5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #56

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. Nightrain, by Guns N' Roses

Since the old Guns N' Roses are getting back together (at least Slash, Axl, and Duff) I feel it's only appropriate to celebrate by cranking the tune with one of the absolute greatest guitar riffs they ever came up with. This song crashes and burns in all the best way with its crunchiness, attitude, and ripping and running guitar solos from the Cat in the Hat. To be honest, Nightrain really is all about the guitar and it's pretty rad.

 2. Merry Go Round, by Motley Crue

80's hair metal staple Motley Crue had their absolute final concert this past New Year's Eve in Los Angeles. The band is now officially retired once and for all (unless all four members sign a contract saying they want to reform). To celebrate the 35 year legacy the band left behind I think it's appropriate to take a look at some of the awesome stuff they did besides the radio hits. Personally, I dig Merry Go Round because it seems a lot more 70's glam rock based than the more crunchy heavy metal they were known for. It's quite melodic and gets you wrapped up in the moment.

3. I Ain't No Nice Guy (After All), by Motorhead

It is with great sadness that we mourn the recent and far too soon loss of Motorhead founder and front man Lemmy Kilmister. The man in his day wrote tons upon tons of ripping and running punk/metal tunes that tore it up. However, I am also choosing to remember him for some of his softer, more heartfelt moments as well. I Ain't No Nice Guy is a (mostly) softer ballad that features guest vocals from Ozzy Osbourne and a guitar solo from Slash. Honestly, it's a pretty badass song despite the fact it isn't a rocker.

4.  Touch Too Much, by AC/DC

This is one of those under rated Bon Scott era tunes from AC/DC. You can tell that hard rock was already going in a bigger, more melodic direction by 1979 when the Highway to Hell album came out. The chorus in Touch Too Much is definitely a prime example of that; featuring big chords, big melodic backing vocals, and an infectious hook. Quite frankly, I think the only reason this wasn't a bigger hit back then was because of just how sexual the lyrics were.

5.  Fairies Wear Boots, by Black Sabbath

Now the title of this song would throw most conventional mainstream people off (though quite frankly I think it's AWESOME), but if you're willing to explore Fairies Wear Boots anyway you're in for a pleasant surprise. It is an absolutely wonderful swingy band jam. It does have solid structure and vocals, but honestly it's really about the guys on instruments jamming it out and having a good time. It's definitely a great choice on their part for a closing track to the Paranoid album.