The eighty-ninth book: #1014 Ormond - Maria Edgeworth

I struggle with how to feel about Edgeworth's works. On one hand, I started off enjoying Ormond, its characters and the description of the title character's early life. The same applies to its descriptions of French life - you're not meant to feel opposed to their excesses, but it's enjoyably described and explored. On the other hand, the hardships of Irish life are described and the feudal system somewhat glorified, in a way that her novels have ended up doing. At a time where I feel Jane Austen started to move this genre ahead, this one just doesn't feel as satisfying.

The five hundred tenth song: Gloria - Umberto Tozzi

While there's room for Italian disco on this list, I feel like this is missing something. It's fine as a love song, there's an okay riff underneath, but is it that it doesn't connect? For disco, it's missing some volume, for pop it lacks a bit of a connection, and on the whole listening to this it's a song that wants to be lifted up a notch. It's a godo base for a song, and while it made a splash, I would wonder if a well produced cover would be more my thing.

The five hundred eleventh song: Black Eyed Dog - Nick Drake

There's a simple sadness to this song, one of the last Nick Drake recorded before his death. The guitar riff is simple, the whole song a blues where you hear the depression through the song, through the guitar, through the tiredness in his voice. There isn't more, it seems, that he can push out. It hits you completely and it feels a sadness there that warns of what will come.

The five hundred twelfth song: Are “Friends” Electric? - Gary Numan & Tubeway Army

Taking synth rock away from Kraftwerk (in the best way possible) the electronic sound that's in this song underlies the lonely message and the isolation. He's trying to get on top of the music in his vocals, a melodic drone that varies a fair amount - a repetition that doesn't jar but stays interesting. It's taken on a lot of influences from elsewhere, but it creates its own sound, gentler than Kraftwerk but more electronic than prog rock and the like. There's a new stream here, the lack of a personal touch being intentional, and in a way that I hope we can to see explored further. It's influential, but I'm not quite sure how.

The five hundred thirteenth song: Boys Don’t Cry - The Cure

Boys Don't Cry feels like a fairly straight forward poppy rock song, with a bit of post punk, but while it's a break up song, it has a little bit of depth to it. Is it amazing? No, but it feels like a good entry for a band where I might enjoy the deeper cuts.

The five hundred fourteenth song: Good Times - Chic

An eight minute disco song? I'm not sure how much they want to push me to hate disco, when you know you'll have the long dance break, a repeating riff that they spend too much on early on and something that works as a sample that's extended. Not to mention that singing about how you want to dance to this song feels a bit overdone and after several songs with depth, there's not much here that I want. (It does hide the lyrics, which are about how it's not the best idea to go out and party when they were going through a major depression - and perhaps it should be a part of the current Covid-19 soundtrack. It just doesn't come through here)

The five hundred fifteenth song: Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson

Considering the love affair this list has with some artists, it feels odd that Michael Jackson only gets two entries - ignoring his private life, musically it feels like he's been incredibly influential and a genius. It draws on all the disco we've heard before, but somehow it avoids the tropes - it doesn't repeat itself to the point where it gets old and the dance break feels more engaging and varied, with enough going on to keep you engaged as a listener.

The five hundred sixteenth song: Lost in Music - Sister Sledge

Another disco classic, produced by Chic, this feels like it works better - aside from being a bit shorter, again it includes more variation and stays more engaging for it. Lyrically it's still no better - there's not that much going on - but it feels less like it's the same parts repeated over and over. It still doesn't beat Jackson's number, but for the first half of the song, it works.

The five hundred seventeenth song: Brass in Pocket - Pretenders

Brass in Pocket is a decent poppy rock song (or new wave, as it's described here) - a decent, simple melody with some powerful focus, Chrissie Hynde is in charge throughout as she prepares for whatever she's doing and how she's ready. It's a catchy chorus, a good hook, and making lists always works in this sort of set up. It's enjoyable end, and a good upbeat disco antidote.

The two hundred and third album: #203 Santana - Abraxas

Latin rock hasn't featured on this list - at least not recently - and Santana's second album sets a tone from the first number, a jazzy fusion that brings in some different sounds on its own and flows into Black Magic Woman, the first song with lyrics. Not that those matter much - Oye Como Va mostly just repeats the words and for the most part the refrains are an additional instrument in the songs. Beyond that, while this doesn't have the loose, improv feel of most jazz albums, a lot of the songs are inspired y the sound, especially the instrumentals that feel like they lounge along more - although the Latin elements are strong as well, adding a bit of a kick to the proceedings.

It takes until Mother's Daughter for the album to really bring in rock as I think of it, with the heavier guitars and the vocal stylings that reminded me of the Rolling Stones. It's a good sound that integrates a few elements well, but it also feels like a shift to a rockier sound that feels quite distinct from the first half. They're good, but not necessarily to provide a consistent whole on the album. It's one where there are good individual tracks (even if jazz isn't my thing), but where it felt like it wanted to create a consistent experience at the start, that fell by the wayside later on.

The two hundred second album: #202 Paul McCartney - McCartney

Where do you go with your music after leaving the Beatles? For Paul McCartney, the answer seems to have been to tone down the production and go for something simpler instead. Paul McCartney is created with just about anything you hear on the album (other than some harmony vocals) and it seems to have created a more minimal, stripped down pop rock without dropping down into folk, keeping up some production beyond that. The downside of all of that is that the album has no stand out songs, instead being serviceable and highly listenable throughout.

The two hundred first album: #201 James Taylor - Sweet Baby James

The country track that leads off the album seems to set up what follows - country folk with some rock influences, but sticking to that sound. It veers - sometimes poppier, sometimes more of a blues, but there's a country sound underneath it all. It probably works best for me when it's not aiming for pure country, but brings out a good folk ballad - the more traditional country sound doesn't work for me that well, but there are some good variations on the theme that especially appeal to me.

For song writing, it feels like Sunny Skies' message is where it really starts off, a gentle, poppy sound that doesn't go too light with darker lyrics. It's not entirely contradictory, but there's enough of a contrast to set a tone and mood. The shift from Oh, Susannah to Suzanne in Fire and Rain's first verse is also oddly effective, linking the two in a way that might not have been intended, but makes the punch of her loss more effective, leading into a sadder song. On a similar, thought not quite as impactful note, the Suite for 20G that finishes the album transitions through this variety well and it works, a mixture of rock and ballads where all of them sound quite good but there's also a clear flow between them. It's a good album - when it gets the right songs in.

The eighty-fifth classical recording: #369 Guiseppe Verdi - Don Carlos

As always, it's hard to write up an opera as it has so much variation - and so it's looking for stand out moments and themes. Don Carlos feels fairly sombre from the start, even when ignoring the scenes set around tombs with lamenting monks. The parties sound more threatening than uplifting and the whole opera has an undertone of darkness, without much room for anything lighter - something the plot obviously supports. The lack of triumph feels like it robs the music from its most impactful moments though and while it's beautiful in places, it feels like it can't quite soar. Good for a performance, but it doesn't work as well listening purely to a recording and I started hoping for something extra that never materializes.

The two hundredth album: #200 The Stooges - Fun House

While the songs list pushed me past punk yesterday, even if arguably it was still in the air, my list of albums is driving towards it. Fun House is arguably too rocky and - dare I say - musically creative in places, without the politically charged lyrics that are more common in punk and with more of a focus on the music and its variety that punk has up to a point, but not as in depth as we get here. It's clearly improvised at times too, and rough and raw to go with that.

As far as jazz improv goes, these generally feel a bit more listenable to me - perhaps showing that the style of music matters as much to me - but even so the non-jazz songs earlier in the album work better for me. The improv tends towards a cacophony of noise near the ends, which really doesn't work as well and seems to have been more something fun for the musicians to do rather than creating something listenable. In the end, the proper rock here is fine - especially when the hints of punk are there - but it loses a lot of that in the second half.

The one hundred thirtieth TV show: #736 Big Love

This show's story of a polygamous Mormon marriage is an interesting and often uncomfortable one. The polygamy on its own not as much - between consenting adults I feel that's their own choice - but often enough it feels the gender imbalance in the relationship means that the decisions aren't always consensual. It's one of those themes that goes through the show, one where choice, obligation and expectations from upbringing clash and make you ask what wins out.

That expands to the rest, which follows the family of Bill Henrickson, his three wives and their kids as he tries to build his business, stay within the greater Mormon church while also handling the Juniper Creek compound he comes from that more actively promotes polygamy. It's an odd world that I'd never be in, but the actors do the work to make you care for them. In particular, the three wives carry the show in their own way. Jeanne Triplehorn as the first wife, with a long history who seems to struggle with it sometimes but also is the mother to the whole clan. Ginnifer Goodwin is great as the young Marge, the latest wife who's excited about this new direction and being part of a community, even if she appears to avoid the stakes. Best, though, is Chloe Sevigny. Her character Nicki comes from the compound and is deep in that lore. She's strong willed and defiant, in part to keep up their ideals, but she's also the one doing the DIY around the house and gets things done. She's often the spark that brings up the conflict, which makes her performance even more amazing. Somehow, Chloe Sevigny keeps up the balance between repulsion of a world that doesn't suit me and care for the character because it's her views and she's trying to do the right thing, even if they don't match mine.

It's the tightrope the show constantly walks, and mostly you end up rooting for the family, even as different character attract you or push you away, with few people sticking to one side or the other. I've struggled going back to it from time to time, but it keeps paying off and the story keeps pushing relentlessly forward and I feel I need to see the end now.

The five hundred first song: Hammond Song - The Roches

Starting off 1979 is this folk song by the all-female Roches, three sisters who sing a lovely folk song with an interesting contralto sound that comes in quite unexpectedly. The lyrics are relatively simple, focused on something more mundane, but even more effective for it. It grows on yo, the guitar underlying the songs, even more when the electric guitar comes in. It's not a very complicated song, but one with a better message for it.

The five hundred second song: Heaven - Talking Heads

Heaven feels like one of those songs where I feel I can see why people enjoy it, see why it makes an impact and sounds special. There's a nihilism in the lyrics that appeals to me, but I'm not sure the music quite lends itself to that - a bit too synthy and poppy to work for it and perhaps that's where I feel like I'm missing something. It's well produced, but the craft that other may have don't feel like it's in the song for me.

The five hundred third song: The Eton Rifles - The Jam

In an already post punk era, The Jam brings another song from that type, an attack on the upper class and how they take on the lower class for a joke, the latter still being forced down - right on the back of worker rights being squashed. The politics are there in the song, but the catchy chorus over aggressive guitars drive the point home more. It's a war song of sorts, a call for a revolution that comes across in many of these songs.

The five hundred fourth song: London Calling - The Clash

Speaking of classic punk, London Calling is one of the big anthems, an effective comment on where the world was going and, in some sense, the same worries and fears that play these days. There's a gloom in the music, on top of the punky angry sound, with some of the ape-like calling sounds adding to the primal fear that's in there. It's not too long, but effective.

The five hundred fifth song: Transmission - Joy Division

The first of Joy Division's three songs on the list is dark and moody, its lyrics sung in such a low bass voice that it becomes unsettling, its commands drowned out by barely harmonious guitars and an almost angelic background sound at times. It keeps going, powerful and strong, without giving a break at any point. It's dark, the "dance to the radio" chorus being menacing throughout rather than something you'd enjoy. It's truly excellent that way.

The five hundred sixth song: Voulez-Vous - Abba

Time to wipe away the darkness for now for an upbeat disco number, showing the other side of life that was happening around the time - probably experienced by more people than the darkness of Joy Division. Voulez-Vous really feels full-on disco, with tightly-honed vocals on top of a relatively simple score, with the chorus getting in the real flourishes. The repetition of it is what really drives it home as a dance song, nothing too intense or complicated, but more having a good time - even if the disco dance break against lasts too long.

The five hundred seventh song: Beat the Clock - Sparks

The Sparks' previous song was, to say the least, bizarre, with sound effects and just general weirdness. Beat The Clock dials back on that, instead bringing in an 80s synth rhythm and driving chorus, backing a more melodic verse that expounds on the need to beat the clock, "no time for relationships", which, too, feels like an 80s philosophy. We're there a bit early, but it's a good start of a musical style and I'm looking forward to reviewing their albums some day.

The five hundred eighth song: Oliver’s Army - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

I guess this is another side of new wave - taking in a heavy disco influence as the backing of the song really sounds like an Abba song in several places, the organ and piano both enforcing that. At the same time, the lyrics go in a completely different direction, primarily referencing the Northern Irish conflicts, as well as other conflicts around the world and how scary they were. It's an anti-war and anti-aggression song, but rather than taking a folksy song, it's a happier, peppier disco mood that is an interesting counter to the feeling the song is trying to bring across.

The five hundred ninth song: Tusk - Fleetwood Mac

Tusk feels a bit experimental still, a prog rock oddity with cheering crowds in the background, a non-rock rhythm and a move to a more pop sound in places. At times it feels like a party or a carneval, with lyrics that don't feel too meaningful but otherwise a sound that feels like an experiment - see what works, what sticks, and what does it for the band. Here, it apparently did - not that it got me wildly enthusiastic, but I guess it works.

The eighty-fourth classical recording: #852 Richard Strauss - Metamorphosen

Metamorphosen starts delicate, a few strings playing the theme, and in a Germany at the end of World War II, that feels fitting as something sombre. It builds to that though, and while it continues to have the same sombre undertone, the strings playing against each other creates something more sinister, perhaps panicking a bit at times. The variations of the piece aren't really metamorphoses, but it seems like you can ignore the title there - it's the sounds that make it fairly morose but engaging, not quite comforting, but fitting the time it was written in.