5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #161

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. Raw Power, by Guns N' Roses

The original version by Iggy and the Stooges is pretty damn fantastic, but for me the GN'R cover blasts the song into the stratosphere. The tempo is kicked up, the guitars are more balls to the wall in terms of production, and Duff McKagan just has that punk attitude that no one else could ever seem to match even if they tried. Whenever I need something to get me moving, this is definitely a go-to song for me.

2. Not Dead Yet, by Jen Ledger

If you dig or have ever dug the band Skillet, then their drummer and co-lead vocalist Jen Ledger just put out her debut solo EP last Friday. It's pretty darn spiffy. Despite the heavy pop leanings in it, it still has a VERY noticeable rock n' roll edge to it. Plus, the fact that everything in the songs seems so raw and honest is what sells me on it even though I'm not usually the kind of guy who listens to a whole lot of modern pop music.

3. Easy Fight Rambling, by X-Japan (live)

I wanted to get you guys the studio version of this song, but unfortunately X-Japan or at least their label are very on the ball about keeping people from posting their songs to YouTube. Regardless, this live performance is still pretty solid. If you are willing to jam out to something that isn't in English then I think you might dig this tune. It sounds a lot like a classic Van Halen song, but it's still very much their own thing. Rest assured, the rest of their songs sound completely original.

4. Star Wars, by Buckethead

Buckethead playing Star Wars? What could possibly be better than that? It's a match made in Heaven as far as I'm concerned. Big B puts his own unique personal spin on multiple iconic songs from a galaxy far far away in this rocking medley while still staying true to the emotions of the original pieces. I've always loved to crank this song whenever I'm in a great mood or if I need something to cheer me up when I'm feeling dump trucks.

5. The Ocean, by Led Zeppelin

Ok, ok. I'll give you something that has gotten played to death on every classic rock radio station ever for the past 4+ decades. That said, despite the fact that it has been overplayed "The Ocean" is one of my absolute favorite Led Zeppelin tunes of all time. The riffs just groove and punch in all of the best ways possible. I always have a good time with this whenever I'm bored and want to play along with it on my guitar for certain.