5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #68

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week is a feature I run on Young Ears, Fresh Perspective on Sundays/early hours of Monday morning where I pick out 5 tunes that I think are notable and tell you a bit about them. The point is to give you some rocking music to help you deal with your weekday blues. You can either listen to one each day, listen to them all at once, or any other combination that you feel. As long as you can get through the week without the man getting you down, that's all I care about. Without further ado, here are the 5 tracks I've picked out for this week:

1. Black Coffee, by Humble Pie

Who knew a song about coffee could actually be pretty damn awesome? Lots of soul packed into just a few minutes. You really don't hear that kind of vocal passion, especially from backing singers all that often any more. This is one of those tunes you can get yourself into a groove with really quick and easy. When cranked loud enough it has just about the same effect as black coffee in that it will wake you up and get you going. Nothing else can compare.

2. Say a Prayer, by Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown

Saw these guys open for Rival Sons a few years back. They rocked pretty hard in their own right. They are a young bunch of guys, but they play classic rock like it was still the 70's while also making it their own. Say a Prayer kind of showcases the kind of raw bluesy power they have in their youthful fresh sound. You would never be able to guess that this wasn't something from a long while back if you didn't know any better.

 3. Mabel's Fatal Fable, by Jason Becker

Guitar shredding classical mastermind Jason Becker during his short lived career (before being stricken with ALS at a young age) did some astounding things while he still had use of his body. One of those things is the Perpetual Burn album, which contained tunes like Mabel's Fatal Fable where despite the fact that it is primarily shred, there is a followable melody that keeps it from just being a guy dicking around on a guitar trying to be the next Eddie Van Halen

4.  Seize the Day, by Avenged Sevenfold

This is one of A7X's softer more ballad-like moments. You can definitely hear the Guns N' Roses influence on the band during Synyster Gates's guitar solo. It sounds incredibly like Slash in terms of melody and structure. Plus, in the video he even kind of holds and carries himself like the Cat in the Hat in that moment. It's borderline ripping GN'R off but I think it stays just the right side of being more of a tip of the hat to them.

5. Tangerine, by Led Zeppelin

I've always liked this song because it's a fascinating fusion between folk and rock. It has an earthy folksy vibe to it, but then there are the moments where the electric guitar kicks in and it is quite clearly rock. I think to be honest that is one of the best things you can do with music. Why just make something straight one genre when you can throw in more than one and maybe even create something that is entirely new?