November
75) HAIM ‘Days are Gone’
(Chrssy, Rob F agrees) 2013
I surprised myself by enjoying this. I had seen a bit of
their set at Glastonbury
(on TV, I wasn’t there!) and had heard 'The Wire' and wasn't impressed by
either. However, it was an enjoyable listen, poppy interesting, and a bit
different from a lot of the things I've been listening to. I can't see it
standing the test of time, but it's fun and enjoyable. It did however get a
little samey towards the end of the album.
76) Wakey! Wakey! ‘Almost Everything I wish I’d said the last time I saw
you…’ (Brodie, Simon) 2010
The first time I listened to
this I was thoroughly ‘meh’. So much so that I didn’t write anything down, and
then I had to listen to it again. I enjoyed it more the second time, even now I
don’t think it is anything special; I’d describe it as typical noughties
poppy-indie-rock (but with strings, hooray!) again the kind of thing I’d have
liked five/ten years ago but there’s a lot of it around and now I can’t be
bothered. I find a lot of the songs repetitive (Track 8 is a perfect example of
this!) Some of the lyrics are cute but they are a chronic overuser of the
‘repeat a line’ tactic, which I believe is only effective in small doses. This
would have been music for my carefree teenage days (get those strings, quick!)
77) Miles Davis ‘Kind of
Blue’ (Martin Taylor) 1959
So OK, I'd probably be lacking
a soul if I disliked this! It's mmmmmmm music. It's really accessibly (jazz
isn't always, but maybe the old stuff is). I'm not convinced the separate
tracks have separate identities in my head, but in a ‘they fit together’ way
rather than a ‘they are the same’ way.
78) Kino 'Blood Type' (Tom)
1987
This is all in Russian, so I
don't really have a clue what's going on (which is fine, just new!) Shame on my
upbringing though- upbeat slightly rocky European/Russian language music
unavoidably brings images of dancing old ladies riding scooters, or half naked
men serenading polar bears, or something equally Eurovision. Which I am certain
is less than this album deserves, given that it seems to have some political
significance due to its release at the collapse of the Soviet
Union. It is hard to dispel the images, however...
79) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 'Abattoir Blues/The Lyre
of Orpheus' (Andy) 2004
I enjoyed this, it kept my
interest throughout, was generally upbeat, and had me feeling like it was old
and familiar by halfway through the second listen. Every song reminded me of
something different, from the Divine Comedy to Primal Scream 'Rocks'. I don't
love it, either, though; maybe because I don't feel it's got one strong
identity. It feels like music I'd enjoy live in a smallish venue.
80) Rachmaninoff Piano
Concerto No.3 Arcadi Volodos (Matt)
I need to make a confession here- I have never sat and
listened to a Rach’ piano concerto. Since most of my favourite pieces are piano
concertos, this is a travesty. However, it is now corrected, thanks to Matt :-)
I was told specifically to
listen to this recording- but, given the above confession, I'm not particularly
well placed to recognise it as brilliant as separate from any other recording. That said, it deserves its position as a masterpiece- but I
have to confess I’m not about to place Rach at the top of my classical
favourites list. It doesn’t quite grab me and get melodies stuck in my head in
the way that some things do!
81) Elbow 'Build a Rocket
Boys!' (Sarah) 2011
I'm totally split on this. Each
song has some really interesting elements and it feels like there are a range
of influences and ideas; there's a hint of Eastern, a synthetic chill-out vibe,
some haunting harmonies. Problem is, this didn't stop me getting rather bored
at points (e.g. two minutes into the first song). Sometimes it just doesn't
feel like it's going anywhere. But then, you know there will, at some point, be
something new (e.g. three and a half minutes into the first song). It’s
definitely a ‘grower’ too; it was better on a second listen. Also, there is
something beautifully poetic about Elbow lyrics, although in most cases I can't
work out what they mean and in the case where they do make sense ('The Night
will always win'), they are prone to make me cry.
82) Sting and the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra 'Symphonicities' (Matt) 2010
It would be pretty much impossible for me to dislike this
because THERE IS AN ORCHESTRA which just puts this glorious big sound behind
everything. These are all original Sting tracks reworked with an orchestra; I’m
probably missing a bit not knowing the originals, but never mind. A
brilliantly diverse album.
