5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #71

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. Space Child, by UFO

Some times you need something that gives you those middle of the night solitary feels. Every time I listen to this I get the mental image of a gentle breeze brushing me across my cheek on a warm but not too warm summer night while sitting on my lawn or somewhere peaceful outside. The lyrics have nothing to do with that, but that's still what I get. In addition, it's some of the best melodic non-shred guitar solo work I have ever heard out of Michael Schenker. That dude really does have some talent and range.

2. Who Made Who, by AC/DC

This tune sounds fairly similar to Thunderstruck, which is why I'm guessing it doesn't get quite as much attention. I find that kind of odd though considering that Who Made Who came out five years previous. Regardless, it's still a pretty rocking tune in its own right. It has a cool legato riff that Angus Young absolutely tears it up on with Brian Johnson doing those demonic yet alluring screams of his. You do hear this one on the radio still every now and again, and when you do you should CRANK it.

3. Wild Horses, by The Rolling Stones

This is an under rated Rolling Stones classic. It might not be upbeat or rocking and rolling (as it is unapologetically a love ballad), but it has some raw, genuine emotion poured into it through every member of the band. It's one of those moments in the Stones' catalog where they take time from all of the big ego stuff to actually sing about feelings and stuff that really matter to them. It's calming, relaxing, and will kind of make you think of your own experiences with the kind of love where not even wild horses could drag you away from it.

4. Rock and Roll High School, by The Ramones

Now if something a bit more rocking and rolling is what you're after, then you can't go wrong with The Ramones. Now while I do NOT condone the blowing up of buildings, this song does bring out the young angry teen in me that absolutely HATED high school and would have loved to see my favorite rock n' roll band come in and rescue me from it. If you're looking to get your teenage angst out or are looking to relive your younger days for a couple minutes, look no further.

5. In the Air Tonight, by Phil Collins

Now if you REALLY want a song that will give you those late night solitary feels and all the other stuff I mentioned earlier, THIS is the song to go with. It's great to drive at night with the windows down to. I don't care how many times this song gets over played, that drum break will ALWAYS be one of the most epic things to ever happen in music. That transition from cheap electronic drums to the real thing just makes the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand up. It's played too much for a reason.