The four hundred and forty-fifth album: Gang of Four - Entertainment!
There's a lot of punk in Entertainment!, which leads to a problem I've had with similar albums before - lulled into a bit of complacency, I'm on the fourth track before I know it as the songs blend together - and as accessible as Damaged Goods is, in my head the sixth song Guns or Butter is the first that sounds distinctive. The second side brings some more musical variety, but it shows some of the limits on their vocals and the main interest continues to come from the lyrics, which have the more interesting counter culture bend, as well as talk of (failures of) sex that feel subtle enough to past censors but still quite a push for the most part. It's not the best punk I've heard, but it's fine to fill that gap for now.
The one hundred and fifty-eighth classical recording: #873 Dmitri Shostakovich - From Jewish Folk Poetry
With so many of the classical tracks being instrumental, it feels special to get one that puts the vocals as central as this one - yes, that's partially the point of the work, but the score is minimal and even absent sometimes, with the performers really taking centre stage.
The works themselves are mostly quite sad songs, with the Song of Misery being one of the happiest tunes in there. I didn't find a translation for the Russian lyrics, but you get the dark, sombre feeling just listening to them, which seems even more appropriate considering when these were written. All in all it stays an impressive vocal performance that shows off the bleakness really well.
The four hundred and forty-fourth album: #444 Neil Young with Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young's folk rock is fine - there are some interesting lyrics and the tracks are composed to feel fairly distinctive. They're fine tracks. The subdued fok sound though removes some of the power of the harder rock sections, while somehow drowning the lyrics out a bit - it's all very listenable and good, I can hear the elements I like, but it never quite hits the sweet spot that makes me sit up and pay attention.
The four hundred and forty-third album: #443 Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Armed Forces
As we've seen the rise of new wave lead to poppy tracks with less deep tracks, it's been nice to get the more political messages Elvis Costello brings - wrapped in more personal songs, the intention of a bunch of these tracks are more clear in their meaning, with a pacifist and anti-capitalist message that carries the album well. The venom of the message is mostly wrapped in pleasant, accessible pop music, with it taking until Goon Squad on the second side for the rock to come back in and underline the message, its aggression not jarring as much as it's reminding you of what has come before. It even ties the personal and political threads together to some extent at the end, for an album that keeps really good to listen to for the entire runtime.
The one hundred and fifty-seventh classical recording: #847 Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Violin Concerto
While as a film composer, Korngold is said to have brought more classical music influences to film, this work also shows the reverse. The Romance second movement especially feels like it supports a movie, the action moving through several scenes in a way that feels more like an opera or other narrative piece, just without the singers or performers. It's open ended enough there isn't a full story here, but it shows how even the influence of movies is carrying through in this piece in a way that's more rousing and fascinating than the methodical build that feels more prevalent in earlier works.
The four hundred and forty-second album: #442 The Slits - Cut
While billed as a punk band, when listening to Cut the reggae sound stands out most often. It has the reggae-style percussion and vocals that dominate the album, a slight slurring to the latter and a looseness to the whole album. It's not bad, but it does start to wear thin about four tracks in. The album tries to mix it up a bit in places, but it doesn't mix it enough for that to really work, and often it's just the slightly different lyrics that feel like the only difference between the tracks.
The four hundred and forty-first album: #441 Marianne Faithfull - Broken English
Marianne Faithfull's raspier voice is a bit at odds with the smooth vocals that I associate more with new wave, but it creates an edge that suits all of these songs quite well. Working Class Hero, for example, gains a lot more of an edge in her interpretation, and they get a lot more raw when she really goes for it - Why D'Ya Do It has such an angry edge that it gets quite shocking.
The one hundred and eighty-sixth TV show: #487 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
After the other Star Trek installments, this was the one I was looking forward to covering most. It takes the large, optimistic Star Trek future and explores and challenges it. The crew don't all get along, but have conflicts built in that they still solve civilly, there are other outsiders with different points of view they take on, but there's still a lot of places where it's resolved from that same philosophy - so far at least, challenging it but not breaking it. Its focus on serialization and its large recurring cast helps to create a world that stays grounded on the station, avoiding the reset the other shows in the series take as the ship travels on. It starts off strong, and builds to a story that presages the storytelling of later dramas. So far, it really has been the best Star Trek show.
The one hundred and fifty-sixth classical recording: #121 Leopold Mozart - Trumpet Concerto
This is a fairly short trumpet-based piece. It moves quite swiftly, with a bold and optimistic tone. It's still imposing, but with a lighter touch than other pieces, the trumpets' clarity really aiding that sound. It's quick, full and enjoyable to listen to.
The four hundred and fourtieth album: #440 Japan - Quiet Life
Quiet Life, almost as its title implies, is a calm new wave album, the music at times almost ambient as it tends to sink away a bit. It's fine, but it feels like there's not a lot of impact in any of the songs that stuck with me.