Archive of 2020-03-01 00:00:00

The two hundredth album: #200 The Stooges - Fun House

While the songs list pushed me past punk yesterday, even if arguably it was still in the air, my list of albums is driving towards it. Fun House is arguably too rocky and - dare I say - musically creative in places, without the politically charged lyrics that are more common in punk and with more of a focus on the music and its variety that punk has up to a point, but not as in depth as we get here. It's clearly improvised at times too, and rough and raw to go with that.

As far as jazz improv goes, these generally feel a bit more listenable to me - perhaps showing that the style of music matters as much to me - but even so the non-jazz songs earlier in the album work better for me. The improv tends towards a cacophony of noise near the ends, which really doesn't work as well and seems to have been more something fun for the musicians to do rather than creating something listenable. In the end, the proper rock here is fine - especially when the hints of punk are there - but it loses a lot of that in the second half.


The one hundred thirtieth TV show: #736 Big Love

This show's story of a polygamous Mormon marriage is an interesting and often uncomfortable one. The polygamy on its own not as much - between consenting adults I feel that's their own choice - but often enough it feels the gender imbalance in the relationship means that the decisions aren't always consensual. It's one of those themes that goes through the show, one where choice, obligation and expectations from upbringing clash and make you ask what wins out.

That expands to the rest, which follows the family of Bill Henrickson, his three wives and their kids as he tries to build his business, stay within the greater Mormon church while also handling the Juniper Creek compound he comes from that more actively promotes polygamy. It's an odd world that I'd never be in, but the actors do the work to make you care for them. In particular, the three wives carry the show in their own way. Jeanne Triplehorn as the first wife, with a long history who seems to struggle with it sometimes but also is the mother to the whole clan. Ginnifer Goodwin is great as the young Marge, the latest wife who's excited about this new direction and being part of a community, even if she appears to avoid the stakes. Best, though, is Chloe Sevigny. Her character Nicki comes from the compound and is deep in that lore. She's strong willed and defiant, in part to keep up their ideals, but she's also the one doing the DIY around the house and gets things done. She's often the spark that brings up the conflict, which makes her performance even more amazing. Somehow, Chloe Sevigny keeps up the balance between repulsion of a world that doesn't suit me and care for the character because it's her views and she's trying to do the right thing, even if they don't match mine.

It's the tightrope the show constantly walks, and mostly you end up rooting for the family, even as different character attract you or push you away, with few people sticking to one side or the other. I've struggled going back to it from time to time, but it keeps paying off and the story keeps pushing relentlessly forward and I feel I need to see the end now.


The five hundred first song: Hammond Song - The Roches

Starting off 1979 is this folk song by the all-female Roches, three sisters who sing a lovely folk song with an interesting contralto sound that comes in quite unexpectedly. The lyrics are relatively simple, focused on something more mundane, but even more effective for it. It grows on yo, the guitar underlying the songs, even more when the electric guitar comes in. It's not a very complicated song, but one with a better message for it.

The five hundred second song: Heaven - Talking Heads

Heaven feels like one of those songs where I feel I can see why people enjoy it, see why it makes an impact and sounds special. There's a nihilism in the lyrics that appeals to me, but I'm not sure the music quite lends itself to that - a bit too synthy and poppy to work for it and perhaps that's where I feel like I'm missing something. It's well produced, but the craft that other may have don't feel like it's in the song for me.

The five hundred third song: The Eton Rifles - The Jam

In an already post punk era, The Jam brings another song from that type, an attack on the upper class and how they take on the lower class for a joke, the latter still being forced down - right on the back of worker rights being squashed. The politics are there in the song, but the catchy chorus over aggressive guitars drive the point home more. It's a war song of sorts, a call for a revolution that comes across in many of these songs.

The five hundred fourth song: London Calling - The Clash

Speaking of classic punk, London Calling is one of the big anthems, an effective comment on where the world was going and, in some sense, the same worries and fears that play these days. There's a gloom in the music, on top of the punky angry sound, with some of the ape-like calling sounds adding to the primal fear that's in there. It's not too long, but effective.

The five hundred fifth song: Transmission - Joy Division

The first of Joy Division's three songs on the list is dark and moody, its lyrics sung in such a low bass voice that it becomes unsettling, its commands drowned out by barely harmonious guitars and an almost angelic background sound at times. It keeps going, powerful and strong, without giving a break at any point. It's dark, the "dance to the radio" chorus being menacing throughout rather than something you'd enjoy. It's truly excellent that way.

The five hundred sixth song: Voulez-Vous - Abba

Time to wipe away the darkness for now for an upbeat disco number, showing the other side of life that was happening around the time - probably experienced by more people than the darkness of Joy Division. Voulez-Vous really feels full-on disco, with tightly-honed vocals on top of a relatively simple score, with the chorus getting in the real flourishes. The repetition of it is what really drives it home as a dance song, nothing too intense or complicated, but more having a good time - even if the disco dance break against lasts too long.

The five hundred seventh song: Beat the Clock - Sparks

The Sparks' previous song was, to say the least, bizarre, with sound effects and just general weirdness. Beat The Clock dials back on that, instead bringing in an 80s synth rhythm and driving chorus, backing a more melodic verse that expounds on the need to beat the clock, "no time for relationships", which, too, feels like an 80s philosophy. We're there a bit early, but it's a good start of a musical style and I'm looking forward to reviewing their albums some day.

The five hundred eighth song: Oliver’s Army - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

I guess this is another side of new wave - taking in a heavy disco influence as the backing of the song really sounds like an Abba song in several places, the organ and piano both enforcing that. At the same time, the lyrics go in a completely different direction, primarily referencing the Northern Irish conflicts, as well as other conflicts around the world and how scary they were. It's an anti-war and anti-aggression song, but rather than taking a folksy song, it's a happier, peppier disco mood that is an interesting counter to the feeling the song is trying to bring across.

The five hundred ninth song: Tusk - Fleetwood Mac

Tusk feels a bit experimental still, a prog rock oddity with cheering crowds in the background, a non-rock rhythm and a move to a more pop sound in places. At times it feels like a party or a carneval, with lyrics that don't feel too meaningful but otherwise a sound that feels like an experiment - see what works, what sticks, and what does it for the band. Here, it apparently did - not that it got me wildly enthusiastic, but I guess it works.


The eighty-fourth classical recording: #852 Richard Strauss - Metamorphosen

Metamorphosen starts delicate, a few strings playing the theme, and in a Germany at the end of World War II, that feels fitting as something sombre. It builds to that though, and while it continues to have the same sombre undertone, the strings playing against each other creates something more sinister, perhaps panicking a bit at times. The variations of the piece aren't really metamorphoses, but it seems like you can ignore the title there - it's the sounds that make it fairly morose but engaging, not quite comforting, but fitting the time it was written in.


The eighty-fourth comic: #496 XIII: The Day of the Black Sun

An amnesiac man washes up on the shore of an American village. As he's being nursed to health, assassins attack. From there on, the story of XIII - named after the Roman numeral tattooed on his collar bone - begins. He gets immersed in a president's assassination as he tries to unravel the plot while also understanding his past.

It's a fairly easy to understand plot and the comic does well with it. While the book officially only covers the first issue, or (I suppose) the first arc, it doesn't provide you with all the answers. Rather, it gives you a decent idea of what's happening and more layers get revealed as time goes on. It never comes as quite unexpected or a way to keep the story going, but grows naturally from step to step (although some reveals are more telegraphed than others). It gets through it at a nice pace and while I haven't finished the whole run yet, it feels clear that it would have ended when the truth fully comes out. There's quite a bit of repetition in the basic get captured => get cornered => get rescued set up, but XIII is competent enough that there are enough variations on it.

The art looks quite good, in the realistic Belgo-French style that I know quite well. It's a great way to position the characters and adds to the gritty action feel. I'm going to keep going with this series - at this point I might as well see it through to the end.


The one hundred ninety-ninth album: #199 Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die

Unlike what I was really expecting, John Barleycorn Must Die starts with a seven minutes jazz song - not feeling quite as improvised as jazz normally gets, but still feeling quite loose. After that, the jazz influences remain a bit in the prog rock that follows, not a very complex sounding album but there are some decent vocal performances in the big, layered songs that work very well together. The titular, foksy track of John Barleycorn Must Die, is incredibly subdued in comparison, but because of that might well be the most memorable track of the six. It can clearly tell its story without gettig too deep into the prog rock sound and instruments - the flute really adding to the atmosphere. Ending with Every Moth's Son, the album ends especially strong, with what feel like its two best, most accessible tracks at the end, which make it worth the journey more than anything else.


The one hundred ninety-eighth album: Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman

Some folk rock works better than others for me and Cat Stevens' Tea For The Tillerman fails to hit the right notes for me. It's not one man and a guitar, which can hit the right notes for me, but while there's some big production, there's not always the energy that needs. It sounds musically good, but the sentiments and emotions it's meant to reach don't hit for me. What doesn't help is that the covers of his songs that I'm aware of - Father and Son and Wild World stand out - have that punch and hit the emotional beats more than I feel here. I guess I don't manage to connect with Cat Stevens in the way the music requires, and that hurts the quality of the album for me.


The one hundred ninety-seventh album: #197 Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Sometimes, you listen to a song, it feels like a perfect number, but then it doesn't stick the landing. Bridge Over Troubled Water is an amazing piece, performed well, delicate and sweet with a lovely message. The big, more bombastic finish overrules that though, and that's unfortunate. The album doesn't quite continue on that tone - El Condor Pasa sounds quite different, though still focusing on the lyrics, and it already has a different feel, while Cecilia is so different that the R&B-like rhythm is surprising, but it stays a joyous party song. The album, at this point, really feels like it's veered further into pop for a few songs, the folk disappearing a bit for something more danceable and joyous, even if the lyrics of Keep the Customer Satisfied don't quite fit the mood (but the juxtaposition makes the point far better).

So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright, changes that of course, going back into the sweeter, more sentimental sounds that with just that bit of knowledge really sounds like the duo's farewell. The Boxer, which feels like the other big song, starts the second side in a similar vein, a song that hits deep, beyond what you would get from just lyrics or music. It's an amazing performance, simple but so effective.

The album alternates between the upbeat rhythms and slower, more folksy numbers. The latter are more effective most of the time, with the best of the former at the start of the album, and at times they're more filler as the main contents of this album, and why it should be praised, are these gentle, sensitive songs that speak to (especially) Paul Simon's frame of mind at the time.


The one hundred ninety-sixth album: #196 George Harrison - All Things Must Pass

Listening to this album, it's clear that by the end, the Beatles were far more of a constraint to George Harrison's creativity than they were a help. Whie he may not have started out as one, the 23 tracks on this album come out with a decent variety in song writing with a very clear definition that suit his performance. It harkens back more often to earlier Beatles tracks, including their harmonies, while the topics are at times personal and at times spiritual. A lot of these were written during Harrison's time in the Beatles, then produced and put together by big names, and it shows in how good the tracks sound. At the same time, there's something good about the relative purity of the song writing - not always too complex, but clearly carrying out its message. No other albums of his are on the list, but in part that feels like because the sophomore slump feels unavoidable after this, and 100 minutes of material is a lot to put out at once.

The last disc, the Apple Jam, obviously strays from that into a number of instrumental jams and (as I could have predicted) these are less of a hit with me. They don't sound bad, but on the whole the jazzier approach never does as much for me as a thought out, more deliberate song.

The album isn't anything heavy or swinging, Dylan's influence and writing is obvious, but there's somethig about the way it comes together with Spector's big (but not over the top) production and the performances that makes it bigger than that, switching tones without straying too far. It's a nice and coherent work without being the same, a nice balance to create an enjoyable album.


The eighty-third comic: #611 Sailor Moon

I'll be honest, I'm not sure Sailor Moon ever quite grabbed me. While partially a superhero story featuring the Sailor Scouts, the titular Sailor Moon is clearly the focus of the entire story, with the love story elements of the likes of Nodame Cantabile and Rose of Versailles. The former is there early on, and gets a bit less later, but these are clearly part of the draw, while the action sequences are almost an afterthought - they are rare and don't work well in the entire thing. While that's fine, since they can be more boring, they feel so short that they're very much perfunctory and (I'd argue) almost useless as there are no dilemmas in the fighting. It probably works better in anime form, with some good animation, but without it they're not interesting.

That means that both sides of the coin, the relationship angle and the action angle, don't work for me,and the gaps in between, the hangout stuff, doesn't give me much. I still don't know much about the other characters, with Amy being the only one I felt I saw a bit more of, but developing that more, rather than characters from the future and making googly eyes at each other. There's a good core here, and I am curious to try the anime, but this never got there.