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The twenty-ninth TV show: #279 Pennies from Heaven

Here we have an at times dark drama mixed with a musical - or rather, one where the character will suddenly lipsync to a 1930s song as they perform more elaborate choreography. The songs reflect the characters' inner life - often as a weird fantasy sequence - lit and set up as if they're on stage.

The story is that of a man stuck in a loveless marriage, desperate for affection, who gets caught up in various situations to the point where he gets accused of murder. This gets a lot darker than the musical tone implies - there's some evidence of spousal abuse, for example, and it's odd how well it manages to move between the two. It manages to nicely float between the two, something clearly anchored by Bob Hoskins, who moves between the two quite well. He's not a good man, but digs further than he possibly deserves as well.

Not sure what to make of that ending though.

The fifth classical recording: #4 Francesco Landini - Ballades

This is not quite what I expected from a subtitle of "Art of Courtly Love". These ballads sound fine, a lot of sopranos in more complicated melodies, but it all faded into each other, I wouldn't be able to distinguish individual songs in here. All in all it's a fine sound, but not one that I gain more from, just the ethereal, intrusive singing.

Still, it sounds good, and i can see this working even better in the intended setting.

The fifteenth album: #15 Tito Puente & His Orchestra - Dance Mania

The definition of dance music has, of course, changed over the years.The latin music here is a bit slower than we might be used to now, but there's still more than enough swinging here. It makes for an interesting companion to Little Richard's album: again moving away from the omnipresent jazz. The Cuban music here still seems to have its links to jazz, including some traditional instruments, but it's so much happier. The better lyrics feel like they help a lot here as well, giving the song more of a 'body'.

This is probably a situation where the instruments and melody manage to create a feel good feeling at a time where I could use one.

The one hundred and fiftieth song: Leader of the Pack - The Shangri-Las

Quite a bit of rebellion in this song - while not a rock song, the leader of the pack would be walking around in his leather jacket, listening to rock 'n roll and driving around on a motor cycle - which is heard on the record. It's melancholic and a bit darker than it seems. The vocals - just as much talking and conversational - add to the effect. It's not a happy love song, but sounds a bit more haunting instead. Still avoiding the wall of sound, and good for it.

The one hundred and fifty-first song: Les copains d'abord - Geoges Brassens

Meanwhile, in France... a chanson about a boat that's not fully translatable, because of the wordplay involved. It's a happy, with just his own guitar to accompany him. I can see this being a song that gets stuck in your head if you can follow the lyrics.

The one hundred and fifty-second song: Samba malato - Nicomedes Santa Cruz

And then we jump to the latin sound, almost the opposite. Again, the lyrics aren't ones I can make sense of, but there's something infectious about the music. The comparatively poor recording quality lets it down a bit, but the music sounds so enthusiastic, it's still good. Most notably, it's something different, not as polished as more western music while sounding more natural with the instruments used and the melody in the vocals.

The one hundred and fifty-third song: Walk On By - Dionne Warwick

Next, our first Burt Bacharach song (the famous not-a-philosopher...). The music sounds somewhat similar, a powerful piano track enhancing Dionne Warwick's lonely vocals. Although there are backing songs, her voice stands out on its own, giving it a lonely edge that enhanced the sad feeling of the lyrics and the feeling she doesn't want to be fretted over.

The one hundred and fifty-fourth song: Don’t Gimme No Lip Child - Dave Berry

Back to a more rock sound - although it sounds like this pop song is also one that influenced punk. It's aggressive - as the title applies and presumptive, very confident. There are some good layered vocals and shrill instruments adding to a darker song that goes somewhere different from other songs we've heard before.

The one hundred and fifty-fifth song: E se domani - Mina

An Italian song now, from Italian star Mina. It goes by to a more classical singer, creating some simple pop. It could be a slower Eurovision song, a simple ballad, nothing sultry, but instead clear and loud. It's a simple message - a ballad about what would happen if she could never see her lover again - but it works effectively because of that still.

The one hundred and fifty-sixth song: The Girl from Ipanema - Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto

The second most recorded song, this is a soft and sweet jazz song, or bossa nova as this mix with the samba is known (not a music expert here). It doesn't swing quite as much as I was expecting, more drawing you into the music slowly. Soft and sweet, like a warm summer night.

The one hundred and fifty-seventh song: A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke

This is agood, simple soul song where the music and vocals all enhance the message, one protesting segregation in a world that still had a lot of this - this is the time of Martin Luther King and so on. It's both simple in its setup and complex in the way it varies between verses. An impressive feat that brings the message home.

The one hundred and fifty-eighth song: Dancing in the Street - Martha & The Vandellas

Back to something upbeat then, a song about happiness that predates and predicts disco. Apparently this later became a civil rights anthem, but it's not there in the song, which is really about partying. It's simply there to get you dancing, and it had me bopping along.

The one hundred and fifty-ninth song: I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself - Dusty Springfield

This feels like a good pop song. It's got some big musical moments taht work with the pleasant vocals. It creates a soul song and a range of emotions coming through in the vocals, but also doesn't stand out quite enough for me.

The one hundred and sixtieth song: You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling - The Righteous Brothers

Some more 'blue-eyed soul' and more wall of sound, these two performers (not actually brothers) create a big song that seems to start in the middle of something and never quite stops for a break. The lyrics seem safe enough and the main thing about the song is that it is all big, even if the subject matter generally isn't that as much. The legacy of the wall of sound seem to start or continue here, having plenty of influences, although it's a lot of what we heard before. More an exemplar of the type, really.

The one hundred and sixty-first song: You Really Got Me - The Kinks

Here's some real early punk! And the raw rock sound still exists - it feels like we've lost it a bit in the past few years. It's shouty, raw and loud, with a feeling that the Kinks are enjoying performing this. There's something excited in this, and has a sound that I really like. It's no longer rock and roll - it feels like this is where it becomes rock.

The one hundred and sixty-second song: The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals

Here's a different side of rock. This is a ballad - one that had been around as one for some time - but using rock instruments that give it its loudness. It has a very distinct and unique sounds, in how the vocals come out, nearly shouting at times, how what sounds like an organ is played (I assume this is something electronic) and how the whole song makes it sound somewhat otherworldly. It sounds amazing, one of those song I feel I can really appreciate now.

The one hundred and sixty-third song: Go ‘Way from My window - John Jacob Niles

The recording we had here sounded like it was recorded in the fourties. So did the song. It's a folk ballad sung in a falsetto that sounds weird at times. I'm not sure the vocals work well here - perhaps another performer would come across better - but as something that seemed home recorded, something might be in there. A good accomplishment, well written, but maybe not the best performance.

The one hundred and sixty-fourth song: Amsterdam - Jacques Brel

Jacques Brel one more time, and (again?) with a live version. One that I know as well in the Dutch translations other singers have made. Singing about the port of Amsterdam, the people found there, which he imbues with so much energy in his own way that it get infectious. You can't help but feel involved in the song and the power it has.

The twenty-eighth TV show: #409 Roseanne

Roseanne has an interesting history. Created in part as a reaction to the upper class nice lives of shows like the Cosby Show, it focuses on a lower class family that constantly has to stretch to make ends meet (something partially abandoned in later seasons, but at least always somewhat of a presence). The leads aren't particularly attractive, and the show relies on the wit involved in the family sparring with each other, combined with touching family moments. The show could work as a dramedy - an average episode feels like it could be a special episode on many other series.

What helps is that the joy of them working together carries over. Despite plenty of issues, the actors get along and are often seen nearly breaking at each other's jabs. It shows they care in a way that comes across on screen. There's an amazing secondary cast - Roseanne Barr is good, but Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman especially lift up the material in a way that is unbelievable. An early episode has some long scenes with just the two of them, and the way they play off each other is both funny and works to make a point.

The show is timeless, in a way, and touches on issues that still affect us now. It was amazing to get back to - far more so than you'd expect from an 80s sitcom, and the way this was presented.

The seventeenth book: #17 The Trials of Persiles and Sigismunda - Miguel de Cervantes

Although de Cervantes considered this his better work, I'm not so sure. One big attraction of Don Quixote was how normal it was - it feels like an early novel about ordinary people, rising above their stations, but really dealing with normal subjects. His Persiles, instead, takes from Greek stories and chivalric romances and tries to be its own version. And, well, that style just doesn't work for me. I was honestly glad when I was done this time... not a good sign.

The twenty-sixth TV show: #244 The Muppet Show

The Muppet Show is an odd species. On one hand, it's fairly structured, a struggling variety show. In its most basic episodes, that's what it does - song and dance numbers, mixed with some sketches. Behind the screens there's usually a running storyline. Both involve the star, who gets a few songs if they're up for it, some sketches or other bits otherwise.

These are incredibly well produced, with an eye for style and one that's needed considering the complexities that are involved when you need to use muppets - very few errors occur here. An episode like Rita Moreno's, who won an Emmy for her appearance on the show. Once they got into that flow, however, and especially when they have a guest they can do it with, they love messing with the concept. Steve Martin's episode, for example, is one where the show is cancelled and they are auditioning new acts instead, something they seem to use as an opportunity they make fun of each other's characters while including some insight into these characters. Liza Minelli ends up in a murder mystery (with some songs thrown in still) and Carol Burnett's episode takes place during a dance contest.

Traditional episodes are still good too - Mummenschanz, for example, are weird enough that they fit into the show without many seeming changes to their act. It also means they interact less with the Muppets, which is a shame, but it's not too bad. Later seasons are far better in mixing it up like this, but most episodes are worth it, as they show always tries. As long as they focus on the comedy, and less so on the songs.

The twenty-seventh TV show: #635 Kath & Kim

Yeah, I'm finishing two comedies today. We've done a full runthrough of the Muppet Show that we finished about a year ago, so it just needed a catch up. Kath & Kim has been my personal catch up show, and my first Australian show for the list.

I remember being ambivalent about the show when I watched it a few years ago. The characters are fairly unlikeable - especially Kim - and more often, can be quite obnoxious. They try, sometimes, but it can feel like it's for show just as often. Kim especially is this - you're not rooting for her, you want her to turn around, but very rarely actually does so. Kath tries to be a good mother and cares more about people, but drops that the moment it is less convenient for her. The suffering husbands, then, are better people. They are nicer, with Kel absolutely devoted (and Brett understandably less so, he doesn't get the acknowledgement he wants).

What probably makes this work is that these were established sketch characters before they got the show. The show is a way to explore them and give them more dimensions, but they are willing to become these characters, do what they need to keep it fun, and create a fun show that you need to grow with. Gina Riley especially pulls this off. She apparently doesn't appear much out of character, but seems to relish in being irredeemable. Her rare appearances as other characters are interesting in that sense - shop staff Trude is so different that it hides her identity well for a while.

And that's what shows through and makes the core characters of the show so wrong. They clearly love playing these characters, being the semi-slobs that we all want to be, but keep in control - while knowing those people who don't keep it in check and annoy you. An amazing feat, even if you need to watch from the start to allow it to build.

The fourteenth album: #14 Little Richard - Here's Little Richard

Enough jazz, time for something new! Little Richard - and the first track Tutti Frutti - has appeared in the songs list earlier, and that made the album one I looked forward to. It's so much more lively than the jazz from the previous few albums, and a lot more engaging.

The album feels partially gospel, taking in elements of that and doo wop, but putting it in a rock environment that I believe was still in its early days at this point. It makes music feel a lot faster and more upbeat, a definite plus that I am enjoying a lot.

The thirteenth album: #13 Machito - Kenya

The music style of Machito is described as Latin jazz, which feels like the right moniker. There's the musical excitement of Latin music with the horns and looseness of jazz. They're swinging songs, good to listen to (more so than other jazz albums). Not overly complicated, just pleasant.

The fourth classical recording: #3 Guillaume de Machaut - Ballades

I'm not sure I got the exact right recording for this, but I am not sure it matters. These songs are somewhere between a troubadour style and more sacred hymns, drawing inspiration from both - I suppose where the ballad form starts off. It's very pleasant and relaxing, not as aggresive as some earlier recordings were. As impressive as before is the layering, how a song is built without many instruments and by layering different voices on top of each other instead.