tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79168682024-03-18T12:30:33.732-05:00LSquared ImagingAll images copyright L.P.Lawhead unless specifically noted.LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.comBlogger4206125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-76253475092022461532024-03-18T12:30:00.001-05:002024-03-18T12:30:00.135-05:00Panos!<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> A couple of panoramas from the humble iPhone.... From Watershed Nature Center. Fun to do, every once in a while.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7qsOd5fnRqVPP-LvSIjnmL4HVlPT2boTusksavgKUHGTRDKefzwy0nV9jYvGJ88ZcY8-kj-Jhh2ZVbzVe8ZCtQxvOpTHCHea0nrW0GzhZGzqTyezOxTQeqrYh7duJt-OyOjTxxQ_EYmNnuOKZA288mkhiMizB5Wnwq9EteXqf2fm16ZPaP8e/s3000/IMG_4802lpl-3000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1687" data-original-width="3000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7qsOd5fnRqVPP-LvSIjnmL4HVlPT2boTusksavgKUHGTRDKefzwy0nV9jYvGJ88ZcY8-kj-Jhh2ZVbzVe8ZCtQxvOpTHCHea0nrW0GzhZGzqTyezOxTQeqrYh7duJt-OyOjTxxQ_EYmNnuOKZA288mkhiMizB5Wnwq9EteXqf2fm16ZPaP8e/w640-h360/IMG_4802lpl-3000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5oEdlm-0CVS47lMZ3mGBhVMzf2LpCof45inLvzCyKb7VfPhsaUTAVt5heeKpJzgICwKRm-_eluc5pweHSSplXum3OEOdf-nVvwbftGhvkVRkfx-JdusKdkS9H21zJg4WkwXaDGmgNGIQ0lJPhGCTHQBc1JwQhDXZQH0jcWG8h8RAcgfIH74f/s3000/IMG_4808lpl-3000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1688" data-original-width="3000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5oEdlm-0CVS47lMZ3mGBhVMzf2LpCof45inLvzCyKb7VfPhsaUTAVt5heeKpJzgICwKRm-_eluc5pweHSSplXum3OEOdf-nVvwbftGhvkVRkfx-JdusKdkS9H21zJg4WkwXaDGmgNGIQ0lJPhGCTHQBc1JwQhDXZQH0jcWG8h8RAcgfIH74f/w640-h360/IMG_4808lpl-3000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-80649223244764959692024-03-17T18:02:00.001-05:002024-03-17T18:02:00.159-05:00Week 10 (5 Mar - 11 Mar) Black and white portrait<p> <span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">So there's this thing called </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/541285426655571" style="color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Capture52</i></b></a><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo. I've </span><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/search/label/52weekchallenge" style="color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>started it a couple of times</i></b></a><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> but never made it very far. So, let's try again. 9 weeks in, and still making it. that's better than 2023, almost matching 14 in 2022, so this matches last year! </span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Well, another late posting, but this time it is because I failed. I was travelling that week, and really didn't have an opportunity. Plus, I'm not really a portrait person. But I made it 8 weeks, and hopefully can pick it back up.</span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I should post some b-and-w portraits I've taken through the years, but it'll take time to dig them up.</span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-68030104237667364982024-03-16T18:00:00.002-05:002024-03-16T18:00:37.674-05:00One Album A Day - 011<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">One Album A Day - 011</span></span></p><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-9128182240261595538" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 690px;"><p style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> As I noted <b><i><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/2024/01/one-album-day-002.html" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">before</a></i></b>, I've been working through the book <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die</i></b></a>, as presented though the <a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/lsqrd1001/info" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>1001 album generator</b> </i></a>web site. My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so). </span></p><p style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So here's the next few albums I listened to:</span></p><p style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #535353; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span># - Year - Album - Artist - Rating - Global</span><br />88 - 1979 - Reggatta De Blanc - The Police</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">5</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3.44<br />89 - 1969 - Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">4</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3.19<br />90 - 1989 - Raw Like Sushi - Neneh Cherry</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">2.71<br />91 - 1974 - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight - Richard Thompson</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">4</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3.04<br />92 - 2005 - Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3.46<br />93 - 1998 - Ray Of Light - Madonna - 3</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">2.96<br />94 - 1970 - Deep Purple In Rock</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Deep Purple</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">4</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3.35<br />95 - 1990 - Fear Of A Black Planet</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Public Enemy</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - 1</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3.34<br />96 - 1978 - The Modern Dance</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Pere Ubu</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">2.54<br />97 - 1990 - Shake Your Money Maker</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Black Crowes</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">4</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3.29<br />98 - 1984 - A Walk Across The Rooftops</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The Blue Nile</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">2.87<br />99 - 2001 - Amnesiac</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Radiohead</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3.44</span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"></span></p><div><br /></div><div><div style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/653293fabd2c375d18997fec" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Here's my summary page</i></b></a>.</span></div><div style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And this posting's Reviews:</span></div></div><div style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="color: #535353;"><b>99 - </b></span><span style="color: #535353;"><b>Amnesiac</b></span><b style="color: #535353;"> - </b><span style="color: #535353;"><b>Radiohead</b></span><b style="color: #535353;"> - </b><span style="color: #535353;"><b>3</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">I only knew the name Radiohead, was totally ignorant on the music.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Overall, pretty decent. Well done, good sound. Don’t love the singer but not too bad. I can see why lots of people like this. But it didn’t really “wow” me either. May grow on me if I listen again. </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.5, round down to 3</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">98</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">A Walk Across The Rooftops</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">The Blue Nile</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Hmm…. A Scottish band from 1984 that I’ve never heard of. Could be interesting. Check reviews, average rating is 2.87…. Uh oh.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">It’s ok, nothing special. But then again, I never really “got” the rhythm sound of the 80’s. And especially the UK synth-pop bands. The drums are way too treble-y / compressed, there's way to much of the synth sounds that dominated the era. The songs are kind of down beat.... But it works OK, for what it is. And what it is is not what I prefer. </span><span style="color: #535353;">3/5, it wasn’t boring.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">97</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Shake Your Money Maker</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">The Black Crowes</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">I’ve owned this album since it was current (1990). I really liked it when it came out, and still enjoy / appreciate it. It really throws back to the blues-rock of the late 70’s, which I grew up on. Maybe reminiscent of Bad Company meets Grand Funk, with a big hat tip to the 70’s Stones and a few hints of Zeppelin. This got a lot of play on Mainstream Rock radio, that would’ve been how I discovered it. I was in my early 30’s, with a wife and 2 young kids and my job that had me on the road a lot; this was like comfort food for me.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">33 years later it still gets played, but I wouldn’t call it essential. The high points are very high: Twice as Hard, Jealous Again, Hard To Handle (great Otis Redding cover), She Talks To Angels (one of the saddest songs of its time), Stare It Cold…. The rest is very solid.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">There’s nothing too dramatic here, just good old fashioned straight ahead rock and roll. And there ain’t nothing wrong with that. </span><span style="color: #535353;">4/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">96</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">The Modern Dance</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Pere Ubu</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span></b><span style="color: #535353;"><b>3</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">I know of Pere Ubu from back in the day, and I have the 1976 single “Final Solution” on a compilation album. But this album will be new to me. I’m pretty interested to listen to this. I “warmed up” by playing the aforementioned Final Solution, which I like (rated 3/5 stars on my iTunes). So on to the album.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">I like the overall sound here, a little “unpolished”, good driving rhythms. Not a huge fan of the vocal stylings, but reminiscent of Television. And some of the more experimental passages aren’t my favorite. But this isn’t boring, it’s different, and there’s several high points that take me right back to 1978. Really, this is the kind of album I came to this project to hear. That said, this is certainly niche, and not something I expect to purchase. </span><span style="color: #535353;">Solid 3/5 for being ambitious, and interesting.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">95</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Fear Of A Black Planet</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Public Enemy</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span></b><span style="color: #535353;"><b>1</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Hip Hop is my lowest rated genre, barely beating Electronica…. It is just not my thing. I’ve had on other Public Enemy album, it rated 1/5 for me.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">I don’t like the lack of any sort of melody, nothing approaching a “hook”. No discernible verse-chorus type structure. I just don’t like the scratches and squeals and samples and such.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">This seems to be a very well respected album, with Platinum sales, and 4x songs that were atop 11 on the Rap charts. It ranked #300 on Rolling Stone’s greatest albums list. It was certainly successful. It’s well put together. I can see where the messages resonate with a lot of people. It’s just not a style of music that I like. Similar to I don’t like Opera.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">All that said, I like this one a little better than the previous one (It takes a nation…). I but I didn’t make it all the way through the 63 minutes, so I guess it’s still a 1/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">94</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Deep Purple In Rock</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Deep Purple</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span></b><span style="color: #535353;"><b>4</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Deep Purple is an interesting beast. With 4 distinct configurations over their initial run, designated Mark I, Mark II, Mark III and Mark IV. Over those 4 configurations they released 10 studio albums in 8 years, plus 3 live albums. I've often thought their constant changes really held them back from even bigger success than they had. Smoke On The Water is one of the best known songs in rock, and Machine Head is a brilliant album. The double live Made In Japan is universally considered among the top live albums ever. All of which were the Mark II band.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">In Rock is the configuration that broke the band into the stratosphere, and defined the sound that they would be instantly recognizable. This album rocks with Ritchie Blackmore's guitar, and Jon Lord's organ, which are 2 of the really defining keys to Deep Purple's sound. The album starts hard with Speed Kind and really doesn't let up. Really solid 70's hard rock, one of the bands that kicked off the entire heavy metal genre.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">All of the Mark II albums are very good, but only Machine Head is essential. Well, Machine Head and Made In Japan. And In Rock isn't far behind those benchmarks.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Aside: This album is not available on Spotify, only 2 songs. And I only owned 2 songs (via an anthology collection). But it is on Youtube, which worked fine. </span><span style="color: #535353;">Solid 4/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">93</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Ray Of Light</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Madonna</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Not expecting a lot here, last Madona album to come up here didn't really wow me.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">I was a little surprised just how far down she is in the mix here, I thought she was a spotlight voice. Then again, I think I had a similar comment on the last Madonna album here (Music). The sound is overall lush, certainly well produced from a music standpoint... but the vocals are too far away. Overall, I like this a little better than Music. But it's really nothing special. And LONG. If these were 3-4 minute songs, it would be better. But each songs repeats for 5-6 minutes, which is simply monotonous.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Since it exceeded my (low) expectations, I'll go 3/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">92</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Get Behind Me Satan</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">The White Stripes</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">White Stripes are one of those bands that everyone gushed about during the early 2000's. But I know more about their image than their music. The whole Red/White/Black thing... Were they siblings? Spouses? Both!?!?! And Jack White being touted as the greatest guitarist of the millennia. The only song I could identify as their was 7 Nation Army, which is one of the most overplayed bits in ages.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Anyway, on to the music:</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Overall, this is fine. Pretty good even. Not my favorite, but certainly solid.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Probably the closest I have in collection to this is Them Crooked Vultures.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">The highpoint was "The Denial Twist", because I'm quite familiar with Weird Al's parody "CNR". You know how it is. or you should.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Anyway, yeah it's good. Certainly NOT boring. I'd probably go 3.5 if I could. But this one'll round down to 3 </span><span style="color: #535353;">3/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">91</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Richard Thompson</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">I'm not sure what I expected here, but not what I got. Richard and Linda Thompson are one of those highly respected groups / performers that I've never heard. I mean, this made the Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Albums (albeit at #479), one of 2x R&L Thompson albums on that list.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Anyway, I quite like this album. It is very much English Folk, somewhat reminiscent of Steeleye Span. With what I think is a renaissance type mood. I've listened to this twice today, and I'mm sure I'll listen to this again, and I expect it to grow on me. For now it's 4/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">90</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Raw Like Sushi</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Neneh Cherry</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Just 3 days ago, I was complaining that over 10% of my “assignments” here were Electronica, and how it is my second worst rated genre. I didn’t note then that the only genre ranked below Electronic is Hip Hop. So here we go, an album tagged both Electronica and Hip Hop. Groan. But also tagged Pop. Well let’s give it a shot….</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">I like this a lot more than some of the other Electronica or hip hop albums I’ve been served here. There’s songs that remind me of Madonna, and of the Spice Girls…. Maybe Paula Abdul. These are actual songs, with melody and such. Certainly dance music, but retaining the basic concepts of being music.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Overall, it’s ok, better than any of the other Electronica albums I’ve listened to. It gets a little repetitive, especially when the bonus tracks roll along. But really decent overall.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">3/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">89</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Chicago Transit Authority</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Chicago</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">The debut album from Chicago is notable in a lot of ways. It is an auspicious debut, reaching #17 on the US album charts, and selling double platinum. It includes several really great songs including 2x top 10 singles (Beginnings and Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?) and another top 25 (Questions 67 &68). This was a new sound, horns like this kid had never heard (in pop music). Killer guitar, shifting soundscapes.an impressive start.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">It's also a bit audacious. How many bands release a double album as a debut? And there's the rub. 32 minutes of this album are outstanding; really really great. But the album runs 76+ minutes, and a good bit of that is not compelling. I wish they had been more concise, maybe cutting a song or two (looking at you, Freeform Guitar and Poem 58). I just wish the whole thing was a bit more concise. It could've been stunning, instead it's just really good. This is early Chicago, before Tery Kath (guitar) died, and before soft rock stardom took over. </span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">Full disclosure, I own this album. </span><span style="color: #535353;">All in all 4/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353;">88</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Reggatta De Blanc</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">The Police</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">5<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">The Police exploded onto the music scene during my freshman year of college, and dominated the airwaves over 5 albums in just under 5 years. I have all their albums on vinyl, all bought when current. They brought a different sound, new and exciting. People would stop by my dorm and ask “what is that?” When it was playing in those first couple of weeks. Of course, soon everybody knew. Looking back through the lens of 45 years, it is easy to forget just how unique this sound was at the time. The Police were one of the drivers bringing New Wave to the masses at the end of the 70’s.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">It is interesting that Regatta de Blanc is the first Police album to show up here. It is actually the lowest charting (US) of the 5 releases, only making it to #25. It is a really solid album, but doesn’t have as many standout songs as their other records, but doesn’t have any real low points. It is probably my 2nd favorite of the 5 releases, only a hair below the debut. They really lean into the “White Reggae” thing here, as evidenced by the album title, but still includes a couple of straight rockers, “It’s alright for you” and “no time this time” which are both excellent.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;">It’s a great album that has stood the test of time. Hugely successful, influential…. 5/5</span></div><div style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div></span></div></div>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-32465570147000056182024-03-16T12:28:00.003-05:002024-03-16T12:28:44.333-05:00Edge Of Spring - Missouri Botanical Garden<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Nice early season visit to <a href="https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/" target="_blank"><b><i>Missouri Botanical Garden</i></b></a> yesterday, March 15th. A little grey, a little cool-ish, and a lot of "not-quite-yet" on the foliage. But it was a really nice day. It could be interesting to start a project to go back periodically and try to recreate these 3 photos are the garden grow...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNlSFE1sp27x94d8y4v7aaIEVuVpsG317rfbZa2x6PTxL_MqXt3D3J6rnZgVSONXOByV7-B_KaQfvfN212APj-0WIfDSLOjUn2efkdnzjnAd5KN9FsCGeNOuaP6f2JMJy-bZuqxmvIW0TABHdBjS6puDroEpSQiFdQf3sDFkoMPq5T6hDgjuh/s2048/XT3F7850lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNlSFE1sp27x94d8y4v7aaIEVuVpsG317rfbZa2x6PTxL_MqXt3D3J6rnZgVSONXOByV7-B_KaQfvfN212APj-0WIfDSLOjUn2efkdnzjnAd5KN9FsCGeNOuaP6f2JMJy-bZuqxmvIW0TABHdBjS6puDroEpSQiFdQf3sDFkoMPq5T6hDgjuh/w640-h426/XT3F7850lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Wide angle: Focal length = 10mm, which is 15mm equivalent</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">- - -</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHQVji-6FLAykN_x3hx597mZe2aqY3tn8JiylcBRAIhWPLsp1NOoYm-tywE3cnhyJ_1znK1iA3shdia52cGXx3VREppdrNIIdNwUtA0G-bE2poT5Zq8l_O5vCf1-va_5HWkR_n6k5mBNMXLWfjP8vmdu9ZnCwaSTbIxOlgnbCqvfn7ZoLNo-c/s2048/XT3F7853lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHQVji-6FLAykN_x3hx597mZe2aqY3tn8JiylcBRAIhWPLsp1NOoYm-tywE3cnhyJ_1znK1iA3shdia52cGXx3VREppdrNIIdNwUtA0G-bE2poT5Zq8l_O5vCf1-va_5HWkR_n6k5mBNMXLWfjP8vmdu9ZnCwaSTbIxOlgnbCqvfn7ZoLNo-c/w426-h640/XT3F7853lpl-2048.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">"Normal" angle: Focal length = 42.5mm, which is 63.75mm equivalent</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - - -</span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzAccdEKrvw4dEOjN2ls822nzjrSYI_fyX_feUnni5fQ9XlpnuzA8bagIi3pi9a-EdC88CSkQPVbu8AoFEw3NrOyMYi6IrrhH_GwYzgGMmJZH0EvQ5h9xcKEfrImQBpkoaMndK2p58tXW8QuV55eAdIW-dtMXD218gBvttfGwoEvJCK2C8Gdk/s2048/IMG_4770lpl-20488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzAccdEKrvw4dEOjN2ls822nzjrSYI_fyX_feUnni5fQ9XlpnuzA8bagIi3pi9a-EdC88CSkQPVbu8AoFEw3NrOyMYi6IrrhH_GwYzgGMmJZH0EvQ5h9xcKEfrImQBpkoaMndK2p58tXW8QuV55eAdIW-dtMXD218gBvttfGwoEvJCK2C8Gdk/w640-h360/IMG_4770lpl-20488.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And a pano from my phone, cropped to 16x9 aspect ratio</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">- - -</span></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-26628647696262465972024-03-08T12:30:00.004-06:002024-03-08T12:30:00.173-06:00Week 09 (26 Feb - 4 Mar) Macro/Up close<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">So there's this thing called </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/541285426655571" style="color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Capture52</i></b></a><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo. I've </span><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/search/label/52weekchallenge" style="color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>started it a couple of times</i></b></a><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> but never made it very far. So, let's try again. 9 weeks in, and still making it. that's better than 2023, almost matching 14 in 2022, so this matches last year! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Posting late here, but it was on-time to <a href="https://365project.org/tags/52wc-2024-w9" target="_blank"><b><i>365project</i></b></a> and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set?set=oa.918300713325488&type=3" target="_blank"><b><i>FB Group</i></b></a>....</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Week 09 (26 Feb - 4 Mar) Macro/Up close<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Choose your subject and get up close.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This was as close as I could get w/o a macro lens...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FW6sdKp-THIv4unNJkAJNtj0r16FcleS6t68Jp4SQcFglmpzMFOjFl2yGEgFb5sRVvmDt9aM2XXhgVZ3zbJMNBNeOTF238-omFimqsWSeqT1xwmOPQWuby_imNX2_9uDRGf2GQBnsgDDmj-LgVnvitwN-I5-pPgdW04AvSBDgVfj7KdfGhxA/s4695/9404763_gjkmpsty35_o.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3129" data-original-width="4695" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FW6sdKp-THIv4unNJkAJNtj0r16FcleS6t68Jp4SQcFglmpzMFOjFl2yGEgFb5sRVvmDt9aM2XXhgVZ3zbJMNBNeOTF238-omFimqsWSeqT1xwmOPQWuby_imNX2_9uDRGf2GQBnsgDDmj-LgVnvitwN-I5-pPgdW04AvSBDgVfj7KdfGhxA/w640-h426/9404763_gjkmpsty35_o.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-60265109632495657702024-03-06T13:50:00.004-06:002024-03-06T13:50:45.698-06:00One Album A Day - 010<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;">One Album A Day - 010</span></p><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-9128182240261595538" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 690px;"><p style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> As I noted <b><i><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/2024/01/one-album-day-002.html" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">before</a></i></b>, I've been working through the book <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die</i></b></a>, as presented though the <a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/lsqrd1001/info" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>1001 album generator</b> </i></a>web site. My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so). </span></p><p style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So here's the next few albums I listened to:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"># - Year - Album - Artist - Rating - Global</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">78 - 199</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Nevermind</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Nirvana</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">4</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">4.4</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">79 - 1977</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">New Boots And Panties</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Ian Dury</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">4</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">2.78</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">80 - 2000</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Parachutes</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Coldplay</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3.45</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">81 - 1971</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Sticky Fingers</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">The Rolling Stones</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">5</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3.88</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">82 - 1970</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Black Sabbath</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Black Sabbath</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">4</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3.76</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">83 - 1986</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Graceland</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Paul Simon</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">5</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3.75</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">84 - 1999</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">The Contino Sessions</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Death In Vegas</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">2</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">2.91</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">85 - 2014</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Lost In The Dream</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">The War On Drugs</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3.41</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">86 - 1978</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Shalimar</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Rahul Dev Burman</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">2.63</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">87 - 2007</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Cross</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Justice</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">1</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3.31</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><br /></p><div style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/653293fabd2c375d18997fec" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Here's my summary page</i></b></a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And this posting's Reviews:</span></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">78 - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Nevermind</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Nirvana</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">4</span></b><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Nevermind was a watershed album, a new sound that captured everyone’s attention. I know (now) it wasn’t Nirvana’s first album, nor were they the first grunge band. But they were were the first to explode, and this is the album that broke out. I was in my early 30’s when this came out, and I was mightily impressed. I can imagine the impact it would’ve had on me if I had been 17. The first five songs are outstanding, and the rest are very solid. That said, this is not an album that I listen to very often. It is overall dark, and unhappy. It starts to wear the further along it gets. Kinda of like the Sex Pistols, which came out when I WAS 17. I’d play side one of that album at top volume before heading out with the guys, but rarely side 2 (back in the vinyl days, kids). And it just doesn’t get that much play these days. Part of me says this deserves a 5 for the first 1/2 cultural significance, Weird Al did a spoof of Teen Spirit after all. But I settle to 4, because the 2nd half drags, and it’s simply not something that gets played (by me) very often. 4/4</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">79 - New Boots And Panties - Ian Dury</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">4</span></b><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">I miss 1977. A year that saw the release of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Pink Floyd’s Animals, Styx’s Grande illusion, Meatloaf’s Bat Out Of Hell, Steely Dan’s Aja, Foreigner’s debut…But also the debut albums from The Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads. And even Ian Dury. Point is, it was a wide open time, open to a wide range of music. And I liked it all. I own (and have long owned) almost every album mention above, except Ian Dury. I have singles of Sex and Drugs and Rick and Roll, and of Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick. Fun, a little bit whacky, decidedly original. Not boring. But, before today, I’d not heard the whole album. So let’s get to it: This album was everything I hoped for. Fun, a little bit whacky, decidedly original. Not boring. It built nicely, peaking with the latter songs. I’m going to want to listen to this again, spend some more time with this one. 4/5</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">80 - Parachutes</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Coldplay</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3</span></b><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">I know the name Coldplay, but I don't think I've heard anything by them. At least not knowingly. It is a lot more "pleasant" than I expected, Pretty melodic, has that sort of guitar sound that i equate with a lot of Christian Contemporary music. kind of a pulsing, doubling the beat kind of thing. With a decidedly mid-tempo beat. The vocals are a little high-pitched, but clear and not strained. The overall sound is clean and clear. It's all fine. Just fine. As in only fine. Somewhat "backgroundy"... Nothing to especially like, or dislike. It was intersting to read the reviews here, seems that Coldplay inspires a lot of VERY postitive and VERY negative reactions. I guess it cultural, where you may have been (personal space) in 2000. Looking at them without that lens, I can't really generate a lot of emotional response one way or the other. Solid 3/5.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">81</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">1971</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Sticky Fingers</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">The Rolling Stones</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">5</span></b><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Sticky Fingers was the first Sones studio release of the 70’s, coming out in Spring 1971. This was a staple of “Album Oriented” radio, and was a notable part of the soundtrack of my teens. “Brown Sugar”, Bitch” and “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” are top notch, with “Wild Horses” as a solid change of pace (though not as good as “Angie”). One of the first Rolling Stones albums I owned. An Iconic album from an iconic band, with some iconic songs; complete with an iconic album cover. What’s not to like? Well…. Like a lot of Stones records, the highs are VERY high, but there’s a fair bit of middling songs, and a couple that are not so good. For me at least, the last 1/3 of the album isn’t compelling, while the first 1/2 is outstanding. And like a lot of Stones records, often the lyrics aren’t politically correct. Especially by current standards, but even back in the day. At least they were consistent, and unapologetic. The only questing is if those couple of average songs can drag this down from 5 to 4. After a fresh listen, I’m settling on 5.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">82</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">1970</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Black Sabbath</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Black Sabbath</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">4</span></b><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Another iconic album that has been in my collection for many years. The debut album from Black Sabbath, an album many credit with creating Heavy Metal (TM). Unquestionably iconic. That said, this is not my favorite Sabbath album, and I never owned it on vinyl. I think they were still developing as an entity at this point, and their next 4 albums are objectively better. But that just means “really good” instead of “outstanding”. Overall, it’s just not as “tight”, as their latter albums, which is supported by the reports the whole thing was recorded in a single 12 hr session, with virtually no overdubs. Evil Woman is the only cover version in the Sabbath catalog, and it strikes me as an A&R man’s addition is search of a hit. I’ve often wondered how much better this could’ve been with a bit more care in the process, a bit more faith from the record company. But this is the first, the one that defined (not redefined) heavy music. And there’s a several great songs. This is a solid album, groundbreaking. But I’ll still prefer Paranoid, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, or even Vol. 4. All of which I owned on vinyl since the 70’s. Another solid 4/5</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">83</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Graceland</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Paul Simon</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">5</span></b><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Paul Simon’s Graceland is one of those albums that I consider to be “important”. It had been 3 years since Simon’s last album, which had only reached #35 on the US charts, and 6 years since his last top 40 hit. Simon had just turned 45, he was recently divorced, and his star seemed to be fading. He’s quoted as saying he was “in a tailspin”. In response, he did something completely different. He was given a bootleg cassette of music from South Africa, and ended up going to South Africa to create an album with local musicians. And what an album! Graceland features a sound that was heavily influenced by the South African music scene, and has a sound and feel that stretched into new areas. The influence varies from light to heavy, but is always present. The result is Simon’s most successful album. Multi platinum around the world, Top 10 in at least a dozen countries. And deservedly so. The songs range from brilliant to very good. It opened the door for wider recognition and discussions about the political situation in South Africa, it exposed countless people to new types of music. It’s filled with memorable songs, and the total is greater than the sum of the parts. 5/5</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">84</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">1999</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">The Contino Sessions</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Death In Vegas</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">2</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">I dunno, maybe I’d dig this electronica stuff if I (still?) did drugs. Or if I had done (at some point) the “right” drugs. But I don’t, or I didn’t, so I just don’t get it. This is better than some of the electronica this project has served up, but it is still, at best, background music. It’s got some decent grooves, but nothing happens with them…. Except repetition. My main reaction to this album is BORED. Each song, after a minute or so, just merges into the overall background. Actually, background isn’t the right word, it implies a certain not-intrusive feel. This is not quiet music. Again, I imagine this being the sound of a dark club with flashing lights and lots of folk doing drugs that didn’t exist when I was in my 20s. And even when I was younger, I wasn’t into that kind of scene. The best analogy to my days would be to say this is More Iron Butterfly than Pink Floyd. You know: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, the cool little 3 minute song that’s really a 17+ minute exploration of… …. Well, something mind altered. Not that I would know… That said, Alsha, with Iggy Pop vocals (more spoken than sung) rises above it. It could be a pretty decent 3:30 song, but it drones on for almost 6 minutes, and loses its edge. Really just not my thing. I’ll give it 2 stars for the almost cool Iggy Pop song. I didn’t give up on the listen, but I wasn’t sad when it was done. 2/5</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">85</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Lost In The Dream</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">The War On Drugs</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3</span></b><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">I probably shouldn’t have read some reviews before listening, but I did. “Underwhelming”, “I’ve never understood the hype”, ultimately one dimensional”, “fairly uninspiring”…. Uh oh. Especially worrisome we’re several comments about the drumming being the same across the album. The problem with that is that once it is mentioned, you can’t help but notice. And once you notice, it is hard to ignore. Like quite a few albums I’d heard through this project, it’s not bad. But neither is it especially good. Certainly not “must hear”. Solidly in the OK but no interest in hearing again. A good bit of this is downright lethargic. And most of the songs go on and on without adding anything. Over 1/2 the songs are 6+ minutes (we’ll 5:55+), all would be better if truncated by at least a minute. I’m not against longer songs, just longer songs with no reason. And the band name is just more evidence that all the good band names were gone by the year 2000. 3/5, but barely.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">86</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Shalimar</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Rahul Dev Burman</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">3</span></b><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">OK, this will be interesting, I've only had a slight exposure to anything Bollywood. On the other hand, I do have several movie soundtracks in my collection, and cam appreciate the form. This is actually pretty good stuff. A little out of my "zone", a little weird and certainly different. But it's fun, and a little funky, and not boring. My only real complaint is that it's not especially well produced. In particular, the vocals aren't crips and clear. Overall, 3/5 with props for being interesting. 3/5</span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">87</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Cross</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">Justice</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">1</span></b><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;">This is my 87th day doing this project, and the 9th Electronica album I’ve been assigned. More than 1 in 10 rate. Coming in to this listen, Electronica is my second worst rated genre, at 1.88 average. After this rating is added, that’ll drop to 1.78. I just hope I don’t get subjected to any/many more. Sorry, this just isn’t my thing. And this specific Electronica offering is probably my least favorite of the Electronica albums I’ve had to endure. 1/5</span></p><div><br /></div><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div><br /></div></div>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-75281214487960353552024-03-06T11:21:00.003-06:002024-03-06T11:21:45.534-06:00Week 08 (19 Feb - 25 Feb) Fill the frame<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: #535353; text-align: center;">So there's this thing called </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/541285426655571" style="color: #d37d46; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Capture52</i></b></a><span style="color: #535353; text-align: center;">, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo. I've </span><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/search/label/52weekchallenge" style="color: #d37d46; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>started it a couple of times</i></b></a><span style="color: #535353; text-align: center;"> but never made it very far. So, let's try again. 8 weeks in, and still making it. that's better than 2023, almost matching 14 in 2022, so this matches last year! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Posting late here, but it was on-time to <a href="https://365project.org/tags/52wc-2024-w8" target="_blank"><b><i>365project</i></b></a> and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1076564310319775&type=3" target="_blank"><b><i>FB Group</i></b></a>....</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Week 08 (19 Feb - 25 Feb) Fill the frame: Week 08 (19 Feb - 25 Feb) Fill the frame</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcYIKaWrKt0KbXjcwV3d1GuJkVIvzB3Cwg5WQCTYfRJ9bKy-BYdmbF4MEVjFiOC6NroduHkTJi8hEA01E0W7gEgqL5VBPOjsrFKX2tVGCc0OKgz3L3crbCOHCyuKdwVTfjHok9sskIlsqfrvflIr8cnrTQOVR5VHOAASKAR97Miw4rYTQpGp6/s5393/9403248_jmqstvw145_o.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5393" data-original-width="3595" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcYIKaWrKt0KbXjcwV3d1GuJkVIvzB3Cwg5WQCTYfRJ9bKy-BYdmbF4MEVjFiOC6NroduHkTJi8hEA01E0W7gEgqL5VBPOjsrFKX2tVGCc0OKgz3L3crbCOHCyuKdwVTfjHok9sskIlsqfrvflIr8cnrTQOVR5VHOAASKAR97Miw4rYTQpGp6/w426-h640/9403248_jmqstvw145_o.jpeg" width="426" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><br /></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-91281822402615955382024-02-23T12:30:00.001-06:002024-02-23T12:30:00.138-06:00One Album A Day - 009<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">As I noted </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><i><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/2024/01/one-album-day-002.html" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">before</a></i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">, I've been working through the book </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">, as presented though the </span><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/lsqrd1001/info" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>1001 album generator</b> </i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">web site. My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so). </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So here's the next few albums I listened to:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">#</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Year</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Album</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Artist</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Rating</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Global</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">68 - 1979</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Rust Never Sleeps</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Neil Young and Crazy Horse</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">4</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3.54</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">69 - 2004</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aha Shake Heartbreak</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Kings of Leon</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3.06</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">70</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1979</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">London Calling</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Clash</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">5</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3.99</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">71</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1969</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Led Zeppelin</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Led Zeppelin</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">5</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">4.14</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">72</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1973</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Band On The Run</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Paul McCartney and Wings</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">5</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3.64</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">73</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1971</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Yes Album</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Yes</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">5</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3.32</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">74</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1975</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Mothership Connection</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Parliament</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">4</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3.63</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">75</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2015</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Vulnicura</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Björk</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2.82</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">76</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1978</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Here, My Dear</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Marvin Gaye</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3.24</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">77</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1993</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Orbital 2</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Orbital</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2.74</span></p><p style="background-color: white;"></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/653293fabd2c375d18997fec" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Here's my summary page</i></b></a>.</span></div><div style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And this posting's Reviews:</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>77 Orbital 2 Orbital 1</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's see what the project serves me today: mid 90's band/album I've never heard of. OK... Genre is "Electronica", average rating is 2.74... uh-oh. Skim some reviews, found this: "this is a huge throwback for me. My pacifier and glowsticks, oversized pants, pigtails, pumas and DANCING!"... Double Uh-Oh. But, the point is to listen, so let's listen!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">pause</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Listening to this, I’m reminded of an old joke about Grateful Dead music. “Q: What does a deadhead say when the music stops? A: Wow, this music sucks!” Maybe Orbital would be awesome if I was at a Rave, doing whatever drugs you do at a Rave. But I’m not, never was, never will be. So this is NOT awesome. And it is very, Very, VERY repetitive.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I guess this is ok for what it is: background sounds for a mid 90’s party. Not really intended for you to pay much attention to, or sit and listen to. I thought about giving this a 2, and I might have, if didn’t just keep on going and going and going…. By the 50th minute, the irritation level had ramped up to max and I only listened to 1/2 of the last 3 songs.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">76</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">Here, My Dear</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">Marvin Gaye</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">3</span></b><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I was a teenager when this album came out, was familiar w/ Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and “Let’s Get It On” albums…. But had never heard of this one… hmm…. Looking at Wikipedia, I see it’s a divorce album, not just an album about failed love, but an album recorded as part of a divorce settlement (awkward). And an album that didn’t do especially well at the time, but has grown in esteem.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Anyway, it’s ok as an album, the sound is pretty similar to “Let’s Get It On”. Lyrically, there’s quite a lot of overt bitterness here…. This is a message to his ex-wife, dumping some emotional baggage on her. I think that detracts from the overall album, it’s just too front and center, and pervasive. It all comes off as a little self-indulgent. Unlike some other divorce albums, like Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks, Phil Collins’ Face Value or Tom Petty’s Echo.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, there’s no hit here, and while the music is solid, there’s no really memorable pieces. “A Funky space Reincarnation” is the best song here, and reached #23 on the R&B charts. Bottom line. It’s ok, but I’d rather listen to Let’s Get It On.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Solid 3/5</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>75 Vulnicura Björk 1</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The first song starts out with the following lyrics, choked out syllable by syllable, over seemingly random meandering synthesizer strings:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“A juxtapositioning fate / Find our mutual coordinates / Moments of clarity are so rare / I better document this / at last the view is fierce / all that matters is this / who is open chested / and who is coagulated”</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I’m just not sure how I can take that seriously. This is the second Bork album I’ve received in the 1st 75 days. I rated the 1st at 2/5, with the comments “I thought the first couple of songs were pretty good. Sort of an ambient, ethereal feel. But with each passing song it held my interest less and less. Just not really my ‘thing’. 2/5….” Well, the second album jumps straight into the bit about each song holding my interest less and less.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This doesn’t offend me, I don’t hate it. But I sure don’t like it either. As with the prior Bork album, it’s just not my thing. I’m bored by this, and that’s disappointing. Frankly, as I get further through this, it’s starting to kind of irritate me. I’m taking a break at about 1/2 way through, but I’m not expecting it to improve….</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">- - - -</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">It didn’t. I admit, I gave up somewhere in the middle of the 7th song. I guess I’m just not cool enough. 1/5</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>74 Mothership Connection Parliament 4<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The only song I knew going in was "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)", which is a great funk song, something that got a fair amount of exposure back in the day. I have a digital copy of this one. But I hadn't ever heard the whole album, so I was pretty interested when this came up today.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a pretty solid album in the realm of funk, most of it is quite good. I was groovin' the whole time. That said, "Give Up The Funk" is the only song that's really memorable, and the "radio announcements" part of the opening song weren't my favorite. I think this will deserve some additional listens before I make a final judgement, but I'll give it a conditional 4/5</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>73 The Yes Album Yes 5<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes is the quintessential 1st generation Prog Rock band, and this album kicked off a run of 5 essential prog albums in 45 months. They defined the genre, and turned out an amazing suite of albums in a short period of time. Props to ELP and Genesis, but Yes led the pack.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a great album, with some of their best known songs: Your Move (All Good People), Perpetual Change, Starship Trooper... Great stuff. From the personal standpoint, the single version of I've Seen All Good People was the first prog song I remember hearing on the radio, on my little transistor radio in the backyard of the family home. ELP's Lucky Man came out before, but peaked at #48 in the US, and I don't remember hearing it until later.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I am and have been intimately familiar with this album for 50+ years. I’ve had this on vinyl, I’ve had it on CD, I have it on digital. This is not my favorite Yes album, but it is probably a 3 way tie for #2. And an easy 5/5</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>72 Band On The Run Paul McCartney and Wings 5</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If you were listening to AOR radio in 1973/74, you’ve heard every song from this album. It was everywhere, and cemented Paul as the most commercially successful ex-Beatle. John’s “Mind Games” came out about the same time, and while that’s a great song, I don’t think it’s a great album. Likewise with George’s song “Give Me Love”, or Ringo’s song “Photograph” which were both released around the same time. Pretty impressive time for the guys.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">That said, Band On The Run is by far the best overall album. It’s McCartney, so it is catchy tunes, great Melodie’s, well played and produced. Lyrically it’s nothing too deep and meaningful, but not like some of the fluff he put out occasionally.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This album is party of the mid-70’s rock soundtrack. If you were there, you know it. If you weren’t this is a great collection of classic rock “deep tracks”. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">5/5</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>71 Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin 5</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Led Zep’s first album is the opening blast from one of the best hard rock bands ever. “Good Times Bad Times” may be the best opening track of any debut album in rock history. A great introduction (warning?) about what was in store.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">That said, “I” is not my favorite LZ album. Depending on the day, that’s either “II” or “Zoso” (IV). This one stays pretty close to the reworking of blues standards formula, but they sure do it well.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I’ve said before that LZ is the greatest rock band. Not my favorite rock band, but up near my top. But from the music to the image and back to the music, they ruled the roost from 1969 through the 70’s.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If you asked me to list the best Rock / Hard Rock albums of the classic rock period, this is an easy addition. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">5/5</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">70</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">London Calling</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">The Clash</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">5</span></b><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Early 1980, and I was doing some freelance photography for the college newspaper, as a favor to my girlfriend's roommate. And to get access to their darkroom. One day I noticed a stack of records that had been sent to them to review. Nobody had claimed this one, so I jumped on it. I had the Clash's 1st album, and a couple of 45's / EPs, so I figured this would be worth having. That's a big win!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This is one of the most iconic albums of the English punk rock scene, though it marks a big step towards the mainstream. It also an iconic album overall, ranking #8 non the original (2003) Rolling Stone list of 500 Top Albums of all time.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This album still has some of the angry posturing of the earlier Clash, but it is tempered, and the rough edges are a bit more polished. And the heavy-handed politics of later Clash albums is largely reined in here. Their US commercial breakthrough, their first album to crack Top 100 (#27) with their 1st US Top 40 hit (Train In Vain at #23).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The sound is great, the songs are great, there's a wide variety of stylings to keep it from getting monotonous (a minor problem with their 1st album). It is a bit long as a double album, but I'm not sure what you'd drop to shorten it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This is one of the few albums that I'd rate as IMPORTANT (TM) in the context of rock music. 5/5</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>69 Aha Shake Heartbreak Kings of Leon 3</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Well, I really like the way this started off, the first song really kicked. Then, 41 seconds in, the vocalist came in and ruined it. It's a shame, because musically, this album is really good, in a 2000's indie kind of way. I pulled up the lyrics around the 3rd song, and kinda sorry I did. Not exactly deep and meaningful. Actually, not remotely deep and meaningful. But I do like the music (as I've already noted).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Bottom line? 3/5 swap out to a decent singer, and add even a semblance of interest in the lyrics and this is a solid 4 (at least). just could've been so much more... </span><span style="font-family: arial;">3/5</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>68 Rust Never Sleeps Neil Young and Crazy Horse 4</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This is Neil Young’s last album of the 1970’s; a remarkable decade that saw him release 9 studio albums, 2 live albums, a soundtrack album, and a 3-disc compilation. Oh yeah, and his work with CSNY (1 live album, 1 studio album and 1 hits album)…. And a collaboration album with Stills. Frightfully prolific, and at much of it is essential. Including Rust Never Sleeps.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a fascinating album, mostly recorded live, but all new songs, and presented without crowd noise. Somewhat similar to Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty”…. Side 1 (of the original vinyl) is essentially acoustic, more introspective. Side 2 brings our Crazy Horse to rock out. Somewhat similar to Still’s prior Alive album.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">It all works, well, though the song “Welfare Mothers” is a little trite, and maybe a touch offensive…</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I own 6 of NY’s studio albums from the 70’s, purchased in the 70’s on the original vinyl. (And a couple others from the 70’s purchased later…. And some pre and post 70’s stuff, of course). This is probably #5 in my rank of the 70’s Neil Young output, probably #6 if you include CSNY.. I actually hadn’t played it in a while before this, and it was like revisiting an old friend, very enjoyable. But I prefer side 1 by a lot, and “Hey Hey </span><span style="font-family: arial;">My My” is the only iconic song here. I really want to go 5 here, but just can’t quite convince myself. After struggling, I’ll round 4.5 down to 4.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-61019201468945846282024-02-20T14:45:00.006-06:002024-02-20T14:47:26.180-06:00Moon Crazy<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJliAtjf863fpJ6-oy1tt-ivjs363Y4-roVIflUva588hl2y_Qx61B_wnhNyGvQpB98TmukJTs3preaxOMvWsUVVwu3J0RQV0V3pQbWmuuRcqS2nA-O3UECWRyuffERfixiZtE9c6l2WpANwOYcVGE6qYmfRF9L0yl9Q58fV-XhpbknmjB3N-/s2048/XT405296lpl-2048.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJliAtjf863fpJ6-oy1tt-ivjs363Y4-roVIflUva588hl2y_Qx61B_wnhNyGvQpB98TmukJTs3preaxOMvWsUVVwu3J0RQV0V3pQbWmuuRcqS2nA-O3UECWRyuffERfixiZtE9c6l2WpANwOYcVGE6qYmfRF9L0yl9Q58fV-XhpbknmjB3N-/w640-h426/XT405296lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>Just a little something. Taken at Schon Park, Glen Carbon. </p><p><br /></p><p>Unprocessed version below:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguk3zPk2jEchbgdgXfbLRcWkrg0ivcZ5E1Yff3FDegD3NE2FZEr6NVjhxnx9Sewjf_kuugj_bNV-SeFf9PxYNLpBetwSNQH0PG9pzcInYADY9VY0ko-e6rdMq_74icw8Vj1Vz68ZJq2DGuoOk8MEUp8nM4uZUwV_sN4novISYXMyAAecDFR6So/s6240/XT405296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguk3zPk2jEchbgdgXfbLRcWkrg0ivcZ5E1Yff3FDegD3NE2FZEr6NVjhxnx9Sewjf_kuugj_bNV-SeFf9PxYNLpBetwSNQH0PG9pzcInYADY9VY0ko-e6rdMq_74icw8Vj1Vz68ZJq2DGuoOk8MEUp8nM4uZUwV_sN4novISYXMyAAecDFR6So/w640-h426/XT405296.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-29772202288085455192024-02-17T17:00:00.005-06:002024-02-17T17:00:00.142-06:00Week 07 (12 Feb - 18 Feb) Choose your colour<p> <span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">So there's this thing called </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/541285426655571" style="color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Capture52</i></b></a><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo. I've </span><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/search/label/52weekchallenge" style="color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>started it a couple of times</i></b></a><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> but never made it very far. So, let's try again. 6 weeks in, and still making it. But it is early. Looks like I made 6 weeks in 2023, and 14 in 2022, so I've eclipsed last year!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">This week's prompt was "Choose Your Color", with the prompt: "</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Any subject, choose one colour." </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> I opted to use the photo I took for the "Flash Of Red" challeneg over at 365project. This features selective color, desaturating everything except the red/orange. <a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/2024/02/little-bridies.html" target="_blank"><b><i>There wasn't a lot of other colors to start with</i></b></a>, but I decided to use this version. What do ya think?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjpIN_iaL4mfrcLXnklDzMx2ouzDok3rPVpwJdZ_-_iP_Jpxtt_heb0xxfNTThGUXa7ExDqBf_l0mgvNsi02Gsx0rshVSkChTYnwYlNw1C7j4a64p8nKNTxuRPLJU9DzMivqM23ZEluknqQRpD0jECkiFF4iPXo5lih2rdBjlMUZI83k-e1C_/s2048/XT3F7220lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjpIN_iaL4mfrcLXnklDzMx2ouzDok3rPVpwJdZ_-_iP_Jpxtt_heb0xxfNTThGUXa7ExDqBf_l0mgvNsi02Gsx0rshVSkChTYnwYlNw1C7j4a64p8nKNTxuRPLJU9DzMivqM23ZEluknqQRpD0jECkiFF4iPXo5lih2rdBjlMUZI83k-e1C_/w640-h426/XT3F7220lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span><p></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-52851674510120694312024-02-17T17:00:00.001-06:002024-02-17T17:00:00.142-06:00One Album A Day - 008<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">As I noted </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><i><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/2024/01/one-album-day-002.html" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">before</a></i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">, I've been working through the book </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">, as presented though the </span><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/lsqrd1001/info" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>1001 album generator</b> </i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">web site. My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so). </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So here's the next few albums I listened to:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #535353;">#</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Year</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Album</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Artist</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Rating</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Global</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">58</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1983</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Porcupine</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Echo And The Bunnymen</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.04</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">59</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1957</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Chirping Crickets</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Buddy Holly and The Crickets</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.31</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">60</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1966</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Simon and Garfunkel</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.63</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">61</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1985</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Steve McQueen</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Prefab Sprout</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.01</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">62</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1973</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Raw Power</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">The Stooges</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">5</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.40</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">63</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1993</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Exile In Guyville</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Liz Phair</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.02</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">64</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1971</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Pearl</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Janis Joplin</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">5</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.71</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">65</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1979</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">The Pleasure Principle</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Gary Numan</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.13</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">66</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2019</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">KIWANUKA</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Michael Kiwanuka</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.78</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/653293fabd2c375d18997fec" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Here's my summary page</i></b></a>.</span></div><div style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And this posting's Reviews:</span></div><div style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #535353;">66 </span><span style="color: #535353;">KIWANUKA</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Michael Kiwanuka</span> <span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is 100% new to me, and a very nice find. I'm not sure how to classifty it, but it certainly has groove. Generally smooth sound, but not bland. I'll need to listen to this a few more times, but it's a solid 4.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #535353;">65</span> <span style="color: #535353;">The Pleasure Principle</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Gary Numan</span> <span style="color: #535353;">3</span></b><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"Cars" was a great, fun song that was hugely popular when I was 19. With its robotic, technical sound it was pretty unique. I still have the 45rpm single from back then. Unfortunately, this album is lots of more-of-the-same. Tehre's several pretty good songs, and no horrible ones, but this is a one trick pony, and the trick is a bit dated.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #535353;">64</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Pearl</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Janis Joplin</span> <span style="color: #535353;">5</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Janis Joplin was a musical force, who burned brightly, but burned out quickly. This is the 4th of her studio albums, released 3 months after she passed away. It is also the high-point of her discography. This album includes several masterpieces: "Cry Baby", "Me and Bobby McGee", "Mercedes Benz" and "Move Over". The rest of the album is just very good. The least compelling song is "Buried Alive In The Blues", which is notable as an unfinished piece. It is an instrumental, because Joplin died before recording the vocal tracks.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All in all, this is a great record, and an important record in the history of rock. Easy 5/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #535353;">63</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Exile In Guyville</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Liz Phair</span> <span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Wow, she’s not a very good singer, especially the first couple of songs. Unless this is affected to follow the whole bit about copying the Stones’ “Exile On Main Street”. I do like the overall sound (of the music), it has an open, sparse, not-overproduced sound that is refreshing for the early 90’s. Lyrically, there’s nothing dramatic here, nothing outstanding, but neither insipid. On the other hand, there’s a lot of profanity that comes off as gratuitous. I don’t mind profanity, but I do mind gratuitous.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, some of these songs are quite good. All are at least OK. I’m left thinking high 3, leaning towards rounding up. But over a full hour, it starts to lag a bit, and I sure wish she could sing a little better. so I’ll round down. 3/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>62 Raw Power The Stooges 5<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let’s start by recognizing the opening cut, “Search and Destroy” as one of the greatest rock songs of all time. The Stooges were inspirations to the Ounk rock movement, and Search and Destroy is one of the signature songs of “proto punk”.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But, going into this listen, Search and Destroy was the only song I’d heard on the album. Quite simply, this album rocks, in the best possible way. I’m trying to figure out how I overlooked this for 50 years…. It’s raw and real, and the sharp edges aren’t buffed out. But it is not just noise, these are actual songs, well constructed and performed. It has the loose feel of the Velvet Underground, but has a hard driving passion that VU never tried for. It has the drive and attitude of The Ramones, Band, but a few years before they came to be. Plus a hint of or maybe early Alice Cooper Band.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I’ll be listening to this album again, and there’s a good chance I’ll end up purchasing it. 5/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #535353;">61</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Steve McQueen</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Prefab Sprout</span> <span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Pretty generic, mid 80’s Brit pop. There’s nothing especially memorable here, but nothing that’s bad or offensive or anything. Pretty close to boring. The album title is odd, there’s certainly nothing in this music that is remotely related to Steve McQueen. Maybe it’s ironic, and I’m just not cool enough to get it.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There’s several albums from 1985 that I would suggest as notable (must listen) before this: Three O’Clock - Arrive Without Travelling, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Southern Accents, Guadalcanal Diary - Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man, John Fogarty - Centerfield, Katrina and the Waves, Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms…. Etc, etc, etc.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Whatever, call it a 3/5 and hope for something interesting tomorrow.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #535353;"><b>60</b></span><b> <span style="color: #535353;">Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Simon and Garfunkel</span> <span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the late 70’s, Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits was one of 2 albums that almost everybody owned (along with Eagles’ Greatest Hits). Including me. The downside of the hits album is that I never really felt the need to dig into the deep cuts. This corrects that, at least some.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">4 songs from this album carry over to the aforementioned hits album, although 3 of them show up there as live versions. Regardless, all 4 are outstanding.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This album is pretty fast paced, with 12 songs in about 28 minutes, an average length of 2:30 per song (and only one song over 3 minutes). Pretty typical for a pop record from 1966. But these songs aren’t fluff. These are Paul Simon songs, one of the great singer/songwriters of the era. And he packs a lot of meaning into these small servings.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There’s only 2 songs that I don’t think are very good to great. “Simple Desulrory Philippic” is a homage to / satire of Bob Dylan. It’s too cute by 1/2, and doesn’t really fit the rest of the album. And “7 O’Clock News / Silent Night” is a little too heavy-handed for my tastes, with the Christmas carol overlaid by a newscaster reporting the ills of society. Wikipedia says the it ‘rather bluntly makes an ironic commentary on various social ills by juxtaposing them with tenderly expressed Christmas sentiments”. Neither song sucks, nor offends. But they do detract from the whole.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So where to rate? Do the 10 gems offset the 2 that are “meh”? I will either pick up this whole album, or just the 4-5 best songs that I don’t already own. Oh, how I wish for 1/2 stars, this would be a clear 4.5/5.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After consideration, and comparing to the hits album, and 1870’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, I’m settling with a round down to 4.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #535353;">59</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Chirping Crickets</span> <span style="color: #535353;">Buddy Holly and The Crickets</span> <span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The debut album from one of the original Rock and Rollers. I am, of course, familiar with Holly's hits, with and without the Crickets. I have 1/2 of this album from a hits collection, these are essential songs if you're interested in the roots of rock. Generally. I prefer some of the cover versions to there originals, but these are where it all started.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Some well known covers of songs from this album, that I own:</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Maybe Baby -Don McLean / NGDB</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Not Fade Away - Rolling Stones</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It's Too Late - Derek & The Dominoes (Eric Clapton)</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That'll Be The Day - Linda Ronstadt</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And that's just the ones I own. Most of this album has been covered y multiple artists. That's called influential.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Really solid album, although I still prefer the hits album that swaps the "deep cuts" here from other hits. Super solid 4/5, but not quite 5.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>58 Porcupine Echo And The Bunnymen 3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Wow, I really don’t like the vocal stylings here. Sort of whiney U2 vibe, very 80’s Brit-pop. The instrumentation is also very 80’s Brit-pop. Certainly a product of its time and place. That said, it’s pretty good overall. The beats are driving, the melodies are good…. Pretty much everything except those whiney, warble-y vocals. Buy the end of the album they were really bugging me. A solid 3/5, but could’ve edged higher with vocals more like what was coming out of Athens, GA at the same time.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3/5</span></div></div></div></div>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-50753290017043155372024-02-17T12:29:00.005-06:002024-02-17T16:34:11.711-06:00Little Birdies<p> We had a decent snow yesterday, about 4 inches. And it really brought out the backyard birds. I counted over 12 different types of birds, and photographed most of them. Here's some of the keepers:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFFtHXZzCgpI2TbmKW4EXsDx84s0DksJPlAuvd9cD8SQ5nV1e2iG4Qg5sOFKb7-fyLw5FSiIMby1n7-B_0bzpBnCIF0m89jYugTHfMA2hKO_nipuTi1YgcI8M2n1RJN9rT87A6-logASIfRV64FSkxT62uIjPiOZPHdT3KGFWV5t-1yBG4Trr/s2048/XT3F7220lpl-2048-color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFFtHXZzCgpI2TbmKW4EXsDx84s0DksJPlAuvd9cD8SQ5nV1e2iG4Qg5sOFKb7-fyLw5FSiIMby1n7-B_0bzpBnCIF0m89jYugTHfMA2hKO_nipuTi1YgcI8M2n1RJN9rT87A6-logASIfRV64FSkxT62uIjPiOZPHdT3KGFWV5t-1yBG4Trr/w400-h266/XT3F7220lpl-2048-color.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Red Bellied Woodpecker</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAIZsQp0TgiiUC_HcsWhalmqWtQ_1WY9EehR2Ni0nK226reRQ_F9YqHrw-tF71nVtLdmR9evH2lLtb4bDwRKHCJZhEM4NuP4P2Wq0LTBjj3EtgiUNjhGj_CaaBaiCuEXhyphenhypheneysN_MVXrK5YMGB8m3MnhEHjBIKiU0VkfES6_q4Dp7xNCgHsTbpI/s2048/XT3F7236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAIZsQp0TgiiUC_HcsWhalmqWtQ_1WY9EehR2Ni0nK226reRQ_F9YqHrw-tF71nVtLdmR9evH2lLtb4bDwRKHCJZhEM4NuP4P2Wq0LTBjj3EtgiUNjhGj_CaaBaiCuEXhyphenhypheneysN_MVXrK5YMGB8m3MnhEHjBIKiU0VkfES6_q4Dp7xNCgHsTbpI/w400-h266/XT3F7236.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Black Capped Chickadee</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTjlaqTufiucPgtNMjgg2RBJOM6SUxakfgSbr7Ora2iB3dp85YVTrB9mig0HSiAWhqS839b6ndwPuo2jCPhO9CBNzSgV8BGlZmQSwVAEY6kWtYQRugAMXpzM9tLT6xTD-dYanu-8H883qyZEn0jvtCqVK3kdTm1izmj5Mn2awZQWin9pJNmcO8/s2048/XT3F7241lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTjlaqTufiucPgtNMjgg2RBJOM6SUxakfgSbr7Ora2iB3dp85YVTrB9mig0HSiAWhqS839b6ndwPuo2jCPhO9CBNzSgV8BGlZmQSwVAEY6kWtYQRugAMXpzM9tLT6xTD-dYanu-8H883qyZEn0jvtCqVK3kdTm1izmj5Mn2awZQWin9pJNmcO8/w400-h266/XT3F7241lpl-2048.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Northern Cardinal (female)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7coPOm6UWgMbrpk8qhVeGFdMDsfd9m8o-W7k1tuzX60ZKcJ13o3qN6ylPBft20PudIvovP2UlU_cxJRiVHcyt2EV7qH5uNlnSRIH47EHzWK27mDvWCHJGPwxXeK0VyBwm6phLwKpjqBHbzSU70UOJKD2CS3c1l93raImEBuQciQfM2E7KZgA/s2048/XT3F7247lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7coPOm6UWgMbrpk8qhVeGFdMDsfd9m8o-W7k1tuzX60ZKcJ13o3qN6ylPBft20PudIvovP2UlU_cxJRiVHcyt2EV7qH5uNlnSRIH47EHzWK27mDvWCHJGPwxXeK0VyBwm6phLwKpjqBHbzSU70UOJKD2CS3c1l93raImEBuQciQfM2E7KZgA/w400-h266/XT3F7247lpl-2048.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">White Throated Sparrow</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4i7WCtzNJ0Iaccia8O8pRBtSRdVwdmAO236bxueoOw_MCz1iaDazlZ5QqWdjptxBwCYVDKcMpLPjzxmpKeE9-adEAVxdN2KN7S2DTsWgDTVgmGys3aN6pYbraOXS4oDlmCtYdkbUnWFltBqtu7aSanfTmvXCJuactpjFL76e2Xm0xDxSTjCb/s2048/XT3F7274lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4i7WCtzNJ0Iaccia8O8pRBtSRdVwdmAO236bxueoOw_MCz1iaDazlZ5QqWdjptxBwCYVDKcMpLPjzxmpKeE9-adEAVxdN2KN7S2DTsWgDTVgmGys3aN6pYbraOXS4oDlmCtYdkbUnWFltBqtu7aSanfTmvXCJuactpjFL76e2Xm0xDxSTjCb/w400-h266/XT3F7274lpl-2048.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bluebirds</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBd1cInVDOxpWFJUGe8QPGKoWmQoeXHolc6I8qu3InV5oa0ciwhMZ2AMHBvBCM3IweC4NDJ9bpiXHleWnfwr3CLW_3RdDN6-xSpm-kKGrYByV1mKReQpRK4XxoFS-dwxgZpFv63r5kr3Z4yUoSUKjUI0D1-oIo8Hj5gwuDNU_5cgAAKB-bDjAl/s2048/XT3F7311lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBd1cInVDOxpWFJUGe8QPGKoWmQoeXHolc6I8qu3InV5oa0ciwhMZ2AMHBvBCM3IweC4NDJ9bpiXHleWnfwr3CLW_3RdDN6-xSpm-kKGrYByV1mKReQpRK4XxoFS-dwxgZpFv63r5kr3Z4yUoSUKjUI0D1-oIo8Hj5gwuDNU_5cgAAKB-bDjAl/w400-h266/XT3F7311lpl-2048.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Brown Headed Cowbells</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumgP7n6IWzfoxRt5q4OsFVPgtGe3fsHDwhQ-xMgf_cC6n02NQN9LraRC6iMdaOYKydrN6lJRwGiQt_K3ZjfLHv7-8REPnls7uADEg7MLk_RakhCR-45EE1sGCNCMxhEN_icqFvVDx_5WuO7xzDh50PsCjFnDujZwxMBOM5Wl4I0XYfuLb2Dv7/s2048/XT3F7338lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumgP7n6IWzfoxRt5q4OsFVPgtGe3fsHDwhQ-xMgf_cC6n02NQN9LraRC6iMdaOYKydrN6lJRwGiQt_K3ZjfLHv7-8REPnls7uADEg7MLk_RakhCR-45EE1sGCNCMxhEN_icqFvVDx_5WuO7xzDh50PsCjFnDujZwxMBOM5Wl4I0XYfuLb2Dv7/w400-h266/XT3F7338lpl-2048.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Starlings</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMW7ZurcXcSVxIOQjQeM4JuPgrNMk9ZMwi6EeKWAovkBwYy0rnWdxRzxJJzSUX_UpX_4Z2LkX1VUZDyRrmxS7MnHDhV-rLlP9DSVgHUcbx8wLRsFFqRG4jztC27FzmWvZLA-7MzbFgrHxJz4I9Qaw4s92arpi-l8skaaI5DNNkrNZtJ70ZlKu6/s2048/XT3F7365lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMW7ZurcXcSVxIOQjQeM4JuPgrNMk9ZMwi6EeKWAovkBwYy0rnWdxRzxJJzSUX_UpX_4Z2LkX1VUZDyRrmxS7MnHDhV-rLlP9DSVgHUcbx8wLRsFFqRG4jztC27FzmWvZLA-7MzbFgrHxJz4I9Qaw4s92arpi-l8skaaI5DNNkrNZtJ70ZlKu6/w400-h266/XT3F7365lpl-2048.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tufted Titmouse</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0JF8dBwNIZa-hlRgcLyJi_ZBFcva9mIvDSIh2gcEAmbi4ioiwxIVX0GSZj4lbBxt9z-t7zBiFJzN_X-W5RTM0ISgT6RnKHFtDQQu_hOf7rtVObUjsKteb7yQFu0DePwwfguC870Dz7ZCGZEA6bYNVsjGTLZAg8j0RKP4nngyr2ehrprt-CgO/s2048/XT3F7374lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0JF8dBwNIZa-hlRgcLyJi_ZBFcva9mIvDSIh2gcEAmbi4ioiwxIVX0GSZj4lbBxt9z-t7zBiFJzN_X-W5RTM0ISgT6RnKHFtDQQu_hOf7rtVObUjsKteb7yQFu0DePwwfguC870Dz7ZCGZEA6bYNVsjGTLZAg8j0RKP4nngyr2ehrprt-CgO/w400-h266/XT3F7374lpl-2048.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">House Finch</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - - </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyF_bIotkkdF_5UuE6qeHKUcjRtq9PTniHmRV31NvYlRi6BnMcUfi8bSWMlD4hJjQqq9APbcVVjCEO8zP4pD9Ls8cbZemqnpivloHNzuSu__Bdlnyx6biwz-vwTt76KVumT7tq8cosVGAzKH5OXFwB0OmWY2R879JCpLmZewqRR5iZMsEk71qB/s2048/XT3F7395lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyF_bIotkkdF_5UuE6qeHKUcjRtq9PTniHmRV31NvYlRi6BnMcUfi8bSWMlD4hJjQqq9APbcVVjCEO8zP4pD9Ls8cbZemqnpivloHNzuSu__Bdlnyx6biwz-vwTt76KVumT7tq8cosVGAzKH5OXFwB0OmWY2R879JCpLmZewqRR5iZMsEk71qB/w400-h266/XT3F7395lpl-2048.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Downey Woodpecker</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WWEXMKXNSKg8k8FiE5Tcn1jjMBN88wc35eIqicg2ueYYAp2FFv3FrkzezengMuVtRbt0oV8uG0RrcdhpidswbxD6TGaZQLN2xxEopg3nP31tmFK_bFDK5dVxGsEW2s2zcLb7gbVWNqstM0Rl2r7_7nzxOB_xw7uEfDq4yhnmhFNsRSQz4_ny/s2048/XT3F7403lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WWEXMKXNSKg8k8FiE5Tcn1jjMBN88wc35eIqicg2ueYYAp2FFv3FrkzezengMuVtRbt0oV8uG0RrcdhpidswbxD6TGaZQLN2xxEopg3nP31tmFK_bFDK5dVxGsEW2s2zcLb7gbVWNqstM0Rl2r7_7nzxOB_xw7uEfDq4yhnmhFNsRSQz4_ny/w400-h266/XT3F7403lpl-2048.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dark Eyed Junko</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- - -</div><br /><p><br /></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-62683418334456138282024-02-14T21:34:00.005-06:002024-02-14T21:34:35.379-06:00Cliff Cave County Park<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: left;">A couple of years ago, I spent ~1 year working in Arnold. MO. One of the cool spots I found was </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Cave_Park" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b><i>Cliff Cave County Park</i></b></a><span style="text-align: left;">. It was a nice place to go for lunchtime walks, so I spent a fair amount of time there. It's been 3-ish years since I worked over there, so I haven't been there in a while. But I made the trek across the river recently, and had a good walk. And found a few photos.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2jyolg8fQAyDb3uh4xxpBst7idK1OjBpLEJvjLzYjSZZotsZtyjTcGWMg7cq4ajRKlImq8M9GEgQIKLXiJwCPxidH5o3GIB1irlckIhZ_E6vosofW4P7DkU2zOvn_ZV2Axp9x8xHqTOgHlNBrkNPhsnmEMtIDa3Pj74SKxau-UuLEUHe9XR3/s2048/XT3F7203lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2jyolg8fQAyDb3uh4xxpBst7idK1OjBpLEJvjLzYjSZZotsZtyjTcGWMg7cq4ajRKlImq8M9GEgQIKLXiJwCPxidH5o3GIB1irlckIhZ_E6vosofW4P7DkU2zOvn_ZV2Axp9x8xHqTOgHlNBrkNPhsnmEMtIDa3Pj74SKxau-UuLEUHe9XR3/w640-h426/XT3F7203lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6RHa2fImxdyt10_NMNozy6h9Y0D1uQltwfdNINjTRxfn1A_Q2kr5y9H5PfOXdQGaNzZ1SpRqQ0YyW5LO7QTTGzN7hKUYYbk-CwEA6s8s746xzk2ep7HZr3wzRsqZJvqiTsZ67WAjQvvBOWA2miiq5M3hi2QaSawpm8apyVjSaQIqA4L1k1kp/s2048/XT3F7204lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6RHa2fImxdyt10_NMNozy6h9Y0D1uQltwfdNINjTRxfn1A_Q2kr5y9H5PfOXdQGaNzZ1SpRqQ0YyW5LO7QTTGzN7hKUYYbk-CwEA6s8s746xzk2ep7HZr3wzRsqZJvqiTsZ67WAjQvvBOWA2miiq5M3hi2QaSawpm8apyVjSaQIqA4L1k1kp/w640-h426/XT3F7204lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAe_7PrSAe9lJQA0yBKkOsYuXZG6kwGlO4JWh5IWJkFzEt175YjlQd3MYgsCiIhlTmkF5Dfq_ZAkvUH1Sfe3ItaexXRr9l4u3Pbu2HH5xifaN7WQgw_nFO4886F-gdHKZITYAyKpn5hCHH1Mkxfv8sYWfH8RQCYmePhSgySuqANY70536DEdv/s2048/XT3F7206lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAe_7PrSAe9lJQA0yBKkOsYuXZG6kwGlO4JWh5IWJkFzEt175YjlQd3MYgsCiIhlTmkF5Dfq_ZAkvUH1Sfe3ItaexXRr9l4u3Pbu2HH5xifaN7WQgw_nFO4886F-gdHKZITYAyKpn5hCHH1Mkxfv8sYWfH8RQCYmePhSgySuqANY70536DEdv/w640-h426/XT3F7206lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-22SMhha8NtybVieVN41nBf58c_J70XxxF9Cnvmbc0Ed_-t6m2oso4-03DkadPVMVQMWzqk9YvlWFYAtgqG4pzv2zdvKmO83b9kxbASDtTdu6W00dSIxp9nx8usFrNOaLKGzls_81K8hyphenhyphenVTbgCeAHqbhFnUfvI2aOYCJvwrJxypLHtp0tHrZ/s2048/XT3F7208lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-33782321933130133702024-02-11T13:54:00.001-06:002024-02-11T13:54:18.630-06:00One Album A Day - 007<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">As I noted </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><i><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/2024/01/one-album-day-002.html" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">before</a></i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">, I've been working through the book </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">, as presented though the </span><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/lsqrd1001/info" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>1001 album generator</b> </i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">web site. My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so). </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So here's the next few albums I listened to:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #535353;">#</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Year</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Album</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Artist</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Rating</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Global</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">49</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1968</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Electric Ladyland</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Jimi Hendrix</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.96</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">50</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1977</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Aja</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="color: #535353;">Steely Dan</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.43</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">51</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1993</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Whatever</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Aimee Mann</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2.78</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">52</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1968</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">At Folsom Prison</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Johnny Cash</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.97</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">53</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1962</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Ray Charles</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">5</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.46</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">54</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1970</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">The Madcap Laughs</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Syd Barrett</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2.7</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">55</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1964</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Olympia 64</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Jacques Brel</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2.79</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">56</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2000</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Punishing Kiss</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Ute Lemper</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2.41</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">57</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2003</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Speakerboxxx/The Love Below</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">OutKast</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.47</span></span></p><div><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/653293fabd2c375d18997fec" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Here's my summary page</i></b></a>.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And this posting's Reviews:</span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div><b>49 - Electric Ladyland - Jimi Hendrix - 4</b></div><div>Jimi Hendrix is an iconic figure, one of the royals of rock. An innovator of electric guitar. Blah, blah, blah. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with those pronouncements, and have great respect for Hendrix. And in his short career (3 studio albums), he released some brilliant music. Probably 8-10 brilliant songs across those 18 months. But back to blah, blah, blah, and my point. For every brilliant Hendrix song, there’s a couple that are fine and the occasional one that I don’t like. The highs are VERY high, but there’s a lot of misses and lows. Electric Ladyland is a double album, 74 minutes run time. About 1/4 of it is as-good-as-it-gets, easy 5+ stars. But about 1/3 is below good. In my iTunes library, this album averages out to 3 stars. But here, the result is greater than the sum of the parts, and the album that closes with “All Along The Watchtower” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” can’t rate below 4. 4/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>50 - Aja - Steely Dan - 4</b></div><div>Aja came out my senior year of high school, and was pretty much inescapable for the 2 years. The overexposure turned me off at the time, and I wasn’t a fan. Steely Dan had always seemed like a band that took themselves a little seriously, and they really ramped that up on Aja. I saw a quote on Wikipedia that perfectly sums it up: “the conceptual framework of [Steely Dan’s] music has shifted from the pretext of rock & roll toward a smoother, awesomely clean and calculated mutation of various rock, pop and jazz idioms” (credited to Michael Duffy of Rolling Stone). That quote even captures the pretentiousness that I associate with later Steely Dan. That was 46 years ago, and as I’ve mellowed, I’ve come to appreciate this album. All that other stuff is still true, but that doesn’t change the fact this is a very good album. Yes, it is “clean and calculated”, but it’s also nearly perfect. It is heavily jazz influenced, the sound is really (really, really) great. The instrumentation is detailed and varied, it features the best takes from the best players they could find. The individual songs are all great. That said, it is almost too perfect, clinical. Perhaps a little lacking in soul or depth. The lyrics are sometimes too clever, and faux “deep”. But that’s just a Steely Dan thing. At 18, I would’ve rated this album a lower, but my tastes have broadened. I married into this on vinyl and eventually picked it up on digital. I’ll give this a solid 4. I’ve complained a lot about the flaws, but that’s just because they bring it down from a 5. 4/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>51 - 1993 - Whatever - Aimee Mann - 3</b></div><div>I had never heard of Aimee Mann, but given that it is early 90’s pop, that ‘s not shocking. I pretty much quit listening to the radio in the early 90’s. And it peaked at 127 on the Billboard 200. All that, combined with a score here of 2.78, didn’t have me too optimistic going in. but guess what. I rather like this. Very catchy songs, the vocal style reminds me a little of Sheryl Crow…. Maybe? It has a good clean sound, not overproduced. The right mix of instrumentation. “ Hooky” melodies. Nothing to deep, just solid and pleasant indie-ish pop. There’s a couple of songs that could’ve been trimmed, though. And it lacks anything truly memorable. 3/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>52 - 1968 - At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash - 4</b></div><div>This is the Johnny Cash I expected, when my first album here was his At San Quenton. I was rather disappointed in that one. This one is the real deal. First off, at 45 minutes, it is 10 minutes longer than San Quenton. It's a better song selection, and better performances. And a better atmosphere. It is better in every measure than San Quenton, which came out a year later. This is the "man In Black" at his best, in a prison singing mostly songs of prison, and people on the fringes. A little tough to rate, I respect this album, and it's a watershed recording. But it's not an album I've owned, nor do I expect to buy it now. But I expect to listen to it again. I need to stick w/ my rating system. It's somewhere between 4 and 5, but I think this one rounds down. So 4/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>53 - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music - Ray Charles - 5</b></div><div>This is a really fascinating album. Love Ray Charles’ singing and piano, and the concept of reworking C&W could’ve been a risk. But he really pulls it off. The whole album works, and there’s several standout songs. My only gripe is the early 60’s sound, there’s a bit more orchestra than I’d prefer. But that’s minor. I’ll certainly listen to this again, it may well end up purchased. 4.5, I’ll round this one to 5/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>54<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>12/12/2023<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1970<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Madcap Laughs<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Syd</b> Barrett<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2.7<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some albums are obvious inclusions, even if I don't really prefer the genre. Some are hard scratchers, and this is one of those. I know who Syd Barrett was, but had never heard any music from his post Pink Floyd days.... I didn't even know there was any. After listening to this, I'm still not sure why it is on this list. It's not necessarily "bad", but it's surely not good. Parts of it sound like a guy playing to a handheld tape recorder, The best moments are generic hippy trippy late turn of the decade stuff, kind of a poor man's version of Strawberry Alarm Clock (the deep cuts, not the hit). Or Strawberry Alarm Clock meets Velvet Underground, all get high and record the resulting jam. The album was recorded over 16 months, starting shortly after he was dismissed from Pink Floyd for his "increasingly erratic and unpredictable" behavior. And it features 5 different producers, over 13 songs filling 37 minutes... Again, it's not bad, but neither good. It's rather disjunct, unfocused. The sound quality varies from cut to cut, and occasional songs seem to just stop (as opposed to a fade out or finish). And often feels sloppy, as if these were 3 years' of demos slapped onto a record. Frankly, it is a mess. Still I'll give it 2 stars, for the effort, and small props for being different.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>55 - Olympia 64 - Jacques Brel - 3</b></div><div>Hmm…. Another odd one. This is a 1964 (released in 1967) live album from a French performer (born in Belgium), who I’d never heard of. Recorded in French, and sounding stereotypically French. I looked around Wikipedia, and there’s very little information on this album. But there’s more on Jacques Brel: he was active musically through the 50’s and 60’s, and into the 70’s, releasing 14 studio albums and 2 live albums between ‘54 and ‘77. Also appeared in 10 films between ‘67 and ‘73. Apparently, his songs were covered by several folk as diverse as a David Bowie and John Denver. And Scott Walker…. His Scott Walker II album includes 3x Jacques Brel songs, and is on the 1001 list, and I rated it 2/5 a couple of weeks ago. So, what of the album? This sounds like a French version of a mid 60’s Vegas crooner, maybe one of the Rat Pack. All nice enough, seeming rather polite. Perhaps even quaint at the same time worldwide Beatlemania was in full swing. It’s also remarkably short, just over 28 minutes. Being a French version of mid-60’s crooner is not bad, mind you, but I surely don’t think it rises to the level of Sinatra. I like this better than that Scott Walker II album (that included 3x S.Brel written songs). Give it low 3 stars, an interesting period piece. 3/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>56 - Punishing Kiss<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ute Lemper - 1</b></div><div>Punishing Kiss? This can’t be good. And the cover art? Not a promising sign. How did it chart? #104 on the UK albums chart, nothing elsewhere. But maybe the music will be a pleasant surprise. Nope. At best this comes off as the score to an off broadway drama. Or perhaps the soundtrack to a 2nd wave animated full length movie…. But not up to Disney’s level. Something deep and dark, exploring the depths of the dark human spirit…. But animated. You know, the dark dichotomy of a “Punishing Kiss”. I guess there are people who like this stuff, but I’m not one of them. The vocals are “overacted”, as the singers seem to try and REALLY stress the seriousness of the lyrics. And the lyrics are pedestrian, at best. Musically, it’s well recorded, clean, lots of instrumentation. But the overall impression is as overblown as the vocal stylings. It all takes itself so very, VERY seriously. I like the MNE reviewer who called this “madly irritating, written-to-order art-school digression.” I don’t know, maybe it’s just all too deep for me, but this just leaves me cold. I don’t give many 1’s, but this gets one. I didn’t hate it, but the whole thing irritated me, and by the time the last 10+ minute song started, irritation was approaching “pissed off”. So I bailed. 1/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>57 - 2003<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Speakerboxxx/The Love Below - OutKast - 2</b></div><div>2 hrs and 15 min of hip hop. Oh yay (sarcasm). But the whole point of this thing is to get exposed to new (to me) music. So, let’s dig in…. Looking at Wikipedia, this is basically 2 solo albums from the 2 members of OutKast. I guess that’s why it’s so long? Breaking it down: Speaker box: starting w/ hip-hop isn’t my thing…. In that context, this album isn’t 1/2 bad. There’s a lot of 70’s funk feel in a lot of it, only moderately diminished but the synthetic rhythm section, this works pretty well. Too much of the vocals are still the “how many words can you jam into a phrase”, but they’re not every song is seething anger, which I appreciate. Still, there’s some songs that I don’t like, and there’s a lot more “n-word” posturing. I expected to hate this but don’t mind a lot of it. Still, at 56+ minutes, it’s just WAY too much. I had to take a break at 45 minutes, only about 1/3 through the whole set. A couple of these songs would fit fine on a playlist, but sheesh. 2.5/5.0 The Love Below: this one sounds a little more “organic”, at least a little. And perhaps more pop, than pure funk. But on the whole, not as interesting. I’ll rate this 2/5…. At best. When I started listening to this, I was thinking sold 3. But as it went on and on (and on), the rating went down and down (and down). Especially the second album. We’ll settle in at 2/5 though, because there were 3-4 songs towards the beginning that were pretty good.</div><div><br /></div></span></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-69178629877860223972024-02-09T12:30:00.006-06:002024-02-17T16:35:37.034-06:00Capture52 Week 06 (5 Feb - 11 Feb) Common object<p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">So there's this thing called </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/541285426655571" style="color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Capture52</i></b></a><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo. I've </span><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/search/label/52weekchallenge" style="color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>started it a couple of times</i></b></a><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> but never made it very far. So, let's try again. 6 weeks in, and still making it. But it is early. Looks like I made 6 weeks in 2023, and 14 in 2022, so this matches last year!</span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">This week's prompt was "Common Object". I opted for something mundane, tried to make it a little stark and abstract. What do ya think?</span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12BeMHOthgz5MdNIB4RXQ-hUTWlvNgD00gzv14J_9diBgcAYxJKDEBIsmLcY-6CKCybOHoyNQrFgEctOKTG-oXg8fva3toboXfTS9FA6X5tNdmEop79V1QQJY0vRdPobN4zL8J2CdlJ4-aBf2IRisv-bZjNOhTp3QOKxHoFadau9pd4-cV_u-/s2048/XT3F7185lpl-2048.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12BeMHOthgz5MdNIB4RXQ-hUTWlvNgD00gzv14J_9diBgcAYxJKDEBIsmLcY-6CKCybOHoyNQrFgEctOKTG-oXg8fva3toboXfTS9FA6X5tNdmEop79V1QQJY0vRdPobN4zL8J2CdlJ4-aBf2IRisv-bZjNOhTp3QOKxHoFadau9pd4-cV_u-/w640-h426/XT3F7185lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-83063082104226618862024-02-05T12:00:00.003-06:002024-02-05T12:00:00.130-06:00Before and After - Shared Sunset<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> From a recent visit to Ellis Island, across Alton Slough from The Audubon Center at Riverlands.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnwzckYAqH-xTjEnXnZ49knzZhWmqqbOS99xKZQmdtXf-K16t2b6vvZJvI4yuQuD3jNH9fvFbeXBALzXRxk6vUcV2n3Gh7qsUZUrs624ldQ438BIwqcIKjZDv9JIRAjcCiPeuTUSDmG12AzAO0vZt4CdEQAOwQCO4ue4Ogz9cFYkIALKu3XOv/s2048/XT3F7079lpl-2048.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnwzckYAqH-xTjEnXnZ49knzZhWmqqbOS99xKZQmdtXf-K16t2b6vvZJvI4yuQuD3jNH9fvFbeXBALzXRxk6vUcV2n3Gh7qsUZUrs624ldQ438BIwqcIKjZDv9JIRAjcCiPeuTUSDmG12AzAO0vZt4CdEQAOwQCO4ue4Ogz9cFYkIALKu3XOv/w640-h426/XT3F7079lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This was shot in color, after some basic tweaks (rotate, crop, levels), I converted to B&W in Photoshop Elements, using Topaz Labs' B&W plug in. At first it was sort of "meh", but I started experimenting with the options and was able to pull out the detail in the water. Pretty pleased with the final result, though I probably added a little too much grain. I tend to do that w/ B&W, though. Remembering back to my film days...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Here's the Straight Out Of Camera (SOOC) starting point:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtW4WUr_LA0_8a49cpRXywSk4ZjOi6ffYjveq6bnbam6LU7h3ib6k0uI6K9vfATlHEB3cEe0puQDIBcqVWkYoCE1tFAiPB51U6SSM6oCutUMglpZLfFkWtYDBJTk3RMD8s4OLO1uwCZN9riRtGq1uOCwW_HJXbLK0W3yoPSRVcLtWESavXmOC/s6240/XT3F7079.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtW4WUr_LA0_8a49cpRXywSk4ZjOi6ffYjveq6bnbam6LU7h3ib6k0uI6K9vfATlHEB3cEe0puQDIBcqVWkYoCE1tFAiPB51U6SSM6oCutUMglpZLfFkWtYDBJTk3RMD8s4OLO1uwCZN9riRtGq1uOCwW_HJXbLK0W3yoPSRVcLtWESavXmOC/w640-h426/XT3F7079.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-23666044909997976772024-02-04T12:28:00.001-06:002024-02-04T12:28:00.141-06:00One Album A Day - 006<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">As I noted </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><i><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/2024/01/one-album-day-002.html" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">before</a></i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">, I've been working through the book </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">, as presented though the </span><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/lsqrd1001/info" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>1001 album generator</b> </i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">web site. My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so). </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So here's the next few albums I listened to, </span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #535353;">#</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Year</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Album</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Artist</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Rating</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Global</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">40</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">1968</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Scott 2</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Scott Walker</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">2</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">2.69</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">41</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">1987</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span> - <span style="color: #535353;">The New Tango</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Astor Piazzolla</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">4</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">2.92</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">42</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">1990</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Behaviour</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Pet Shop Boys</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">3</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">3.06</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">43</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">1970</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">After The Gold Rush</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Neil Young</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">5</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">3.68</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">44</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">1975</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Tonight's The Night</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Neil Young</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">5</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">3.28</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">45</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">1978</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">All Mod Cons</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="color: #535353;">The Jam</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">4</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">3.29</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">46</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">1967</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Axis: Bold As Love</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Jimi Hendrix</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">4</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">3.81</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">47</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">2002</span><span style="color: #535353; white-space: pre;"> </span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Highly Evolved</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">The Vines</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">3</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">3.12</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">48</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">1997</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">The Boatman's Call</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">2</span> - <span style="color: #535353;">3.27</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"></p><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/653293fabd2c375d18997fec" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Here's my summary page</i></b></a>.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And this posting's Reviews:</span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div><b>48 - The Boatman's Call - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 2</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>First lines of first song: “I don’t believe in an interventionist God / But I know darling that you do / but if I did I would knee down and ask him / not to intervene when it came to you”…. Dylan it ain’t. I guess it’s supposed to be deep. Musically, this is pretty good; spades, piano driven Melodie’s. I don’t much care for the singer’s tone/style, has a spoken feel, not a lot of tonal variation, and sometimes seems to be straining to reach. But the killer for me is the lyrics themselves. As above, who actually uses the word “interventionist” in a melancholy song? And where’s the faux depth of “seasons came, seasons went / the winter stripped the blossoms bare / a different tree now lines the streets / shaking its fists in the air”.</div><div><br /></div><div>The overall affect is just irritating. Melancholy songs, atonal singing, stupid lyrics. The more I listened the more irritated I got. A d the lower my rating. I’ll settle to 2/5, even though it irritates me.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>47 - Highly Evolved - The Vines - 3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></div><div>So, this Australian band is “ frequently compared to Nirvana” (per Wikipedia). I guess that’s the current day equivalent of being the “next Beatles” we used to hear 40 years ago. Listening to this, I can tell they were inspired by Nirvana, maybe even trying to copy Nirvana. Not especially original. But the result is, at best, a pale imitation. It’s not bad, but it certainly isn’t memorable. 3/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>46 - Axis: Bold As Love - Jimi Hendrix - 4</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>Jimi Hendrix is one of those artists who we’re just expected to love. And while I certainly respect Hendrix, I’ve never liked him as much as I’m supposed to. There’s some great stuff on here, but the overall package isn’t quite great. It certainly doesn’t come off as cohesive, ping-ponging from the pointless sound effects of EXP to a nice shuffle number to the jarring contrast of Spanish Castle Magic, to the melodic Wait Until Tomorrow. It is mostly very good, but the overall is less than the sum of the parts. My favorite songs from this album are “Little Wing” and “If 6 were 9”, and I prefer cover versions of both (by Derek and the Dominies and Roy Buchanan, respectively). Don’t get me wrong. It is a solid 4, a little bit below the debut, and above Electric Ladyland. But none reach the 5 that everybody would expect/demand. 4/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>45 - All Mod Cons - The Jam - 4</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>The Jam are my favorite band from the 70’s English punk/new wave era. I much preferred them over the Clash, the Sex Pistols or the Damned, but they were never really appreciated here in the USA. That said, this is “only” my third favorite album of theirs, behind “Setting Suns” and “Sound Affects”. All in all, a really solid album, with some key songs. Not quite as complete as the subsequent albums, and easy 4 stars, but not quite good enough for 5. 5/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>44 - Tonight's The Night - Neil Young - 5<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></div><div>Neil Young’s albums from the early/mid 70’s all have a organic feel. Or whatever is the opposite of overproduced. “Tonight’s the Night” takes it to another level, feeling almost unproduced. It is somewhere between a wake and a celebration of friends/band mates Bruce Berry and Danny Whitten, who had both died of Heroin overdoses. The feel here is a bunch of guys hanging around the studio, laying down a few tracks in between a few drinks (or whatever), honoring their friends in the best way they knew (musically). In concept, it could’ve been a hot mess, but it all works. It’s “real”, it has emotion. This has been one of my favorite NY albums for years, and “Tired Eyes” is one of my favorite songs. An easy 5 star rating.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>43 - After The Gold Rush - Neil Young - 5<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></div><div>It is rare for an artist to release 3 consecutive essential albums, but between 1969 and 1972 Neil young did it with “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere”, “After The Gold Rush” and “Harvest”. He also managed to squeeze in “Deja Vu” with Crosby Stills Nash and Young in that span. These are all albums that made an impact, tgat could be considered <I>important </I>. This would be a great album independent of the others, every song is solid, and it includes several of my favorite NY songs. I have 16 of the 21 albums NY put out between 1969 and 1990. After The Gold Rush is certainly in the 1/2 dozen I’d rate 5 stars. 5/5</div><div><br /></div><div>Aside: it seems that this album is blocked on Spotify, that’s a bummer. But not a problem since I own it on vinyl and CD.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>42 - Behaviour - Pet Shop Boys - 3</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>Call it Electronica, or synth-pop or whatever, it’s just not my bag. It’s smooth and rhythmic and has lots of synthesizer noodling; well done, but it is (to me) boring and largely forgettable. They’re clearly good at this, the sound is good. But I just don’t like it. 3/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>41 - The New Tango - Astor Piazzolla - 4</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>I wasn’t sure about this album when it started. Vibraphone, Bandoneon and violin? Not an instrument grouping that Imagine, one expect. The opening track seemed a little unfocused. But as the album progressed, it really sucked me in. There’s a complexity in the songs/arrangements that is really interesting. I’ll never be enthralled with the key instruments, but it works well in this setting. I’ll be listening to this again, and can see it potentially in my collection in the future. Solid 4/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>40 - Scott 2 - Scott Walker - 2<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></div><div>I’m a little concerned when an artist comes up from the late 60’s or the 70’s comes up that I’ve never heard of. And I’ve never heard of Scott Walker. After listening, I’m not sure who this made it to a “must hear” list. Over-orchestrated music, that sounds like a mix of bad musicals and something you’d expect over the closing credits of a James Bond knockoff movie. The lyrics are overblown, like a middle schooler with a thesaurus, trying to sound deep. I found a review on Allmusic that summed this up nicely: “uncommonly ambitious lyricist cloaked behind over the top, schmaltzy orchestral arrangements”. Spotify had the lyrics available, it’s worth reading along just to marvel at how bad they are.</div><div><br /></div><div>I pondered giving this 3/5 just for being audacious and a bit different. But I think Walker is serious, and saw this as some sort of statement on…. Well, I don’t know. By the time I made it into the 2nd side I was just putting up with it. Still, I wasn’t offended, didn’t (quite) feel the need to turn off. But I can’t go above 2/5</div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-81526926901836111842024-02-03T18:27:00.001-06:002024-02-03T18:27:43.841-06:00Catpure52 Week 05 (29 Jan - 4 Feb) Wabi sabi<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">So there's this thing called </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/541285426655571" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Capture52</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo. I've </span><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/search/label/52weekchallenge" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>started it a couple of times</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> but never made it very far. So, let's try again. 5 weeks in, and still making it. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This week was a bit of a struggle, with the prompt "Wasi sabi : </span></span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The art of imperfection. Make the imperfect shine!". Well I struggled, and had several ideas, but nothing I was happy with. But then I found this spot, and this photo:</span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0Jve4pOSGDzrbqzqmki_9US0f1OwTeu6YWvRbytjZm8hgD-Ips-X-gh162JpLIGL-2uGzfN4SSLKOOtSiHq00yPCJgM0w9mpAiIlfm8Qg2Aw3C68Jw9rmW8LIjY1tatOGlZapRCPA3Y_Wor1L3PO5HiAmGzUdY0xF7dVyWmZYeR40xyhKgCQ/s2048/XT3F7063lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0Jve4pOSGDzrbqzqmki_9US0f1OwTeu6YWvRbytjZm8hgD-Ips-X-gh162JpLIGL-2uGzfN4SSLKOOtSiHq00yPCJgM0w9mpAiIlfm8Qg2Aw3C68Jw9rmW8LIjY1tatOGlZapRCPA3Y_Wor1L3PO5HiAmGzUdY0xF7dVyWmZYeR40xyhKgCQ/w640-h426/XT3F7063lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">My thought was the imperfection of this image, the natural scene spoiled by the signs of humans in the background. That's do.</span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But after I processed and uploaded it, I got to pondering, and went to "the Google". Which led me to this:</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence</span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Taken from the Japanese words wabi, which translates to less is more, and sabi, which means attentive melancholy, wabi-sabi refers to an awareness of the transient nature of earthly things and a corresponding pleasure in the things that bear the mark of this impermanence."</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I actually like the photo better with the expanded definition. What say you?</span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-20623550999809932002024-01-31T20:13:00.002-06:002024-01-31T20:13:29.886-06:00Milk Thistle?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBq62Mhj_bHi3WU_qWIh70c2frcf316d6m4DTnQM_zO7w4pgCLB5ZYOaYmTnPOk0e7fkd0TtPBxjPY3PWJlbajWtB7OhlgEdg20SQjA_G7O7VSacKbF5wXuxjaqT9tfG2cIIqpE_fZAjWzyEoa-t_G5nZ2YCgrYr672uf1fhBBxCgmd4nR_B2T/s2048/XT405222lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBq62Mhj_bHi3WU_qWIh70c2frcf316d6m4DTnQM_zO7w4pgCLB5ZYOaYmTnPOk0e7fkd0TtPBxjPY3PWJlbajWtB7OhlgEdg20SQjA_G7O7VSacKbF5wXuxjaqT9tfG2cIIqpE_fZAjWzyEoa-t_G5nZ2YCgrYr672uf1fhBBxCgmd4nR_B2T/w426-h640/XT405222lpl-2048.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>Seen today at Watershed Nature Center. pretty sure it is a milk thistle. Can anybody confirm?</p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-81197168622140238282024-01-28T21:08:00.002-06:002024-02-03T18:31:03.182-06:00One Album A Day - 005<p style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> As I noted <b><i><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/2024/01/one-album-day-002.html" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">before</a></i></b>, I've been working through the book <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die</i></b></a>, as presented though the <a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/lsqrd1001/info" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>1001 album generator</b> </i></a>web site. My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so). </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So here's the next few albums I listened to, </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #535353;"># - Year - Album - Artist - My Rating - Global Rating</span></span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">31 - 2020</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Fetch The Bolt Cutters</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Fiona Apple</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.21</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">32</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1994<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Smash</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">The Offspring</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.4</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">33</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2007<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kala<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>M.I.A.</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2.99</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">34</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2000</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Music</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Madonna</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">2.71</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">35</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1988</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Green</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">R.E.M.</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.46</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">36</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1969</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Five Leaves Left</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Nick Drake</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.5</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">37</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1984</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Welcome To The Pleasuredome</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Frankie Goes To Hollywood</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.06</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">38</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">11/26/2023</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1972</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Superfly</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Curtis Mayfield</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.68</span><br /><span style="color: #535353;">39</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">1971</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Hunky Dory</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">David Bowie</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">4.04</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/653293fabd2c375d18997fec" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Here's my summary page</i></b></a>.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And this posting's Reviews:</span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">39 - Hunky Dory</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">David Bowie</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">4<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Hunky Dory has several iconic Bowie songs, including my favorite Bowie song (Queen Bitch). And several really solid songs. But also a couple songs I can’t rate above 3. I really like the overall package, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It’s the kind of album I can back to all along. But not quite essential, so I can’t pull the trigger on a 5 rating. Very close, but 4/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">38</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Superfly</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Curtis Mayfield</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span></b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>4</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A great soul/funk album. I remember when the title track and Freddy’s Dead were on on the radio. Those are 5 star songs. I’d also heard Pusherman, but the rest of this album was new to me. The sound is great, the groove even better. I wish I could give this 4.5 stars, but we’ll have to go 4/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">37</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Welcome To The Pleasuredome</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Frankie Goes To Hollywood</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span></b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>3</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Meh. As mid-80’s UK synth-pop goes, it’s pretty decent. That said, it doesn’t really hold up for a double album length (64 minutes +). They could’ve scrapped the uninspiring covers, and a couple of other songs and had a tight, concise album that would’ve been better. And covering an iconic song like Springsteen’s “Born to Run” is almost as bad as Madonna covering “American Pie”, which I was subjected to just 3 days ago. Still, a few good songs, and a testament to a time period. 3/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>36</b></span><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Five Leaves Left</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Nick Drake</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I suppose this was pleasant enough…. Voice and guitar, occasional strings. But it is forgettable, not a single song stuck in my head. This would be decent background music, I suppose. Bland and blasé, but not enough that I couldn’t slog through. So that works out to a 3/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">35</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Green</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">R.E.M.</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I discovered REM back in early 1983 when Murmur was fresh and new. And exciting and different. I saw them live in October 1983, one of the top 5 shows I’ve seen. And I was a huge fan of their first 4.5 albums (including the Chronic Town EP). But I never really latched on to Document and the subsequent albums, perhaps because I became a father and refocused. And perhaps because they shifted their style, and got really popular. I know (and own) the “hits” from this album, and they’re certainly worthy, so I was happy when this came up on the generator. Overall it’s a good album, though I still prefer the earlier sound when the vocals were unintelligible (and often incomprehensible) and the band seemed less political. The fact that they planned the album release for the same day as the US presidential election doesn’t impress me. Stick to music guys. The 4x singles are really good, the rest of it is just OK. I went into this expecting at least 3.5, probably rounding to 4. But I just can’t get that high, this is below all the other REM albums I own. A kind of disappointing 3/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">34</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Music</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Madonna</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span></b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>2</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Another 2000’s era dance-pop and electronica album. Madonna here is almost 20 years into her career as a “queen of pop”, it seems a little tired, and not particularly creative. The dance beats here are incessant which I guess is the point. But they’re also very generic sounding to me, and entirely mechanical. Whatever effort is made to be original is provided by various synthesized beeps and boops and such…. and vocal effects. All of which can be interesting in small doses, but these aren’t small doses. I find it all irritating. Cher did the Auto-Tune thing 2 years earlier, and better. It also spotlights that Madonna doesn’t really have a great voice. This is probably great background music for an early 2000’s dance club…. It is very well put together, it is very professional. But it’s not essential, or even especially interesting. Oh yeah, the bonus track cover of “American Pie” is somewhere between embarrassing and offensive. I almost docked the rating a point, but decided to let it slide as it’s not part of the official track list. But, man, that remake SUCKS. It takes some gumption to cover a massive classic and make it your own by sucking out all of the emotion/soul of it. 2/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>33</b></span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Kala</b></span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>M.I.A.</b></span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>2</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When I saw this album tagged as Hip-Hop and electronica, I was worried. I One comment in the Wikipedia article called it “both a party album and a progressive aural assault”. Yay? It seems more electronica/pop than hip hop, though. Each song is repetitive. Very, VERY repetitive. Musically and lyrically. Which makes some sense as dance music, but doesn’t keep my interest. The more hip-hoppy parts still have that dance feel, and the lyrics aren’t angry and “explicit”…. Just repetitive and dumb. It seems to pick up and hint at several world musical styles, hints of Bollywood stylings, African rhythms, etc. This actually works pretty well, and provides interest where lyrics and soundscape don’t. Nothing I’ll want to hear again, but I can kinda get where it is coming from. I’ll go 2/5, but just barely.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>32</b></span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Smash</b></span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>The Offspring</b></span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>3</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Solid enough pop-punk from the 1st half of the 90’s. I hear a good bit of Green Day influence, a bit of Nirvana…. And the singing style sort of reminds me of Weird Al. It all adds up to good enough, if not especially memorable. a solid 3/5.</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">31</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Fetch The Bolt Cutters</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Fiona Apple</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I went back and forth on this album. A couple of songs were pretty decent, a few were just ok, and a few didn’t really resonate with me. But none of it was compelling. It also lacked any real sense of coherence or overriding message. I saw that the album was recorded over a 5 year span, maybe that’s the reason. It felt more like a collection of leftovers from a series of albums, leftovers. Overall 3/5</span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-79230492830653773162024-01-28T13:07:00.003-06:002024-01-28T13:07:32.681-06:00Catpure52 Week 4 - Water - (22 Jan - 28 Jan)<p style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">So there's this thing called </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/541285426655571" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Capture52</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo. I've </span><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/search/label/52weekchallenge" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>started it a couple of times</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> but never made it very far. So, let's try again. Here's my post for the 4th week. "</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Find something delicate and soft and photograph it showing just how delicate it is."</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I had great ideas for this week. But then it was cold and rainy pretty much the whole week. Rather uninspiring. Plus a busy week work-wise. Bleah. I went out with my camera yesterday, and this was the only thing I found interesting. And I rather like it. So there!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnZMvE7vZXARuJ-WRIA_KMp74VkXgHmXjzzn_Otv2NcpcSnlYu39VurdQpHrCumbnXtQuhB8CWOkM8ePbQ50Aiixw1s5tV1le41xqNS-TC8QFx2VK1fMO3dmCy7S5NKk04y7cfu4sCDhdP5p7Kp8j6liCN6XZODP0KqGUncuF9R5iZNewOB9Z/s2048/XT3F7027lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnZMvE7vZXARuJ-WRIA_KMp74VkXgHmXjzzn_Otv2NcpcSnlYu39VurdQpHrCumbnXtQuhB8CWOkM8ePbQ50Aiixw1s5tV1le41xqNS-TC8QFx2VK1fMO3dmCy7S5NKk04y7cfu4sCDhdP5p7Kp8j6liCN6XZODP0KqGUncuF9R5iZNewOB9Z/w640-h426/XT3F7027lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-72914143131925148332024-01-22T18:38:00.006-06:002024-01-22T18:38:57.220-06:00POTD - Photo Of The Day<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This one received a POTD recognition at <a href="https://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGallDetail.php?photoID=16080867" target="_blank"><b><i>BetterPhoto</i></b></a> yesterday (Sunday 1/21/2024). Always fun. It's from September 2023, and won a second place in their monthly contest back then. Also was posted at <a href="https://365project.org/lsquared/365/2023-09-28" target="_blank"><b><i>365project</i></b></a>, where it received the Popular and Trending Tags. Woo Hoo!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUiBpSPnHuNf9RMzfKf2jIZrA6NSLyiSg5E06gYJ5BlAl2TUxcXki0NW-zQaxjIhcjufjfFdFInNKFvFsxKrnslcd8g-lypr0XGMgCaWeLNNFaP_UvchrpffcY0WIqu51XaQJcR95cpUxnJ9oeMEglHxBXbEfYTRKm6-X00m804OowA-FVePv/s6240/2023-09-28.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUiBpSPnHuNf9RMzfKf2jIZrA6NSLyiSg5E06gYJ5BlAl2TUxcXki0NW-zQaxjIhcjufjfFdFInNKFvFsxKrnslcd8g-lypr0XGMgCaWeLNNFaP_UvchrpffcY0WIqu51XaQJcR95cpUxnJ9oeMEglHxBXbEfYTRKm6-X00m804OowA-FVePv/w640-h426/2023-09-28.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Taken at an <span style="background-color: white; color: #555555;">Amish Country Store, Penn Yan, NY.</span></span></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-91550162906931106232024-01-20T17:15:00.001-06:002024-01-20T17:15:00.128-06:00One Album A Day - 004<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">As I noted</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"> <b><i><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/2024/01/one-album-day-002.html" target="_blank">before</a></i></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">, I've been working through the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">book </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">, as presented though the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"> </span><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/lsqrd1001/info" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>1001 album generator</b> </i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353;">web site. My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so). </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So here's the next few albums I listened to, subsequent to the <a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/2023/12/one-album-day-001.html" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>last posting</i></b></a>:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #535353;">23 - 1965 - Bert Jansch</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">Bert Jansch</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3</span><span style="color: #535353;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353;">3.00</span></span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">24</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2017</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">american dream</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">LCD Soundsystem</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">3.19</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">25</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - 1</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">959</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Take 5</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Dave Brubeck Quartet</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">5</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">3.81</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">26</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1988</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - I</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">t Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Public Enemy</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">3.39</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">27</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1980</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Arc Of A Diver</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Steve Winwood</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">3</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2.88</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">28</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2000</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Red Dirt Girl</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Emmylou Harris</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">3</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2.82</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">29</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1960</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">At Newport 1960</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Muddy Waters</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">4</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">3.55</span><br /><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">30</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2005</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I Am a Bird Now</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Antony and the Johnsons</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2</span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> - </span><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2.95</span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/653293fabd2c375d18997fec" style="color: #d37d46; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Here's my summary page</i></b></a>.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And this posting's Reviews:</span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #535353;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div><b>30 I Am a Bird Now Antony and the Johnsons 2 </b></div><div>I was unfamiliar with this artist/album, so I read through some of the comments before listening. Just about every one mentioned the vocalist’s vibrato…. And/or their “annoying voice”. And now I get it. Not my thing. I’ll call it a constant, distinct warble, excessive vibrato. The album’s sound is lush and clean, very good sound. Piano and strings dominate. That said, the songs are quite “down”; dirge like. Certainly maudlin. My favorite part of this album is the cover photo of Candy Darling, but even that sets the tone, as it is “on her deathbed”. Overall, this is a real downer of an album. I can respect it without liking it. 2/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>29 At Newport 1960 Muddy Waters 4<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></div><div>I understand that this album captures an important moment in music history, considered the first live blues album. That said, I have studio versions of about 1/2 this album (from Anthology), and prefer those versions. But that’s a comparatively minor quibble, and only keeps this from edging towards a 5. This is a solid 4.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>28 Red Dirt Girl Emmylou Harris 3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></div><div>This is a pretty interesting album. Some songs I rather like, some I kind of don’t. I think my biggest disappointment is the instrumentation. Probably 1/3 of the songs include “drum box” rather than real drums, which gives a predictably mechanical feel. All of the songs have the layered, polished production typical of turn of the century pop. These are not what I expect from Emmylou Harris, and I think this would’ve been a much stronger album with a more “traditional” sound. It won a Grammy for “Best Contemporary Folk Album”, but it is more contemporary than folk. It’s a solid 3, but might’ve ranked higher (for me) if it actually sounded like an Emmylou Harris album. 3/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>27 Arc Of A Diver Steve Winwood 3</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>This is pleasant enough, early 80’s pop, very synthesizer driven. Good to very good, but a little bit soul-less. I see that Winwood did everything here, writing, producing, engineering, all instruments. That, along w/ the synth emphasis, probably account for this. “While You See A Chance” was the big hit, which does suffer a bit from having been really overplayed. There’s some nice moments here, especially “Night Train”. But “Dust” found me checking to see how much was left…. That one is not worth the 6:20 devoted to it. Solid 3, but nowhere near a 4. I’d rather listen to anything from Traffic, Spencer Davis Group, or Even Blind Faith (Winwood’s earlier bands). 3/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>26 It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back Public Enemy 1</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>I expected to hate this, I’m not a hip hop fan. But, I only disliked it, so that’s something I suppose. But I’m barely 2/3 the way through, and not sure if I can make it through the whole thing. I tried pulling up the lyrics to see if that helped…. It didn’t. The Wikipedia article says they “set out to create the hip hop equivalent of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get On”. I think I’ll pull up that classic to flush this one out of my brain. 1/5</div><div><br /></div><div><b>25 Time Out The Dave Brubeck Quartet 5</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>Dave Brubeck’s 1959 classic is essential. The first Jazz album to sell 1M copies, and peaked at #2 on the Pop charts. I’d rate this in my top 5 Jazz albums of all time. Included in the National Recording Registry as being “culturally historically or aesthetically significant”. Besides all that, it’s just a great album. I love the use of unusual time signatures. Despite this explorations of various (and sometimes varying) time signatures, it is all accessible, with a “subtle blend of cool and west coast jazz” (quote from Wikipedia article). Smooth and Easy: 5/5, and highly recommended.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>24 american dream LCD Soundsystem 1</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>Well…. I don’t like this one. Often irritating, occasionally merely boring. Every once in a while both. There were some decent moments where they almost sounded a little reminiscent of Modern English. It it is all based on repetitive electronic rhythms. 1/5.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>23 Bert Jansch Bert Jansch 3</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>Just a guy and his guitar, mid 60's folk. Good enough, but not really anything special. I prefer Leo Kettke or John Fahey. Easy 3/5, but no higher.</div></span></div>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-5021438859492276432024-01-20T16:52:00.001-06:002024-01-20T16:52:00.135-06:00Catpure52 Week 3 - Delicate<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">So there's this thing called </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/541285426655571" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>Capture52</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;">, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo. I've </span><a href="https://lsqrd.blogspot.com/search/label/52weekchallenge" style="background-color: white; color: #d37d46; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>started it a couple of times</i></b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> but never made it very far. So, let's try again. Here's my post for the 3rd week.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ncOkFNfKXtVir9v2zXVvPd5Aj3MIx1IJH4eMwGwkpiMdpBuUYfZiIkbY-rTsGv6f_E3ZqoPAsEqTzT-wR4Jx20J1tJFUT0E_JhedEIu_1ZkNl3tXjFiFO5zUl0kKFecGnAArGIoX2r2uTYFi3vV1onsX9JabS9enJDk1xqEBWn9ClEVpKA39/s2048/XT3F6897lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ncOkFNfKXtVir9v2zXVvPd5Aj3MIx1IJH4eMwGwkpiMdpBuUYfZiIkbY-rTsGv6f_E3ZqoPAsEqTzT-wR4Jx20J1tJFUT0E_JhedEIu_1ZkNl3tXjFiFO5zUl0kKFecGnAArGIoX2r2uTYFi3vV1onsX9JabS9enJDk1xqEBWn9ClEVpKA39/w640-h426/XT3F6897lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #535353; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #555555; text-align: left;">My entry for the 52 week challenge. </span></span><span style="color: #555555; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Week 03 (15 Jan - 21 Jan) Delicate - Find something delicate and soft and photograph it showing just how delicate it is.</span><p></p><p><span style="color: #555555; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We were out Eagle watching yesterday, just a shorter excursion from <a href="https://riverlands.audubon.org/" target="_blank"><b><i>Riverlands Bird Sanctuary</i></b></a>, up the River Road to <b><i>P<a href="https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/park.peremarquette.html" target="_blank">ere Marquette State Park</a></i></b>. And we saw quite a few eagles, well over a dozen. And a heron, and a hawk, and some ducks abd countless Trumpeter Swans. But that's not what I came here to talk to you about.</span></p><p><span style="color: #555555; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #555555; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Right now I want to talk about "Delicate". I had pondered for several days abouthow to visualize delicacy. I had taken <a href="https://365project.org/lsquared/365/2024-01-14" target="_blank"><b><i>the perfect photo</i></b></a> the day before, but i decided to stick with the defined window, so it was out. Anyway, while we were on our eagle watching excursion, I ended up bushwacking off a trail towards the Illinois river. On the way back I noticed the (hawk?) feather hanging in a small crook on a small branch. That'll do! </span></p><p><span style="color: #555555; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #555555; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I quite like how it worked, even though I only had my 85-200mm zoom with me.</span></p><p><span style="color: #555555; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916868.post-87109999528703551102024-01-19T17:15:00.002-06:002024-01-19T17:15:29.704-06:00Bluebird<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">" Listen to my bluebird laugh she can tell you why / Deep within her heart you see she knows only cryin'</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There she sits aloft at perch strangest color blue / Flying is forgotten now thinks only of you"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">- Stephen Stills (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKHY8MXgiz0" target="_blank"><b><i>Buffalo Springfield</i></b></a>)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But this particular Bluebird was only interested in eating some Holly berries! From the light, you might think its a warm summer day. But no, it was ~15 degrees (F) at the time.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqVVbziccrQVzYNL5Y0du365vBZboty1uZBe7jmzUxQyNNg9m4vSi0WHZD0hf709iHORL6Ps3IVRapC-8lPXY3XALPY4eMvs2_mOe50NsH616M9vgSKVHdgL2XUEx9YZLBIAqr6ANtdgmV_g4qf__qJBljtHzIOOeOeZQNZf24h-1a5jpz4hm/s2048/XT3F6919lpl-2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqVVbziccrQVzYNL5Y0du365vBZboty1uZBe7jmzUxQyNNg9m4vSi0WHZD0hf709iHORL6Ps3IVRapC-8lPXY3XALPY4eMvs2_mOe50NsH616M9vgSKVHdgL2XUEx9YZLBIAqr6ANtdgmV_g4qf__qJBljtHzIOOeOeZQNZf24h-1a5jpz4hm/w640-h640/XT3F6919lpl-2048.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>LSqrdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01752446621183734182noreply@blogger.com0