Sunday, December 3, 2017

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #144

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. I'll See the Light Tonight, by Yngwie Malmsteen

This is one of the very few Yngwie Malmsteen songs that I actually like. This is back when he could play not as sloppily and his ego hadn't yet inflated to the point that it's at today (though it was well on its way). Regardless, Yngwie's neo-classical playing combined with Jeff Scott Soto's insanely high and semi-operatic voice makes for a rising force to be reckoned with. Has a bit of a We Rock vibe to it, but I don't mind that so much.




2. Knights of Cydonia, by Muse

I always found the video for this song to be rather odd, but the song is pretty damn epic. It feels like it's futuristic spaghetti western combined with prog rock. The bridge is honestly my favorite part, the way it gets soft and just builds up in such a way that makes the hairs on your neck just stand rigidly at attention. The synth and guitar blend together into a cocktail that is just ever so delicious and quite frankly I can't believe a man can sing that high and not hurt himself.



3. Keelhauled, by Alestorm

If nautical nonsense be something ye wish, then you have come to the right place. Alestorm are one if not the absolute best pirate metal bands around. If you didn't know already these guys take both old pirate songs and turn them into some brutally heavy metal songs as well as writing plenty of their own songs. This one is one of my person favorite original songs of theirs. You can't help but sing along to the chorus, which in turn is kind of sad because it's a pretty cruel one.




4. Flick of the Switch, by AC/DC

In my opinion this is one of AC/DC's most under rated songs of all time. It doesn't have the polish and shine of albums like Back in Black or For Those About to Rock, but at heart it's the down and dirty, nitty-gritty rock n' roll that we know and love AC/DC for. The chorus is big, the riffs are monstrous, and everything is in your face. This really should have been considered an AC/DC classic, but I guess it got lost among the waves.




5. Whitesnake, by David Coverdale

Before the band Whitesnake existed, singer David Coverdale had a post-Deep Purple solo career going in the mid/late 70's. His first album and its title track were the name of what would become his musical baby. This tune in particular has a nice rocking groove to it. It swings and sways while very much being a loud and proud rock n' roll ruckus. Lots of good vocal harmonies are going on in this tune, but considering the amount of studio musicians Coverdale had at the time that's no surprise.




Writer's Moment:

As you very well know we are now in the month of December and the holidays are fast approaching. That said, as has been the case in years passed I will be taking the holidays off to enjoy time with my friends and family. The last post will be on December 22nd. The week leading up to that will as usual be my Top 10 Albums of 20XX posts. Once I make the final post I will be gone until January 3rd. That said, enjoy the holidays and the last of this year's posts!

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