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.

The eighty-fourth comic: #496 XIII: The Day of the Black Sun

An amnesiac man washes up on the shore of an American village. As he's being nursed to health, assassins attack. From there on, the story of XIII - named after the Roman numeral tattooed on his collar bone - begins. He gets immersed in a president's assassination as he tries to unravel the plot while also understanding his past.

It's a fairly easy to understand plot and the comic does well with it. While the book officially only covers the first issue, or (I suppose) the first arc, it doesn't provide you with all the answers. Rather, it gives you a decent idea of what's happening and more layers get revealed as time goes on. It never comes as quite unexpected or a way to keep the story going, but grows naturally from step to step (although some reveals are more telegraphed than others). It gets through it at a nice pace and while I haven't finished the whole run yet, it feels clear that it would have ended when the truth fully comes out. There's quite a bit of repetition in the basic get captured => get cornered => get rescued set up, but XIII is competent enough that there are enough variations on it.

The art looks quite good, in the realistic Belgo-French style that I know quite well. It's a great way to position the characters and adds to the gritty action feel. I'm going to keep going with this series - at this point I might as well see it through to the end.

The one hundred ninety-ninth album: #199 Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die

Unlike what I was really expecting, John Barleycorn Must Die starts with a seven minutes jazz song - not feeling quite as improvised as jazz normally gets, but still feeling quite loose. After that, the jazz influences remain a bit in the prog rock that follows, not a very complex sounding album but there are some decent vocal performances in the big, layered songs that work very well together. The titular, foksy track of John Barleycorn Must Die, is incredibly subdued in comparison, but because of that might well be the most memorable track of the six. It can clearly tell its story without gettig too deep into the prog rock sound and instruments - the flute really adding to the atmosphere. Ending with Every Moth's Son, the album ends especially strong, with what feel like its two best, most accessible tracks at the end, which make it worth the journey more than anything else.

The one hundred ninety-eighth album: Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman

Some folk rock works better than others for me and Cat Stevens' Tea For The Tillerman fails to hit the right notes for me. It's not one man and a guitar, which can hit the right notes for me, but while there's some big production, there's not always the energy that needs. It sounds musically good, but the sentiments and emotions it's meant to reach don't hit for me. What doesn't help is that the covers of his songs that I'm aware of - Father and Son and Wild World stand out - have that punch and hit the emotional beats more than I feel here. I guess I don't manage to connect with Cat Stevens in the way the music requires, and that hurts the quality of the album for me.