5 on Friday -- Set 213

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

It's March, and time for my monthly feature for 5 on Friday -- The Hit Makers.

Once a month I'm going to feature the songs that launched careers. I'll be looking at different musical styles and the groups or singers from those styles who I love the best.

This month, let's look ahead to St. Patrick's Day with some celtic rock. Here in the Maritimes, we have a large cultural impact from what is known as the Celtic Diaspora -- the mass emigration of Irish and Scottish people across the globe. A quarter of all Canadians claim Celtic ancestry, and Nova Scotia is New Scotland, after all.

East Coast Canadian music is filled with celtic rock, and it's the kind of music that always makes me feel like home. 

  

1 - And if Venice is Sinking -- Spirit of the West -- 1993

This band hails from Canada's West Coast, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

2 - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) -- The Proclaimers -- 1993

This duo is from Aulde Scotia -- Scotland.

3 - Fields of Fire -- Big Country -- 1983

Another band hailing from Bonnie Scotland.

4 - When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down) -- Great Big Sea -- 1997

Another Canadian band, this time from the East Coast and what we out here refer to as The Rock -- Newfoundland. 

5 - Salty Dog -- Flogging Molly -- 2000

Another West Coast band, this time from -- of all places -- Los Angeles, California.

5 on Friday - Set 14

For today's 5 on Friday, I'm showcasing Great Big Sea in honour of lead singer Alan Doyle. His first film opens today - Robin Hood!

Great Big Sea hails from Newfoundland, Canada's easternmost province.

For more tunes, visit Travis at Trav's Thoughts.

1 - The Old Black Rum

Well I'd drink to the Father
Or the Holy Ghost
Kneeling at the altar
Of my nightly post

And I'll raise a glass
Not the first or last
Come join me in this toast

- Great Big Sea



2 - Ordinary Day

I’ve got a smile on my face, I’ve got four walls around me
The sun in the sky, the water surrounds me
I’ll win now but sometimes I’ll lose
I’ve been battered, but I’ll never bruise, it’s not so bad

And I say way-hey-hey, it’s just an ordinary day
And it’s all your state of mind
At the end of the day, you’ve just got to say
It’s all right

- Great Big Sea



3 - Run Runaway

I like black and white
Dream in black and white
You like black and white
Run runaway

See chameleon lying there in the sun
All things to everyone
Run runaway

- Slade



4 - When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)

The night is just beginning
And then it comes on strong
It comes on strong, and I am lifted
I am lifted, I am lifted!

When I'm up I can't get down
Can't get down, can't get level
When I'm up I can't get down
Get my feet back on the ground

- Great Big Sea



5 - End of the World

It's the end of the world as we know it,
and I feel fine

- Great Big Sea



Jamie says I just love groups that know how to get an audience going. These guys are great.

Janet says Love Great Big Sea, Julia. From the moment I heard them years ago - love, love, love them!

Travis says I actually knew a couple of those tunes. This is a fun group!

5 on Friday - Set 13

For today's 5 on Friday, I'm very, very pleased to bring you this taste of traditional east coast music.

In Canada, east coast sound is heavily influenced by the celtic traditions of Scottish and Irish migration to these shores, as well as the Acadian fiddle traditions of the French settlers.

Because they've long been challenged by economic hardship, Maritimers have left home seeking work in other parts of Canada for generation after generation. You'll find a great longing for home in many of the songs of this region.

For more great tunes, check out Travis at Trav's Thoughts.

1 - Farewell to Nova Scotia - Pogey

The sun was setting in the west
The birds were singing on every tree
All nature seemed inclined to rest
But still there was no rest for me

Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?

- traditional folk tune



2 - Medley - Natalie MacMaster

Traditional jig
The Butlers of Glen Avenue
Annette's Chatter
Dr. Iain MacAonghais



3 - Working Man - The Dubliners

NOTE: This is an Irish group singing a song by Cape Breton's own Rita MacNeil. Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia has been home to many coal miners over the years.

It's a working man I am
And I've been down underground
And I swear to God if I ever see the sun

Or for any length of time
I can hold it in my mind
I never again will go down underground

- Rita MacNeil



4 - She's Called Nova Scotia - Rita MacNeil

So walk through her green fields
Go down to the sea
The fortune in your eyes
Is more like a dream

She's called Nova Scotia
And she so makes you feel
You've discovered her treasure
No other has seen

- Rita MacNeil



5 - Song For the Mira - John Allan Cameron

NOTE: The Mira is a river in Cape Breton.

Can you imagine a piece of the universe
More fit for princes and kings?
I'll give you ten of your cities
For Marion Bridge and the pleasure it brings

Out on the Mira on soft summer nights
Bonfires blaze to the children's delight
They dance round the flames
Singing songs with their friends
I wish I was with them again

- Allister MacGillivray



Jamie says I have most of those songs in my collection of celtic music and influences with the favorite of this mix being Farewell to Nova Scotia.

Alice Audrey says Feeling folksy?

Travis says I enjoyed the music, and I loved the scenery on some of the videos too.

5 on Friday - Set 12

For today's set, I'm no doubt introducing these artists to most of you. They all hail from my neck of the woods - Atlantic Canada, where the East Coast music scene is perpetually hopping. Whether it's a kitchen party in someone's house, a club or a concert venue, music is as much a part of being Down East as the salt air rolling off the ocean.

I'll share some more traditional east coast sound with you in a future post. For today, here are some alternative rock artists I love grooving to. For more tunes, check out Travis at Trav's Thoughts.

1 - Fashionable People - Joel Plaskett

I don't wanna hang around
In someone else's scene
Fashionable people
Doing questionable things

So ditch him
He's no good for you
Ditch him
Do the switcheroo
Switch him
Switch him up with me

- Joel Plaskett




2 - Jerk - Kim Stockwood

Since you've been gone
I feel so much better
Cause I saw how mean you could be

I used to want
Some explanation
Now all I want is my Patsy Cline CD

- Sheridan / Stockwood



3 - Tall Trees - Matt Mays

Gonna sing you a song
Two hundred years in the ground
Tall trees hanging over the road
Feels like they're staring me down

- Matt Mays



4 - Adam's Rib - Melanie Doane

Once upon a time
I was just a little bone
I was just a little tiny rib
And the rib cage was my home

Some days I'd wonder
How it would feel
To be my own person
To eat my own meals

I never had to make a plan
Just be a little piece of a bigger man

- Melanie Doane



5 - The Other Man - Sloan

You know I want to keep my distance
Does it happen anyway?
He knows you're going to drift apart
And there's nothing he can say

I know that he's a stand-up guy
But that's none of my concern
We've all been in one situation
Or another - it's my turn

To be the other man
No one's sympathising
When you're the other man
That everyone despises

- Ferguson / Murphy / Pentland / Scott



Linda says You always have such an interesting mix of music for your Five on Fridays - love it!

Jamie says What Linda said. I depend on you to be my source for what is new and/or interesting. Great mix and I really love that Fashionable People video.

Bond says Just throwing new and different at us each week. Very interesting.