, but for me, there is only one Van Halen.

Do you remember the last time Eddie & David kissed and made up and went on tour? They came through my city but when I read an interview with Eddie Van Halen wherein he stated that they banked upwards of $1 million per show? I decided to waive the $100, throw my Van Halen CDs on random & pour beer over my own head, thank you very much.

Where do you fall on the Van Halen / Hagar divide? A selection of songs are below, plus some honorable mentions for the song covers that Van Halen rocked.

A digital EP featuring 4 songs (Hate Train, Just a Bullet Away [my personal favorite], Hell and Back & Rebel of Babylon) that were recorded for the Death Magnetic album but didn’t make the cut, these tracks restored my faith. What I love about the Metallica in the post-Load years is the stripped-back, unpolished edge that is back in their music, and that edge shines in these songs.

The hardcore, gritty flavor that makes you want to crank Metallica songs at a rude volume is alive and well in this brief collection. According to the band on the Metallica website, these songs are “…the rough mixes, unfinished to their original degree of mixing from March of 2008.” But if this is the rough mix? I don’t want the polished.

Hardcore Metallica fans have had these songs for a week or so now, as they were sent to fan club members following the recent 30-year anniversary show series that the band played earlier this month; to the rest of you, I say get thee to iTunes to take a listen & to download the EP for yourself.