5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #80

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. Sweet Child O' Mine, by Guns N' Roses

This is THE essential 80's love ballad. It's on the radio all the time and you see it pop up in 80's love ballad compilations all the time. It's for good reason too, even if I am not into love songs. It's tender, it's loving, it's genuine, but it still has some real rock n' roll balls to it - especially when Slash pulls off that iconic guitar solo that must be played note for note by anyone taking on the song. In a way it's a song both you and your partner can agree on.

2. Coma, by Guns N' Roses

Clocking in at a little over 10 minutes, this is definitely GN'R's longest studio song to date. It definitely qualifies as a suite because it's comprised of multiple distinguishable parts that have all been put together in a way where it flows seamlessly and works perfectly. The music can go from soft and introspective to loud, monstrous, and angry. Plus, for those of you who feel so much pressure and other strong feels that aren't always so great you might be able to relate to the lyrics.

3. You're Crazy, by Guns N' Roses

Personally I like this version from GN'R Lies better than the one that was on Appetite for Destruction. It has more of a swagger and groove to it. It doesn't have quite the energy and rage that the Appetite version did, but it makes up for it by making you feel a little more intertwined with the stuff being sung about. It feels like there was more passion and soul put into it, though that could be said because according to the band this was the version they originally wanted to do.

4. Better, by Guns N' Roses

I know a lot of you aren't that fond of the Chinese Democracy stuff just because Slash isn't on it, but honestly I think Axl Rose's song writing prowess and the superb musicians he brought on are more than enough to make up for the Cat in the Hat's absence. Plus, if you kind of remove the idea of what you think GN'R is supposed to be from the listening process you kind of start to gain a new found appreciation for the power, emotion, and drive this tune has.

5. Paradise City, by Guns N' Roses

This song is a classic. It's essential to any GN'R play list or live set list (as it's the one they always close the show on). It's the song that all the annoying ditzy girls at GN'R shows shout for for multiple hours straight. Fun story, this song was actually written when the band was on their first "tour" before they were signed. Their van had broken down, so many other things were going wrong, and they just wanted to go home because they had been away so long. They put all their feels into this and jammed it all out till they had what's one of the best songs they ever wrote.