The four hundred and ninety-eighth album: #498 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message
When listening to The Message, there's something slightly off about it. There's a mix of R&B and funk in there with its harmonies, but it also has some early rap tracks that don't feel like they fit quite the same pattern. In the current times, it feels like it doesn't quite commit, but with Prince and Michael Jackson being contemporaries, they actually make a lot of sense in context as the music styles overlap. I guess I'll see it evolve in the coming albums, but just as rock grew out of earlier genres, we've got a new hip hop style emerging here.
The four hundred and ninety-seventh album: #497 Prince - 1999
So much of 1999 makes for a catchy album - it's hard to get away from all the songs that stick with you. There are some long funk fadeouts - still too much for my taste - but when it hits the groove and the song really gets going, the album is amazing. Even its double length mostly doesn't matter because so much of it is infectious enough to keep you going along. At the same time, parts of it feel forward looking, experimenting with electronic music in a way that hasn't intersected with R&B before. I'm not sure how many of those will move forward, but it does feel like an album made with a license to experiment and figure stuff out, with something polished still being released at the end.
The one hundred and seventy-ninth classical recording: #776 Ralph Vaughan WIlliams - Symphony no. 4
This symphony's large, loud opening belies the smaller sound that follows. It never recedes completely, but goes back to be more stylized and more straight laced, at times quiet and menacing rather than being in your face like the start. It still alternates, with a very frantic third movement building to the triumphant finale that matches the start of the piece. It's big and bold, but that's what works.
The four hundred and ninety-sixth album: #496 ABC - The Lexicon of Love
It's difficult to fairly judge a band when it's so clearly the inspiration for a Drew Tarver Comedy Bang Bang character... The Lexicon of Love hits all the known beats of the synth pop love songs, the bit of break up, the highs of love, the harmonies and the tortured metaphors. It's well put together, but to be honest, it's a lot and not always convincingly so.
The four hundred and ninety-fifth album: #495 ABBA - The Visitors
The book contains two ABBA albums on its lists. The Visitors, however, feels quite a stand out work, with the music less disco poppy and more mature and at times a bit darker. It still has their sound, but it feels like they're experimenting a lot more than before. Considering what was happening in the group, When All Is Said And Done is a really powerful standout. Two For the Price of One is the only negative standout - aside from the vocals, it just doesn't feel like it matches the tone of the album anywhere else. Still, this is probably Abba's album that connects with me most, fitting my sensibilities most. It's raw and emotional at times, with so much breaking through the production that hits so much better.
The one hundred and seventy-eighth classical recording: #411 Pablo de Sarasate - Zigeunerweisen
As one of the shorter pieces, Zigeunerweisen makes its impact quite early on. The soloist's violin mostly tells a sad story, with a muted orchestra supporting but never drawing focus - it makes for a nice, gentle support.
The four hundred and ninety-fourth album: #494 Rush - Moving Pictures
I really enjoyed this album and, in a way that's not that typical of my usual feelings, especially appreciated the extended instrumental tracks. They were so well crafted and specific that they made for a lovely journey that felt like it didn't need the vocals a lot of the time.
The four hundred and ninety-third album: #493 Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club
As a band that originated from the Talking Heads, we get a somewhat different sound from the Tom Tom Club. As much as it has its experimental moments, it also has a more traditional sound, with some of the harmonies and simpler songs really feeling like a throwback to the fifties and sixties. Under the Boardwalk, for example, really is structured like a classic track if not for the various distortions and synthesizer sounds that appear around the edges of the songs. It's very commercial, sure, and not as innovative, but it's at times subversive in how it does that. It doesn't feel like something that is its own major standout track, but it's so much fun to listen to.
The one hundred and seventy-seventh classical recording: #429 Alexander Borodin - String Quartet no. 2
Don't have much to say about this one - it's a lovely piece of music, performed well. It's not too complicated, just one that's easy to keep track of and listen to.
The one hundred and fourty-eighth book: #87 The Nose - Nikolai Gogol
The Nose was a quick read - a short story that took me about half an hour to read through, which felt right for the tone of the story. In short, a barber finds a nose in a loaf of bread, which turns out to be a commissioner's, and the missing body part lives a life of its own for some time. It's a commentary on class and vanity and how society reacts to it, with there never been an explanation. It's a fun read, though, even if some of the satire doesn't fit our current experience.