The five hundred and third album: #503 Madness - The Rise & Fall
Oddly enough, this is the first time I've covered Madness - later than I would be expecting, but at a point where it's quite interesting to do so. The Rise & Fall is a prototypical ska album, an accessible example of the genre that's nicely accessible and quite fun to listen to.. With that, it also covers a lot more of just everyday life - it feels like it focuses a lot on fairly standard, mundane events, and commenting on English life that way. Seeing that they went political for the first time with this album makes sense - some of the intention is there, but you can see how it would progress further from there. It makes for a more thoughtful album than it might seem, without trying to be too fancy or complicated.
The one hundred and eighty-second classical recording: #287 Robert Schumann - Kreisleriana
As apparently comes from his inspiration, Schumann's Kreisleriana plays with contrasts. Its movements alternate between lively, exuberant sections and sombre and thoughtful sections. There's a good balance and some skill in how they move from one to the other, maintaining a similar delicateness through these shifts.
The one hundred and eighth comic: #756 Tokyo Zombie
Tokyo Zombie is my first list comic in a while - although I've been trying to keep up with others on the go. Even so, it's hard not to look at the other zombie comics and stories I'm familiar with, with the Walking Dead and otherwise. Aside from the graphic nature of the comic - with far more nudity in addition to a lot of violence - it is quite minimalistic in its storytelling as it is in its art, limiting it to only what it needs. The ending chapters give the full twist - while a martial arts set up gets referenced from the start, a large chunk of the end is a martial arts tournament between humans and zombies that is convincing and creates a storyline that I haven't seen other works pull off quite as well - The Walking Dead tried over a decade later, but didn't quite do it. It's surprisingly small, but it works here.
The five hundred and second album: #502 Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
New Gold Dream is a simple album in a way. It's an electro pop album, drifting from track to track, and it feels like the vocals are secondary to anything else that's going on as you listen to it. There's nothing complex to it, just something nice to listen to.
The one hundred and fourty-ninth book: #88 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
For a large chunk of the time I spent reading Oliver Twist, I was wondering where I would go with it. I knew the story best from the musical, which I had a bit part in in a school production about 27 years ago, and while there are some beats that are the same, the book does so much more. Charles Dickens isn't known for his brevity and focusing mostly on the first third or so of the novel made sense to create a coherent story. The second half does well exploring the characters further, but it feels the interesting satire is more present at the start, while it trails off a bit to the end, and a number of important characters get introduced so late that it feels like it's a bit too much on the fly. Even so, the deep dive works well and the book stays interesting and really readable throughout.
The five hundred and first album: #501 Dexys Midnight Runners - Too-Rye-Ay
Too-Rye-Ay's fusion of soul and folk rock is different from Dexys Midnight Runners' earlier album, still having some ska influence but generally feeling like a calmer set of songs. The addition of the string section, combined with the soul-like choruses add a different feel to it, which at the same time creates a more jovial vibe to the music - hearing Come On Eileen as the first single makes a lot of sense with the direction, even if it's probably still the most celebratory song on the album. It's still an album of good vibes throughout, which makes it pretty nice to listen to.
The one hundred and eighty-first classical recording: #598 Gustav Mahler - Symphony no. 10
Mahler's tenth symphony runs longer than I'm used to - the slow, sad first movement running as long as some other full works we've covered. Reading about the history, it feels like the ups and downs of the works reflect the emotional turmoil he felt - the slow adagio followed by a manic scherzo. It's a moving piece, not the fanciest, but it still feels like it's a lot more raw in places, ending on a contemplative note.
The five hundredth album: #500 The Cure - Pornography
Let's be honest, you know what you're getting when you listen to an album by The Cure. It is a dark, moody album, slow and draining. It's not a slog to get through, but it feels like something in there slows you down on such a basic level that it can't help but get to you. It's a well made album, the music is good, it's just exhausting to listen to.
The four hundred and ninety-ninth album: #499 Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello hits similar beats as before in Imperial Bedroom - quite smart, thought out new wave music featuring some good, memorable tracks and a lot of interesting variety. They're not samey - his range is large enough to bring a real mix to the album - but it feels like it continues on the same, strong track, without any of it wearing thin. Again, it's his songwriting that all of that is build on, and this whole album shows it off really well.
The one hundred and ninety-fifth TV show: #872 New Girl
It's been a while before I could back to this, having put this on hold around when we started this list. It's been good to come back to, though. The series sticks to its loose premise - quirky girl Jess (Zooey Deschanel) moves into an apartment that has three guys living there. There are some relationship back and forth, but mostly it has wacky, exaggerated adventures in a way that a lot of comedies of the 2010s have been, done so well. It feels like a lot are, as you get, expansions on their existing characters, leaning into the goofier side, but it has enough leeway to not push it too far. It's great comfortable, but fun viewing, even five seasons in.