The two hundred and thirteenth album: Isaac Hayes - Shaft
I've watched Shaft (the movie this is the soundtrack to)! I didn't enjoy it - blaxploitation isn't my thing - but I also remember the movie almost existing for the soundtrack, it was a stand out. Of course, without the visuals, that falls apart, and while the vocal funk songs work decently, a lot of the 70 minute album is background music, something the album is suited for but which doesn't work as something I more actively listen to. So the Theme From Shaft and Soulsville are decent songs, Bumpy's Lament gives a good atmosphere, but everything else fades into the background.
I've heard the soundtrack of Shaft referenced often in other works and it feels like it might have become the default sound of this type of movie or show for some time, and it does its job really well to bring across the right atmosphere, but as a standalone album this feels a bit weak.
The two hundred and twelfth album: #212 Carole King - Tapestry
It's nice to get some gentle soft rock in today - it's been a tense few days and Tapestry really helps a lot with clearing that up. It's hard to pick out individual songs - not because they're all the same, but because today they just put me in a feel good cocoon. Beautiful is the right sort of upbeat song, a nice basic rock tune that really feels uplifting and positive. It's a feeling that runs through the album and it really works at the moment.
You've Got A Friend, which opens the second side, is a song that's been covered enough and always had a resonance with me (I think because it was one of the songs that we covered during singing/vocal lessons, and made a connection with because of it). Again, it just works as a show of support. The whole album is a fulfilling listen like that, lifting my spirits and making me feel good.
The one hundred fourty-second TV show: #14 Academy Awards
By their nature, there's something quite indulgent about awards shows, and the one honouring the movie industry is that most of all, allowing big production values, plenty of stars and spectacle. How much this hits depends in part on the host and their writers (as I haven't had a chance to watch a hostless edition here), but while there are some bits that feel fine on their own, it feels just as often like a distraction from the actually important parts, actually giving out the awards, and it's hard not to feel like it misses the point sometimes. This applies even more when you consider there's little set up to be done: you don't have any sets to move and are already really restricting the time for speeches. Some of that makes it less boring, I suppose, but the stand up isn't necessarily worth it.
For that reason, this feels like over indulgent - a good show at times, but a bit too much. It's something worth watching if you're really interested in the outcome, but it doesn't hold up for repeat, or after the day viewing.
The two hundred eleventh album: #211 The Who - Who's Next
When you get to a band like this that has been around for a while, with their previous album Tommy looming large, it feels like there are two directions to take - either shake it up or go deeper on what you've been doing. And while Tommy looms as one of the biggest rock opera albums, it feels like Who's Next builds on that sound, but not (due to various reasons) the concept. It's quite telling that Who's Next, the one song by John Entwistle rather than Pete Townshend, stands out so much both in the use of horns and the generally quite jovial tone. Others are serious, angry or sentimental - The Song Is Over following after going very deep on the latter, starting with an introduction that has vocals over a piano, building up but not going in as hard.
The real meat of the album is at the end though, with Behind Blue Eyes grabbing me in particular as a powerful ballad, the harmonies that bookend the song feeling incredibly powerful and something I've felt connected to. The end, the longer and more known Won't Get Fooled Again, hits as a powerful statement piece. The venom is in the tail, but it's worth it.
The two hundred and tenth album: #210 The Bee Gees - Trafalgar
Oddly enough, the Bee Gees' turn into disco isn't covered by this list, leaving us with two rock albums as their contributions to the list. Instead, it continues to use the same harmonies and soft, accessible rock that we know, violins and all. It sounds really good, the vocals are good, the music lovely, and it gets quite emotional at times. Somehow, though, they never quite connected with me. I can admire the craftsmanship in here, but I got a bit bored with what it was trying to offer - it just didn't add that extra bit of life or connection that I felt it needed.
The one hundred forty-first TV show: #403 Star Trek: The Next Generation
I mean, I could have written about this from the start, with how much I've seen of this series as well as its sequels. The first season of the series is a bit shaky in places, in production values if nothing else, but the core of the characters is there, as well as some of the writing. While the show has its issues - the no conflict rule being an issue - it works incredibly well once it gets going and creates some great science fiction and other drama stories. The tight ensemble works well there, with a group that got along well which shines through in the performances.
It's hard to describe why this is as good as I enjoy the franchise so much, and this is one of its best entries even as some of the flaws come through now a few decades have passed. It's still well worth watching.
The two hundred and ninth album: #209 Yes - The Yes Album
The Yes Album opens with a 10 minute prog rock track, similar to other albums of the time, that make their way through several different sections, playing with the technology and feeling like it serves as a show case for everything the band can do. The message - an antiwar one based on the Vietnam war - obviously gets pushed to the sections with vocals. The album has Clap as an instrumental interlude, setting the format used for both sides - two long tracks with a three minute 'interlude' that feels less significant and more intends to set the table.
Starship Trooper is the second major song of the first half and it feels even more constructed - three sections to build to and on each other to create an outstanding adventure. Similarly, the second side is opened by I've Seen All Good People, which starts like a relatively calmer, more romantic song leading into an early 1960s rock inspired riff. It's a simple take off from existing elements, and the (relative) constraint in not building too much pays off incredibly well here. The album finished with Perpetual Change, again at time slightly smaller, but also at times a glorious finish to an album that feels like it does prog rock incredibly well.
The one hundred fortieth TV show: #832 The Vampire Diaries
For a long time, I was looking at this show as a quite standard teen vampire drama. Stefan, the lead vampire character, is the guy who struggles with his heritage but remains human, while Damon gives into his impulses more, in a controlled but darker way. It's a bit edgy and very teen angsty and seems to have that Twilight inspiration. I was about to say that while it pulls it off well enough, the frequent shirtless guys and good looking teens looking sad are such teen drama staples that it's just that element added to make it stand out. It's fine, but not something I'd have continued.
Then around episode 16, as I'm about to give up, the show turns and Stefan turns from protagonist to (semi-) antagonist. I don't know yet whether it lasts, but having this changed around will mean that this can always float around as a more realistic element. It means we can focus more on Damon too, who is the more interesting character, and on the whole the show benefits from these changes. I'll need to see how much longer this will last, but at the moment it certainly has my attention.
The two hundred and eighth album: #208 Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Listening to it, there's something appropriate about this album, the violence and problems described in it as much of a problem now as it has been. All of this is wrapped in a gorgeous soul album, one that lets the message dominate but mixes a bunch of elements incredibly well. It's its own tour de force, an impressive string of songs, that feels like it delivers on all things that matter - but with that, also feels relevant nearly forty years later, describing a struggle that still affects us. Marvin Gaye proves to have been an amazing song writer and creator of something timeless here.
The two hundred seventh album: #207 Sly & The Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On
I've not always loved the funk songs we've covered for the songs list, not in the least because you get these long, repetitive sections with not much going on. While this isn't quite fully funk yet, it's hard not to feel like this album drags on just as much, not justifying its 47 minute runtime. There are moments where it feels there could be something there, but I don't think the album pulls off what it tries to achieve and it gets worse, rather than better, as a result of that.