The two hundred and eighth album: #208 Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

Listening to it, there's something appropriate about this album, the violence and problems described in it as much of a problem now as it has been. All of this is wrapped in a gorgeous soul album, one that lets the message dominate but mixes a bunch of elements incredibly well. It's its own tour de force, an impressive string of songs, that feels like it delivers on all things that matter - but with that, also feels relevant nearly forty years later, describing a struggle that still affects us. Marvin Gaye proves to have been an amazing song writer and creator of something timeless here.

The two hundred seventh album: #207 Sly & The Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On

I've not always loved the funk songs we've covered for the songs list, not in the least because you get these long, repetitive sections with not much going on. While this isn't quite fully funk yet, it's hard not to feel like this album drags on just as much, not justifying its 47 minute runtime. There are moments where it feels there could be something there, but I don't think the album pulls off what it tries to achieve and it gets worse, rather than better, as a result of that.

The two hundred and sixth album: #206 David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name

It's odd how this feels like this is another album of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young supergroup and that this is David Crosby's debut solo album - reviewed as one of the best in its own right, but it's the link to the bigger group that stands out more clearly in my mind.

I do think there's more personality that comes through as you listen to the album. While there's a fair amount of folk rock in here, it's often infused with psychedelia in a way that the bigger group doesn't always have. It's not overdone, in the way that gets bothersome in other places, but it's more integrated into the folk sound, adding to the music rather than overtaking it. It creates a nice, listenable album, nothing that leaves as big of an impact on its own, but it feels you can put the album on at any point and listen to something pleasant, without any excess baggage. It's that friendly, folk rock explortation of the music while never getting bored in how it presents itself.

The two hundred and fifth album: #205 Jethro Tull - Aqualung

Time to try and settle back into a new rhythm, with life staying the way it is for another few months at this rate. We kick off things with Jethro Tull's Aqualung, a hard and folk rock album that felt more important as I listened to it. The riff of the opening track Aqualung alone is familiar and a great song that justifies its length on the album. It moves to some more sensitive sounds - the flute in Cross-Eyed Mary alone changing the feel of the album as it moves into something softer.

It's a gentler end that prefaces the second side, titled "My God". As it deals with religion, parts bring back the hard rock style while others sound choral, clearly imitatin religious songs - sounding quite impressive having been more immersed in classical music. Again, after the heavier start the music gets softer again, Locomotive Breath bringing the energy back up and creating a different curve to the side with a second spike of hard rock the first side doesn't have.

It's an interesting album, comtemplative in places but at the same time containing a lot of good, strong rock music.

The one hundred thirty-ninth TV show: #676 Project Runway

After we started watching it, we ended up addicted to RuPaul's Drag Race. As a follow up show (a few years later) we picked Project Runway, one of the big inspirations for Drag Race (as that show's third season shows) and something where we see a different side to fashion. Although it seems to take a season or two to truly find its feet, but unlike the other show, Project Runway has a pretty decent standard structure - get an assignment, design and build a garment and show it off on the runway. There are some twists - aside from changes to what you make, some have group challenges or other smaller changes, but often the target group or type of fashion is what matters.

It's lower on drama, it's simpler, but that makes the show much more watchable and your appreciation of their skills builds immensely. It's a neat set up and the show is just as addictive. Unlike other reality shows, this relies on skill and I feel that's what really matters here.

The one hundred thirty-eighth TV show: #594 Malcolm in the Middle

There's something realistically wholesome about Malcolm in the Middle. It has the heart of a family that loves each other, but also the rough way a household of four boys would interact. The parents aren't great - Hal has partially detached, while Lois is the type-A loud mother who seems out of her depth a lot of the time. There's shades of what the Middle later did, but with younger kids, and the cast is a powerhouse- we know what Bryan Cranston can do, and here he goes into everything with wild abandon, Jane Kaczamarek is amazing in the show and the kids are amazingly well cast. The whole series becomes a delight that delivers. The main struggle, at least in these early seasons, is that Francis, the oldest son, is stuck in the military academy - while he gets his own story lines, it feels like an unnecessary separation that makes everything more complicated and doesn't always add much. It's a great show, still, and I'm glad we still have several stations left.

The five hundred eighteenth song: Outdoor Miner - Wire

I'm not sure whether it's the time I'm listening at or something else, but Outdoor Miner's subdued, straightforward slow song doesn't quite fit the post punk feel you'd expect from that moniker. It's a pleasant poppy song, something that could fit into a soundtrack somewhere around track eight. It works well enough, without a bigger impact.

The five hundred nineteenth song: Rapper’s Delight - The Sugarhill Gang

While this isn't where rap started, it's what broke the genre to the world. It's been parodied, sampled and referenced so often that this feels like a parody, but the evolution of funk or disco works here - the music sound is there, but the rap changes it into something more interesting, removing the repetition or longer dance breaks and pushes it further. With the benefit of hindsight this feels a bit simple and commercial, but I do see how this becomes impressive.

The five hundred twentieth song: California Uber Alles - Dead Kennedys

On the other side, California Uber Alles is a highly political song, written with some quite high brow allusions to Shakespeare and Orwell that comment on the governor of California and his actions. It's dark and aggressive, militaristic in places, and it feels like a challenge that stays that aggressive.

The five hundred twenty-first song: Typical Girls - The Slits

Typical Girls is a female led rock song, which feels like it was even rarer at the time - I know we have BLondie ocmic up, but the rock and punk scene has it as the exception, often restricted to the vocalist. Here, the entire band is, with a sound that feels as unique. The guitars and bass as mostly toned down, the drums a bit different, but the slurred punk vocals are there and it feels loose, an anthem that challenges standards and sets its point of view. I can't say this is the best performance out there, but it has its own unique side.

The five hundred twenty-second song: Atomic - Blondie

I'm not sure what this song is trying to say, Debbie Harry's improvised vocals more an instrument than creating that much meaning for the song. That feels a bit futuristic for the time, relying on synths and electric guitars to creating an ongoing beat that just occasionally gets interrupted by some musical flourishes, vocals and the rest that comes in. That, at the same time, fills the room, creating an environment more than anything.

The five hundred twenty-third song: Gangsters - The Specials

The story behind this song - the Specials were blamed for the damage another English band did to a hotel room - feels slightly undercut by the message. Rather than a statement, the early ska vocals feel a tad whiny and the punk vocals seem a bit off compared to the ska sound. It's an odd mix that doesn't always work well and doesn't come into its own until the second half of the song, when it all meshes better. It's a decent experiment and something different from what we've been used to.

The five hundred twenty-fourth song: Cars - Gary Numan

It feels like we had a Gary Numan song in the last batch, and we're in his big stage, with new wave coming in as it is. The first minute and a half have the actual vocals, a commentary on the security while you're in a car and that feeling of immortality - something I've noticed mostly as a regular pedestrian. The music itself continues for another two and a half minutes, a good electric sound that follows those new wave roots further and (aside from synths being a bit out of date) feels like it would now, or at any time. It's good, but it's the first section that works best, while the instrumental part threatens to become a tad too self indulgent in its length.

The five hundred twenty-fifth song: Babylon’s Burning - The Ruts

More reggae punk here, but while The Specials had the reggae vocals, The Ruts' Malcolm Owen sings with a hard rock voice, loud and shoulty in a way that even punk doesn't always have. It lends an aggression to the song that suits the message far better and continues to dominate the track. It feels like a more impressive feat and everything else follows suit - loud guitars, the constant drums and an anger that is felt throughout.

The five hundred twenty-sixth song: Message in a Bottle - The Police

Listening to these songs in context really bring out some of the influences you didn't really think of before hand, and the reggae intro of Message in a Bottle stands out a lot more here. The sound is dropped in the chorus, thankfully, as while it makes the verses sound different, I also wonder whether it adds that much to the song. The driving and desperate chorus feels like the more interesting part of the song, the music underscoring the longing despair that well. It works so well, becoming memorable and interesting as a track still worth listening to.

The one hundred thirty-seventh TV show: #29 Eurovision Song Contest

With the proper Eurovision Song Contest cancelled this year - appointment viewing for us - we've been following along with the recent live rewatches that have been happening on Saturday evenings. Most of these have been reposted on Youtube as well, and so since it's not on tomorrow, we used today to watch an old one that won't be shared as much - just to get that full coverage. And because we were curious about Abba's competition, we thought 1974 would work as a nice option.

It feels like, at times, you are either into the contest or don't care for it at all. We have been faithful viewers for years now and so most of the repeats were familiar. These days, it does feel like a spectacle, with a variation of styles and attempts, with the smaller songs sometimes working better to win than the ones that go huge. And despite the controversies and arguments, for the most part these are friendly arguments, in a friendly competition. Most countries try, and while there are some bloc voting accusations, rewatching these show that, at the very least, it's normally a top three song that wins, as well as the stand out at times. It's best to get into the spirit, embrace the campiness - that wasn't quite there in the seventies, and has been reduced a bit lately, but is also what makes the whole thing just a lot of fun.

The one hundred thirty-sixth TV show: #598 Curb Your Enthusiasm

It's taken us quite a while to come back to Curb, having watched it some time ago. We were watching it for a while, but two episdes into the fourth season we gave up. Now, watching more, it actually became clear why. This is written around cringe comedy, with Larry's attitude and people surrounding them creating a situation where it all falls apart. I don't think Larry is likeable, he gets into these situations too often, and the characters around him are the same - I can't sympathize with them. At the same time, the moments of cringe are too much, too painful and not entertaining. I can see why it's acclaimed - there are many moments of brilliance and genius - but especially in these times I don't think I can connect with them.

The ninetieth book: #74 Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Thanks to a summarized retelling of the book by the podcast Fictional, I knew that this book wasn't quite like what the movies and pop culture portrayed. The monster's creation is a small part of the story, with no observers or an Igor really present. Instead, the story focuses on Frankenstein dealing with what he created, throughout trying to escape responsibility - abandoning the monster until it gets his attention by murdering his loved ones. Even when asked to make a companion for the monster, he starts but destroys the creature in disgust.

As much as he frets about his relationship - mostly a courtship of his adopted cousin - it reads as a standard romance novel and really is just a set up for the horrendous things happening around him. The monster's story about how he survives afterwards is the more interesting description of his life, and his descriptions of his struggles to find any meaning are harrowing. Even after Frankenstein's death, the monster can't find peace, and the tragedy is his, as much as his creator wants otherwise. It's a powerful story that resonates now, even if popular culture didn't follow up.