Jeroen's Micro Blog

The twenty-fifth TV show: #446 It

Not so much a mini series as a TV event, It adapts a Stephen King novel in two 90 minute parts. It feels like it had to be this way. A movie would have been a bit too much, too intense. Too many episodes and the arc wouldn't build as well, and possibly invite more speculation and analysis on something that you just need to go along with.

I'm not sure the eventual reveal quite worked for me, but the tension leading up to it, the way people interacted, was great. Especially the child actors, who did remarkably well considering the usual reputation child actors have. The special effects are good too, especially considering the TV budget, and are mostly very effective (except for some odd stop motion works that gets a bit odd).

Last, Tim Curry as the titular It doesn't have a lot of screen time, but he made the best of it. He overplays it just enough and it sets the tone for the entire series, making it big, evil and scary. It's a shame when he disappears, as it makes for the best threat throughout. Still, intensely tense and fun.

The twelfth album: #12 Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool

Another jazz album - they're quite common at this point. While I've complained about how some of these got quite boring at some point - more background music - that isn't as much the case here. Some of the tunes are catchy, and while none are loud, they are pleasant in a way that feels good and is quite relaxing.

Hearing vocals suddenly come in with Darn That Dream is quite surprising - it stands out, but it feels like it kills the rhythm a bit. The best parts of the album come from the great instrumentals, and while the vocals are fine, I don't feel they quite live up to that.

It's not as experimental as I believe his later works are, but it grabs me more than most other jazz has done.

The twenty-fourth TV show: #251 Roots

I feel awkward commenting on this show - it's not really mine to comment on. It's a dramatic, heavy show, hard to watch and one that makes you feel guilty. The story of slavery in the US (perpetrated by Europeans) is often uncomfortable and sad, unfair and difficult. There are plenty of happy moments, not in acceptance but in small victories for some of the characters (and one major one at the end of the civil war, even if the problems aren't over yet at that point). It's well performed, you feel sympathy with these characters. Quite a bit of nuance in some of the white characters, but never hiding their dark side. The main thing it shows is that there are so many built in biases that don't fade, horrible things that were just accepted. This show will stay with me for a long time.

The twenty-sixth comic: #748 Promethea

Promethea is a comic with two sides. On one hand, it's the story of a superhero who is reincarnated into different bodies by those who create things about her - by making comics, writing books or poetry and similar - and how she makes it through. An interesting premise that plays with art styles to imply different levels of existence.

That premise is combined with a treatise on Kabbalah, one that is sort of tied to the Promethea story, but felt, to me, like it didn't quite as much enhance it, but spend more time interrupting it. It got a bit too disjointed, a bit too much trying to be philosophical, without being entertaining or informative. It just felt like an interruption that prevented reading the good bits.

And that's a shame, because the art and style were really nice, and felt really innovative for it. It's just that it felt too hammered into the dream world, not something that naturally fit into the narrative. It doesn't feel like it has any consequences for the outside story. It's there so it is mentioned, without there being a point to it.

And that just ruins what could be a great reading experience.

The one hundred and thirty-ninth song: Cry Baby - Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters

From doo wop to soul, here we get something that is heavily influenced by gospel music to sing a love song. There are places were it goes bigger, but never quite hits it. It partially suits the mood of helping this girl when she comes running to the singer after splitting up with her bad boy boy friend. It's just a bit too much between genres to know what to do with itself.

The one hundred and fourtieth song: La javanaise - Juliette Greco

Being in French, you'd soon expect a song in French to be a chanson. And while it feels like there are elements of that in here, the song is sultrier, sweeter. Not upbeat but happier. It draws you in and gives it something sensual.

The one hundred and fourty-first song: Harlem Shuffle - Bob & Earl

There are lods of these dance crazes that lift a specific song that they are trying to create. They are normally associated with more energetic songs than these though, which is a tad slow and doesn't go anywhere. It's a bit too much soul rather than more upbeat pop. The horns stand out here, though, bulking up a song that needs it.

The one hundred and fourty-second song: On Broadway - The Drifters

This is a song that feels... off because of its doo wop roots. There is an energy difference between the lead and the other singers, which feels jarring. Some annoying percussion isn't helping there either. Still, the lead allows some enthusiasm about the idea of getting on Broadway, adding quite a bit of energy to the song that it needs

The one hundred and fourty-third song: Louie Louie - The Kingsmen

Probably the best evidence you don't need understandable lyrics for a good song. There are a whole bunch of reasons for them being slurred, but here it adds to a dirty rocker vibe (something the Kingsmen weren't, really) and there's something raw about the performance that adds energy to the track. It's properly good and loud.

The one hundred and fourty-fourth song: One Fine Day - The Chiffons

I enjoy these happy poppy girl group songs, even if they can be hard to pin down individually - this isn't the only love song like it. It's a pretty good song, though, competently song with a good swinging backing track behind it.

The one hundred and fourty-fifth song: In Dreams - Roy Orbison

This song feels incredibly ambitious. There are many different forms in here, different ways of continuing the song that sound similar, but all verses are somewhat distinct from each other. It's an impressive feat to listen to and makes for a song that feels really good - some rock influences in there, but not as hard as that genre can get.

The one hundred and fourty-sixth song: Sally Go’ Round the Roses - The Jaynets

So to come back to what I said before about girl groups - The Jaynets don't have their own sound for sure. It's good pop though, doing its own thing more than just going with what worked before, building on other songs of its type. It also is happy to go slow and low volume, not going for the bombastic, large songs that you hear from others.

The one hundred and fourty-seventh song: Be My Baby - The Ronettes

Here we immediately have that contrasting song. The vocals are still not the loudest, but the "wall of sound" is there and comes at you throughout. It's good - the song has a brilliant hook and good lead vocals, and it makes for a more upbeat song.

The one hundred and fourty-eighth song: Surfin’ Bird - The Trashmen

I'm not sure where I stand on this song. It sounds good - if it was just the instrumentals, I'd like it. The weird, manic vocals suit that as well, musically it holds up. I'm just not sure what tone it's trying to strike, and that feels aggravating. Not in wanting to know what it's about, but it is trying to be weird, and not always succeeding - it can sound a bit too mocking for that. It's distinctive - that secures its place on the list - but I'm not sure how I feel about it.

The one hundred and fourty-ninth song: Sapore di sale - Gino Paoli

Time for some Italian pop - a song that sounds like it could have come from Eurovision. Musically fine, I find the voice to be a bit uneven for the song - while this is meant to be a happy song, the vocals don't quite reach it. It's, sadly, nearly there, but not quite.

The eleventh album: #11 Sabu Martinez - Palo Congo

This album is listed as 'Latin jazz', and it does have that own sound - it's got a sound distinct from jazz, but doesn't go as big as, say, samba goes. It's still a pleasant and upbeat sound that I've been enjoying a lot. The variety helps too - when a loose call and response section comes in it feels a bit surprising and it's certainly different.

As a percussionist himself, Sabu Martinez is obviously focused on the drums. It feels like those are always the throughline in all songs, often being the only instrument being played. It's an interesting focus that adds to the atmosphere and different sound coming from this album.

The third classical recording: #170 Mozart - Requiem in D Minor

This really makes things sound epic - Peter said he felt it while listening to it, everything he was doing felt more important. The music does make everything sound big and impressive, layering many things on top of each other for something that sounds really impressive.

The twenty-fifth comic: #327 Buddha

One of the interesting questions to ask when writing a biography like this is how faithful to stay. Not a true biography, Buddha takes liberties with the stories about the man's life, introducing additional characters and possibly moving some things around. Mostly, this is done to give some more drive to parts of the actions, or I assume to make separate stories feel like a larger part of the narrative (although some chapters still have a clear 'adapt a single story' feel). Others are to provide insight about Buddha and his teachings.

I don't know all the stories that well - some are familiar to me, mostly from scraps I've slowly absorbed. As a comic they work well (keeping in mind that the storytelling is a bit limited because of the constraints of history), telling a story of the saint's life while explaining him along the way. He's human, he has to learn, and this is how he, and those around him, attain enlightenment. It's a compelling character story.

The tenth album: #10 Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners

Fair enough on the jazz, it seems more interesting than the recent big band songs. It's not a genre that I think I appreciate focusing on a full album for - it's better as background music or when listening to the occasional track.

The sound is not quite improvised, it's messy but complex and layered enough that it's more deliberate. It does make for a chaotic sound, where it's not always clear where the music is going - it's mostly just there, and I'm not sure that's in its own best interest.

I think what helps is that the music here feels like it has personalities, it expresses the creator and his tastes, of sorts, rather than last time's jazzy album feeling like it watered that down somewhat.

The second classical recording: #2 Hildegard of Bingen - Antiphons

This was eerie at times, devotional, focused on worship. It was also long, and as good as the vocals were, the high pitching of it got to me a few times - perhaps a side effect of feeling stuffy today.