The one hundred and seventy-first TV show: #182 The Stone Tape
As it is nearly Halloween, it felt appropriate to watch a spooky story. The BBC production of the 1970s were actually broadcast around Christmas, but to our modern viewing it feels as appropriate to watch these now, especially as the end of December already has so many other viewing traditions.
The story of The Stone Tape involves proper ghosts and images from the past, but the way it approaches them is different. Rather than having any doubt or disbelief, the characters get on board quite quickly and instead take a far more scientific approach to trying to understand the phenomenon and, in this case, to exploit it. Things escalate from there as the phenomenon defies explanation, as the tension builds and keeps moving throughout. It's a good ninety minutes of tension that remains highly effective even now we're nearly fifty years on.
The three hundred and eighteenth album: #318 10CC - Sheet Music
While Sheet Music reaches for the avant garde in some of its tracks, others clearly reach for the pop side of things and end up in what I was starting to call bubblegum rock - simple, accessible, but without much staying power. It's not that I got nothing out of it, but it feels like an album that wants to break away from rock but can't quite do it yet. There's just not enough here to become meaningful.
The three hundred and seventeenth album: #317 Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
Coming back to the list, we're kicking off with Queen's glam rock. Again the tracks are harder than you'd expect based on Queen's popular songs, but while Killer Queen here shows off the direction they're known for, the real rock tracks are more memorable and fun to listen to. There are places where the harmonies in the vocals shine, places where multi track recordings add that layer, but in all these cases you can tell that the live performance would be just as good. It stands as a whole album not because of pure throughlines, but because the balance of the songs seems just right, adding some experiments in the mix while still having good rock tracks and an emotional ballad, while showing off their skill at other sounds as well. As a finished, complete product, it holds up really well.
The ninety-third book: #1015 Persuasion - Jane Austen
I have to ask myself whether part of the reason I've been struggling with really getting back into the books list are the romance novels of this era. I've enjoyed Austen well in her earlier works, but for some reason Persuasion didn't connect. Part of that might be is because, as with Mansfield Park, our protagonist doesn't feel as involved in the narrative of the start of the work, and the destitution storyline feels like something we've seen before, while dealing with stubborn characters I didn't connect with. I never quite got caught up and the romance story, usually such a strong throughline, fell by the wayside in favour of family issues I didn't really feel. The work tries, sure, but it never quite grabbed me, and so the pay offs that are there didn't reach me either.
The three hundred and sixteenth album: #316 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - Winter in America
There's something really engaging about this soul/jazz album, chilled while staying up beat and positive. It's often paired with a more socially engaging message that's as interesting, but it all stands on its own as its own music. Sometimes it's more upbeat, sometimes it's sadder, but the fusion it lands on works far better than other versions. It's lovely to listen to with a depth that I don't think we see as often in jazz albums, while having more pep than blues albums give me.
The three hundred and fifteenth album: #315 Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
This is a folk rock album. There are decent lyrics and musically it's a very British folk rock album. There's some emotional songs and some drinking songs, or at least songs with that feeling. They're decent folk rock songs and feel like good examples of the genre. However, I also don't think the album really gave me a stand out track or had something in there that felt memorable to me.
The three hundred and fourteenth album: #314 Supertramp - Crime of the Century
The notable track on Crime of the Century - at least for me - is Dreamer. It's a fun track, prog rock that's easy to listen to, fun to sing along to and an enjoyable song, but ultimately not a song that has a lasting impact on me. The rest of the album feels similar. It's fun to listen to, there are some nice experiments and interesting sounds, but I don't feel it ultimately has much of an impact. It's a well put together album, but not one that really inspires me to keep listening.
The one hundred and twenty-ninth classical recording: #751 Maurice Ravel - Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
While the story behind the creation of this piece is a sad one, its sound is one of triumph, starting with an orchestral opening to introduce an impressive piano piece played, as I could also see in the video that accompanied my version, with one hand. Throughout, the piece is set up to allow that to be showcased, with the tempo changes showing both delicacy and fervour and the rhythm perhaps invoking a bit of the military fervour that led to this. Ravel, as we've heard before, can be a bit drawn to less sane sounds, and it's that bombast that comes through from the orchestra, but the piano's playing, even if frantic, works to create a frantic focal point that it can keep coming back to.
The three hundred and thirteenth album: #313 Sparks - Kimono My House
Sparks' entry on the songs list, This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us, features as the first track on this album. The song sets the tone for album, an art rock track that flirts with glam and avant garde sounds that centres around Ron Mael's keyboard playing that his brother's vocals fold around, surrounded by everything else that goes on on this track.
It's a good album to listen to and in a way the later tracks become a bit easier to listen to. It's a bit weird, sometimes a bit extreme, but also a lot of fun to listen to, showy at times but constrained enough to continue to work.
The three hundred and twelfth album: Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
The seventeen minute long title track of this album is a composition using electrical instruments, a melding of synthesizers with occasional other sounds that enhance that. I use the word composition quite deliberately, as it feels like without the modern instruments used, it has more in common with the classical tracks we've been listening to than the modern music this list usually covers. It is more of an ambient album than most, but there's still something magical about the images it sets in my head without any lyrics or prompting.