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The two hundred and fourty-ninth song: I Say a Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin

Another Burt Baccarach song, Aretha Franklin covers it in one of its most famous renditions. The melody sounds a bit off to me compared to the versions I am used to, but it swings better and suits Franklin's voice far better. The background vocals add to that, adding a bit of a soul feel to the song that suits it well.

The two hundred and fiftieth song: The Snake - Al Wilson

Continuing the rise of soul, this song comes in with quite a brash sound, trumpets dominating some smooth vocals. It creates the feeling of a fable being told through music, some of the vocals adding some eerieness, but the message also coming across quite well. It sounds as much of a performance pieces as it's a song, but that adds to the size of the song really well.

The two hundred and fifty-first song: Oh Happy Day - The Edwin Hawkins Singers

And so we move into gospel music, probably one of the best known ones in the genre. It's been covered many times since, and this version starts off slower than I'd expect considering how the song is usually performed. That usually adds some pep, but this version feels more contemplative - still exuberant, but still more reverend than it would otherwise be. I can imagine that this song would be impressive in person as well, the size of the choir being lost in the limitations of the recording.

The two hundred and fifty-second song: Israelites - Desmond Dekker & The Aces

And jumping a step further, we now get into reggae. This song sounds odd, with a memorable chorus that, I'm sure, makes a point, but feels like it's just become part of culture more as "This is what reggae sounds like" than making much of a point. The lyrics, then, are mostly impenetrable, but it creates a sound that certainly would have seemed new at the time.

The two hundred and fifty-third song: Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell

Starting off with a string section, the song settles into a bigger produced country song. It's pretty poppy, a country ballad that mostly manages to feel inoffensive and pleasant to listen to. It's simple and relaxing, a bit of peace, but to me not as memorable as other songs - despite, or perhaps because of, the production. It's done well, but overshadows the ballad a bit.

The two hundred and fifty-fourth song: I Heard it Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye

This is a song that, for me, is made thanks to the vocals. The music isn't that substantial - well produced, present in the right places and sounding good, but also at a bit of a distance to allow Marvin Gaye to shine through. It again has a distance in it that work to create something simple and deliberate, telling its story in part through its sound.

The two hundred and fifty-fifth song: America - Simon & Garfunkel

Simon & Garfunkel deliver something outside this world here. It doesn't quite match the trends we've heard elsewhere, but as a folk sound, it works to create an atmosphere, a song that sounds good, with smart lyrics that tell its story effectively. There's clear substance here that is masterfully told. It's a hopeful road trip, and it comes through as that.

The two hundred and fifty-sixth song: Ain’t Got No; I Got Life- Nina Simone

Back to soul, we get another story about emptiness, in a way, but also triumph in poverty and celebrating what you have and yourself. There is a religious component in this - obviously - but there's a lot of pride in there as well. It makes for a compelling two minute statement that works well - even if it's a medley of two distinct songs, it works on so many levels.

The two hundred and fifty-seventh song: Piece of My Heart- Big Brother & The Holding Company

A rock love song, this is a cover that seems to have been made a lot rockier by the band. It creates a unique sound that works incredibly well and I wonder how this would compare to the original. Janis Joplin's vocals are what really make this special, putting in a ragged but powerful sound that echoes throughout and filled the room as we were listening. It's weird - this started out as a soul song, but it doesn't show here, and the band gets the credit for making it their own. The guitar solo later in the song shows this too, building on the excitement as well. Everything shows the hurt and pain in here, and that's what made it amazing to listen to.

The fourty-fourth TV show: #581 Spaced

Spaced feels like a bit of an odd show. I appreciate it for that reason, because it matches with me and my experiences in so many places. Daisy and Tim are 20-somethings who haven't quite grown up yet and are trying to find their way in life. They move in together, not knowing each other too well, and have to masquerade as a couple to keep the flat. They hang out with their friends there, in a way that feels pleasant. The characters are a bit larger than life, but it suits the way it's filmed, which is a bit bigger. There are a lot of references to other works (some of which I get, some of which I don't), plenty of dream sequences and a sense of throwing many things in. Despite that heightened, the characters feel very human and recognisable.

The twentieth classical recording: #590 Sergei Rachmaninov - The Isle of the Dead

Dark and slow, this recording sets a definite tone that the title implies. It starts heavy - apparently imitating rowing - and has the shrill sounds that, at the very least, often seems imitated in films for deaths and funerals. The sounds move more towards the glorious, part of the grand landscapes it is trying to invoke (and invokes in my imagination).

I genuinely got drawn into how big it got, how it build and how it went through different phases. There was more going on and even though there isn't text in here, it feels like it builds a story regardless.

The fourty-third TV show: #493 Heartbreak High

Heartbreak High is a teen drama, a soap opera set in a high school addressing the concerns of teenage kids while also showing some of the teachers' lives - although the latter seem to matter less. There were some good parts in this - an early dispute about free speech and power of teachers versus limitations of the students made for a decent early episode.

And in the early episodes of the series, which we focused on, there were some touching moments. There were also a lot of shallow elements that don't seem to matter, or that don't connect otherwise, and it seems like some of it starts going in circles. Furthermore, I've seen more of these when I was younger, and there are some elements I've seen before. But yeah, being more grown up, so many of these problems just seem so small.

It doesn't help that this has, well, soap opera acting. It's fine for most, and a lot of people grow into their roles, but there's time when we see cartoon villains and bad segments. It's unfortunate it doesn't quite work... but then, soaps never did it for me.

The fourty-sixth album: #46 The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones

When you think about the Rolling Stones, you think about the hard sounds, with a fair amount of shouting and hard guitar sounds. And while there's a bit of an edge, Route 66 sounds far more like blues when it starts. It feels softer, less aggressive than I would expect from the Rolling Stones. It's relatively clean, and I sort of miss the dirtiness in this.

At the same time, this is down in part to multiple songs here being covers, that aren't quite as adjusted to the band. And in that sense, they are better performers of covers than the Beatles were, here creating a sound that elevates the song quite a bit and adds its own touch.

What's odd is how Phil Spector is credited for some of the songs, and plays background instruments on one of them. I wouldn't have expected those two streams of music to mix like this.

The nineteenth classical recording: #10 John Taverner - The Western Wynde Mass

Choral masses are the bread and butter of the early works on this list. It's where most music (that survived) would have been written for, and the choirs still inspire an angelic feeling. Based on an existing text, the music this is set up sounds lovely and high, mostly relying on the higher voices to really create its melody. While the words have meaning, I don't really need to understand them to flow into the atmosphere the work creates.