5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #149

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. Connected By Love, by Jack White

Out of nowhere recently the former White Stripes and Raconteurs front man put out a new single from his upcoming third solo studio album Boarding House Reach. Oddly enough he chose to go with a ballad for the first single, but then again this wouldn't be the first time he has done something like this. Regardless, it's definitely got a lot of passion and soul to it and manages to blend the old and the new seamlessly.

2. Money, by Of Mice & Men

If you are willing to keep an open mind and give a newer, heavier genre of music a try then you might like this more modern rendition of a Pink Floyd classic. Despite this particular band not being my normal cup of tea, I can still say that I feel they did a respectable job with this song. They had a lot of heart and love put into this and you can tell they were having fun. At the end of the day, that's what really matters when making music.

3. Song for You, by Rhye

If you like soft 70's R&B then this might just be up your alley. This is a newer band, but they seem to capture the essence of that period in time flawlessly. At the same time they manage to do something interesting by making the beat behind it have this Bossa nova vibe to it. It's an interesting take on something that would normally be considered dated. I love it when older styles of music seem to make a comeback in sneaky ways.

4. Satch Boogie, by Joe Satriani

I know instrumental music isn't for everybody, but I still think a lot of you would like this. If you love ripping and running bluesy songs, then this is right up your alley. In this song Satch proved that he could not only do artsy guitar music, but also do down and dirty good time rock n' roll as well. Probably better than most guitarists of the 60's-80's. It's upbeat, loud, and one hell of a good time should you choose to indulge.

5. Lightning Strike, by Judas Priest

Judas Priest are back and they are better than ever. In this first single from their upcoming album Firepower they go back to basics, but in such a way where it doesn't completely sound like they are just rehashing the past. They sound completely revitalized and like they really enjoy what they are doing. The addition of guitarist Richie Faulkner seems to have been a real blessing to them now that he has had time to really meld with the band.