The six hundred and eighty-second album: #682 A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
The hip hop of A Tribe Called Quest is hitting different somehow, even though it follows from everything before. It has the more upbeat, sample-filled sound of earlier hip hop, including some clear references to other songs, but tones down the 'wackiness' in favour of a more story telling vibe, one that puts a message in place without getting too caught up in one thing, whether it's a tale about a lost wallet or a commentary on safe sex. It's an engaging album that keeps hitting its points.
The six hundred and eighty-first album: #681 Sinead O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
This album is a collection of sweet, sensible folk songs, a poppy mix with some political and societal commentary included. The performance is strong and, most important, intense, with the emotions coming through in every line. It's a challenging album at times, but it's also just as often sweet and lovely to listen to, even if it always feels like there's some sadness and rage there
The two hundred and forty-sixth classical recording: #892 Leonard Bernstein - Serenade
While the connection to Plato's Symposium is a bit too abstract for me, the music of this serenade is lovely, delicate and sweet for the most part, never overwhelming the senses and feeling like they could be the accompaniment to something.
The six hundred and eightieth album: #680 Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
Putting aside lyrical content, which is a mix of things I can't comment on and things that I don't agree with, it's the musical accomplishment to focus on here. A lot of the music is heavily condensed samples, in a way that works as a backing track but gets a bit much for more prominent samples. The raps are fairly impressive, the aggression at the right level, but the contrast between the styles of Chuck D and Flavor Flav is quite notable and can clash unnecessarily in some places.
The six hundred and seventy-ninth album: #679 LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
I'm getting a better feeling for the development of hip hop and rap through this era. While far from the gangsta rap that is coming up, this feels closer to the modern sound, the fun times of a lot of albums replaced by something deeper without going fully dark. LL Cool J's lyrics are articulate, with a lot of variety and more content when the song asks for it, but also with the more 'fun' rap battle rhymes. It's fun and listenable, accessible while still having personality to it.
The six hundred and seventy-eighth album: #678 Jane's Addiction - Ritual De Lo Habitual
Ritual De Lo Habitual is an album of energetic rock tracks, that post punk sound with an upbeat rhythm and shouty lyrics that feel quite positive, with the metal influences more restrained and more of a lighter rock feel throughout the tracks. It's more accessible than it could be, with a lot of variations on the basic sound of the tracks, but overall it hits home pretty well regardless of whether it's more accessible alt rock or goes for more of a metal feel.
The two hundred and fourty-second TV show: #663 The Mighty Boosh
How real can a sophomore slump season get? The Mighty Boosh's first season was a fun surreal comedy, with some good recurring bits that pushed it too far every once in a while, but it generally worked. The third season builds on that - slightly more through lines, more different roles for the actors, but the surreal core that still works well. The middle season, howeve,r, doesn't work as well. The setting has less to go on - the zoo of the first season and shop of the third grounds it, but the second season misses a lot of that. The acting is as much of a problem, though. The performances were never the best, but the second season relies a lot more on Michael Fielding's Naboo. While he probably has a bigger role behind the scenes, his quite flat performance works better as a minor side character than carrying large parts of the storylines like in that season. It requires a lot of confidence to pull off the comedy in the show, and while Julian Barrett and Noel Fielding can pull it off, as well as the support of Rich Fulcher and Richard Ayode, there are points in the show where it lacks this confidence, and it is to its detriment.
The six hundred and seventy-seventh album: #677 Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
There isn't necessarily a lot of unexpected music on this gangsta rap album, in that it has the music and sampling you would expect from it. It also feels like a personal album - while it addresses a lot of political issues and the unwillingness to fix problems, it feels based in his own experiences more than anything, which makes for a powerful statement in an aggressive set of music.
The six hundred and seventy-sixth album: #676 Neil Young with Crazy Horse - Ragged Glory
It's amazing in a way how long Neil Young has retained relevance. The country-inspired rock sounds aren't entirely of this time, but even so the tracks don't sound out of place and the album is all pretty enjoyable, there's really nothing to complain about here.
The six hundred and seventy-fifth album: #675 George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1
As much as Listen Without Prejudice has a number of smooth R&B-inspired pop tracks and some tracks that do well on the dance floor, it pays off to listen well to the lyrics of the album. There's something more personal about it, whether it's a deeper love song or struggles with how the expectations of fame evolve.d Knowing his later history, it hits harder, but it's hard to ignore the soulful sound that runs through here in the first place. The tracks really give us a chance to focus on this, for predictably good results.