5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #107

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. Dead, by Buckcherry

Hard to believe this tune is already about seven years old. I remember when it was new. This is a good rocker to get your blood pumping and your heart pounding if you feel out of energy and need a boost. It's got everything: big riffs, catchy vocals, and blistering fast guitar solos in all the right places. This is Buckcherry doing what they do better than anything else in the whole world: rock the hell out as loud and fast as possible.

2. Wanted Dead or Alive, by Bon Jovi

One of my favorite overplayed classic rock hits. Admittedly I've gotten sick of it from time to time, but it gets all the airplay it gets all these decades later for a good reason. It's catchy, fun, and will get you singing along. One of my favorite aspects of the song is the 12 string guitar playing in the verses. It adds this mystiqute to it that really makes it stand out. Without it, this song really wouldn't be even remotely close to the classic we have come to know and love.

3. Dead Flowers, by The Rolling Stones

The Stones have done a lot of interesting thing in their 5+ decade career, including at certain points trying to go for a more country sound. This song encompasses that better than anything else in their catalog. It sounds a LOT like the kind of country that was being made in the late 60's/early 70's. I will admit it is a bit funny to hear Mick Jagger try to sing that way, but I think he manages to pull it off all right if you can separate yourself from the fact that this is the Rolling Stones.

4. Dead Horse, by Guns N' Roses

Another hard rocker, this tune definitely features some of Axl Rose's more personal and profound lyrics (as many of the songs from the Use Your Illusion era onward did). It's definitely a bit of a downer in terms of subject matter, but it still drives, punches, and cranks like any good GN'R song does. If you're just having a hard time getting on and also love to rock out when you can, this tune will definitely be right up your alley.

5. Drop Dead Legs, by Van Halen

If you're looking for something a bit more cheerful after that, then you can't really go wrong with some Van Halen. This song has a nice steady walking pace groove to it. It actually features some of Eddie Van Halen's more bluesy side in some areas of the song, which I like. You kind of get to hear bits and pieces of where he came from and what kinds of music he cut his teeth on when still a young, learning guitarist.