Friday Playlist

HIGH ENERGY MUSIC TO FIRE UP YOUR LONG WEEKEND

This week we went for tunes that make ya raise your hands in the air or pound on the steering wheel with unconstrained joy. A good song – and especially a bunch of them – can turn your whole day around. Consider this batch a bit of kindling for a fire hot Fourth of July weekend. And since it’s a long one we boosted your dose from a six-pack to a full twelve. Yeah, we love you that much!

We kick off with a hip-hop classic that reminds us that real mic wreckers don’t need much more than a beat and a tasty loop. Then onto a Bay Area party anthem from Lateef and Lyrics Born and a newfangled kindred spirit from Oakland’s glorious Hottub, who give us a “dance dance revolution in your pants pants.” From there it’s a spot of summer hedonism from The Stranglers and a salute to personal chemistry from The Fall. With the throttle all the way down now, we charge ahead with punk greats Zero Boys, some groping goodness from Oakland’s hard rock secret weapon Drunk Horse and Cheap Trick‘s cover of The Move’s West Coast salute. Then, it’s Jackson Browne‘s giddy end-of-days rocker and a festival season favorite from The Hold Steady before Joe Cocker reminds us we all can fly and a closing number that’s probably familiar to Allen Toussaint fans, delivered with fab blue-eyed soul by Brit Frankie Miller.

Enjoy your revels and play safe out there, children!

To hear last week’s Friday Playlist with Paul McCartney, Shel Silverstein and Todd Snider pop over here.