Music response meme II

A.k.a. the patronizing meme, as seen here; taken from Dave, here.

Turn on your iTunes (or iPod).

Or, in my case, Windows Media Player.

Set the player on "Shuffle."

It always is. I have music-appreciation ADD. Not an album purist. I used the shuffle button before there was a shuffle button. We called it "making a mix tape" back then.

Write something (a sentence, a paragraph, a story, a word,) about the first 5 songs that come up.

1. "Bad Moon Rising," Creedence Clearwater Revival
Don't go 'round tonight,
It's bound to take your life,
There's a bathroom on the right.
Some songs are just so much more fun sung in mondegreens. Off the classic Green River. Five stars. Almost everything CCR ever did is five stars.

2. "Stay Or Leave," Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
This is from one of the --- holy cow --- two hundred and fifteen compilation albums I own. That's a lot of the Various Artists oeuvre. (But I do so love good old VA's work.) I enjoy Dave Matthews' unusual voice and his style of quirky, non-threatening pop. I don't own any of his albums and don't plan to, but I like his stuff when I hear it. This song is typical of his lilting, pleasant, unmemorable material. Despite owning this song, up until this very minute I had no idea who Tim Reynolds is; he is this guy. Three stars.

3. "I'm Still In Love With You," Al Green
Another from the compilation department, this from a disc of the Rolling Stones' hand-picked favorite songs. While I like horn-based soul-funk-R&B such as this song, a little goes a long way. This particular number is one of those smooth, sexy grooves with sultry female backing vocals matching Al's lithe falsetto. Four stars for sheer talent, but probably just three stars in terms of how often I'd want to hear it.

4. "The Face Of Love," Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with Eddie Vedder
Off of --- you guessed it --- another Various Artists effort, this one the "inspired by" soundtrack to the Susan Sarandon-Sean Penn vehicle Dead Man Walking. It's a terrific album, and this is a wonderful song. I'm no Jamhead, but I can't deny the sheer passion Eddie delivers in all his vocals, and this cut --- one of two duets between the pair on this album --- is no exception. The way he trades heartfelt, impassioned, wordless calls with the late, great Qawwali singer creates one of those truly touching, not fabricated, musical moments. Four stars.

5. "The Parting Glass," The Pogues.
One of the bonus tracks off the remastered and expanded classic album Rum, Sodomy & the Lash, this is a traditional Irish drinking song. Being an aficionado of Celtic songs, especially of the drinking variety, since I was a wee bairn, I also have versions by the ubiquitous Clancy Brothers and Waxies Dargle. The Pogies treat this one reverently, unlike the snarl-and-spit versions they do of some other traditional folk numbers; it's a slow, maudlin lament. Come back, Shane, all is forgiven. Four stars.