The six hundred and forty-second album: #642 Spacemen 3 - Playing With Fire
The recreational drug-fuelled rock track of Spacemen 3 flirts with different types of rock. A track like Revolution feels as punk as it can get, while Suicide is an extended hard rock riff and Lord Can You Hear Me is a sipmle ballad. It's often more relaxed than other tracks, with a definite stoner vibe, but there are moments where it feels more harrowing too, like in the aforementioned Suicide.
The one thousand and eighth song: Super Bass – Nicki Minaj
It still feels odd to move from Queen Latifah's debut album yesterday to today's modern rap song, where the rap is at a speed no music was in at the time. I don't love Nicki Minaj's style, but musically this sounds good, the skill is there and it's impressive how it all fits together into a really great and memorable track
The one thousand and ninth song: 212 – Azaelia Banks
On the other side, Azaelia Banks' mechanical rap goes the other way. The lyrics are clear, the references come often and the mechanical beat stands out against the more flowing style. It's precise, in a way that works quite well.
The one thousand and tenth song: Written On The Forehead – PJ Harvey
The slow build up of this pop song focuses on PJ Harvey's light vocals, tuned to sound disconcerting as it addresses a world on fire. It embraces a fatalistic view on the world, in a way that's unsettling but also attractive.
The one thousand and eleventh song: Video Games – Lana Del Rey
The dreamy, distant sound of Lana Del Rey's voice sets the atmosphere for the song, a languid sound that sets up a relationship that's unsatisfying but also comfortable, something sweet but not in a way that feels entirely right. Are you happy there? It's just not clear, but the song sounds so seductive still.
The one thousand and twelfth song: Holocene – Bon Iver
Even more ethereal, Holocene doesn't really do much, but its sparse instruments, soft vocals and distant sound create a distant atmosphere that sets a beautiflu, longing sound. It's small but also just lovely.
The one thousand and thirteenth song: Death To My Hometown – Bruce Springsteen
After decades, Bruce Springsteen can still send a message, as this seems to have, one that continues to comment on mid-western American life. It's removed from me - both the setitng and the impact of the music - but the power is still in there, even more with the folk bend this track takes it back down with.
The one thousand and fourteenth song: Happy – Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams' feels simpler, but also gives you a song that can have its own impact. It doesn't feel like there are many songs just about being happy - especially in this era - but it is such a simple tracks that gets you clapping along and feeling a bit better - more than doing what the track sets out to do.
The one thousand and fifteenth song: Digital Witness – St. Vincent
St. Vincent's art pop style works to its advantage here to create a new sound. The song combines an electronic pop sound, a lot of brass and lyrics that don't allude to as much to create an elegant and enticing mix of a song.
The one thousand and sixteenth song: Two Weeks – FKA Twigs
The dark backing track for this song creates a counter balance to FKA Twigs' light vocals, supporting the anger of the lyrics that wouldn't otherwise come through. It sounds like it could be sweet, but the amount of swearing in this plays counter to that. It's a large, gorgeous composition that's at work here.
The one thousand and seventeenth song: Lazaretto – Jack White
There's a lot of chaos in this rock song, throwing everything at it to create a noise that doesn't feel like it belongs in this era with a mix of styles that it keeps veering between. In the end, it does feel like it's too much - without anything to hone in on, there's just nothing to grab you and it just becomes a lot of noise aimed at you.
The one thousand and eighteenth song: Eyes To The Wind – The War On Drugs
This is a simple, effective rock song, a bit poppy, some folk rock style lyrics but with music that has a bit more to it, and this feels like just a pleasant sound to listen to.
The one thousand and nineteenth song: Hunger Of The Pine – Alt-J
Starting off with just the vocals and beeps to give a rhythm, Hunger of the Pine slowly builds its elements until it gets its full, impressive instrumentation going - just those bits extras, but not too much. The song features a Miley Cyrus sample, whose bold sound contrasts aggressively with the smooth and subdued regular vocals, in a way that sets up a conversation in its own way. While complex, the track never leans into that, and it just feels like it all makes sense together.
The one thousand and twentieth song: Shake It Off – Taylor Swift
Shake It Off is a hit for a reason, it's a strong positive message that alludes to darker sides, but moves past it - and encourages you to move past it. It's an engaging sound that sticks with you.
The one thousand and twenty-first song: FourFiveSeconds – Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney
This is a pretty straight forward pop song, made by some big names, but I'm not sure if I felt the power coming through from this track to the point where I'd want it to.
The six hundred and forty-first album: #641 Queen Latifah - All Hail the Queen
After the rise of rap is established, Queen Latifah comes in as one of the main female rappers of the age. She's strongly political and even surrounded by the male members of her crew, she stands out strongly, as the best voice in the mix. She can rap and sing and there's a unity to the feel of the songs even as there are a lot of collaborations included. Building on soul music and including a lot of dance influences, it creates an album that has a definite impact.
The two hundred and thirty-seventh classical recording: #204 Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Trio in B flat major, op. 97, "Archduke"
These are some fairly soft and sensitive pieces, hitting you quite emotionally on a dreary winter's day. There's a lovely flow to the music, leading you through a dreamy soundscape. It might not be the most ambitious piece, but it's such a joy to listen to.
The two hundred and thirty-second TV show: #197 Welt am Draht
Twin Peaks and The Kingdom have given me a good start at the mystery genre, together with a number of other shows and movies, and for that reason Welt am Draht gave ma a lot of the same feelngs. The similarity to Black Mirror in its point of view is notable (without spoiling this series), which meant we were probably a bit further ahead than most viewers, but then, that might depend on different levels of media savviness.
The first half is the most interesting part, as the suspense builds to a big reveal. It follows it up with a more tepid second half, which goes between long drawn out, too artsy conversations and then action pieces that feel disconnected and at that point unengaging. It tries to be a character study without a character that works, and an action movie with a lack of action. It's a bit predictable, and it feels like it needed more exploration of these themes before they would have had the language to pull this off.
The one thousand and second song: Feels Like We Can Only Go Backwards – Tame Impala
As a deliberate throwback to an earlier psychedelic rock era, this hits a gentle note that just feels like a breezy run through. It's not inconsequential, but there's less going on that makes it feel sweeter and simpler, a nice drift through things.
The one thousand and third song: Angels – The xx
Even for an indie rock band, this is such a sparse ballad - not much pushing it forward, more drifting again as a sweet and simple love song that celebrates its simplicity.
The one thousand and fourth song: Doom and Gloom – The Rolling Stones
This is a classic Stones song that could have fit in the seventies as much as it does here. It's a straight forward rock song, sound effects and all, showing how they can still bring that sound.
The one thousand and fifth song: Where Are We Now? – David Bowie
I don't know whether to read too much into this, but Where Are We Now sounds incredibly frail - from Bowie's nearly broken vocals to the memories of a past visit, it's a track that feels like a final hit, a good bye to a better time that, considering it was one of the last tracks released before his death, fits that pattern.
The one thousand and sixth song: Drunk In Love – Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z
As a power couple collaboration, this feels like it should be reaching certain heights, but this might be the first track where I feel I might say I'm too old for it - the tapping beat doesn't work for me and the sound is just as often too off putting, the house beat not meshing with Beyonce's vocals or anything else.
The one thousand and seventh song: My Silver Lining – First Aid Kit
This folk rock track suits me a lot better, although that might be from familiarity as well. It's memorable, got a good tune, takes in some embellishments but not too many, and musically it's got the right, straight forward build.
The two hundred and thirty-first TV show: #13 Adventures of Superman
Dramas from the fifties tend to be a chore, with action/adventures shows like the Adventures of Superman usually getting to be quite formulaic and simple, with no serialization possible. Here, though, it was more promising. The pilot episode sets up a version of the normal backstory, but takes it time to investigate the politics behind it. It's surprisingly deep and effective. It holds up - the plots generally stay interesting, with a basis in science, and following more, but you can see a decline in later seasons, especially as it switches to colour. It's not something to watch everything off, but it's more than enough to dip your toe into.
The two hundred and thirtieth TV show: #34 Il Musichiere
The Italian edition of Name That Tune is fairly similar in its gameshow concept, although with the downside, as a modern viewer, that I don't really recognise any of the songs because of age and Italianness. The presentation feels oddly filler-like as well at times - our host is charismatic, but it feels like he takes his time more than needed. It's fine, but hard to get into in the modern era.
The six hundred and fortieth album: #640 Madonna - Like A Prayer
While the Queen of Pop has some proper 80s pop songs on this album - Cherish for one - there are also a lot deeper songs in there. The titular Like A Prayer has a lot of subtext that give it a few different readings, while Promise To Try feels like a really sensitive and raw ballad. A lot of them still work these days, and the bigger tracks are probably more timeless than what happened to most pop of the era.
That's all of the first edition's songs done, just before the end of 2025! I'm going to follow up with the second and third edition additions in the new year, but it's close!
The nine hundred and ninety-second song: Dog Days Are Over - Florence & The Machine
The combination of Florence Welch's vocals and the band's strong backing music works to create a lovely combination here. While her voice can easily carry being almost the only sound during the quieter parts of the music, it melds perfectly with the abundant and loud music that celebrates the rest of the song. There's a relief behind it that works well, and the whole abundant sound stays gorgeous.
The nine hundred and ninety-third song: The Fear - Lily Allen
The loud electropop of The Fear never drowns out Lily Allen's more sensitive vocals, the lyrics staying clear throughout the song, providing a lot of meaning and direction to your listening. It's an interesting commentary, while staying accessible and a good song.
The nine hundred and ninety-fourth song: Summertime Clothes - Animal Collective
Some songs really have that power of sticking with you even if you couldn't tell you where you would have heard it. Summertime Clothes has a great flow to its electronic sound, while its lyrics flow through all of that really nicely. It's increasingly memorable as it feels like it ambles along in a simple happy song.
The nine hundred and ninety-fifth song: Rain Dance - The Very Best feat. M.I.A.
The Afro-western beat that underlies rain dance feels modern and in tune that M.I.A.s rap doesn't feel out of place in any of this track. It blends together well, anything traditional slotting in with anything more modern, and the effects surrounding it add to that same atmosphere in an incredibly enjoyable mix.
The nine hundred and ninety-sixth song: Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
Written as an anthem for New York, there's an affection towards the city that fits that of a big city - a lot of love for it while staying a bit low on it, rather than idealizing it. It's a simple setup, Alicia Keys' chorus perfect for the song and as a contrast to Jay-Z's rap.
The nine hundred and ninety-seventh song: Tenalle chegret - Tinariwen
The Saharan sound of this song stands out in this era, a traditional sound that stands out in a louder world. It features a simple, gorgeous build of music, with lovely vocals and a nice backing.
The nine hundred and ninety-eighth song: Harry Patch (In Memory of) - Radiohead
In quite a contrast of what I'd otherwise associate with Radiohead's music, this track is sombre, a lament based on the experiences of a WWI veteran. It's lovely, rich in its sounds and never getting extravagant, staying sombre but not overly aggressive with it. It's just gorgeous and the emotion will reach you.
The nine hundred and ninety-ninth song: Go Do - Jonsi
I'm not entirely sure what it is, but there's still something gorgeous about Icelandic music and its instincts. Go Do is a wonderfully flowing track with the touches other bands from there have, with some lovely vocals in this and a lovely playfulness to the entire thing.
The one thousandth song: Me and the Devil - Gil Scott Heron
From the early days where his music presaged rap music, this becomes a slow blues lament, which feels like it fits the downward path of his life. There's no fight left and the spirit is gone, and the song exudes that really well in all its facets.
The one thousand and first song: Stylo - Gorillaz
The style and set up of Gorillaz' collaborative approach gives them a lot of flexibility on the sounds they want to go with and while the electronic rock is in there, Bobby Womack's chorus pulls the full track in a funky direction that it feels like the band is perfectly happy to follow along on. It's set up to give everything a chance to shine and the collaboration is one that - as is so ofthe the case with Gorillaz - works to create something beautiful.