The one hundred fourty-second album: #142 Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash at San Quentin

After Folsom prison, Johnny Cash's next performance on this list returns to another prison, basically recording another concert that was edited into an album. This has more decent country, some of which were on the previous album with a bunch of new and and updated songs. Again, the crowd reaction stands out and adds to the performance - possibly more than before - and they get quite rowdy in places. The banter with the crowd helps as well - Cash comes across as quite charismatic, connecting with the crowd and it feels like he's having a good time.

The music itself is good, I enjoyed listening to the music even though I wasn't wowed by it - it's the same as always, but Cash is a good performer and makes it all sound good.

The four hundred and thirty-fifth song: Hotel California - The Eagles

How fairly can you judge a song as famous as this? Hotel California is a song I've been anticipating for a few years at this point. It's a classic, one that has a supernatural reading, but just as much can be interpreted to be about a place in life, something political or some other type of commentary, and all those readings work on some level.The relaxed rock makes it unintrusive, giving the feeling of that feeling that'd make you happy to stay in a place, prisoners of your own device where you're happy to stay in a place like that. It's lengthy, maybe not in a way that it should always be, but it sounds good, with enough of a message to make you wonder.

The four hundred and thirty-sixth song: Roadrunner - The Modern Lovers

While I would normally associate punk with a more political message, anti establishment and aggressive, Roadrunner (which would be classed as proto punk) is a lot simpler, instead focusing on the love of driving through American suburbs. It's not that deep, musically or lyrically, but just talks about an enjoyment of driving and being on the road. It's fine, infectious in a way, but doesn't feel like it offers me that much more.

The four hundred and thirty-seventh song: American Girl - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

We've got a nice poppy rock song here, the fun of the song perhaps slightly betraying its lyrics about wanting more out of life. There's something exciting about it, as the song plays on, while Tom Petty's slower vocals create a contrast that adds something slower to it. It works well, staying positive while it doesn't have quite all of that in the lyrics.

The four hundred and thirty-eighth song: Detroit Rock City - Kiss

Kiss's on stage persona is a big enough part of the band that it's hard for me to separate myself from them without a deeper dive into the music. Here in the songs it shows that too: While we have a hard rock number here, the additions of the sounds of traffic and the original album setting creates something theatrical as well. It is quite an exciting number that builds here, with some triumphant moments in there that makes for a good sounding song.

The four hundred and thirty-ninth song: Young Harts Run Free - Candi Staton

It's hard for me to point at where this song is special. It's disco, but quite standard disco at that. It is nice to dance to, but while there is a message int here, this doesn't feel like the genre of music to tell it in - especially as it feels like Candi Staton doesn't need all the production this number adds to it.

The four hundred and fourtieth song: Chase The Devil - Max Romeo

There is something unsettling and different about this song. While reggae generally doesn't work that well for me, there's something about the way the music works here that adds an unearthly feeling to it. The fact that it works better when sampled in other songs is probably the most telling - there's some good qualities here, but it's missing some things to really make the song work.

The four hundred and fourty-first song: New Rose- The Damned

Apparently this might be the first punk single. The aggression in the song goes through and it's a weird combination of the aggressive, noise filled punk sound and something fun in a joy of something new in life that feels like it goes missing a bit from punk as it becomes more political. It's loud and full, but enjoys things as well.

The four hundred and fourty-second song: Anarchy in the U.K. - Sex Pistols

In contrast, while released a few weeks after New Rose, Anarchy in the U.K. feels like it defines the punk attitude far more - anarchy, destruction and anger at the world. We'll get more of that, but here the attitude from the band members come through and this is as much a statement as anything, a "wall of sound" that fits underneath the vocals quite rightly, emphasizing the call for anarchy that would continue for some time. It feels like a statement, as well as a way in which the way the landscape shifted.

The four hundred and fourty-third song: Poor Poor Pitiful Me - Warren Zevon

Sometimes you can feel the sarcasm come through in the song title. It's a song about everything going wrong - down to failed suicide attempts, but the country rock song (far better than the country I've covered for the albums list so far) is sardonic enough that it feels amusing and funny instead. From not having heard of him, I'm actually quite curious to hear what else he has done, as there's something clever in these lyrics that I really enjoy.

The four hundred and fourty-fourth song: Underground - The Upsetters

While I've dunked on reggae a bit before, a lot of that felt like it came from the repetitive nature of the lyrics and how that influenced the song. Freed from those constraints, Lee "Scratch" Perry, the record producer, creates a more interesting sound as the repetition goes and we get a far more interesting mix of sounds instead. It's a soundscape that is created, with interesting scratches and different effects that make for something slightly otherworldly. While technically reggae, the instrumentals here move away from that genre's flaws into something quite appealing.

The one hundred fourty-first album: #141 The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin

As an off shoot of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers use their followup to move further in a country direction. Here we get melancholic country rock, the time that still doesn't do much for me. It's fine music, possibly a bit more enjoyable for me than other country albums, but it doesn't really have the depth or spirit other albums have had. Some write ups promise a fusion in this album of other types of rock into this, but I'm not hearing it as much - if it had experimented more, this album may have been worht a bit more.

The one hundred fourtieth album: #140 Blood, Sweat & Tears - Blood, Sweat & Tears

Blood, Sweat & Tears, almost in defiance of other groups, takes its rock in a far jazzier direction - to the point where a number of these songs feel more like jazz, with some country influences, with the occasional break that speeds up the song and adds something harder to it. The effect is used well - songs with a melancholic feel in the likes of God Bless the Child, which build up to a more triumphant section. It's also, obviously, a cover, which feels rare for the time, but also creates a song that feels unique, and quite different from the original. It's a nice sound to listen to, more interesting than pure jazz album would be to me but at the same time far easier to listen to.

The sixty-seventh classical recording: #694 Peter Warlock - The Curfew

There's some melancholic to this collection of songs, with its use of strings and an eerie flut, sung with short phrases that give you time to contemplate. It feels set at night (although that's unlikely with the birds referenced) and has this gloom over it. It's not an unpleasant one, just contemplative and quiet, and it worked well to get me relaxing and focused.

The one hundred eleventh TV show: #494 Kommisar Rex

There are plenty of crime shows out there and while some may get by on sheer talent, you'll usually need some sort of hook to get people interested. In the case of Kommisar Rex, it's the titular Rex, a police dog who joins Vienna's homocide unit after his handler is killed in an explosion.

He gets adopted by the charismatic Moser and the two form a crime fighting team. The dog himself is the obvious star - while he may not be able to speak, he's been trained to make sure he can convey a lot of different emotions - it's a real actor and you can feel for him from the first time you see him on screen, depressed about what happened to his owner. He comes across as clever - as smart as any human - and the show is at its best when he really gets to show off.

The second star - Moser at first, although he leaves later and gets competently replaced with quite a different character - works well, as a fairly competent cop with the occasional blind spot Rex helps him solve. It stands out from the beginning how much chemistry he has with the dog. The story goes that this was a normal crime show, but Tobias Moretti showed up to his audition with a dog and that worked well enough that they decided to work it into the show. It shows in how he always interacts with Rex, even when it's not scripted - he's always encouraging him and connecting and it works really well.

Add to that how the secondary cast works well - they're competent, with the comic relief coming from their interactions with Rex. Not as an enemy (and they are shown to care a lot for each other) but by annoying each other and, in particular, a lot of theft and sharing of ham rolls. Both the dogs and the characters in the show love them, and they're often comedic beats that occasionally turn into more touching moments.

There are a lot of these episodes, and the quality ones are mostly in the early seasons, but during this the show is immensely entertaining, while not shying away from the more difficult topics - there's plenty of deaths, bomb threats and hostages to stay busy.

The sixty-eighth book: #57 The Mysteries of Udolpho - Ann Radcliffe

We've entered the era where the gothic novel is really becoming popular, and Udolpho seems to be one of the well known ones that was used in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, a satire of the genre. There are a lot of common parts, mysterious, (seemingly) supernatural happenings, with a dark villain and the innocent lead character who gets involved in these dealings. We had the pure protagonist before, but here she's not perfect, just standing out in this dark world where people keep secrets.

The novel flows best in the middle third, while we're in the titular Udolpho castle. The novel gets a lot of set up - in a way that pays off really nicely, but perhaps feels a bit longer than needed - and while the resolution works well and is satisfying in the last few chapters, there are some dealings surrounding Emily getting her freedom that takes a while longer.

It's mostly a compelling read, with three dimensional characters that you can change around on. While there are some big twists, they're mostly set off well and pay off, and while there's hints of supernatural involvement, for the most part we get more satisfying explanations later. It's a decent read and it feels like we're getting better versions of these narratives.

The one hundred thirty-ninth album: #139 Crosby, Stills and Nash - Crosby, Stills and Nash

There's something to be said for competent, mainstream folk rock. While Crosby, Stills & Nash (and other permutations) have their heavier, message-filled songs, something like Marrakech Express is a nice, gentle song that fits all the tropes you'd expect, while sounding good throughout. It's a delight to listen to. It describes the rest of the album as well - easy to listen to, flowing nicely, and staying away from the harder side the other parts of rock flow to. They're gentle and because of that nice enough to listen to.

The one hundred thirty-eighth album: #138 Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bayou Country

I get a bit lost in all the different rock definitions, but Creedence Clearwater Revival sets itself apart from the other rock of the era by being a bit calmer - fewer screeching guitars - but still more musically active than some folk rock. There are some country references, and Proud Mary feels like a song that leans on that feeling especially, as well as Keep On Chooglin', while Born on the Bayou (perhaps ironically) feels far more like a normal a normal rock song. It feels like it's part of a shift, exploring this sound, and it makes it sound really good already.

The sixty-sixth classical recording: #20 Claudio Monteverdi - Madrigals

One of the reasons to do these recordings chronologically is that it gives an insight into how these evolve. The content is still lost on me - although as secular songs, I assume they are more basic than what we get with other songs. Monteverdi's madrigals, at least in the version we have here, is accompanied by a lute, but is mostly given shape as a polyphonic song, two voices building together.There is something romantic about the sound, where it feels more grounded than the motets we've had before, and it feels closer to more modern songs at time - though still slower and clearly influenced by motets. They're also more affected than 'folk' music, more developed than what I'm sure they felt the commoners would sing, and the combination of that makes for something effective to listen to.