Album World Tour: Brazil

A Journey to Listen to an Album from Every Single Country

1/198

Album: Os Mutantes

Artist: Os Mutantes

Year: 1968

Genre: Psychedelic Pop / Experimental Rock / Psychedelic Rock

Length: 36:01

As I take my first steps into this long journey ahead of me, it only made sense that I start it off with not only something familiar that I love but a country that is rich in musical history. Brazil just felt like the perfect place to start. Outside of the usual western music we are constantly bombarded with (specifically US and UK) Brazil is one of the countries that has the richest and biggest music scenes that not only led to innovation and massive inspiration for artists outside of it but also had massive historical importance and was revolutionary within it’s own history.

I fell in love with Brazilian music years ago when I started doing my 1001 Albums challenge and started to discover how much music came out of Brazil and how much of it was superbly amazing, discovering artists like Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, Joao Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto, Milton Nascimento, Lo Borges, (and thanks to some good Brazilian friends of mine (One of whom, my good friend, Camila, gave me some great insight into Brazilian music for this post, so I hope I do you proud!)I also discovered bands like) Mamonas Assassinas, Raul Seixas, and Ultraje a Rigor. And this only scratches the surface of so many great musical artists that Brazil has to offer.

It became clear that choosing an album from this country would be difficult. With the already mentioned multitude of artists I named, the amount of great albums I love from the country and a variety of musical genres and movements that came out of Brazil: Samba, Tropicalia, Bossa Nova, Choro, Brega Music, Sertanejo, MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira), I basically had an entire ocean of music I could choose.

It only made sense to me then that I would pick Os Mutantes debut album to listen to, for two reasons: 1. They were historically one of the most important bands of Brazil when it came to the Tropicalia movement and revolutionary attitudes during an oppressive time and 2. I was just really in the mood to listen to Os Mutantes because I just love this album.

At this point in the 60s, Brazil was under a military dictatorship and the government was basically setting up bans of what could be said in various forms of media (music, newspaper, tv, theatre, etc.). It only made sense that out of this militaristic right wing government, a large group of left-wing liberals would come out as revolutionaries to speak out against it. Problem was, the government was heavily chekcing what every piece of media was saying and if it even mentioned anything they disagreed with, it would never see the light of day. How did they work around this? They made their music sound like nonsense or used very poetic language, so they’d only get their message across to those who truly knew what they were really saying.

Os Mutantes were one of those bands (along with Caetano Veloso who famously was kicked out of the country for his outspoken revolutionary views of the government through his music) to come out of the movement and their mix of lyrical themes and satire with discordant, fuzzy guitars and strange musical noises, made them a favourite amongst the population (something that would protect them as the government tended to just kill any revolutionaries but because these were artists well-liked by the population they didn’t just do away with them (hence why Caetano Veloso was asked to leave rather than just full-on murdered)).

Os Mutantes weren’t just revolutionizing rock music but played an important part to standing up to an oppressive government, a sentiment that would eventually permeate throughout other cultural movements in other countries. In a lot of ways, they were a punk band before punk ever had a name. And that’s pretty cool in my books.

I would highly encourage everyone to seek out the music of Brazil because there really is a lot of amazing music there (and yes I realize I am biased since I love Brazilian music quite a lot). I had almost gone with Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges’ album Clube da Esquina, which is a phenomenal album as well and deserves all the attention and I would highly recommend that you at least check that one out as well.

Starting this journey with a strong opener, here’s to another 197 to go!

-Bosco

Updated Country List

1001 Albums: Goodbye 60s, Hello 70s

 

It’s finally happened. I’ve made it to the end of the 60s and am finally going to be starting music in the 70s. It only took me a little over three years to do. Quite the journey it has been too, it was great seeing the beginnings of rock music as we know it today, shaping and forming and evolving as time went on. Listening to the slow departure of jazz stylings and in studio orchestral accompaniments and the introduction of rock groups playing all their own instruments and music they wrote themselves. I got to see the beginnings of genres, psychedelic, British Invasion, Jazz Rock, Hard Rock, Prog Rock and even the planting of seeds of genres yet to come, proto-punk, proto-metal. The 60s was a great decade of music with a nice variety of music, although at times it was a little monochromatic sonically with the same style appearing over and over and bands kind of blending together, there were a lot of standouts with their own unique voices and sounds that really made a difference. Even albums I didn’t enjoy offered a great look into music history and the development of various genres and gave me a better understanding of why certain bands or albums were considered in such high regard. Listening to it all chronologically really helps with that!

Here’s a list of personal standout albums that i either loved or left an impact on me:

Miriam Makeba – Miriam Makeba

Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan

Phil Spector – A Christmas Gift For You

Sam Cooke – Live at the Harlem Square

Jerry Lee Lewis – Live at the Star Club, Hamburg

The Sonics – Here are the Sonics!!!

Bob Dylan – Bringing it all Back Home

Otis Redding – Otis Blue

Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited

The Who – My Generation

The Monks – Black Monk Time

Paul Revere and the Raiders – Midnight Ride

The Mothers of Invention – Freak Out!

The 13th Floor Elevators – Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators

The Yardbirds – Roger the Engineer

Captain Beefheart – Safe as Milk

Moby Grape – Moby Grape

Love – Da Capo

The Who – The Who Sell Out

The Doors – The Doors

Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced

The Electric Prunes – I had Too Much To Dream Last Night

The Velvet Underground – White Light/White Heat

The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet

Traffic – Traffic

The Kinks – The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society

Os Mutantes – Os Mutantes

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland

Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison

Blue Cheer – Vincebus Eruptum

Big Brother and the Holding Company – Cheap Thrills

Dr. John – Gris Gris

Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

The Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow

Small Faces – Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake

Caetano Veloso – Caetano Veloso

Scott Walker – Scott 2

Frank Zappa – We’re Only in it for the Money

Neil Young – Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

Captain Beefheart – Trout Mask Replica

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bayou Country

Blood, Sweat and Tears – Blood, Sweat and Tears

Johnny Cash – At San Quentin

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River

The Who – Tommy

Quicksilver Messenger Service – Happy Trails

MC5 – Kick Out The Jams

The Temptations – Cloud Nine

Sly and the Family Stone – Stand!

Chicago – Chicago Transit Authority

The Youngbloods – Elephant Mountain

Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul

The Kinks – Arthur: or the decline and Fall of the British Empire

King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King

The Stooges – The Stooges

Frank Zappa – Hot Rats

Quite an extensive list and seeing it all listed there makes me wonder how it took me so long to get through all of them. I guess personal life does get in the way at times and productivity comes in waves. At times I feel I can crank these out one a day and then sometimes feels like I haven’t cranked one out in months. If it took me over three years to get through the 60s, how long will it possibly take me to get through the 70s? The 60s only had 151 albums, comparatively to the 70s which has 279, that more than 100 albums than the previous decade. Might take me a good five years if I’m not productive enough. I won’t let that bring me down though, I will see this until the end, no matter how long it takes me.

Am I looking forward to tackling the 70s? You better believe. My all-time favourite decade of music is 1975 – 1985. The 70s is host to my favourite genres, favourite bands and some of my all-time favourite albums as well. The 70s was such a colourfula nd vibrant time for music, I see this journey not only being met with some great highs but also a large variety of musical genres and styles to keep me on my toes and entertained. I feel it will be difficult getting bored in the 70s because it’ll never be too many albums in a row that sound way too similar, comparatively to the period of psychedelic albums I was going through in the 60s. The 70s was full of experimentation and development of new sounds, with the introduction of the synthesizer as a main instrument in rock music. I am beyond excited to make my way through it and can’t wait for all the new discoveries I will make along the way!

Here’s to the next decade of music!

Goodbye 60s, make way for the 70s!

Favourite Album: The Monks – Black Monk Time

-Bosco

 

 

 

 

1001 Albums: Hot Rats

#174

Artist: Frank Zappa

Album: Hot Rats

Year: 1969

Length: 43:11

Genre: Instrumental Rock / Jazz Fusion / Progressive Rock

“Hot meat
Hot rats
Hot zits
Hot wrists
Hot ritz
Hot roots
Hot soots”

Can it be? Is it possible? I didn’t think this could happen. Din’t think i’d finally see the day. But here it is, true and real, the day I finally made it to the end of the 60s! Here I thought I’d be stuck in the sixties forever. An eternity of listening to psychedelic music and The Beatles on a constant loop. A never ending cycle of of Folk and Country music playing over and over until the day I die and then continuing into purgatory to plague me until the end of times (plus more). Just when I thought 1968 was the longest year of music ever, 1969 felt even longer (but that’s really more my fault in terms of how slow I was cranking these out and not the actual year just having way too much music). But here it is, the proverbial finish line of what was one hell of a decade of music and part of me is kind of sad to see it end…

NO! Don’t think that way, you wanted to get here and now you are here, move on, the 60s are over and that’s that! But… the 60s grew on me… became a friend… a friend I got so close to and now to see it go… I don’t know how to feel. I guess sometimes you need to move on from things. Sometimes good things do come to an end and even though you had your rocky path to navigate through with hills and valleys and ups and downs and highs and lows, what matters was the journey and the journey really helped you grow and evolve. I mean, did you think you would like half of what you ended up listening to? No. So there. All good things come to an end and this is the end my friend. The end of an era, the end of a decade. Sure maybe now you want to keep it and have it go, but you need to move on from things and keep moving forward. Can’t stay stuck in the past forever. You have a long journey ahead of you, four more decades of music! The 60s will continue to live on in the hearts and minds of music lovers and old farts everywhere. They aren’t going anywhere. You can always come back and visit anytime you want!

Thank you 60s. Thank you.

And what a way to end this journey in the 60s but with my old love and flame, JAZZ. Jazz you’ve really come a long way, I haven’t seen you in forever! How have you been? You’ve really grown! I mean, I barely recognize you, you’ve changed quite a bit. Oh I see, you’ve gone through a bit of a change of style. Well, that’s what happens when you start hanging around Frank Zappa, he’ll start warping your mind, change your way of thinking, really get you doing some weird shit that you never thought you’d like but you really do. Zappa is a musical genius, one of my favourites and I like what he’s done with you Jazz, I like it a lot. It’s different, it’s eccentric and it’s absolutely amazing. I mean, Peaches En Regalia? Come on! What a fucking song that is! And having Captain Beefheart sing over you? Absurd but delightfully absurd. Who would have thought his rough growling voice would work so well with you? I’m happy you found Zappa and that Zappa found you because this seems like the start of a new relationship that will be taken to new heights. The awes and wonders Zappa will do with you in the future is incredible and unlike anything else, you’ve really found yourself a keeper here Jazz. Thanks to you Zappa will be taking on new sounds and you’ve started him on the path to incredible work.

Zappa here really outdoes himself, taking on his own solo effort, producing it himself and working with a bunch of new studio techniques and experimenting, it really is one hell of an album and I can see why it’s often considered one of Zappa’s best. Zapp is a highly unique and eccentric musician who has touched on so many different genres and just seems to kill every single one he touches. I’m sad this is also the end of Zappa on this list, none of his efforts from the 70s or 80s appears, which is a real damn shame because he has some amazing work. I mean, at least could have put Sheik Yerbouti on the list! The techniques he uses on it are fantastic and it’s such a dense album filled to the brim with anything you could possibly want from Zappa. But I digress, because Hot Rats is really the star of the show at this moment and it shines brightly in Zappa’s never ending catalogue of music.

Zappa is an eccentric genius and there’s no doubt about it.

Favourite Song: Peaches En Regalia

-Bosco

 

1001 Albums: Oar

#173

Artist: Alexander “Skip” Spence

Album: Oar

Year: 1969

Length: 44:38

Genre: Rock / Folk / Psychedelic Rock

“Weighted down by possessions
Weighted down by the gun
Waited down by the river for you to come

A best friend to your ear of true said I was guilty of sin
Said my being gone was the best thing for you
But the truth, it all comes through for me and my kin
It wasn’t the best thing for me but was the best for him”

 

A letter from the brink of mental collapse:

Dear diary,

Today is three or four weeks into self-isolation. Things can go better but they can’t too. Another day in and up from bed, sun sometimes pours in other times it’s cloud and fog. What to do today? Same as everyday? Wallow, think of things, productivity very low. So low. hard to stay up and about when your mind is a mush. Mushy, gooey potato salad, scrambled eggs in the old noggin, skull smoothie. Yummy milk shake that brings all the boys to the yard.

Another day passed by in a haze the other day, wasn’t sure what day it really was. Kind of scared to go outside, rarely step outside anymore and when I do it’s high intensity, panic levels up to 11. Danger seems to be everywhere the more I stay in, the worse outside seems to get. What is it all? What is the world now? Who knows? Do I? Not at all. Will things get better? One can hope, but what is hope in a time like this? Is it really there? Yes… No? Bah, sheep bleat.

Is it possible that as the days go by, the more I don’t feel like myself anymore? Whoever I was before all this, is not who i am now. Will i get back to that old me once all this is done or will i be stuck in this state forever now? Big questions with no answers, only time will tell. Time, so much time now to do anything we want, but nothing to do. How do you fill time when you have so much of it but nothing to do? I could practice skills, learn new things, write that thing I’ve always wanted to write. But to what purpose? Whodawhattawhenawherea?

Well good thing I had my good old friend Alexander “Skip” Spence by my side. A man who understands, a man who knows how it feels. Poor guy, his career never could seem to get started. First he’s int he highly underrated and underappreciated band Moby Grape, then makes one solo album that completely bombs due to Columbia Records not wanting to promote it. A man meant to live in retrospective and never in the moment. Shame, shame, I know your name Skip and so should everyone. Talent like this doesn’t come around much but at least you live in infamy years later.

Here’s a man on the total brink of mental collapse, an album considered the incoherent ramblings of someone who admitted to the hospital after a delusional attack on his old bandmates, trying to kill them with a fire axe he did. Spending tons of time in the hospital, writing a way, creating something that is both beautiful and haunting at the same time. Reminiscent of Leonard Cohen’s style, what sets this apart though is the underlying sense that the singer has a completely fractured mind. This isn’t poetry but a lens into a completely broken mind on the verge of imploding in on itself. It not only adds a new layer tot he music but brings it up to a new height. It’s kind of scary what you hear but oddly kind of nice as well. Mixing in eccentricities of his fragile mind to normal (normal?) songs, creating an odd yet enjoyable experience for all.

Poor Skip. His legacy lives on but at what cost? his mind? Is art really that of the broken? To create true art, do you really need to suffer? One must suffer for their art, right? But to what extent? Can we really enjoy that of the pained? Yes. Yes we can. I think so… I think so…

Favourite Song: Grey/Afro

-Bosco

1001 Albums: The Stooges

#172

Artist: The Stooges

Album: The Stooges

Year: 1969

Length: 34:33

Genre: Proto-Punk / Garage Rock

“Well it’s 1969 okay
All across the USA
It’s another year
For me and you
Another year
With nothing to do”

What are you doing during your self-isolation? I can tell you what I’m doing. I’m playing my music. I’m playing it loud and proud. I’m cranking those speakers up and letting them blast the windows open. Let those walls rumble and the furniture shake. There’s a mini earthquake coming through this condo and the cause is LOUD MUSIC and a subwoofer bass (not really though, I don’t have one). I’m surprised I haven’t received a noise complaint yet. It just proves my theory that the condos in this building are built with mighty sound proof walls. Also, a lot of old people live in this building, so even if it was cranked to 11, I’m sure they still wouldn’t be able to hear it anyway. I think I’m safe. Pump up the volume and have an eternal dance party until this all blows over. That’s what me and the girlfriend have essentially been doing, just dancing our worries away. It’s been good for the soul in these tough times. And a great way to get some cardio in as well.

I think it’s pretty clear if I enjoyed this album or not. Anyone who knows me, who knows what I enjoy probably already knows my feelings towards it. I mean, come on!!!! It’s proto-punk. PROTO-PUNK! If you’ve read my Monks and MC5 posts you already know how much I’m going to rave and gush over this album and THIS album… ughhh… oh yeah… mmmmm. Out of all three Proto-Punk albums of the 60s, this one could be deemed as the most important. Not only is it the most well known, but this is the album that also introduced the music world to the sex icon himself, the one and only, Iggy Motherfucking Pop. A master of the punk scene and just being a lude, crude, not-giving-two-fucks bad ass who very deservedly wears his crown as the grandfather of punk.

It’s quite incredible to hear an album like this in it’s historical context. It feels and sounds like something that came out of the late 70s, but here it is neatly tucked in the tail end of the 60s, predicting the future of the punk genre way before punk was even a thing. From it’s heavy use of distortion, fuzz guitar, noisy riffs, indescipherable lyrics, fast tempos, aggressive playing and pure raw sex, The Stooges just blew onto the scene with an album that was sure to give your parents a heart attack. Of they thought rock n roll was the music of satan, I wonder what they thought this is. Every song here just oozes with punk aggression, all except We Will Fall, which is a 10 minute psychedelic piece that sounds more like it should be on Dr. John’s Gris Gris than on this album, there’s no breathing point to take a break and it just fires onto you with one grungy tune after another. Almost as if it was recorded in a tin can, the distortion melts your ears off in pure melodic noise and this was just a blueprint for what was to come. Have you heard their second album, Fun House? Hot Diggity Dog.

I’m biased though. it’s hard for me to say anything bad about an album like this since I love the genre so much and I’m a big fan of unlistenable music. Something about loud, aggressive noise just sounds like music to my ears and this is definitely one of those albums you need to crank up the speakers to truly enjoy (but then again I think every album should be listened to incredibly loudly (except folk and country, that’s some quiet shit right there)). Especially after hearing a few slower albums, folk and baroque pop, this one just exploded onto my speakers with the punk attitude I needed of “Now for something completely different”. Out of all the genres I think I am having the most fun discovering the history and evolution of the punk genre than any other and I’m excited to see where it goes from here (even though I already kind of know, but I’ll pretend like I don’t just for you).

Favourite Song: 1969

-Bosco

1001 Albums: Scott 4

#171

Artist: Scott Walker

Album: Scott 4

Year: 1969

Length: 32:28

Genre: Baroque Pop / Avant-Garde

“Anybody hear of plague in this town
The town I’ve left behind was burned to the ground
A young girl on a stake her face framed in flames cried
I’m not a witch God knows my name

The knight he watched with fear
He needed to know
He ran where he might feel God’s breath
And in the misty church
He knelt to confess
The face within the booth was Mr. Death”

 

Back in my hometown of Montreal, we have an amusement park. Not just any amusement but an official Six Flags amusement park, right off the island on it’s own smaller island. It’s a big staple of Montreal and everyone absolutely adores it. I have very fond memories of summers visiting it with a season pass and going on all the rides for an entire day of thrill seeking and fun. The park isn’t without it’s great rides, with something for everyone and a good host of great Roller Coasters for all you thrill seekers out there. Out of all the roller coasters in the park, two stand out for me in their own ways.

The first, and by far my favourite, is The Monster. This is your classic wooden roller coaster. It’s old, shaky and fast, everything you’d want from a classic roller coaster. There’s enough twists and turns and dips to keep your adrenaline up the entire ride and never fails. And if that wasn’t enough, The Monster actually has two tracks for you to enjoy. TWO! So if you liked the first go around then you can jump on a second time to see which track you like best. I think I’ve always been a fan of track 1. It’s the best coaster in the park but general consensus seems to feel otherwise…

The second stand out is our monster (not the same monster as I mentioned above) of a roller coaster. Everyone knows this type, probably one in every six flags, probably every amusement park. The BIG one, The massive steel coaster that towers over every ride, shadows the whole park. The big Kahuna of surfing waves. We all know this coaster. It’s large and in charge, zooms at break-necking speeds and has drops that throw your stomach into your throat. For every thrill-seeker this is the one they love to run too. It’s the general consensus that this is the “best” ride of the park, almost no debate to be had. It’s simplistic design of just hill after hill serves it’s purpose for the thrills these seekers seek and remains a fan favourite years after it was dropped into the park.

Here’s the thing… I don’t think it’s that great of a ride. Is it fun? For sure. Will i ride it every time I visit the park? You fucking know it! Is it the best? Not even close. I’ve ridden these goliath coasters before (funnily enough the name of the ride is The Goliath) and I wouldn’t even put this one in the top ten of this style of coaster I’ve ridden. I tried the Superman at the six flags in Massachussets (masachusets? Massachusetts? Maassaacchhuusseettss?) and Apollo’s Chariot at Busch Gardens which were 2 million times more intense than the Goliath. The Goliath is practically a baby coaster compared to it’s brethren at other parks. I can understand why people love it, but the problem is it’s not a good coaster. Everyone talks about how great the first drop is and the first drop is a fantastic drop! It’s super steep, super fast and anything you’d want in a drop. Problem is, after that initial drop… the rest of the coaster is boring, just hills you go up and down on that never quite hit the high of that first drop. I can honestly nap on the coaster after that first drop because it just feels boring in comparison. You see, the Monster has all  these twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. It’s a thrill from start to finish and to layer on top of that, it rattles and shakes the whole way through giving you the impression it might break at any second. The Goliath has none of that and everyone seems so stuck by that first drop that they forget that the rest of the ride is mediocre at best.

Why am I babbling on about coasters at a theme park you’ve probably never heard of if you don’t live in Montreal? Well, my feelings towards these two coasters is how I kind of feel about this Scott Walker album. On this list so far he’s had two albums, the creatively and brilliantly named Scott 2 and Scott 4 (which is actually his fifth studio album just to confuse us). If I was to make the analogy, Scott 2 would be the Monster for me and Scott 4 the Goliath. Let me explain. I definitely enjoyed Scott 2 more than I enjoyed Scott 4. I found it an enjoyable experience from start to finish, filled with humour and and a layered backing band. Scott 4 on the other hand, didn’t feel as exciting to me, despite lyrically being very epic and probably Scott 4 at his most mature, being completely original and taking away any humour, musically it was stripped down for a more simplistic arrangement compared to Scott 2. Scott 4 opens with a high, The Seventh Seal, and like The Goliath, the rest of the album just never hit that high again for me. It was like going down that massive drop on the coaster only to kind of be disinterested in the rest of the experience. A lot of people claim this album to be Scott’s best, and I can see where they are coming from, but for me I found Scott 2 to be better, more thrilling and exciting for this thrill seeker here. I understand thrills is not what Scott Walker (he credited as Scott Engel, which apparently did NOT help with album sales) was going for, but I feel my analogy still stands.

I wish I could say I enjoyed this more than I actually did, but after Seventh Seal I found myself a little disappointed, constantly trying to get that high again from this album, and I, personally, felt it never came for me. I found myself slowly getting more and more disengaged with each song to the point I almost stopped really caring about the album, which is a shame because I do kind of enjoy Scott Walker, especially after listening to Scott 2 eons ago. Maybe further listens would help with this and I was stuck in comparison mode (which they say to never compare things anyway). So who knows. But just like The Goliath, you can definitely still see me standing in line and enjoying the experience for what it is, even if I have the other ride on the brain while it’s happening.

Favourite Song: The Seventh Seal

-Bosco

P.s. Other notable Coasters at the park: The Vampire (one of those sit under the track ones, super fast and a ton of fun for massive thrill seekers), The Cobra (Not the greatest, but it’s a standing roller coaster (you stand instead of sit)), La Super Manege (A fun coaster for those who want to do roller coasters but don’t like crazy, intense ones).

DO NOT DO THE ENDOR!

1001 Albums: Liege and Lief

#170

Artist: Fairport Convention

Album: Liege and Lief

Year: 1969

Length: 40:33

Genre: Folk Rock

 

“Farewell, farewell to you who would hear
You lonely travelers all
The cold north wind will blow again
The winding road does call

And will you never return to see
Your bruised and beaten sons?
“Oh, I would, I would, if welcome I were
For they loathe me, every one”

 

MY LORD! My Liege has come to me and has some grave news from beyond the mountains. It seems the villages have been ravished by the plague. A sweeping plague that has taken over, killing the elders and causing the children to be bed-ridden. My Lord, we are here to protect these villages of our land, but the plague seems to be an unvanquishable foe. Dragons have been easier than this, GLorkop the Cyclops was less intimidating, Valomir the Unnegotiable was more willing to negotiate than this plague. We are running out of resources, my lord. Our efforts have been exhausted and we do not know how to move forward.

We’ve thrown all of our men at this plague, all of them. it has vanquished each and every one of them. Yes even little Jimmy the thief. Our poor, scared little Jimmy the thief, so young and brave, taken in the prime of his youth by this dastardly plague. All we have left is three of our weakest man and damned if I will be sending them in to a losing battle, my lord. We cannot keep throwing as many men as possible at it, we need a plan, a new strategy to tackle this thing to the ground, to conquer it once and for all. I have come to you today, begging, nay, pleading, for your help, your guidance, my lord, as we have no more ideas of what to do. You are the wisest of the land, the bravest warrior, the most intelligent of strategists this nation has ever seen. You can be the one to save us! You can be our various in this unholy of times!

Yes, you can take a minute to think, my lord. Some mead? Right, only for celebration, you are absolutely right.

What is that, my lord? What did you just say? That’s… that’s completely absurd… you want to do what? My Lord, that is complete lunacy! They are merely bards, what good could they do? You want us to send the players of the Fairport Convention travelling company, musicians, performers, to go down to the village and play their music for them? How will that vanquish a plague? These bards… they… they play songs of our forefathers in their weird new style of music. A sort of modern folk, rocky in my opinion. It’s practically heresy! How could you put the faith of the entire nation in the hands of storytellers?!

Oh I see… Well, I mean… I understand but… but…. MY LORD!

Don’t you want to beat this thing? Don’t you want to win?

I see… I don’t understand what do you mean we can’t win every battle? Of course we can! We have won many a battle in our history!

Are you suggesting that we send in the bards merely as a distraction? Not a distraction? Then what?

…

I never thought of it that way. Maybe I am in denial, maybe I didn’t think that that was a possibility. Just accept defeat like that? What do you mean it’s not a defeat? Oh I think I’m getting it. The bards go in and as an act of unity, get us all together during a time of disease. We might not all fall but at least we will be together as one, singing our songs of our past, standing tall in good spirits. Is that correct?

Then it shall be done, my lord. I will contact the bards immediately and send them over with their best songs. We may not have won the battle but we will win the war. We will win the war. Music is a more powerful weapon than I ever imagined it could be, sorry I ever doubted you, My Lord.

See you on the other side.

Favourite Song: Medley

-Bosco

1001 Albums: Songs From a Room

#169

Artist: Leonard Cohen

Album: Songs From a Room

Year: 1969

Length: 35:38

Genre: Contemporary Folk

“Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free”

What a weird time we’re currently living in. A world wide pandemic has hit us all and now we’ve all self-isolated, quarantining ourselves in our homes. Everyone seems to have been hit hard by this in various ways. If you haven’t caught the virus, then you’ve probably been laid off from your job as everything has closed, and if not then you’re probably dealing with anxieties related to catching the virus. Myself, I had a temporary lay-off as I worked in schools, which are all closed, and have been slowly going a little stir-crazy staying inside, isolated from the world. Isolation is NOT good for me, having experienced it before when I was working from home, it did terrible things to my mental health. Luckily, as if fate was on my side, I happened to meet someone that I feel very close to right before the quarantine happened and I’ve basically spent the whole time with her. At least I have good company in these hard times but I know some are probably very alone right now and it must be very difficult or them. I feel for you all, hope everyone is ok.

It’s rather appropriate then that Leonard Cohen’s Songs From a Room happened to come up right at this moment. We’re all stuck in our rooms and now I’m listening to songs in a room from a room… hehehe. A propos, but jesus not the right music to be listening to when all of us are getting down from being isolated. It’s no secret that Leonard Cohen’s music can be pretty depressing. Sure the poetry of it all is beautiful but man it’s a huge downer. I have difficulty listening to his music because it really just leaves a heavily melancholic feeling in you. You don’t leave this album feeling super happy at all. And taboot, he decided to take a much simpler approach with this album, losing percussion and making the vibe even more melancholic than it needs to be. Joy, happy happy joy joy.

Despite all this, I will always defend Mr. Cohen, no matter what. He’s an icon of my home town, Montreal, and will always be. I may not have that much of a deep connection to him in anyway, I may not have listened to any of his music until starting this list, I may not even care for him artistically that much, but DAMMIT he’s an icon of Montreal and you better believe I will honour him at all costs. Even if you just mention his name, I’ll make sure to let you know he is a Montrealer and one of Montreal’s proudest achievements. I don’t care that I will never really listen to his music because I’m really not into it. I am a proud Montrealer and proud of the successful people who have come out of it. I put Leonard Cohen up amongst the greats, with William Shatner, Christopher Plummer and Men Without Hats and their smash hit “The Safety Dance”, when I talk about the amazing talent that has come out of this city.

I don’t really know what I’m saying anymore. the isolation has been getting to me and my partner now and we’ve both been incredibly loopy (debateably a good thing has it has been entertaining). But the lack of stimulation for my mind has been pretty bad, slowly feeling it turn to mush as every day goes by. This album did not help. It’s slow pace, melancholic vibes just brought the mood down. Even though thematically it fit very well with what is happening, it just didn’t do it for me. I’m putting this up to bad (or possibly the best timing) timing and will say I might revisit it some day in the future during good times and see what my attitude towards it will be then. I do see most of my next posts kind of being incoherent and me babbling non-sensically about whatever is on my mind at the moment… but then again I don’t know how different that really is than how I usually write.

HAHA

Now excuse me while I go dance in my penguin onesie.

Favourite Song: Bird on the Wire

-Bosco

1001 Albums: In The Court of the Crimson King

#168

Artist: King Crimson

Album: In the Court of the Crimson King

Year: 1969

Length: 43:56

Genre: Progressive Rock

“The rusted chains of prison moons
Are shattered by the sun
I walk a road horizons change
The tournament’s begun
The purple piper plays his tune
The choir softly sing
Three lullabies in an ancient tongue
For the court of the crimson king”

Ever experience something, usually a piece of media, where after the experience you think to yourself “Why even try anymore?” I should clarify, I don’t mean try in life any more, but usually to the specific piece of media that has been created. For example, the 1992 film version of the Farce, Noises Off, is probably the greatest adaptation of the play that there really is no point even trying to put it on anymore as the version was just too good. That’s what I mean when I say why even try? When you experience something of it’s kind that is just so good that you feel there isn’t even a point in trying to do it as it has hit its’ peak, the best has happened, no matter what you create will never reach that height.

I realise that that’s a bit of a self-defeating idea. Thinking about it, just because you’ll never reach the height of the best of whatever it is you are doing doesn’t mean what you do within it won’t be really good either, which is also just as great. But It’s a little harder with adaptations because they will always be compared to the best version there is, but with other pieces of media, whether it be genres or anthology type stories, there shouldn’t be a reason why anyone shouldn’t jump into it just because they might not hit the peak. You may not write the best episode for Black Mirror, but it could still be a good Black Mirror episode, they don’t just stop the series after they made the best episode, right?

Ok, so I’m contradicting myself now, started by saying one thing and then kind of turning my thoughts on what I said. I’m very stream of consciousness in my style of writing, so bear with me. I do feel that way sometimes, where you experience something so good you just feel mediocre in comparison and that could put a bit of a block on your creativity. You feel no matter what you’ll never be good as that specific piece of media and feel completely and utterly defeated, as if your attempts are all fruitless. No bananas for this guy. So you give up, never doing what you want to do. But you know deep down that you can’t do that, you can’t compare yourself to the best and should focus on what you’re doing because you may not be the best but dammit you are the best you and you can do a great job regardless. Never give up, never surrender. Keep moving forward.

What am I babbling on about? I wish I had something that related to this but I don’t. The reason I was saying this is because…

This album is good.

It’s really good.

It’s so fucking good. Like why even make music after this? Prog rock started and should have ended here because there was no way you can make an album this great again. King Crimson not only paved the way for progressive rock groups like Rush and Tool but also burst through the door wearing the crown and made sure it stayed glued to their heads. For years, YEARS, I had heard about this album. A ton of people were recommending it to me, talking about it in such high regard and for the life of me I could NOT find it ANYWHERE. Wasn’t on Spotify, wasn’t on Youtube, couldn’t even find someone who owned it. Something out there did not want me to listen to this album for some reason. I got nervous when it came close to listening to it on the list, how would I find it, how would I listen to it? By pure chance, when it came time to listen to it, it had suddenly appeared in it’s full glory on Spotify and I got to listen to it once, twice, THREE times.

I have no words to describe this. Everything everyone had told me was true. I was in awe, pure admiration at what this album was blaring into my ears. Pure sonic majesty, a tapestry of royal sounds, the blue noise of the ancestral forefathers. This was not music, this was an aural experience beyond my understanding. Every note, every instrument, every sound meticulously crafted together to create, dare I say it, perfect songs. Even the 12 minute Moonchild, which should be a recipe for something I wouldn’t enjoy, was an experimental delight of soundscaping, stopping the music to play with dings and dongs in a way that just felt so right. I don’t usually use the term Perfect Album much, but this is definitely a Perfect Album.

Now excuse me while I burn all my records as there is no point listening to anything else ever again.

Good riddance!

Favourite Song: The Court of the Crimson King

-Bosco

 

1001 Albums: Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

#167

Artist: The Kinks

Album: Arthur (Or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

Year: 1969

Length: 49:17

Genre: Rock

“ was born, lucky me
In a land that I love
Though I am poor, I am free
When I grow I shall fight
For this land I shall die
Let her sun never set
Victoria, Victoria, Victoria, ‘toria
Victoria, Victoria, Victoria, ‘toria”

The Kinks have done it again! With each subsequent album the Kinks have to offer I find myself loving them more and more which makes it really sad that this is the final Kinks album to appear on the list. I guess it’ll be up to me to continue on this kinky adventure (especially since their next album contains their hit song (and one of my favourites) Lola). I went from being lukewarm about them to absolutely loving them and although I prefer Village Green over this one, I have to say this was a fantastically amazing album and The Kinks have really outdone themselves here.

Originally meant to be music written for a tv series that never saw the light of day, they took the music and turned into this wild concept album. What the Kinks do best is taking a snapshot of small England town life and capturing it in funny, satirical or even mildly realistic ways. They were always good at at creating these little worlds of townspeople and village life in such an illustrious way. For this one they went a different route, instead of choosing a small town and talking about its inhabitants and infrastructure, they decided to follow the life of one man, Arthur.

Heavily based on Ray Davies brother in law, who apparently was flattered with an entire album dedicated to his life, the album tells the story of Arthur, a carpet layer who lives in a suburban home and his family’s plight is depicted in a post war England. The Kinks manage to capture the life of this man so well that you as the listener really feel for the protagonist and feel like you’re sitting right by him in his journey through his life. I could listen to The Kinks song about Arthur all day. A simple everyday man, which makes it perfect for the listener to relate to as you can easily put yourself in his position allowed for an incredibly personable and likable listening experience that at times felt very joyful and hopeful and at times a little sad.

With every listen of this album I grow to like it more and more. It really is one hell of an album and I’m sad to see this be the end of The Kinks on the list. I look forward to discovering more Kinks after this and continuing my kinky journey beyond the 1001 albums!

Favourite Song: Brainwashed

-Bosco