5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #64

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. Summer Nights, by Van Halen

It's almost that time of the year, thank God. Now that Daylight Savings Time is upon us it won't be too much longer now before the evenings with the warm breeze rolling past us while we cruise down the highway with the windows down is here. What better way to prep than with some Van Hagar? I know, I know. It's not REAL Van Halen, but who really gives a crap? Summer Nights is a fun song to celebrate Summer and if it weren't called Van Halen y'all would LOVE it.

2. Bloody Well Right, by Supertramp

This has always been one of my little favorite tunes that I used to hear ALL the time on the radio when I was younger and still some times do when I actually bother to listen to radio rather than a CD when in the car. The chorus is damn catchy, but I would expect absolutely no less than infectious perfection from Supertramp. If you need something to sing along to in order to shake off your weekday blues, look no further.

3. I Won't Back Down, by Tom Petty

I've always thought of this song as a personal anthem ever since I was a kid. To anyone who is downtrodden and always being stepped on by others, this is a GREAT tune to motivate yourself to stand up to those who would hurt you and not take any more of the crap that they seem to love throwing your way. It got me to stand my ground and not back down back then as well as to this day as well. I'm sure it will do the same for you too.

4. Hollow Bones (Part 1), by Rival Sons

Rival Sons came out with a new track this past Friday! It is definitely different from what they have done before but it still has that dirty undeniably Rival Sons groove to it that makes it crankable and kick so much ass. Hollow Bones (Part 1) has an intensity to it that surpasses even tunes like Keep on Swinging and Pressure and Time. That's definitely saying something if you are familiar with their catalog at all. Even if you're not, you owe it to yourself to check out some amazing brand spanking new rock n' roll.

5. Tarkus, by Emerson Lake & Palmer

With the passing of Keith Emerson last week it's only appropriate that this week we remember him with one of the absolute greatest prog pieces Emerson Lake & Palmer ever put to tape. It still saddens me that he left this world the way he did. It's tragic, really. I can understand why he did what he did, but that doesn't make it any less horrible. Regardless, let's try to remember the good times that he gave us when he was here.