5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #74

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. Holy Wars...The Punishment Due, by Megadeth

Since former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza just passed away, I figured I'd remember him and his fantastic work by including my favorite song from his tenure in the band; which was what many people consider the iconic Megadeth line-up. Holy Wars is just fantastic. It's a multi-part thrash fest that features a lot of creativity from its melodic solos, to its punching riffs, to its middle eastern sounding acoustic interlude. If you thought that metal couldn't get that diverse and creative, this is just the track to prove you wrong.

2. Tied Up, by Rival Sons

Big ballsy British blues vibing band Rival Sons from California just put out a new single from their upcoming 5th studio album! This tune while sounding a bit different from the directions the band has gone before still has that distinct Rival Sons booming thunder in the rhythm, fuzzy grooves in the riffs, and moonlit howls in the vocals. It definitely differs from the Led Zeppelin meets British Invasion sound they have gone for. Listen for yourself and you'll hear what I mean.

3. Nobody's Fault But Mine, by Led Zeppelin

Speaking of Led Zeppelin, check out this Blind Willie McTell cover they did. Unfortunately they credit it as their own work, but I guess considering how different it sounds from the original song they may as well have called it their own song. They definitely took this blues classic and Led Zeppelin-ified it. In a way by the time they did this song it was a bit of a throwback to their earlier works from when they were still primarily a heavy blues band. Once again, they blasted the blues into outer space.

4. I'm a Believer, by The Monkees

How about a throwback from our childhoods, eh? I'm still kind of skeptical on the concept of love some times, but who can hate such a catchy tune? It's cheesy 60's pop rock at its absolute finest. It's upbeat, fun, and full of good vibes. It's a great song to dance to even if you don't have a special someone to groove along to it with. Plus, if you're starting out on guitar and want to woo over some girls this is an easy one and is sure to do the trick. Just saying, fellas.

5. Joy to the World, by Three Dog Night

Three Dog Night is one of the coolest bands that I never hear ANYONE talk about. I really don't understand why. They had such a slew of amazing songs - Joy to the World being my absolute favorite. You know when such a powerful soulful voice starts singing a song about a bullfrog named Jeremiah that it's going to be pretty rad. This is a tune that is guaranteed to get you dancing and lift your spirits the moment it starts blaring (because you should NEVER listen to it on low) through your speakers.