My iPod has Friday on its Mind – Six Degrees

Because this is awesome...

My iPod feels left out. Yes, it is a jealous piece of technology and its temperament is unstable. It needs love on the Music Court or else it may rebel against my craving for music and turn off for good which would be a travesty of massive proportions. So, let’s humor it. It’s six degrees time.

I do Six Degrees of your iPod posts infrequently. I do love doing them, though, because I get to reveal the variety of music I am listening to on my iPod. Sharing music is the whole purpose of this blog and if I can provide some videos of great songs for enjoyment, I am doing my job. This is how I play the game. I take my iPod, put it on random, and skip through the first six songs I find. I post them below. For songs one and six I write a little synopsis and then try to find a connection between the two. In some cases it is easy, but in most cases it is not too obvious. As I type this, though, I have absolutely no clue if my job is going to be easy or difficult today. How about we find out?

1.) “Welcome to Your Wedding Day” by Airborne Toxic Event

This track is off of the band’s most recent album, All At Once, released in April of 2011. The band, a five-piece indie/alt rock act, features creative rock/orchestral arrangements and this song is no different – perhaps leaning a little more towards the theatrical hard rock movement that bands like System of a Down and Coheed and Cambria mastered. It’s a concise, upbeat song from a talented band.

2.) “Friday on My Mind” by The Easybeats

A very apt song with a GREAT video.

3.) “Helicopters” by Barenaked Ladies

4.) “Best Imitation of Myself” by Ben Folds

5.) “High” by Lighthouse Family

6.) “The Twist” by Chubby Checker

Chubby Checker introduced the Twist when he was 19 years old and he has lived off the song since, creating follow-ups like “Slow Twistin” and “Let’s Twist Again” (which I actually think is a better song) and even a rap version of the Twist. He is the only recording artist to place five albums in the Top 12 all at once. The twist was HUGE!

CONNECTION:

This is impossible! Seriously, without doing research I can damn well give up now and save myself the time. How can there be a connection between a 60s novelty song/dance craze and a modern-day indie act. But don’t worry, I’m not giving up. I have a connection! It is not really a connection at all but it will do.

“The Twist” was featured in an episode of Quantum Leap. Chubby Checker himself had a cameo in the episode as a young Chubby Checker hoping to get his record, “The Twist” played on the air. Scott Bakula’s character Dr. Sam Beckett convinces the station owner to play the record. This connection is going to go through Mr. Bakula and soundtracks. Bakula starred in the modern show Men of a Certain Age which featured a Bob Dylan song on its soundtrack. The Airborne Toxic Event was featured on a soundtrack of the show NCIS where a Dylan song was also featured. It is a mindless, discursive, stupid, haphazard “connection,” but, hey, it’s the best I can do. Can you find another one? Try your luck! Happy Weekend!

Tags: Airborne Toxic Event, Barenaked Ladies, Bob Dylan, Chubby Checker, iPod, Music Game, Sam Beckett, Scott Bakula, Six Degrees, Twist