5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #28

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. People Are Strange, by The Doors

This classic by The Doors while being short in length and fairly simple in musical structure has some rather profound lyrics concerning people who just do not seem to fit into society, are jaded, and possibly also depressed. Given that this song came out in the late 60's this is some groundbreaking material for the time. Most mainstream songs were cheery poppy numbers, but this was a game changer. Now it was more acceptable to sing about things that people could actually relate to.

2. Mama Kin, by Aerosmith

This song comes from Aerosmith's 1973 debut album Aerosmith. With the way Steven Tyler is singing you might not even think it's actually him, but I assure you it is. This is a rockabilly tune with a pretty hard edge to it. Great guitar and saxophone solos for one thing. It's probably one of the most energetic tunes in the Aerosmith catalog. If you feel a bit down and need something to get you moving, this should do the trick.

3. Are You With Me, by Sixx: AM

This song comes from Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx's side project Sixx: AM where he collabs with acclaimed songwriter and producer James Michael and Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba. It's a modern heavy rock ballad of sorts that talks about having the courage to face the things that fear you so that in turn you can become a stronger person. The lyrics are profound and honestly I'm pleasantly surprised how melodic the guitar parts are considering how heavy the song is overall. If you haven't been listening to anything from the past few years, you owe it to yourself to check this out.

4. Walk on the Wild Side, by Lou Reed

This song has always amused me because Lou Reed talks about some pretty intense and gritty imagery in this song while the music itself is rather relaxing and calming. It's a prime example of dividing those who just casually listen to music for the sake of the music and those who actually hear what is being said in the message of a song. I think it's for that reason that it is one of Reed's best remembered songs to this day. Of course David Bowie producing the album it came from (Transformer) probably also had a hand in it too.

5. Youth Gone Wild, by Skid Row

If you're into the heavier kind of rock that borders on metal, Skid Row is just for you. In the late 80's many bands were so focused on looking good and making pop rock hits that they forgot to sing about what was really in their hearts and about the realities of the world. Bands like Skid Row started a movement that would help end all that. Tunes like Youth Gone Wild were anthems to the kids out there who wanted something more real that they could identify with. Plus, it also helps that Sebastian Bach really sings his balls off here.