Milk Thistle?

 

Seen today at Watershed Nature Center.  pretty sure it is a milk thistle.  Can anybody confirm?

One Album A Day - 005

 As I noted before, I've been working through the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, as presented though the 1001 album generator web site.  My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so).  

So here's the next few albums I listened to, 

# - Year - Album - Artist   - My Rating - Global Rating
31 - 2020 - Fetch The Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple - 3 - 3.21
32 - 1994 Smash - The Offspring - 3 - 3.4
33 - 2007 Kala M.I.A. - 2 - 2.99
34 - 2000 - Music - Madonna - 2 - 2.71
35 - 1988 - Green - R.E.M. - 3 - 3.46
36 - 1969 - Five Leaves Left - Nick Drake - 3 - 3.5
37 - 1984 - Welcome To The Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes To Hollywood - 3 - 3.06
38 - 11/26/2023 - 1972 - Superfly - Curtis Mayfield - 4 - 3.68
39 - 1971 - Hunky Dory - David Bowie - 4 - 4.04

Here's my summary page.

And this posting's Reviews:

39 - Hunky Dory - David Bowie - 4

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

38 - Superfly - Curtis Mayfield - 4

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

37 - Welcome To The Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes To Hollywood - 3

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

36 - Five Leaves Left - Nick Drake - 3

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

35 - Green - R.E.M. - 3

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

34 - Music - Madonna - 2

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

33 - Kala - M.I.A. - 2

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.

32 - Smash - The Offspring - 3

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.

31 - Fetch The Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple - 3

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

Catpure52 Week 4 - Water - (22 Jan - 28 Jan)

 So there's this thing called Capture52, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo.  I've started it a couple of times but never made it very far.  So, let's try again.  Here's my post for the 4th week.  "Find something delicate and soft and photograph it showing just how delicate it is."

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!

POTD - Photo Of The Day

 This one received a POTD recognition at BetterPhoto 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 365project, where it received the Popular and Trending Tags.  Woo Hoo!

Taken at an Amish Country Store, Penn Yan, NY.

One Album A Day - 004

  As I noted before, I've been working through the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, as presented though the 1001 album generator web site.  My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so).  

So here's the next few albums I listened to, subsequent to the last posting:

23 - 1965 - Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch - 3 - 3.00
24 - 2017 - american dream - LCD Soundsystem - 1 - 3.19
25 - 1959 - Take 5 - The Dave Brubeck Quartet - 5 - 3.81
26 - 1988 - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy - 1 - 3.39
27 - 1980 - Arc Of A Diver - Steve Winwood - 3 - 2.88
28 - 2000 - Red Dirt Girl - Emmylou Harris - 3 - 2.82
29 - 1960 - At Newport 1960 - Muddy Waters - 4 - 3.55
30 - 2005 - I Am a Bird Now - Antony and the Johnsons - 2 - 2.95

Here's my summary page.

And this posting's Reviews:

30   I Am a Bird Now   Antony and the Johnsons   2 

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

29    At Newport 1960    Muddy Waters    4

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.

28    Red Dirt Girl    Emmylou Harris    3

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

27    Arc Of A Diver    Steve Winwood    3

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

26    It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back    Public Enemy    1

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

25    Time Out    The Dave Brubeck Quartet    5

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.

24    american dream    LCD Soundsystem    1

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.

23    Bert Jansch    Bert Jansch    3

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.

Catpure52 Week 3 - Delicate

  So there's this thing called Capture52, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo.  I've started it a couple of times but never made it very far.  So, let's try again.  Here's my post for the 3rd week.

My entry for the 52 week challenge. Week 03 (15 Jan - 21 Jan) Delicate - Find something delicate and soft and photograph it showing just how delicate it is.

We were out Eagle watching yesterday, just a shorter excursion from Riverlands Bird Sanctuary, up the River Road to Pere Marquette State Park.  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.

Right now I want to talk about "Delicate".  I had pondered for several days abouthow to visualize delicacy.  I had taken the perfect photo 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! 

I quite like how it worked, even though I only had my 85-200mm zoom with me.

Bluebird

" Listen to my bluebird laugh she can tell you why / Deep within her heart you see she knows only cryin'

There she sits aloft at perch strangest color blue / Flying is forgotten now thinks only of you"

- Stephen Stills (Buffalo Springfield)

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.

Catpure52 Week 2 - Break The Rules

 So there's this thing called Capture52, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo.  I've started it a couple of times but never made it very far.  So, let's try again.  Here's my post for the 2nd week, I'm behind puttying them here.

My entry for the 52 week challenge. Week 02 (8 Jan - 14 Jan) Break the rules.

This has everything from a non-standard (random, actually) aspect ratio, to odd placement of subject to the subject "looking" out of the screen. At least I think that qualifies as rule breaking.

I would have preferred the background be more blurred, more "negative space" feeling... but would that be following a rule (negative space)?

Anyway, I'm pleased with it.

One Album A Day - 003

 As I noted before, I've been working through the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, as presented though the 1001 album generator web site.  My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so).  

So here's the next few albums I listened to, subsequent to the last posting:

# - Date - Year Album - Artist - Rating - Global

15 - 2015 - Music in Exile - Songhoy Blues - 4 - 3.33

16 - 1991 Metallica - Metallica - 2 - 3.81

17 - 2004 American Idiot - Green Day - 3 - 3.72

18 - 1965 - Otis Blue - Otis Redding Sings Soul - Otis Redding - 4 - 3.95

19 - 1995 - Me Against The World - 2Pac - 1 - 3.28

20 - 1999 - São Paulo Confessions - Suba - 3 - 2.86

21 - 1969 - Elephant Mountain - The Youngbloods - 4 - 3.09

22 - 1964 - Rock 'N Soul - Solomon Burke - 3 - 3.38

Here's my summary page.

And this posting's Reviews:

.

22 Rock 'N Soul Solomon Burke 3

Very solid 60’s R&B. An enjoyable listen, especially “Cry To Me”. There’s seven charting singles on this album, and those are the standouts. But it’s all good. A strong 3 but not enough to round up to 4. 3/5

21 Elephant Mountain The Youngbloods 4

This album was new to me, which is a little surprising, given the vintage and the style. I (of course) knew of the Youngbloods, and their hit “Get Together”. As I listened, I realized I also knew Sunlight. This is a solid album, and grew on me throughout the listening. Early country rock, in the same neighborhood as Buffalo Springfield, early Poco, Byrds (Sweetheart era), Etc. My overall rating is a bit more than the sum of the parts. No 5 star songs, but no clunkers, either. This will be one I’ll be revisiting.

20 São Paulo Confessions Suba 3

The first 1/2 dozen songs are pretty good, sort of latin/samba sounding. Pleasant enough if somewhat background-y. But the further I went, the more the electronic themes came more forward, and the less I liked it. And by the last song I was ready to be done. Some of these songs would be good on a playlist, but others would be skips. Certainly nothing I feel the need to actually own. 3/5

19 Me Against The World 2Pac 1

I have to say, I didn’t hate this as much as I expected to. Not to imply that I leaked it. There’s no redeeming value here. The lyrics are mostly misogyny, plus glorifying violence, drugs, guns, whatever. Lots of profanity and constant use of the “N” word. No melodies, just rapping over snips of rhythm. Frankly, it all blurs together for me. Obviously a lot of people appreciate Tupac, and rap / Hip Hop. And that’s ok. But it’s not for me. 1/5

18 Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul Otis Redding 4

This is a great album, from a great singer. It’s got a great feel, great “swing”. Most of this album is Redding covering contemporary songs, including some which were very well known. Plus his original version of Respect. Straight soul and R&B from Stax records (Memphis). This is one that I own, and one of my favorite 60’s souls/r&b albums. But I can’t quite call it essential. I’ll round down from 4.5/5, but it is really close.

17 American Idiot Green Day 3

When Dookie came out, I thought it was pretty good, bringing some energy to the wasteland that was MTV. I won’t call it punk sensibility though. By the time this album came out, I was in my early 40’s and just couldn’t muster the cynical anger that defines this music. Yeah, you think America sucks…. I just can’t care. I do like the Weird Al reenvisioning of Canadian Idiot, at least that’s good humored. Anyway, I don’t hate this, I just can’t muster the energy to share their anger. 3/5

16 Metallica Metallica 2

Perhaps if I had been 16 when this album came out, I would’ve liked it. Not sure it would’ve been a favorite even then. However, I was 31 when this came out. I had a wife, 2 kids, a solid start on a career. I just didn’t have the testosterone driven anger at the world, that this seems to call upon. And I’m good with that. I’ll go 2/5, just for “Enter Sandman” is a very good song, I do own that one. But don’t listen to it very often. 2/5

15 Music in Exile Songhoy Blues 4

Songhoy Blues is described by Wikipedia as a “desert blues band from Timbuktu, Mali”. I figured this would be interesting, and I was right.not just interesting, but really good. This is, naturally, not in English, so I don’t know if the lyrics are good or bad. But I REALLY like the music. The closest I can come in mood/tone is Charlie Parr’s Stumpjumper, but that’s just a general similarity. An easy 4, maybe higher if I get more familiar with it. 4/5

Catpure52 Week 1 - New

So there's this thing called Capture52, where they provide a prompt per week, and you're supposed to post a photo.  I've started it a couple of times but never made it very far.  So, let's try again.  Here's my post for the 2nd week, I'm behind puttying them here.

 

Dark Eyed Juncos

 

One Album A Day - 002

 As I noted last week, I've been working through the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, as presented though the 1001 album generator web site.  My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so).  

So here's the next few albums I listened to, subsequent to the last posting:

#  Year     Album - Artist   - My Rating - Global Rating

7  2017  Melodrama- Lorde  - 3 - 3.35

8  2007 Neon Bible - Arcade Fire  - 3 - 3.43

9  1979 Highway to Hell - AC/DC  - 4 - 3.66

10  1980 Remain In Light - Talking Heads  - 3 - 3.64

11  1965 Live At The Regal - B.B. King  - 4 - 3.68

12  1998 Devil Without A Cause - Kid Rock  - 3 - 2.14

13  2004 Want Two - Rufus Wainwright  - 2 - 2.92

14  1996 Being There - Wilco  - 4 - 3.21

Here's my summary page.

And the Reviews:

14   Being There   Wilco   4

Wilco is one of those bands that I feel like I ought to like, and I’ve meant to try out. I have and like Uncle Tupelo’s Anodyne, so that’s a good sign. It is also almost 77 minutes, which is a bit long. I actually split this listen into 2 sessions. I really like the sound, very clean and open, lots of acoustic guitar, piano, banjo, etc. call it alt country, indie, whatever; it’s a style I like. This would be an high 4 if some of the fat were trimmed, maybe a 5. As it is, it it’s barely a 4. But still a solid effort, I’ll listen to this again. 4/5

13   Want Two   Rufus Wainwright   2

I struggled a bit with this. On the face, it is pleasant enough. But it just doesn’t work for me. Many of the songs drag, and there’s no memorable moments. The sound is sparse and open, which works, but the songs drag. The vocal style leaves me cold, often sounding like the Violent Femmes singer, but heavily sedated and almost most mumbling at times. Which is a problem for a vocal driven album. It doesn’t suck, might even be ok for background music of a slow afternoon. I don’t hate it, but it drones on to the point I don’t like it. My weighted (by time) average of the individual songs is 1.9/5, sounds about right. round up to 2/5

12   Devil Without A Cause   Kid Rock   3

I actually own this album, I must’ve been in an angry mood one day in the early 2000’s. I doesn’t really get played a lot but there’s several decent songs. That said, all of it deserves the “Explicit” label. And outside the few decent songs, some of it is pretty bad. it’s loaded with tough posturing, misogynist lyrics, and lots of Kid Rock singing about how awesome Kid Rock is. And misogynistic deserves to be mentioned again. The album is certainly well put together, well produced. And every once in a while I want to turn the music loud, cruise my Midwest suburbs in my VW sedan and feel …. We’ll something. And this fits. But not for 70 minutes straight. And not with my family in earshot. 2.5/5 for the couple of decent songs. round up to 3… barely.

11   Live At The Regal   B.B. King   4

Nice set of “classic” blues from a classic blues man. The recording is better than I expected from a 1964 recording. I didn’t love the backup band, they seemed a little out of sync on the opening song, and overall had a bit of a “Vegas” feel all along. But overall a great time capsule, and a worthy listen. 4/5

10   Remain In Light   Talking Heads   3

"Life During Wartime" is an great song and massive hit. And featured an iconic MTV video. But outside of that song, it's not my favorite. Not my favorite Talking Heads Album, not my favorite album from 1980. One of the things I liked about Talking Heads' first two albums was the focus on concise songs with pretty simple instrumentation. That's gone here on the 2nd of their Brian Eno produced albums. In their 1st 3 albums, the average song length is under 3:40, here it has ballooned to just over 5:00. Lots of synths and polyrythms, and looping grooves. Which is OK, I suppose, but really drags when songs are stretched out forever. They get points for evolving. I'll give 5 for the hit, 3 for the rest... call it 3/5, 'cause I can't do 3.5

9   Highway to Hell   AC/DC   4

AC/DC is one of the instantly recognizable bands of hard rock, and Highway To Hell is one of their most recognizable songs. This probably AC/DC’s second best album (behind Back In Black), and one of the two AC/DC albums I own (along with Back In Black). They’re very good at what they do. That said, they’re a bit of a one trick pony. 4+/5

8   Neon Bible   Arcade Fire   3

Mid 2000’s indie rock…. Pretty solid, good clean/clear sound. Nothing really grabbed me, but all of it was good. I should probably listen some more. Which I could give it 3.5, leaning more 3 than 4

7   Melodrama   Lorde   3

When I saw this was a 2017 album, described as “an electropop record incorporating piano-based melodies, pulsing synthesisers and dense electronic beats.” I wasn’t very enthusiastic. But the point of this project is to broaden my base, so onward! And it’s pretty decent. It is mostly melodic, which is important to me. It is well produced, and Lorde has a solid vocal style (with hint of Melonie meets Patti Smith). On the other hand: lyrically, it’s a consistently “down” album, another example of a singer baring their soul for 40 minutes. The album cover captures this, a sad looking woman (Lourde?). Lying in bed, staring blankly ahead…. I like sad songs as much as the next guy, but it gets overwhelming for a whole album. My biggest issue is the sound; almost all electronic, except for the occasional bit of piano. I looked at the Wikipedia page for this album, just to see if there were any “real” drums : Personnel section lists 11 individuals under production, and 15 individuals under technical (engineering / mixing). There are no musicians listed. None. That flies right into my preconceived notions of what “current” music is. There’s instruments in there, but they apparently don’t merit mention. Bottom line? Not my style, but very solid. I wouldn’t mind individual songs showing up on a playlist, especially the songs that feature piano. But the overall album? Probably won’t listen to it again, but might. Don’t see myself buying it though. 3/5

Garden Glow

 Finally made it to Garden Glow at Missouri Botanical Garden. Just barely, I think Saturday is the last day! Just a few quick photos:

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Spotted a new (to me) bird today: Eurasian Tree Sparrow. We were watching and saw this one among the crowd at the bird feeder, and I noticed the black splotch on its neck. My Merlin Bird ID phone-ap says "introduced to a small region in the central U.S.", that would include us! Next challenge: get a decent photo!

BASIC DESCRIPTION - from allaboutbirds

"In late April 1870, a shipment of European birds from Germany was released in St. Louis, Missouri, in order to provide familiar bird species for newly settled European immigrants. The shipment included 12 hardy Eurasian Tree Sparrows. These chestnut-capped, white-cheeked arrivals prospered in the hedges and woodlots of the region, ultimately spreading through northeastern Missouri, west-central Illinois, and southeastern Iowa. Unlike its relative, the House Sparrow, it is not a bird of cities, instead using farms and lightly wooded residential areas."