The sixth TV show: #226 Saturday Night Live

I've been trying to keep up with Saturday Night Live before, and trying to go through its backlog, so this was mostly extra good fun. I tried to pick out some episodes from different eras of the show to see how things changes, what happened in the different eras and how good it stays.

Is it worth than it ever was? Not really. There are up and down seasons, but it desn't feel like it's some consistent downwards trend. The original cast was incredibly strong, and the supposedly worst episode was dreadful. but for the most part episodes stay funny and it's always worth trying for that show that really hits it home.

In a sense, it's the cast rotation that keeps it fresh. When they stay too long, patterns become ingrained and characters become stale. Seeing a new cast member come in may mean they disappear soon, not making an impact, but others stay and bring in their own new ideas. In the time we've watched actively, people like Taran Killam, Kate McKinnon and TIm Robinson have delighted us, but just watching the sample episodes have shown us so much more - just seeing Julia Louis-Dreyfus almost get started is already interesting.

The eighty-fourth song: Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On - Jerry Lee Lewis

The rockabilly sound still seems to define a lot of early rock. The larger reliance on piano over guitars still feels noticeable here and while there's a lot of energy in the song, it isn't quite rocking out yet. Part of the appeal is allegedly in the performance, making this song more popular once it aired on TV, and that comes across in places, but makes it oddly subdued in places here.

The eighty-fifth song: That'll Be the Day - Buddy Holly & The Crickets

It's been a while since we got what seems best described as pop rock. The guitars and drums are there, but there's a bit more of a focus in this song on harmonic vocals, more reminiscent of Beatles songs. It sounds good and happy though, decent enough if a bit dated now.

The eighty-sixth song: Little Darlin' - The Diamonds

Back to doo wop, this feels like a bit of throwback to earlier songs. It sounds incredibly good, though, well produced and performed. It's quite over the top, in the way it uses the louder instruments and in how large the delivery of the vocals comes across.

The eighty-seventh song: Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis

Surely this must have one of the more well known openings in music? This already feels a bit more rocky than the previous song, with a lot of excitement, and he sounds pretty seductive even when you just hear him sing these lyrics.

The eighty-eighth song: When I Fall in Love - Nat King Cole

A ballad, to come down from all these rock songs and fun times.It's a sweet, smooth song, making me sway subconciously. It sounds good and draws me into its own world, convincingyou and again communicating the slow fall into love so completely.

The eighty-ninth song: You Send Me - Sam Cooke

I just saw Sam Cooke described as the inventor of soul - showing off my ignorance of music that I didn't really know that. This song sounds really good, Sam Cooke has a great voice, and the arrangement makes good use of all elements. The whole thing sounds a bit more upbeat than I was expecting, but it also sounds different from what came before. It's smoother than rock, quieter than pop, but happier than blues. Something new is emerging - not quite there yet from what we know now, but music is clearly changing.

The fifth book: #5 The Water Margin (Outlaws of the Marsh)

That was an interesting read. The book felt more readable than some earlier works, certainly with less formulaic sentence structure as seen in, say, Arabian Nights, or the more historical focus of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Instead, the 100 chapter epic has some strong characters, at times somewhat stereotypical, but actually quite well developed. They are also, however, involved, in more interesting adventures, with a lot of action elements and stories, and clearly written for entertainment. 

The novel started getting better as I got further into it. The introduction stories, bringing the characters together, last for the first half, and are mixed quality - depending on how well the character was defined and what uses he had. When the band has gathered and goes out, however, the stories become more fun, and while the battles near the end get more repetitive, there's a great number of more interesting stories in betwee

The seventy-fifth song: Honey Hush - The Johnny Burnette Trio

There's something odd about the sound of this song. It's rocky, but almost derivative in that sound, and the rockabilly sound is somehow similar to Elvis, but with a clearer vocal sound. If I heard of it today, I'd feel it was derivative. The fifties lyrics also feel tame for a large part - old fashioned in part, while trying to be edgy in places. It's the muted guitar that stands out though, the first try with a fuzz guitar.

The seventy-sixth song: I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash

One of the minor interesting things about the song are the key changes - introduced by a hum because Cash needs to get them right - that make each verse sound different, and imbue it with a slightly different atmosphere. It sounds simple, though, no complex lyrics, but something that appeals. There's vulnerability in it, but not overly much.

The seventy-seventh song: Knoxville Girl - The Louvin Brothers

Another country song, coming from a murder ballad, a term I hadn't heard of before this song. It's actually a fairly dark story, something that doesn't come quite through in the melody, which is happy although it has a darker undertone. It's fascinating to hear as well.

The seventy-eighth song: Ella - Jose Alfredo Jimenez

Soothing Mexican vocals, this song written by an at the time untrained Jose Alfredo Jimenez (working as a waiter) is slower, with a mostly simple orchestration - mostly focusing on violin parts - bringing out the deep vocals, one where I only understand some of the words, but where the love song qualities come out.

The seventy-ninth song: Take My Hand, Precious Lord - Mahalia Jackson

I am not sure where my thoughts on gospel go. The voice and singing sound good, but as a song I'm not sure it really works for me. It's sweet and sad, and lovely in that setting, but some songs don't quite connect emotionally, and that's the case here.

The eightieth song: Folson Prison Blues - Johnny Cash

While Johnny Cash's previous song was very vulnerable and personal, Folsom Prison Blues sounds different. While not a light subject - he killed someone "just to watch him die", a memorable line - the music sounds a bit more upbeat, a bit of freedom as he's traveling by train. It's good, really, it works well. Knowing that this will influence many future songs bodes well.

The eighty-first song: I Put a Spell on You - Screamin' Jay Hawkins

My reaction to the first few bars: This sounds old fashioned and too orchestrated. The vocals make up for this, however, sounding weird, creepy and off beat. He sounds slightly insane, which makes it interesting to listen to. It apparently fits his performance style, the closest I've heard to a horror rock song. I would want to stay away from him - at least the character he's performing in the song. As a performance it sounds like it would be more interesting.

The eighty-second song: Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody - Louis Prima

Two songs pretty much always joined together in this medley, swing is still coming hard (a gentler alternative to rock - probably more palatable for the parents?). It sounds good, featuring a group that seems like they're mostly having fun making music together.

The eighty-third song: Rock Island Line - Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group

Almost more of a spoken word song, we get anohter train song - one that speeds up (it feels) as the train does, the slow delivery transforming a verse in into a fast and happy song that becomes pretty impressive to keep up with. You can imagine how this would have fired up the imagination of players, tieing into the obsession with beats per minute that came around about four decades later.

The fifth TV show: #476 Iron Chef

I don't really watch cooking shows that often - they would usually be filler for me, and, well, I have enough to watch anyway. Iron Chef had some work to win me over, though.

It did. It did for a large part because it's not about teaching you recipes or showing ordinary people cook. Instead it's the best of the best - the best chefs in Japan as the iron chefs, challenged by other chefs from Japan and around the world. They're having fun creating new recipes and being creative, while still delivering quality. It's masters at work.

Then there's the dubbing. Originally a Japanese series, the show was dubbed for American audiences. This is slightly camp - a feature of the show anyway, with the host being rather flamboyant and introductions being appropriately over the top - with the writers not going too far, but the sports commentating style adding to a slightly absurd atmosphere. It's a lot of good fun.

The tenth comic: #564 Sandman

I've been interested in this series for a while, a comic penned by Neil Gaiman (who I normally rate quite high), about Dream, Morpheus, the Sandman, or what other name you want to call him. Set - technically - in the DC universe, although that doesn't seem to matter after the first few volumes.

As much as the main character is one of the most powerful beings in its universe, only some of its storylines are big. A lot of them are about things that happens in dreams, where Dream is an observer or interferes only at the end. It allows for interesting character pieces, often involving the supernatural, and exploring small parts of the world. Others are bigger setpieces, still feeling like they're the same scale, but involving things like a takeover of hell.

It looks amazing and reads amazing and to be honest, I'll just keep reading.

The sixty-sixth song: Blue Monday - Fats Domino

This song feels a bit more modern, rock having had its influence on what would be a more bluesy R&B song in the past. It mostly comes through in the instruments, but either way sounds pretty good.

The sixty-seventh song: Burundanga - Celia Cruz

Back to the Caribbean sounds of salsa, part of the thing I am (to be honest) thankful of is that the recording quality is better than we had before - sound issues don't plague us anymore. It brings out the melodic vocals really nicely, a polished dancing sound (even if the lyrics may not suggest it - although apparently even Spanish speakers struggle with them...).

The sixty-eighth song: Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) - Ella Fitzgerald

What a polished song about sex. The lyrics are good, memorable and funny, with some simple music, but it's the vocals that really do it. Sounding sophisticated, it gives the topic some class, although at the same time there are points where Ella Fitzgerald almost starts loving. She probably sang it with a smile, and deservedly so. Still a classic.

The sixty-ninth song: I've Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra

Another classic, another love song, although not quite as sexual, this song is Frank Sinatra doing what he does best. It sounds charming just through the sound of his voice, drawing you in with a smile.

The seventieth song: Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye - Ella Fitzgerald

The third in this trio of Cole Porter classics, this is probably my favourite out of them. There's something slightly dream-like about the music, with a refrain that just sweeps you up. The music is nice and it manages to partially echo that feeling of being in love - a bit unreal and a bit dreamlike, happy and sad at the same time.

The seventy-first song: Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps

A slightly simple rock song, it still has the lower rhythm of older songs, but the musical tones are there. The guitars sound good, the vocals feel slightly less 'pure'. I guess the rockabilly style is what draws it that way, and it makes for a good sound. And yeah, it's almost like you're listening to the next singer...

The seventy-second song: Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley

Our first Elvis song is certainly there, although it's not quite the music and sound we get for him later, it's before his rock really jumped in. What's nice about it here is that it shows off his voice far better, the deep tones moving through you and really hitting you. It's a morbid song, not going to deep, but balancing the sound quite nicely.

The seventy-third song: Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino

I was only vaguely aware of this song. It sounds good, good music with nice vocals that work nicely and tell their own story.

The seventy-fourth song: Hound Dog - Elvis Presley

This really feels like the Elvis sound we're used to, harder, more aggressive, loud and rockabilly. It sounds good and loud, as intended and influenced by Elvis's mood at the time. The king has arrived.

The fourth TV show: #77 Dinner For One

There's a bunch of television traditions around the world, with plenty of Christmas specials and specific programming. The most common (outside of, it seems, English speaking countries) is the broadcast of Dinner For One, a roughly 18 minute long British sketch that was recorded for German television and spread around the globe - landing it the record for most repeated broadcast.

Is it funny? Sure. The repetition doesn't get old and escalates nicely. The performances are good and the story is set up well. I could see myself watching it a second time at some point. But it doesn't seem like something I'd make a tradition out of (although I'm not one to stick to traditions anyway). Remarkable, I suppose, more for its view of theater and its longevity than its comedy value.

The fifth book: #5 The Water Margin (Outlaws of the Marsh)

Time for a pre-Christmas update, now work has ended and I won't have a commute to read during. 

Outlaws of the Marsh, as the translation I'm reading calls teh book, still has the feeling of a collection of tales, gathered and written so they link together - as far as I've read, the band of outlaws is forming, with different people joining in order, each with their story. It's not Arabian Nights-style individual tales, but I do get the feeling some things were merged.

Another notable feature is the repetition of themes. It's expected in stories of this size, but there are some clear overlaps. The phrase "About this we will say no more" is used often, useful, I suppose, but not something that is needed in a tale like this (just don't mention it again). There are plenty of examples of drugged wine and people who can fight through their drunkenness. It's not as egregious as in earlier books, as if literature is outgrowing, but that makes the cases where it does happen stand out more.

Still an entertaining work so far, and I must admit I'm curious what the 'end game' is.

The third TV show: #789 Breaking Bad

I was already watching Breaking Bad, based on the recommendations of a lot of friends and general buzz. Two seasons in, I've reached the minimum episode count, and I'm starting to see some of the developments. A lot more has already been written about the journey of the protagonist - moving from the likeable guy who needs the help to someone who is dragged deeper into the world of drug dealing - an exploration by the creators of a character who becomes less likeable as time goes on.

It does so incredibly well, positioning character so that (while you understand their point of view) you see how they get to Walter and how it influences his decisions, encourages his secrets and pushes him on.

It really is one of the best series made recently, deserving the praise it got. Accessible without talking down, setting up an interesting story centered around anti heroes. And with a large number of great actors, a cast that cannot be dismissed.