The two hundred and fourteenth TV show: #3 The Lone Ranger
With another Western, today's semi-outlaw is anonymous to most as his squad of rangers was murdered at the start of the series. He's masked for most of the show, although it's almost just a gimmick while it can move between the different stories. It's a clear inspiration for the westerns that followed, more mobile than Hopalong Cassidy's more set location. It's fine considering the era, but obviously quite dated now.
The five hundred and ninety-second album: #592 The Cult - Electric
As a direction to take your band in, I'm not sure whether copying the greats of hard rock and metal in the past works best. Electric does what it wants - create an album of good hard rock - but in a way that this list has made to feel to be a dime a dozen, and I don't really see much in here that makes it stand out or give me anything else special.
The seven hundred fifty-second song: Life Is a Highway - Tom Cochrane
Life Is a Highway is a good rock song, the sounds are all there and the lyrics have enough to it to be interesting. The country influences are there, in a way that really works here.
The seven hundred fifty-third song: Always on the Run - Lenny Kravitz
This is such a strong funk rock song, a good guitar line and solo in there, good lyrics with a hook, and a certain dirtyness that suits the theme of the song. It's not tight, it's not fast, but it continues to have that speedy feeling.
The seven hundred fifty-fourth song: Treaty - Yothu Yindi
Just taking the music here, Treaty is a blend of Australian indigenous music taking the foreground, while a pop beat sits in the background to support it. The treaty is one between white and black Australia, according to what was said, and it comes through in all of this. The combination works and, at least if you're willing to listen, the message comes through.
The seven hundred fifty-fifth song: Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack
The eerie opening of Unfinished Sympathy lasts through it, a lamenting sound as it calls out what's going on in the world. It has a darkness to it that becomes haunting and a depression that continues through. With that, it's so well composed that it really keeps being that impactful.
The seven hundred fifty-sixth song: Justified & Ancient - The KLF featuring Tammy Wynette
This is an intentionally bizarre thing, mixing Tammy Wynette's self-referential lyrics with a house track, including some narration from a DJ exactly explaining what's happening. It's an odd mix, but it works somehow and becomes catchy enough, just creating its own experiment.
The seven hundred fifty-seventh song: Enter Sandman - Metallica
Enter Sandman, for the time and groups I grew up with, is a classic, the opening sounds enough to get you set up, following through for that darkness in the track. The lyrics are evocative, but the oppressive music over it overshadows that enough that the threat remains throughout. It turns sleep into a nightmare, tales that make you feel good into something far darker, in a build up that works incredibly well.
The seven hundred fifty-eighth song: Weather with You - Crowded House
There's a certain feel to Australian rock, somewhere near country but with a more dreamy lyrical focus and more hints of the indigenous sound we've heard before. It's relaxed, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have something to say. The chorus is strong, but there's more to it than just chanting "Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you"
The seven hundred fifty-ninth song: You Got the Love - The Source featuring Candi Staton
It's clear why the 1991 remix of this song is on the list. Candi Staton's vocals are strong and clear, but the house beat that has become popular in the years after really elevates and pushes the song to be more. It's a feast for the ears, an impressive performance that's so well supported by the production.
The seven hundred sixtieth song: Blind Willie McTell - Bob Dylan
After the barrage of rock and house tracks, this is a welcome relief. Bob Dylan's sparse accompaniment works as always to support and promote his voice, a folk performance that really shows what he's about. It's nothing complicated, but it hits a spot.
The seven hundred sixty-first song: Move Any Mountain - Progen 91- The Shamen
This is the time of remixes and this is one track that feels like it's natural. The beat works, the rap lyrics really create that sense of urgency and the harmonies and surrounding melody just add a bit of support to the entire thing. The music is what dominates and stands out here, and the remix works well.
The seven hundred sixty-second song: How I Could Just Kill A Man - Cypress Hill
As Latin-inspired gangster rap, I can hear a lot in this song that I believe we're going to get later. The rap vocals stand out as not being the standard tough voice (most of that coming from the chorus instead) and the sounds have some different samples from normal, including an ongoing whistle riff that works to create that atmosphere. Part of it gets into its head a bit too much, and lyrically it's good, but doesn't appeal to me, but I can really hear the skill in this.
The five hundred and ninety-first album: #591 Prince - Sign 'o' the Times
If it's time for another double album, Prince is the artist to do it with. His funk/pop sound is unique, perfected to a T without becoming clinical, the tracks are all catchy and unique without feeling like it goes all over the place. The lyrics and themes are different, from serious world order to admiring a weird girl's ideas back in school. It's strong and compassionate, human and emotional from someone who feels like he might have felt isolated from that. It's all Prince, but there are that many layers to his work.
The five hundred ninetieth album: #590 R.E.M. - Document
While It's The End of the World As We Know It is the best known song of this album for good reason, the other tracks follow a similar feeling and build on it. A fairly set beat, with a number of musical influences on top and lyrics that are comprehensible, but hint at a lot more depth to delve into - sometimes offering more clarity, sometimes less. The One I Love follows it straight away (although it's originally on the other side), showing how much further that goes - I've discussed it before, but the lyrics get quite meaningful while everything else supports it. That's not to say the music isn't standing out - there's still a lot to it, with some variation, but all fitting into a sound that feels like it really identifies R.E.M.
The seven hundred forty-first song: 1952 Vincent Black Lightning - Richard Thompson
There's something odd about a folk song about a motorcycle. It's not, by far, the first song I've heard about the topic, but there's something odd about the different expectations of the sounds. It's a fine folk song, not feeling as bottled up because of the topic, but not something that feels really challenging.
The seven hundred forty-second song: Balada conducatorolui - Taraf de Haidouks
It's hard to remember at this point, but I don't think I've heard much Romani music before. It's weirdly discordant, strangely off, quite a different experience with clear eastern influences. It's an odd melting pot, interesting to hear a bit off, but even this song was discordant for too long.
The seven hundred forty-third song: Calling All Angels - Jane Siberry with k.d. lang
From the start, the electronic sounds of this track mixed in with the dreamy synths create an otherworldly atmosphere - my first thought was aliens. It's really sweet and wishful when it gets started and the feeling it settles into works incredibly well, but the lead in helps set up the mood so much better.
The seven hundred forty-fourth song: I Can’t Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt
This is a full, sensitive ballad, a love song with a forlorn vibe as the outcome seems clear. It's small and sweet, its own type of tearjerker performed so beautifully and sensitively - Bonnie Raitt does amazing work here interpreting the song.
The seven hundred forty-fifth song: Jesus Built My Hotrod - Ministry
The bizarre vocals of this song are almost completely hidden by the aggressive metal track, the repetitive nature of the lyrics nonsensical enough that it just becomes an instrument instead of imparting much music, a scat base overlaid with guitars and heavy drumming. It's a strong, heavy track, exhausting to listen to but at the same time incredibly energetic.
The seven hundred forty-sixth song: No More Tears - Ozzy Osbourne
As much as this is a metal track - and all the instruments are there - there's a level of production to this that feels different, while Ozzy's vocals feel like they also set it apart, more of a falsetto that drag themselves out of the music, contrasting with the heavy sounds in a way that lets them stand apart and increase the impact of the music. It's a real story, told in several acts with variation in the track, but all culminating in something great still.
The seven hundred forty-seventh song: Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Even if the lyrics are difficult to follow at times, the idea is clear. It's an anthem for teens, a demand for the post punk to be given what they want. It's rebellious and angry, it's selfish but also resonates now as life is getting harder and more superficial. It's a feeling of rebellion, wrapped up in vague lyrics and a lot of memorable parts that all fit in a single track.
The seven hundred forty-eighth song: Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
After all that, some nice, unintimidating hip hop is a nice break. There's nothing threatening or challenging, the lyrics are easy to follow and identify with, and it's just about enjoying summer. It's perhaps aimed a bit too broadly, but it's a nice, fluffy track.
The seven hundred forty-ninth song: Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers
While it feels like they may have been a bit more of their own joke, there's something that really works in this RHCP track. The refrain is incredibly catchy and memorable, a vocal trick in there making that more compelling. The remainder doesn't hold up as well - it's fun to listen to and makes for a good rock track, but the energy there is just more infectious.
The seven hundred fiftieth song: One - U2
U2's big power ballads are their strength. One is one of those clear ones, a strong sound, clearly focusing on the message, not pushing the music out too much but making sure they tell their story. It's pretty well done.
The seven hundred fifty-first song: Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
Following that, Losing My Religion probably hits those beats even more. It sounds really good, the message hits, but doesn't overpower. I don't know why, but there's something where the combination, again, really works, sending a message while staying really interesting musically as well.
The five hundred and eighty-ninth album: #589 Def Leppard - Hysteria
This full helping of glam metal hits all of the highlights. It's loud and anthemic, ideally suited for a large stadium or similar - the background harmonies add to that crowd feeling even though it's all recorded in the studio. I do struggle to separate the tracks a bit, but the energy is present and welcome throughout, making for an album full of highlights.
The two hundred and twelfth classical recording: #380 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
The fantasy element of the title cannot be overstated while listening to this piece. It's dreamlike, not slow but exploratory, relying on light sound but with some heavy percussion in the background. It builds up to moments of tension and anger, changing its levels of intensity. Even without tracking the story step by step, you can feel the beats of it reflected in the music and it continues to hit you.
The two hundred and thirteenth episode: #2 Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy is not the easiest watch for a number of reasons. It's from 1949, so there's an automatic disconnect. It's the follow up to a popular film series, so assumes a lot of information I don't have as a viewer new to the world. And it's a western, which isn't a genre I care for much, and which generally doesn't create episodic stories that have much you can latch on to. It's interesting how the show is gentle and feels more cerebral than other westerns I've seen, but I just can't say there's a lot that properly connects - not bad for its time, I think, but not something I really enjoy now.
The one hundred and twenty-first book: #92 Camera Obscura - Hildebrand
Having had to deal with older English before, here I got to contend with some old, nineteenth century Dutch writing. On the whole it was just that bit more challenging to follow, mostly having to remember some older meanings of words, but it gave character to the stories as well. A lot of these are stories of daily life, characters of the day and the amazement of the rise of the railways, preferred over travel by boat. They got very moralistic in places, more treatises on specific topics, but when it's more focused on the characters it got more interesting.