The two hundred and twenty-fifth classical recording: #770 Karol Szymanowski - Violin Concerto no. 2
This concerto builds up to something epic, a large journey that makes you feel like you're flying through a nature landscape, enjoying the air and seeing it from high above. It swoops, going up and down, and creates this feeling of adventure, of both excitement and at times menace, loud to quiet as you explore.
The two hundred and twentieth TV show: #814 Better Off Ted
Sixteen years on, Better Off Ted's workplace comedy still feels right, with an grounded absurdism that fits with 30 Rock and other comedies of their day. The company being an evil multinational - literally inviting death machines - adds to the heightened feeling of the setting, even as everything else is still towards real life. At the same time, there are so many things that follow office politics we know from everyday life. The performances are all spot on. It's so good, it's clear the show was cancelled too soon.
The two hundred and nineteenth TV show: #17 Make Room for Daddy
Later known as the Danny Thomas show, this is always a vehicle for its leading man, a comedian here playing a nightclub entertainer... yeah, pretty much himself. It follows all the tropes you'd expect from a fifties sitcom, with the gender politics, a daddy who feels like he's right a bit too often (even when the viewpoint he represents doesn't sound right in the modern world) and things that wrap up too neatly. It doesn't help that every episode needs to include a song or two related to the topic, but otherwise often coming out of nowhere, and it mostly seems to be to meet the variety credentials. For msot, this will just feel too outdated to be worth it.
The one hundred and twelfth comic: #266 Corto Maltese: Ballad of the Salty Sea
Oh boy, this didn't do the job. Over the years, I had started to enjoy the black and white, European action based comics, the dramatic adventure stories like this. For Corto Maltese's first entry, however, it doesn't work. The lead character doesn't feature into the story as much for a long time, and is an enigmatic charaacter for longer - he knows more about the world, but seems intent on not letting us in. The real leads, instead are these cousins who get kidnapped and dragged around, but they lack agency for so much in the story that it isn't any more interesting. It just doesn't really add up to anything I find enjoyable. I'm due another story in the series, which I want to cover soon, and I only hope that'll work better.
The six hundred and fourteenth album: #614 Fishbone - Truth and Soul
It feels like Truth and Soul is an album that Fishbone was happy to record. There is a variation of styles - from punk to ska, with ballads and funk in different places, but there's an enthusiasm in each aspect of the performances that really strike me as a willingness to try everything and see where it goes. It's infectious, where you don't get bored listening to the album no matter what direction it veers off in.
The eight hundred fifty-ninth song: Given to Fly - Pearl Jam
There's a build in this track that almost sneaks up on you. The song starts as a ballad and the vocals feel like they stay that way, but there are crescendos in it that feel really powerful.
The eight hundred sixtieth song: Paranoid Android - Radiohead
Referenced as inspired by Bohemian Rhapsody, amongst others, I'd argue this is a more coherent work, with sections that properly attach. Both title and some of the lyrics invoke the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but there's also a genuine disorienting feeling running through the different emotions. It's haunting at times, depressed at others, with a total impression that stays incredibly strong.
The eight hundred sixty-first song: Come to Daddy (Pappy Mix) - Aphex Twin
I've never thought about the link between metal and electronic music, but the distorted vocals feel like they could be straight in a metal beat, both lyrically and with its vocal distortion. The underlying music produces that unsettling effect using purely electronic sampling, but the hardcore vibe really hits here. It's dark and unsettling, not something that works for a casual listen, but the haunting darkness works quite well in the mood it sets. It wouldn't be my choice in a club, but you can see how it would fit.
The eight hundred sixty-second song: Never Ever - All Saints
The contrast to all of this is this lost love ballad, lovely vocals over a sparse arrangement instead focussing on the harmonies from the group. It's a lovely combination, really sweet even if it's pretty sad here.
The eight hundred sixty-third song: Song 2 - Blur
There's something really giddy about this over the top punk song - the guitar is on point, the lyrics suitably simple and open to meet the expectations of the way post-punk poppy tracks came in. Even so, there's the elements of a parody in here, going so over the top to the point that it works on its own. It's still gorgeous and glorious.
The eight hundred sixty-fourth song: Time of Your Life (Good Riddance) - Green Day
Green Day is one of the bands that cemented my love for post-punk of the era. I'm not heavily into the scene or anything like that - selling out discussions don't really appeal to me - but there's some accessible in Green Day's emotions, their anger, and their engagement with modern topics. Time of Your Life hits that personal level, a ballad I want to sing along to and lyrics that probably hit home for most. And the strings... the strings elevate it to be that much more impactful.
The eight hundred sixty-fifth song: Broken Heart - Spiritualized
While the topic of this song is clear from the title, the way it's brought out is incredibly impactful. The string orchestra plays slowly, creating a depression that comes through in the lyrics. They're simple, but the depression is so clear in the sound and tone of it that it's unmistakable and bores straight into your heart.
The eight hundred sixty-sixth song: Into My Arms - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
There's an emotional core in Into My Arms that builds itself around its religious views. It's a sweet and loving interpretation that creates a loving ballad that is powerful because it doesn't try to say or do too much.
The six hundred and thirteenth album: #613 The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues
This is a pretty straight forward folk rock album - it's got a good mix of harder, rockier tracks and more folksy sounds, but it still has that feeling of folk supported with a rock instrument palette most of the time. It's a nice sound, one that leads to a number of earworms. It's a charming album, one that accomplishes what it wants really well, and that is just incredibly listenable.
The two hundred and twenty-fourth classical recording: #759 Francis Poulenc - Concerto for Two Pianos
This is a good piece - energetic, two pianos playing together while the orchestra around them encourages them on, leading to crescendos and high energy, impressive sounds. It's complex, but manageable in size and shape, and it hits its targets so well.
The six hundred and twelfth album: #612 Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man
I like to think I know the folk pop of Leonard Cohen and what I'd expect, but the synth-heavy start of the album feels more modern and different from what you expect. The album lyrically still goes between socially conscious songs and love ballad songs, and Leonard Cohen's dark vocals are what you'd expect, but the orchestration varies between tracks in a way that makes each of them a lot more interesting.
The eight hundred fiftieth song: Woke Up This Morning - Alabama 3
Woke Up This Morning comes out of nowhere. There's the nineties dance beat, of course, but the near-spoken rap at the start is a long lecturing blues ramble that gets very little support, which then goes into a more sensual soul song with choral support and a lot more layers. It's something that works quite well and even gets a bit catch, but it's also a fusion I don't think I've really heard before - something you could call a triumph in its own right.
The eight hundred fifty-first song: Block Rockin’ Beats - The Chemical Brothers
Block Rockin' Beats is a classic track - at least for me who, as discussed before, grew up in this era. The hook is catchy and the dance track works for it. I don't care as much for the repetitiveness of some of these tracks, but there are some real highlights in this, especially when it doesn't go too much into a storm of sounds.
The eight hundred fifty-second song: Breakdown - Mariah Carey
The gentle vocals of Mariah Carey work to create a sweet R&B song, a love song that is faster than a ballad would be, but still keeps things simple and quiet. Its hip hop layers work well as support, but Carey's vocals keep feeling much more dominant.
The eight hundred fifty-third song: Chan Chan - Buena Vista Social Club fat. Compay Segundo
When seeing this was a Cuban track, it made more sense to have this throwback here, a gentle Spanish song with its flamenco influences that stays calm throughout. In many places, it would be too much, but you can see how the cultural differences would lead to it developing there, as well as forming a good example of Cuban music. It never penetrated, though, and I can see why - this just doesn't seem to have enough to it.
The eight hundred fifty-fourth song: Between the Bars - Elliott Smith
Between the Bars is a sad ballad, featuring Elliott Smith's wafer thin, delicate vocals on a simple guitar sound. The emotion and depression runs high just listening to it and it's a downer mood that just really grabs you. It's lovely, small and precious.
The eight hundred fifty-fifth song: Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) - Backstreet Boys
And with this, the next boyband hits the scene. In my mind, it feels like Backstreet Boys were the ones dominating at the time, after Take That had disappeared off the scene. This track shows why it works. The production is big and bombastic, grabbing your attention. The vocals feel a bit challenging for its time, the hip hop feel meshing incredibly well with the more traditional vocals and call and response, while staying a bit sexual as well. It's an engaging mix and one that feels produced to perfection to meet what it needs to.
The eight hundred fifty-sixth song: 4,3,2,1, - LL Cool J feat. Method Man, Redman, Canibus & DMX
Back to some more darker rap, not quite as dark as gangster rap gets, but it certainly still feels more serious. Lyrically, it's mostly the drug references and challenges to each other that stand out, while the music stays straight forward. There's a lot of music from the rapping, and it's a style done well here - even if it's not my kind.
The eight hundred fifty-seventh song: Simarik - Tarkan
The late nineties did feature some language crossover hits, and I remember how much Simarik hit. It's got a good beat, some feel good sounding lyrics (not that you'd understand a lot of it) and its fusion of modern pop with Turkish influences sounds like it's modern without sacrificing anything Turkish about it either, making it an excellent showcase as well as a cracking song.
The eight hundred fifty-eighth song: Spice Up Your Life - Spice Girls
The appeal of the Spice Girls is still here in this song, an upbeat track by five women in control, not challenging but just feeling in charge. It's a party, it's something you're enjoying and it's a sound that really just works, even if the lyrics mostly don't make much sense.