5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #65

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. Boom Boom, by John Lee Hooker

Can't go wrong with a blues standard in your playlist, right? This one is simple, upbeat, and just all around fun; especially if you want to let a girl you're in the mood for your intentions. It's a fun song to play on guitar too. It's great to pick up when you're just beginning because it will teach you a lot of the basics. That said, even if you aren't interested in that and want some good music to dance to you're still covered here.

2.  Life's Been Good, by Joe Walsh

This is another one of those tunes I used to hear on the radio ALL the time as a little kid and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it was still over played on commercial rock radio to this day. My mom would never miss an opportunity to crank it in the car on the way to wherever it was we were going at the time. Who can blame her? It's always fun to hear about the fairy tale world of rock n' roll excess at its peak. Plus, it's actually kind of neat to listen to how well put together the song actually is and how well it transitions from electric guitar, to synth, to acoustic guitar, etc.

3. Ruby, by The Kaiser Chiefs

I remember when this song was on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. I played the hell out of it ALL the time. To me The Kaiser Chiefs sounded like what The Beatles would sound like if they were around in modern times. Granted I was probably wrong about that, considering I was only maybe 17 at the time. Regardless, this is still a good tune that is fun to get all caught up in, especially with that tasty synthesizer melody that plays during the chorus. It reminds me of drinking a milkshake for whatever reason.

4. Jailbreak, by Thin Lizzy

This is one of Thin Lizzy's biggest hits for a reason. It's really driving with a sense of urgency that would naturally accompany the act of busting out of prison, knowing you might not survive the night. It shows through the riffs, the rhythm, and Phil Lynott singing away at the mic. Naturally there are those juicy dual harmonized guitar solos that Thin Lizzy did a lot of in addition to some catchy guitar melodies and riffs. Great tune to drive to for sure.

5. Talk Dirty to Me, by Poison

No, this is not that stupid pop song that's been going around. Anyway, this is one of the easiest 80's hair metal songs to play on a guitar ever. The riffs are fun and easy and the solo is actually pretty basic. More flash to it than actual skill. All that aside, this is a cool song to blare in your room when you're with your significant other during intimate time or just to dance around your high school gym to during a school dance (though they probably wouldn't play this one any more considering most kids listen to crap). Either way, it's a great pick-me-up of a tune when you need it.