The thirty-eighth classical recording: #15 Orlande de Lassus - Motets
It's tricky to hear sometimes what separates one motet from the other and while de Lassus is credited with some specific innovations, but I can't say I detected them in the album mentioned - instead they were fairly staid, perhaps at time a bit faster than others, but not greatly so. There are probably good examples of his sense of humor, but I'm not good enough to find them in here.
The eighty-fifth TV show: #407 Mystery Science Theater 3000
MST3k has been a mainstay of our viewing for nearly a decade now, though not at great speed - we're still not past season five and so haven't seen all the different groups of actors. I have seen a lot of bad movies be made most bearable through the commentaries of Joel, Tom Servo and Crow, together with some bizarre sketches filling time around commercial breaks.
Aside from licensing, the original concept feels cheap - put a few people (or their puppet representation) in front of a film and have them comment. Improvised at first, but for the most part prewritten (and it's better that it was, so there weren't the quiet periods that punctate "season 0"). Somehow, these personalities connected, especially when you share the pop culture knowledge, and it feels like you're watching and riffing a movie with your friends - even if they are far more quick witted and funnier than you'd be. It's a great formula that's worked for some time.
But the characters themselves make an impact beyond the movies. The Mads - the bad guys who make Joel (or Mike) and the bots watch the movies are great joke fodder (and I already know I'll miss TV's Frank) and the sketches are great to watch. Sometimes they're more relevant to the movie, sometimes they're non sequitors that are just weirdly funny, and sometimes you get Crow doing a one man show of the Match game that gets dark. And yet, these characters are goofy enough to pull it all off.
The show recently got new seasons made with yet another new cast, and while that might have seemed off to some, they've shown these cast changes can work. Oddly enough, I suspect the reason here is the same as today's other TV show, Doctor Who - the show is malleable enough to fit around shifts in characters, but allows the basics to stay the same.
The eighty-fourth TV show: #79 Doctor Who (1963)
When doing a rewatch, it can be hard to pick a set of twenty episodes to watch of a show. More so when it ran for over twenty years, with several format changes, and stories are almost all multi parters. I tried to go with a four parter for each of the first five doctors - probably containing the better eras of the show.
And for quality, it will of course be a mixed bag - 26 seasons, with several stories each and several production crew changes, means that it goes up and down. It has endured though, and left an impact. There are a few factors in play: they have cast good Doctors, the one considered worst (Colin Baker) being led down by material, but shining when he got a chance to work with better (mostly after he left the show). Regeneration plays a big part as well - because they came up with a way to replace William Hartnell without ending the show, the doctor can change every few years, often in a way that reacts against what the previous performer did, and change everything around him.
By having leading men that could take on the part, and often with companions who could stand up to them, there's always something that helps them shine. At their best, when everything is firing on all cylinders, that becomes magic, highly entertaining and stretching a low budget to create a quality far higher than you'd expect.
When it's off, though, it's really off, and it's hard to drag yourself through those sections. The later seasons especially start focusing on fan continuity, which drags it down. Of course, it rarely approaches the spectacle of the new series, or the soap opera interactions, with characters being underwritten in comparison (thirty years and a change in budget standing in between), but it manages to bring something smaller scale that's as appealing at times. When it works, it brings you good sci fi fare, an action adventure with heart and a friendliness you don't get elsewhere.
The fifty-fourth book: #1009 Roxana - Daniel DeFoe
All these comics have distracted me from reading novels recently, not helped by the at times mixed quality of these. Still, Daniel DeFoe has delivered on these stories with most of these stories - Robinson Crusoe might, in the end, be one of his weakest.
Roxana is certainly mixed in that sense. Quite a bit of it is engaging, but there are several areas with descriptions that don't hold up for me. I'm not as interested in the details of the household or how they live their lives - it's the drama and the stories that interest me. Luckily, there are several places where that holds up, and while, similarly, dialogue is still somewhat stilted, it feels a lot more readable in the places where they don't have paragraph long discussions. It's an interesting ascent and descent through social ranks, although they are themes he's explored before. It's readable, but by now I'm looking forward to something that's a bit different.
The three hundred and fifty-fourth song: Silver Machine - Hawkwind
Wikipedia describes Silver Machine as "space rock" and Hawkwind as a space rock band, a subgenre I'd never heard of (but evidently that's just me). The minute long intro contains enough effects that I would have had that idea anyway and we get a fairly simple rocksong, uplifted by the odd intro. It's subdued, considering where Lemmy went afterwards, but it works well here to emphasize the weirdness of some of the music.
The three hundred and fifty-fifth song: Tumbling Dice - The Rolling Stones
Having just covered Jimi Hendrix for the album list, falling into the Stones' blues rock helps bring some things back around. It rocks more, but it feels loose, a bit more disjointed and not as produced - it feels like just the band hanging around recording a song (which is how it went). The appeal is in there, a song aimed at just the right tempo and working well to create a mood and feeling, one that isn't too hard, more a smaller party than a big concert song.
The three hundred and fifty-sixth song: Thirteen - Big Star
A beautiful rock ballad, it feels like the musics of a teenager - a thirteen year old at this time, slightly rebellious, very awkward, making his way through the world dealing with relationships, parents and everything that's happening. Small and constrained, the beautiful vocals layer on top of a voice that sounds about to break from the uncertainty in life. A beautiful slice of life.
The three hundred and fifty-seventh song: Big Eyed Beans from Venus - Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
I'm not sure where to place this next song. Captain Beefheart has always been eclectic and what stands out here is how loud his voice is compared to the backing track, his words being more important than everything else. It almost feels like it's spoken word, disjointed and loose, linked to the music but not always actually singing along. It feels like there's an almost intentional clash, music and lyrics both working together and fighting each other, but there's a winner in Captain Beefheart himself.
The three hundred and fifty-eighth song: Rocket Man - Elton John
With Candle in the Wind now being Elton John's most famous song, I feel I've never gotten an idea of what else he did. Rocket Man is a soft rock song that is melancholic and about the emptiness of space and living out there. It uses the synthesizer sparingly, but to great effect where it does, all adding to a sound that feels slightly out there and distant and the book's reference to the Radiophonic workshop feels incredibly accurate in places. There's something flowy in places and it feels right, showing the loneliness and emphasizing it.
The three hundred and fifty-ninth song: Mama Weer All Crazee Now - Slade
Inspired by the wreckage left after an audience riot after one of their concert, we get a hard rock, glam song that approaches metal and clearly wants to rile up the audience, involving them in the song, getting loud and getting them crazy. It feels like it's pandering, but in a way that suits the image they want to have portrayed here. I'm not sure it's quite as strong of an effect sitting at home, but live this would be amazing.
The three hundred and sixtieth song: Rocky Mountain High - John Denver
I feel like every once in every batch of songs, we get a "don't forget about folk or country" moment. Even with rock ballads in thi srun, the quieter folk guitars make for a welcome change, and my appreciation for it is one of the things i feel has grown while doing these lists. John Denver sounds clear and the appreciation of Colorado is quite infectious, taking you on that journey. It complains about the risk of it being spoiled, but also that great feeling of being out in and enjoying nature, one that I miss at times and want to go out and do.
The three hundred and sixty-first song: The Night - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
This feels like a throwback to the barbershop quartet, doo wop ish male groups, with a lead and several background singers, perfectly on key and with some instrumentation added. And Frankie Valli's powerful voice really adds in creating this atmosphere, one that's more aggressive and a bit darker than the genre implies. It would be a different song if this was a capella - something they could have pulled off, but the instruments make the sound a bit darker, a bit more ominous, and on the whole this feels like one of the ways these groups could have grown up.
The three hundred and sixty-second song: Reelin’ in the Years - Steely Dan
A happy, poppy rock song, there's something really uplifiting about this song, harmonies and decent, well produced music that takes a bit of hard rock, but keeps it simple, accessible and feel-good. There's some excellent chords in the guitar playing, but there's something about the lyrics that really work best for me.
The three hundred and sixty-third song: Always on My Mind - Elvis Presley
A song known for its many covers, it seems to be Elvis' one that made it to list, one of his last big hits, he gives a passionate recording as you would expect from him, but subsequent recording may have done it better. There's a bit of strength missing, it's not quite his, but the polish really shows even at this point. In a way, it's the end of an era. A lot of this comes from his experiences at the time - in particular his own divorce - although it doesn't quite show here. It's important in the story of Elvis... maybe not quite as much the song, although he brought it to the front.
The thirty-seventh classical recording: #471 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - The Sleeping Beauty
This was a late birthday present - my first trip to the ballet. We went to watch Sleeping Beauty, the last of the Tchaikovsky baleets we still needed to cover. And the skill of daners, on which the entire performance is focused, means that the music wasn't what I was paying as much attention to. Then again, it mixes, and one wouldn't exist without the other. What we get is a good set of music, with some recognisable motifs but mostly giving the dances enough room to breathe.
Seeing the dancers improves the visibility of the motifs a lot more - by seeing who's on stage, it's clearer who they are for. The variations do the same, and they do well, in places, to (for example) establish the different faeries. Although not what the list is for, this way of listening and watching really pulls it together - we'll see whether we can keep affording to do that.
The fourty-eighth comic: #95 Captain America
The other item finished today is our read through of Captain America. Only a limited part of the run of course, considering the amount of time it's been around, but having read the first return - after the Captain was unfrozen - we saw the character build, adjusting to a world he didn't grow up on and where he doesn't know anyone, with the memories of those he lost. It takes a while before it goes there, but when it does it's a welcome addition that moves the character from a generally goody two shoes to someone dealing with, it feels, some depression and a sense of loss. I believe it plays with the guilt further down the line, while still keeping up the action, and at this point, my hope is mostly that it can push that further as time goes on.
Beyond that, this is the first proper superhero story, and once it gets into ongoing storylines, it really builds well on them. For parts of this, Captain America shared a title with Iron Man, which got ahead of it in the soap operaish, more dramatic developments that go beyond taking out the bad guys. I know that's not always there, but it's clear that's what appeals to me most when reading these.
The one hundredth album: Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced
Listening to this album, Jimi Hendrix's blues background comes through a lot. Whlie the guitars make the songs sound like rock, and a lot of it surrounding fit that mold, it also has a speed that takes it closer to blues, and the vocals feel like a mix of blues and rock as well. The best songs are a mix between the two, creating this blues sound with a kick to it. We've heard the Rolling Stones do similar things in the past, this fits into that pattern.
But then May This Be Love pops up, a gentle ballad that sounds different from the other songs. The vocals are still there, but everything is softer and gentler, completely creating a different atmosphere. It's a welcome change, at a good point in the album, and shows the versatility of the entire thing.
The eighty-third TV show: #764 Outnumbered
I've been struggling how to approach this series. We've watched it before and enjoyed it. There are a bunch of good moments and it's quite recognisable - this is what life with kids looks like. At the same time, I've not been overly enthusiastic about watching it either. Why? I think part of it is that the show has a tendency to repeat similar beats and doesn't always bring something original to the table. That's fine in shorter stretches, but not when you binge a bunch of them. That's not because of the parents' plots. Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis are good, as expected, carrying whatever they need to do while having the right level of exasperation at the kids and their actions, while dealing with their grown up problems. Tyger Drew-Honey, as he's slightly older at the start of the series, gets more to do as well and continues to be a delight to watch. The level of awareness is greater, which means he's as game as any of the adults, which creates both fun and emotional situations.
Ben and Karen, the two younger kids, feel less strong. The show, at least early on, relies quite a bit on improvised reactions from the kids, not scripted. While handled quite well, it can hit a lot of the same notes, at times quite manic, and that gets quite exhausting - you keep hoping for something new, but it doesn't get there, while also not developing much through the episode. The later seasons get better at that, as the kids grow into their roles, but if you're watching it in order now, I think you might almost want to skip to later seasons.
For a first watch, though, it's a lot of fun, especially seeing the kids grow up and develop. They change away from their initial roles, but in the end, enough is recognisable throughout to make this a fun, if small scale comedy.
The eighty-second TV show: #591 Waking The Dead
When this came out of our bucket, we were quite excited by getting a show we've been looking to (re)watch for a long time. Waking the Dead follows a squad that investigates cold cases (often, but not always murder) that have had new leads discovered. They investigate, following a bunch of standard procedural leads, but as often eschewing the standards for other options. What helps is that we have a team with distinct disciplines here, a forensic scientist and psychological profiler who both work as major parts of the team (rather than being called in, as on so many other shows, or their work being done by regular detectives.
Now, for spoiler reasons, I've only covered the first team from the first four seasons - the change at the end of the fourth season (which I don't know about) is apparently a big change that I wouldn't want to know yet. This initial team, however, feel strong. Boyd feels like the tough cop at times, as the lead character he seems to have to be wrong, but moves forward to get things resolved. Grace and Frankie, the aforementioned psychologist and scientist are probably the two more interesting characters, and the ones you're rooting for. Slightly outside the chain of command, they're opinionated, less led by the needs of the case but more by the situation they see in front of them. They feel like strong personalities and the interaction between Boyd and the two of them often works really well. Mel, as the recently promoted cop, gets the brunt of the bad times, and so seems less secure - she seems less likely to call the others on their things or assert herself, which gets her in trouble at times. Spencer... is a bit of an old time cop, but he's mostly the work horse to get chores done, I never quite felt he was as distinct a character as the others.
The cases themselves have quite a mix too. Some are standard murder plots, though one where the different skills all tend to get used. Others are already solved murders, revisited for various reasons. I don't feel like there's always a twist, although some are there, and are good, and in fact it sometimes eschews the expected procedural twist. Then there are psychological explorations, where finding the culprit is not the most important thing, and the psychology behind the victims becomes more important. Breaking Glass, for example, was one of the episodes that won the show its international Emmy, and it the investigation into the mind of the victim, how he got to where he was, felt more interesting and important than finding the perpetrator, with even the final scene revolving around that. It feels far more natural.
There's a definite difference between season 1 and later seasons. Boyd becomes more tender, not just the angry cop from before. Mel seems a bit more certain. More important, the banter between the team becomes a lot better - it's a lot more natural and the show relies on it more to convey information. There's not as much lecturing and it's a lot more entertaining to watch. It feels like the heart of the show that really elevates it beyond just a procedural.
Still, I have many more episodes of this to watch and I'm looking forward to it - they're decent chunks of content that require more concentration than other shows, but have enough levity to not make it heavy viewing that would put me off.
The thirty-sixth classical recording: #279 Frederic Chopin - Ballades
Here's a different way of approaching it. Where we mostly listen to these songs online, often through Spotify, on a recent holiday to Chopin's homeland of Poland we went to a live concert. A talented pianist played a selection of works including Chopin's four ballades. The atmosphere of such a concert, with about 30 people in the room, felt quite different, more intimate as the pianist got into the music completely. The ballades made this even more impressive, as they sound complicated, mixing speeds and generally seeming full on. There are breaks in the music, but they're quite deliberate to lead up to a further theme. It's a wonderful variety in sounds that lead to amazing music that's enough to carry you away. I'm glad I got to see this live - it made it even more impressive.