The one hundred seventy-first album: #171 Scott Walker - Scott 4
While, at mentioned when I discussed Scott 2, he previously covered the likes of Jacques Brel songs as well as his own songs, on his fifth solo album he recorded only songs he wrote himself. They're the same type of chansons (or related), with the baroque production of the previous album applying here. However, as the songs were written for it, they blend even better - big sounds that support the erudite vocals, with Scott Walker's deep voice forming a base line for the track.
While there is some similarity in the speed and feel of most of these songs, it's mixed up in Hero Of the War, which feel far more upbeat and surprises at the change of pace. It helps to make a more aggressive statement as well, but also serves as an introduction to that side's more powerful songs. It doesn't keep up the pace, but it's a gradual fall.
The album is a fairly big production, but it hides it by blending it and keeping a few elements to the front rather than overwhelming it. It's a lovely album and the type of singer songwriter album that I hope I'll keep hearing as other, louder genres rise to the front.
The one hundred twenty-second TV show: #6 What's My Line
While I don't think I hold much hope for a lot of these early shows, when we were looking for What's My Line, we tried some fragments and enjoyed it. It became an easy pick now and we've been thoroughly enjoying it now. The idea is somewhat simple - celebrities attempt to guess a person's job or line, or try to determine the identity of a celebrity guest. They do this through asking yes or no questions and lose their turn if they say no. Ten no answers and the guest wins, which happens often enough. What sets the show apart is both that the panel plays incredibly seriously - at times they know exactly what to go for - and how they interact. It feels like a pretty formal show - male guests wear dinner jackets and the ladies lovely dresses, at times with gloves. The panel is addressed as Mr. ... or Mrs. ... by the moderator. At the same time, they are familiar enough with each other to banter and tease each other. It's a lot of fun to watch, both to see the game being played and see these players in action and it's all a great feel good show... available on Youtube right now to make it easier.
The seventy-fifth comic: #695 Yu Gi Oh
In the mean time, I've been reading Yu Gi Oh, which has been an interesting experience. I've only seen bits of the anime series and so came into it knowing there's a card game and some of the cards it features, but I've never paid too much attention and would be more familiar with games like Magic the Gathering that this is based on. Reading the manga is an odd experience then, as the card game barely appears in the first set of volumes. Instead, Yugi, the title character, solves an ancient puzzle that awakens a second personality in him that's good at games, and can trigger punishments for losing games. The first set of episodes is about him taking revenge on bad people and righting wrongs through games as he slowly takes on longer arcs and develops a set of recurring antagonists, as well as a mythology. Around the tenth volume, this picks up further as the card game takes over in the longer Duelist Kingdom arc, which revolves around these themes all using the card game, which pretty much has the only focus at this point.
The division is quite clear in my mind, and as the popular card game becomes the focus on the series, my interest goes down. There's something interesting about the different variations and parodies of popular games that appear and how they get visualized, as well as the punishments related to that. The card game starts off quite interesting, especially when the rules are quite loose, but they quickly start following a similar pattern: the opponent has a trick or somewhat of a cheat they use, Yugi or another protagonist is forced in a corner because of it, but because they trust in the cards they draw a card that wins them the game at the last moment. It's a fine device when used occasionally, but here it feels exhausting, with nobody playing fair and the flow of the series becoming predictable. I gave up at the start of the second arc, as it seemed clear that's how it continued, and I think that's the right point to do it if that arc doesn't interest you. Start at the beginning, but be prepared for the story's quality to drop.
The one hundred seventieth album: #170 The Fairport Convention - Liege & Lief
The second Fairport Convention album on the list starts off with what feels like a statement. While Come All Ye has its folk origins musically, the lyrics feel like they hide more modern concepts - rolling minstrels not being a phrase I'd expect in a folk song - which also defines the presence of rock instruments in the traditional-sounding music. Most of the remaining songs are traditional poems arranged by (part of) the band, which works well - the lyrics are mostly from poems I don't know, but the soft rock sound combines well with them and we get a nice tune overall. It's quite relaxing music, but in a way that hits deeper, and in a way that I can stomach better than pure folk.
The one hundred sixty-ninth album: #169 Leonard Cohen - Songs from a Room
There's something sweet and melancholic about the folk music on this album. Recently, the folk music has mostly been folk rock, with some throwbacks from Fairport Convention, but Leonard Cohen takes us back to a man and a guitar (and some other instruments). The songs feel modern, but unadorned, gentle, with a message, and incredibly pleasant to listen to. It's nothing complex, but the lyrics work well with a calm confidence that I really felt.
The one hundred sixty-eighth album: #168 King Crimson - In the Court Of the Crimson King
After listening to the title track of this album for the songs list, I have been looking forward to this album - the evocative song made me look forward to a full album of that. The collection of five lengthier prog rock songs, each of which invokes its own mood and creates a small story, complete with named subsections like chapters of a story. Moonchild, for example, starts with Dream, an ethereal song that feels like floating in a dream, then leads into a lengthy improvised section called The Illusion - the first part working better than the improvised second half.
The album is effective in its setting of mood and it kept me interested throughout, bringing in different elements each time. The final track, Court of the Crimson King, stays the most effective. This is both because of its use of the storytelling to its best effect, and because it avoids the vocal distortion some other tracks have that dilute the message. It feels well constructed - like the rest of the album, but even tighter, and it really is the best example of what the album can do.
The one hundred twenty-first TV show: #864 The Walking Dead
I feel like the TV show's Walking Dead has much of the same failings as its comic counterpart. While it starts off as an interesting take on the genre, it gets quite involved in its own hype and goes for violence and shock over story telling. For that, it feels like it starts off interesting, but some people are too easily killed while we stick with others I don't care about. It's well done, but after a while just doesn't hold up.
The one hundred twentieth TV show: #866 Maison Close
Some shows just never connect with you. Maison Close is a show recommended as [art of the revival of French high quality drama, coincidentally launching around the same time as Game of Thrones. It has the same propensity of soft core pornography, as you'd expect from a show set in a brothel. However, it never really captured us like Game of Thrones did or, indeed, as its contemporary Les Revenants did. I don't care about the characters - most of them aren't unlikeable, but there's nothing that I find myself connecting to. The circumstances are, at times, dire, but I view it with some sort of emotional detachment. There are horrible scenes and people are abused, but it's done to tell a story I can't get invested in.
The one hundred sixty-seventh album: #167 The Kinks - Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
There's an odd anti-authoritarian bent through the songs of the Kinks. Where previously we saw them somewhat celebrate/mock village life, this album feels like a commentary on society - the subtitle is quite accurate in how the album feels.There's an underlying story in here, but feels like a strong commentary on the decline of the Britsh empire going on at the time, unavoidable trends that were happening and how people deal with it. It's not a criticism on them, but it feels like it's unavoidable while they try to live their life in a way that makes them comfortable (which includes some denial).
Although some of the songs have a Dylan influence, the music is closer to rock music, sounding more up beat and bigger. Some songs use a lot of sound effects, while the guitar melodies feel more evocative. In the end there's a good, happy feeling from it - sometimes masking, I suppose, the real problems, but it makes for a more pleasant casual listne. It's never too dark, but that's not the tone I'd expect from the Kinks anyway. Instead, it's fine and fun, serving the lyrics well without making it feel too serious.
The seventy-fifth book: #64 Castle Rackrent - Maria Edgeworth
Reading up about the history behind the novel puts a bunch of it into perspective. The novel describes the life of four owners of the titular Castle Rackrent and its nearby lands and their walk through life, through the eyes of their steward's father who both works to keep things together and, in the end, ends up profiting from it as well. It takes a bit of time to get used to - I didn't really really get a hold of it until the second owner, a litigous figure whose life has some interesting descriptions as a result, and it draws you in more as we go through time as Jason, the steward, gains control.
What's interesting isn't just the story of these people, but the insight into landowners of the day, filled with traditon that both exploited tenants a titme, but also caused hardship on the landowners. It didn't help that it seems like it was updated to support the union between the Ireland and the UK, which made this group look rather more foolish. Even so, as a historical document with some truth behind it, reading it was interesting enough to make you get a good insight in what was going at the time and how different members of landowners treated their responsibilities.
The one hundred sixty-sixth album: #166 The Grateful Dead - Live/Dead
The Grateful Dead's Live/Dead clocks in at a "healthy" 75 minutes, with the first track, Dark Star, clocking in at 23 minutes. It's an extended jam around the original two minute song that has a tendency to fade into the background after a while. Althought this would have been different on vinyl, I didn't spot the change between this and St. Stephen, which also has a longer jam session included in the song. St. Stephen's lyrics, at least, stand out more and make for a more interesting story.
The nature of the jams meansthat the songs continue to blur together - while their core may be more unique, there aren't enough tricks in here to separate one ten minute jam from another fifteen minute jam. Perhaps it doesn't help that this is fairly jazzy rock as well, not the best of genres if you want to make an impression. While the core of each song stands out - Turn On Your Love Light even has some crowd sounds - it just doesn''t work as an album unless you already know you're into it.