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My five - Shyam V. Krishnamurthy

A virtual gem from the Talking Timbuktu record and further popularised through the movie “Unfaithful”, this is a song typical of Toure’s distinctive sound. A down-tempo, slow rhythm blues number with trademark guitar and high-pitched vocals that leave you breathless.

A song that can definitely be classified as lazy, and is more of a pick-me-down, but not in a depressing way. It brings to mind the image of sitting in your car on a rainy day and blankly staring out the window during those long drives, wondering what to wonder.

Mother Love Bone were without a doubt the founding fathers of the grunge movement, and can be termed as the first grunge super group. Formed in 1988 and comprising band members who would later find their fame with acts such as Pearl Jam and Temple of the Dog, their musical journey tragically came to an end with the death of their front-man, Andrew Wood. This critically acclaimed song (that spans over eight minutes) from their debut EP Shine, has a sound that set the paradigm for future groups in the genre, and is featured in the “Singles” movie soundtrack.

While this ranks as one of his most covered songs, for most Cale puritans, this song is almost mushy in its intent and is rather anomalous to his true nature. That fact aside, it serves as an interesting ballad for those intimate evenings. The live version has an especially bluesy, smokey, stripped-down tone to it, rather than the studio version with strings and orchestration.

Although categorised as jazz, the Tin Hat Trio is a band that displays an incredible synergy in terms of musicianship, incorporating various eclectic styles (from chamber music to folk) and instruments (banjo, violin, dobro and accordion, to name a few). This track from their album by the same name brings in the perfect guest artiste for a song that is a mixture of bluegrass and tango, the raspy guttural nightingale himself, Tom Waits.

Suzanne Vega: Caramel

Blind Melon: Toes Across The Floor

Jude: Out of L.A.

(Shyam V. Krishnamurthy is a senior product engineer with Ford India)

[Readers may contribute to MyFive at myfivecolumn@gmail.com. Submissions must have a full address and telephone number. Publication is at the discretion of MetroPlus Weekend.]

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