The one hundred and third book: #718 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
I'll be honest, I'm not sure if the list expected me to read the first entry of the trilogy in five parts, or if it expected the full work, but it just seemed right to do the latter. I have, of course, encountered it before - having read the books in both English and in the Dutch translation (which at least had a decent translation of Ford Prefect's name, even if not all of the other choices are as good), listened to the full radio series and I've watched the less stellar movie. Add to that that I've already reviewed both the TV series here and the game on the proper Pong and Beyond, and it feels like writing about the book just makes it full circle.
The books are still great to read. There's a bit of a downhill trend near the end, where the focus on more of an ongoing plot conflicts with the rush to get them out, meaning bits of plot just fizzle out or don't marry up, but the individual scenes often still work. The earlier books are more like vignettes, pulling together only loosely enough to move from one set piece to the next, and those in particular are a delight to read and immerse yourself in as the world gets weirder. It's, at its core, a highly serialized work, and that serialization comes with changes as you can feel it being pulled in all directions, with the Guide interludes especially showing that with their various interruptions, diversions and other notes. The book stands at its peak in the comedy sci fi genre, and it will be there for a long time still.
The four hundred and twenty-fifth album: #425 Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports
Sure, there's a lot of value in ambient music, and there are times where I enjoy having something to break the silence (although even then it tends to be something that is a bit more active). As a piece of music to focus on, however, an album like this falls flat as you can't get the feeling of falling into the middle of it, wandering in as it's playing. The start and end point become deliberate, removing the easier flow into the music.
Even then, the slightly discordant sound, created often with musicians somewhat separated from each other, becomes off putting and difficult to manage. It never quite becomes comfortable, which makes the music off putting in its own right. It might occasionally work, but there's never a point where the music really connects.
The one hundred and eighty-third TV show: #497 Tous les Garcons et les Filles de Leur Age
Out of the shows we've covered, it feels like this one is one that had the longest journey for how much we watched of it. More a collection of short films with a single subject, it features the stories of different teens in different decades. Having watched three, it feels like the movies ahve some themes in common beyond the intentional - the way your own problems feel so much bigger at that age, dominating the world for you, and hwo life can feel more superficial. There's those elements of selfishness and lack of perspective, trying to be deep and failing beyond that superficial level. It's interesitng as a way of looking at it, but it has that new wave touch (even if it goes against it) that makes it harder to connect with watching now. They're interesting pieces that I'm glad I have seen, but I don't feel the need to dive deep trying to hunt down subtitled versions of others.
The four hundred and twenty-fourth album: #424 X-Ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents
X-Ray Spex's only album in its original form produces a number of memorable riffs with some decent songs built on top of that. Lyrically not the most engaging - they're often drowned out by the guitars - but enough comes through that you can shout/sing along with an approximation of the lyrics. It's aggressive and enjoyable, the fun parts of punk without feeling as political, going hard but not filled with anger. It feels like just listening to the album is cathartic in its own right.
The four hundred and twenty-third album: #423 Chic - C'est Chic
With the transformation from funk to disco, my tolerance for the music styles is increasing. I still don't get much out of the long dance breaks, but the songs are good to listen to, songs like Freak Out are classics for a reason and I enjoyed most of the album - or got in a comfortable groove when it wasn't trying to engage me as much lyrically. There are stand outs for a reason, but it's all put together well.
The one hundred and fifty-first classical recording: #353 Franz Liszt - A Faust Symphony
Putting interpretations of the meaning of the different movements aside - Wikipedia has you covered on that - Liszt's Faust Symphony is a work of contrasts and combatting music. The first movement is a bombastic piece, fitting in with what you expect of the bigger orchestras and fitting with Faust's general persona. It's followed by a slightly shorter, more gentle movement that represents Gretchen, the love interest. It jumps to Mephistopheles' chaotic third movement, an aggressive piece occasionally interrupted by Gretchen's unwavering, gentle theme. It's a story that doesn't come through until the symphony's final movement, but it tells its basic story so well that it becomes a pay off even without fully looking at the story behind the work.
The four hundred and twenty-second album: #422 Willie Nelson - Stardust
As the concept of this album - adapting American classics - is different enough from the earlier album, it's hard to draw a comparison between the albums I've covered. What we get here are familiar songs, leading off with the title track Stardust but moving to a more maudlin, impressive rendition of Blue Skies that changes just enough to be different without entirely losing the job. It's a balancing act that becomes quite interesting to follow, with the focus mostly on a slower, somewhat sadder interpretation of the existing songs. It's just so well done, the music sounds good, the new arrangements work incredibly well and it feels easy to just breeze through the album, taking it in in one go.
The four hundred and twenty-first album: #421 Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear
It feels a bit invasive to listen to Here, My Dear. The album is about Marvin Gaye's first divorce, an acrimonious event that clearly left a negative impact on him at the time. The soulful album, adding in funk and jazz tracks but generally feeling that bit lower, doesn't entirely work if it's meant to invoke sympathy, but as an insight into the man's mind at the time it does lay it all bare.
I'm not sure whether the 70 minute runtime is all warranted - the lengthy funk runtimes of some of the tracks are more than what I need in places - but the core message is more effective. It's probably what couches the intrusive nature most - there is the fluff around it that separates you that bit more from the core message.
The one hundred and fiftieth classical recording: #637 Bela Bartok - Romanian Folk Dances
This short piece adapts six Romanian folk dances to classical music, adding instrumentation where appropriate, but keeping the focus on the one instrument that would normally be leading the dance - a flute that's mostly on its own, a violin slowly supported by other string instruments and so on. It feels like it keeps the origin of the songs as a folk dance, something anyone could play, but adds atmosphere around it to help create a feeling that puts you in that time and place. It's over all too quickly, but helps keep you engaged until then.
The four hundred and twentieth album: #420 The Saints - Eternally Yours
It feels surprising to hear punk pop up on the album, with a lot of acts having moved on at this point and using it as an influence only. Within that, their sound varies a bit - the pure punk tracks not adding much, but the moment they add elements or change it, the album is a lot more interesting - the rather basic Lost and Found is sandwiched between Know Your Product, with its horn section, and the driving but lighter "Memories are Made For This", which eschews the standard punk rhythms for something that goes between hard rock and something poppier. It ends up with a number of gems mixed with regular punk songs that go between good examples of the genre and a bit unnecessary considering everything else they pull off on this album.