The five hundred and fourty-sixth album: #546 Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA
This album leads off with its title track, a misunderstood album that works well in context. It's followed by a number of rock songs in a similar vein - working class stories, looking at the world around them and at those who are richer. A number of them are a similar sort of anthem, but some lean towards a bit more of a ballad or country rock song. The tone of the lyrics, however, are part of what pulls it away from there for me, focusing on quite a different political direction.
The five hundred and fourty-fifth album: #545 Youssou N'Dour - Immigres
It's always a pleasant surprise to get an album on world music, something that comes from outside the standard studios in the US and Europe. Immigres takes Senegalese music and fuses it with a Latin influence, creating something that has a lot of swing but adds on a heavy melodic percussion element that heightens the feelings of that music. It's pretty engaging and energetic, and a really good album to listen to on an early morning.
The one hundred and ninety-eighth classical recording: #419 Gabriel Faure - Piano Quartets 1 & 2
This collection of quartets comes in with a lot of energy, the piano being very engaging while drawing in the other instruments for their moments to shine. It's got its moods, the second quartets going from an excitable first movement to a more sinister second, but really keeping up the momentum in the music.
The five hundred and fourty-fourth album: #544 Lloyd Cole and the Commotions - Rattlesnakes
Rattlesnakes is a pretty gentle album, giving some pleasant and relaxed folk rock vibes with perhaps a bit more of a kick than these usually have. It's quite nice, but it relies more on a connection with the lyrics that I didn't personally feel as often. It's still a pretty pleasant and gentle sound to listen to, but it is not quite as memorable for me.
The five hundred and fourty-third album: #543 Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
This is a daunting list of tracks. Double Nickels on the Dime is a double album formed of 43 punk tracks - something that feels like it might be the highest I've seen so far. They're a lot of short punk tracks, mostly less than two minutes long, with a variety of variations in style. A lot of them are punk tracks, feeling lighter than some because of the lack of bass in the guitar, while others lean more towards the jazzy side. Sometimes it feels meaningful, sometimes it doesn't, but because of the nature of the album it never wears out its welcome as it keeps moving through these different angles.
The one hundred and ninety-seventh classical recording: #428 Charles-Marie Widor - Symphony no. 5
This is a wonderful, simple piece for just the organ, quite unadorned and staid as you'd expect from a piece using only that, but the five movements still bring a fair bit of variation in, with some really sensitive moments as well.
The five hundred and fourty-second album: #542 Echo and the Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
Following their earlier albums, Ocean Rain takes Echo and the Bunnymen into more of a new wave direction. It sounds fine, hitting all the right buttons, but I can't say it's been a very exciting album either. Well performed, perhaps, but not anything inspiring.
The five hundred and fourty-first album: #541 Tina Turner - Private Dancer
Tina Turner's fifth solo album is a strong one, really hitting the highs of her songs and showing them off well. The title track is a deserved classic, really showing off her range and emotion in her songs, with What's Love Got To Do With It another classic that hits all the notes. It's the personal feel of the lyrics that really hits you through the tracks. As much as this is the level I'd expect from Tina Turner, this is also the album that seems to have defined it, and it's great to listen to.
The one hundred and ninety-ninth TV show: #966 My Love from the Star
Since we've been focusing more on Korean variety, we haven't looked at Korean drama as much as we could have. Having loved My Lovely Sam-Soon and Winter Sonata, as well as various movies, it's a shame it keeps falling by the wayside. There are some ridiculous plot beats and the premises can seem odd or overblown, but they make it work, with a levity that papers over a lot and keeps the mood quite right for it. My Love from the Star has its sci fi elements - the male lead is an extraterrestial who has the standard super powers (strength, super speed, stopping time, that sort of thing). Here it makes for a twist that works really well, having the fantasy elements be a part of the plot without dominating it or making for easy ways out. It lets other people be more competent as he has the tools to go around, for example, the bad guy of the piece, who otherwise stays competent while being villanous.
Special praise in all of this for Jun Ji-hyun, the lead of the show. She goes from a bratty celebrity who you occasionally empathize with to a character with depth, a slow and realistic change as the series progresses. She never loses that edge, but she plays it so incredibly well. Kim Soo-Hyun is as good, but as he plays the distant alien, he doesn't get to play as much, so doesn't stand out as much. The surrounding cast all play their role as well and live up to this, but ithe lead performance is such a tour de force that it puts everything in perspective, until the last episode.
The five hundred and fourtieth album: #540 The Style Council - Cafe Bleu
Although Cafe Bleu is billed as a pop album, it feels like an amalgamation of various popular and different styles that were contemporary with its release. The opening instrumental track is pure jazz while A Gospel suddenly features a heavy rap track. Even the personnel shifts between the different tracks, even if the core group stays involved, and the combinations all work even the tracks all feel so different. The strong points are probably the gentler, new wave ballads, but it's such a good mix of tracks that the album shines everywhere.