Friday Random Five wants to be your monkey.

The disk I can’t stop listening to this week is Peace Love Death Metal by the Eagles of Death Metal. No, it’s not actually a death metal disc; call it unreconstructed sexy-n-satanic rock star posturing, with forked tongue in cheek. It would be a barely amusing schtick if the songwriting weren’t so rock-solid and the straight-up rockin’ grooves so repeatably listenable. The production leans toward minimal instrumentation, with everything right up front and a little bit gritty. They love reprises and handclaps, and they leave in a lot of studio banter between tracks, which reflects the mood during the two days it took to record this album. Check it out, but prepare for a sore neck from all the head-bobbling.

Sea Legs by The Shins
Album: Wincing the Night Away
Ah, time to check out that new Shins album I’ve been meaning to listen to. This song sounds cerebral and well-written. Will I feel like listening to it after it’s over? Does it mark me as an old fart if I say it reminds me of an updated version of Modern English? That was a cerebral band of good writers in the 80’s, kids. Maybe you haven’t lived long enough to have the music you like go out of fashion, but I have. Several times. I think I’m on my fifth cycle. Can you tell I’m turning 40 this week?

Nightminds by Missy Higgins
Album: The Sound of White
Missy Higgins was discovered by Triple J in one of their ‘Unearthed’ competitions. She seemed to have it all together and ready to go; a smoky voice, catchy songwriting, and thoughtful lyrics (check ‘The River’ for an arresting listen). So why do I care so little for this kind of music? Why does this debut album feel like her ninth? Does it play it too safe? Is it that I’m not enough of an Adult Contemporary old fart to enjoy this? That’s a good interpretation, and the one I’m leaning toward.

Agent Orange by Depeche Mode
Album: Music for the Masses
I never knew how to take this album. Were they ‘selling out’ (since we all cared about this at one point in history), and leaving the title of the album as a clue? Or was it the next stage in Depeche Mode’s progress that would continue what they started with ‘Black Celebration’? One thing is clear: they could never have managed this song on an album like ‘Some Great Reward’.

I Sometimes Wish I Were Dead by Depeche Mode
Album: Speak & Spell (UK)
See, this is what I’m talking about. A very Vince Clarke song. All the early electronica has a sweetness and innocence to it, especially this album.

I just found out something: Vince Clarke is not gay. Would you have guessed that? It’s just that I always listened to “What’s Your Name?” and saw Erasure on TV with their white outfits, and thought: I may not have gaydar, but I know that everyone associated with this music is extremely gay, including the caterers.

And then I see on Blake’s site: http://www.thefirstcut.net/ a very touching story about how he and his wife got to meet meet Andy and Vince through Vince’s wife Tracey.

Does this mean that no homosexuals were involved in the making of Speak and Spell? This is really doing my head in. I thought R. Crumb was dead for a long time, and he isn’t, and that had the same effect.

Mother by Red House Painters
Album: Red House Painters
This song is thirteen minutes long, and it takes itself very seriously, but it was the early nineties, so the Red House Painters got there first and I won’t begrudge them.

Can I resist a bonus sixth when it’s Severed Heads? No.

Harold and Cindy Hospital by Severed Heads
Album: Bulkhead
There is nothing like this song anywhere, before or since. It’s an industrial tango with simian panting and lurid orchestral riffs. You will know in the first ten seconds whether you love it or hate it. Maybe it’s not possible to love it anymore if you’re just coming to it now.