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The two hundred and eighth TV show: #160 Hey Hey It's Saturday

So this was a painful watch. I wouldn't say that Saturday night variety is always great, but I feel like we did watch better. Taken up mostly by rapid fire humour, the jokes and improv segments don't land well - probably because of distance and age for the most part. There could be something charming about the looseness, but here it feels a bit too much, a bit too often and a bit too egregious. This might be something you can be nostalgic for - I can think of similar shows, although ones that worked better - but looking at it now, there's not much in here that holds up.

The two hundred and seventh TV show: #938 Broadchurch

There's a great throughline in Broadchurch, with the case of the first season echoing through the second and third, first overtly as the court case places out, then in the third season through the background of several other characters. The first season sets up the characters well, with a personal connection that plays through the story. It's incredibly well done, with the perfect twists at several places in the story. It doesn't give you the closure or resolution you want in places, but in the end some of the less satisfying endings as a viewer are the ones that make sense and are the more interesting to watch for that reason. The resolution of season 2 in particular seems like that, but it makes too much sense and works out that well.

And the performances really shine. Olivia Colman and David Tennant are, of course, excellent, and Jody Whitaker is obviously singled out fo how well she does as well. The third season brings in a larger new cast to support the new case, but they're compelling from the start - Julie Hesmondhalgh in particular feels believable through all the stages of what must have been a very difficult role. It took us a long time to finish it - we only now got to the last season - but that's because it takes enough focus to finish it and get through it.

The two hundred and sixth TV show: #46 Golden Globe Awards

To check off some specific entries, I'm watching some of the yearly one off shows to get them covered. The Golden Globes show is one that feels second to the big hitters of the Emmys and the Oscars, the awards not quite as prestigious. It does focus on both movie and tv, and just watching it means that it moves a lot faster than the Oscards tend to. Voted on by the press, it focuses on a different direction than those as well, which makes it a bit less predictable, which probably matters more on the night than it would be now. But it's not quite as much of a spectacle as it's a variety show that still focuses a lot more on the awards, which is fair enough - while maybe not as entertaining, it at least feels like the show is more focused.

The five hundred and seventy-second album: #572 Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring

I'm not sure whether artsy is the right word for this, but this is an album that feels concerned with its sound, with very instrumental vocals that sometimes feels more of a way to carry a tone than a sound on their own, supported by sparser arrangements that help build that feeling. There's a very deliberate art pop vibe that also lets the individual moments of the recording stand. It's mostly simple, artful but effective at its mood.

The six hundred fifty-ninth song: First We Take Manhattan - Jennifer Warnes

While this is a fine pop song with some evocative lyrics, there's not that much content to it that really continues to interest me - nothing really came across as strong as I wish it would have.

The six hundred sixtieth song: True Colors - Cyndi Lauper

Listening to this song in isolation, there's something incredibly sensitive about this ballad - even the more jubilant parts are much more vulnerable and simple than later renditions of this song tend to have. There's a really special sound and feel to it, an emotion that elevates the song.

The six hundred sixty-first song: Move Your Body - Marshall Jefferson

Years earlier than I expected, this is the first house track that features on the list, a dance track with a heavily accelerated beat that really drives the beat. While I know it's also a style that I don't want too much of, listening to this sample alone is so good to listen to, and I can see how much it could drive you on.

The six hundred sixty-second song: Rise - Public Image Ltd

As a post punk song, Rise is okay. It's an okay rock song, with some good, more insightful lyrics, but I also feel there are large parts that don't manage to hit what they could be hitting at this point.

The six hundred sixty-third song: Love Can’t Turn Around - Farley “Jackmaster” Funk

And here we immediately get our second house track. It doesn't feel as successful as Move Your Body - the music doesn't feel like it has quite the same drive - but it still feels like it's a good step towards the better genre.

The six hundred sixty-fourth song: Dear God - XTC

There's an amazing blend of music and vocals in this track. There's a power in the questions the music asks, but it also has music that hits both something heavenly, it hits the feelings of anger and the child's intro and outro lyrics really build well on that. It's a lovely sound.

The six hundred sixty-fifth song: Don’t Want to Know If You Are Lonely - Husker Du

This is clearly a simpler punk track, with a good beat and some simple lyrics. It works quite well for the sound, setting up something straight forward but good and effective.

The six hundred sixty-sixth song: Kiss - Prince & The Revolution

We finish with a Prince classic, with a good soul track that is interchanged with Prince's thin, high vocals that draw your focus and attention. It's build expertly, as you'd expect, and it's both strong and evocative. There's something fun and light about it and it's just so much fun to listen to through to the end.

The five hundred and seventy-first album: #571 Billy Bragg - Talking with the Taxman About Poetry

This album's opening track, Greetings to the New Brunette, sets out the album's approach, as well as Bragg's general approach to the world quite well. It's filled with the political, subverting what might seem like a love song at first glance. The subsequent tracks have similar vibes, some more overt than others, but it feels like that point is always there. Aside from being smart in those ways, the music mixes its influences quite well. The punk sound he comes from, with his ideologies, has taken a folk bend in how it focuses on just his sound, the music supporting his voice and lyrics. It's incredibly powerful and motivating.

The two hundred and sixth classical recording: #488 Jean Sibelius - Kullervo

As a work describing the life of a hero, one of the major satisfying parts of this symphony - the music builds as the hero grows up, with the chorus of vocalists joining in as Kullervo starts on his journey. The five movements feel like they really reflect that journey, making for some satisfying storytelling that builds on the existing sound, ending with a chilling death lament.

The five hundred and seventieth album: #570 Nanci Griffith - The Last of the True Believers

There's a bit of a risk with this style of Americana. Nanci Griffith's country album really draws on a lot of elements that don't connect with me - whether they're throwbacks to an earlier time or a cultural reference that doesn't match with what I have experienced. I'm not that warm on country music in the first place, especially with the political connotations the genre has taken up in the current world, but it also doesn't hit my threshold of enjoyment. It's well done, but a good folk album would probably have worked better for me.

The six hundred fifty-first song: Kerosene - Big Black

This is just some heavy, noisy rock. The few lyrics they have are nihilistic, down and angry, and the music is just that throughout. It's not complicated, but it is an expression of a mood that works really well.

The six hundred fifty-second song: Ay te dejo en San Antonio - Flaco Jimenez

There's a jolly sound to the whole of this American-Spanish song, with a really infectious joy playing out. It doesn't feel too complex, but as a Latin simple pop song it just has that mood.

The six hundred fifty-third song: Time of No Reply - Nick Drake

This track is an odd one in where it's placed - an unreleased demo from over a decade earlier, put on a compilation album. There's a sad strength in this song, such a fully emotional track that hits those sad beats incredibly well, with little, but at least some hope in it. It's a time capsule of a mood and a moment, but it works well inside that.

The six hundred fifty-fourth song: Wide Open Road - The Triffids

It feels like Wide Open Road meets a midpoint for this point in time - it's got some of the bigger, wider sounds than pure folk rock, but it doesn't stray into the larger parts of new wave that can overwhelm a song. The bigger sound here mostly supports the feeling of the wide open road, the big spaces that exist, but support the harmonies and more minimal sounds from the track that still all manage to find their place here.

The six hundred fifty-fifth song: There Is a Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths

Speaking of the youthly disconnection from earlier, there's a disconnect from family in this as well, a song about not feeling at home as well as wanting to stay with their partner. There's a lot more depth to it than that, and it creates this feeling so well that deals with this depression and need to change your life.

The six hundred fifty-sixth song: Some Candy Talking - The Jesus and Mary Chain

While feeling like another dark song, there's a lot more of that coming in from the band's native sound while the lyrics sit there on their own. It's not the most accessible track, but there's something in its mood that works quite well to set you up to listen to without dragging it down too much.

The six hundred fifty-seventh song: No Sleep Till Brooklyn - Beastie Boys

I've recently covered this album and this track still works well on its own. The track is as infectious as ever and while there's nothing too complex in its lyrics, it's a good fun track to put on and listen to, with its metal influence, still good guitar line and perhaps also its more modern adjustments.

The six hundred fifty-eighth song: Raining Blood - Slayer

The intro of the song, before the rain hits, is a powerful run of lyrics and a wall of noise that feels exhausting on its own already. It gives way to some more variety in its music, but it's hard to deny the specific energy Slayer brings to this - and how rare it's seemed so far. I've grown up with metal, and this hits all the parts that I have enjoyed about it before, with all of its insanity included.

The five hundred and sixty-ninth album: #569 The The - Infected

As a genre, post-punk is clearly quite a broad proposition and Infected doesn't let itself get pinned down as easily. The lyrics have a punk feeling to it, but the music is a lot gentler than that. There's a hint of new wave, but luckily the album stays quite concentrated which works well on its own. It's been a nice twist, not entirely what I expected but easy to listen to.