I wasn’t going to do The Blogging A to Z Challenge this year. I’ve done 7 different challenges in the previous five years and didn’t feel like putting the time and effort into this year, especially since I’m doing the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums project and the Classic Movie Project II.
But then I realized that I could combine things. What if I watch Classic Movies from the AFI, Cahiers du Cinéma, and Sight & Sound lists in alphabetical order and post the reviews to coincide with Blogging A to Z posts? And so I’ve found I’ve found 21 films from my Classic Movie project which I will review as part of the Blogging A to Z Challenge, some of which are rather creatively assigned to their respective letters of the alphabet. I also have picked out six movies from my general watchlist to fill out the list.
Compared to my previous A to Z Challenges, I expect this will be minimal effort, although I will definitely spend time reading and commenting on other peoples’ blogs. And what of my previous A to Z Challenges? Check them out below:
Last September, Rolling Stone magazine released their most recent list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, which includes a greater variety of artists and genres than previous lists. Looking through the list, there were many albums I’d never listened to before and a few I’d never even heard of. In fact, counting it up, I found that I’d only listened to 140 of the albums, although I’d heard songs from many more. So I’ve decided my project for 2021 is to listen to 10 albums each week and write up some thoughts about each one.
Artist: The Beach Boys Album: Wild Honey Year: 1967 Label: Capitol Have I Listened to This Album Before?: No Am I Familiar With This Artist/Songs from This Album?: No Would I Listen to this Album Again?: No Favorite Tracks: None Thoughts: I was not at all familiar with any of the songs on this album, with good reason. They’re not very good. The Beach Boys sound like they’re a 60s garage band making a 60s baroque pop album. The vocals are very ragged, like the lead vocalist is straining to reach the high register. And if the Beach Boys don’t have strong vocals, what do they have? I feel like Rolling Stone is punking us by putting this album on the list.
Artist: Grateful Dead Album: Workingman’s Dead Year: 1970 Label: Warner Bros. Have I Listened to This Album Before?: Yes Am I Familiar With This Artist/Songs from This Album?: Yes Would I Listen to this Album Again?: Yes Favorite Tracks:
“Uncle John’s Band”
“High Time”
“Dire Wolf”
Thoughts: There are two albums that come up when anyone discusses the Grateful Dead who is not a diehard Deadhead, and those two albums are the only albums by the band on this list. I would think that a band that is known primarily for it’s live performances, and for documenting those concerts on recordings, and for people trading those concert recordings that a live album would be a good way to represent the Dead and their contributions to rock & roll on this list. There certainly are a lot of good ones to choose from. Nevertheless, I do like the songs on this album, although not as much as I like the other one that we’ll discuss when get to #215.
Artist: Motörhead Album: Ace of Spades Year: 1980 Label: Bronze Have I Listened to This Album Before?: No Am I Familiar With This Artist/Songs from This Album?: Yes Would I Listen to this Album Again?: Yes Favorite Tracks:
“Ace of Spades”
“Please Don’t Touch”
Thoughts: Motörhead are the one band able to unite 80s punks and metalheads and pioneers of really fast guitar and drumming. They are not the type of band one would expect me to like, but I find Motörhead is just find them a lot of fun. A friend once told me “Everyone should love Motörhead! I just take that as a given,” and it’s probably true.
Artist: Neil Young Album: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Year: 1969 Label: Reprise Have I Listened to This Album Before?: No Am I Familiar With This Artist/Songs from This Album?: Yes Would I Listen to this Album Again?: No Favorite Tracks:
“Cinnamon Girl”
Thoughts: Neil Young is one of those artists, alongside the likes of Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, for whom I have a lot of respect for what they’ve done as artists and appreciate why other people enjoy their work, but nevertheless I don’t enjoy listening to myself. This was his second album under his own name (both all-time and in the year 1969), his first work with the band Crazy Horse, released less than a year after the final Buffalo Springfield album and less than a year before his first collaboration with Crosby, Stills, & Nash. The dude was crazy prolific is what I’m saying.
Artist: The Magnetic Fields Album: 69 Love Songs Year: 1999 Label: Merge Have I Listened to This Album Before?: No Am I Familiar With This Artist/Songs from This Album?: Yes Would I Listen to this Album Again?: Yes Favorite Tracks:
“A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off”
“The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side”
“The Book of Love”
“Parades Go By”
“When My Boy Walks Down the Street”
“If You Don’t Cry”
“Crazy For You (But Not That Crazy)”
“Washington D.C.”
“It’s a Crime”
“I’m Sorry I Love You”
“The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure”
“The Night You Can’t Remember”
Thoughts: For an album that is packed literally with 69 songs there’s a remarkable consistency of quality. Stephin Merritt and co. create a concept album not about love, but about love songs, with homages (and more often tongue-in-cheek parodies) of various styles of love song about various types of love.
Artist: Various Album: Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era Year: 1972 Label: Elektra Have I Listened to This Album Before?: Sort of Am I Familiar With This Artist/Songs from This Album?: Some Would I Listen to this Album Again?: Yes Favorite Tracks:
“Dirty Water” – The Standells
“Moulty” – The Barbarians
“You’re Gonna Miss Me” – 13th Floor Elevators
“Psychotic Reaction” – Count Five
“Baby Please Don’t Go” – The Amboy Dukes
Thoughts: This is the type of compilation that deserves to be on Greatest Albums of All-Time list. Not only does it contain multiple artists but it was compiled shortly after the songs were created and helped bring attention to tunes that might otherwise have been forgotten. The musical style is a mix of Beatles’ tribute bands + bluesy garage rock + lots of hallucinogenic substances. It proved to be very influential to punk bands of the 1970s. I remember listening to a version of this album as a teenager that had fewer tracks, but introduced me to great songs such as “Psychotic Reaction” and “You’re Gonna Miss Me.” It’s also fun to think of a time when “Dirty Water” wasn’t the theme song of Boston sports teams.
Artist: Anita Baker Album: Rapture Year: 1986 Label: Elektra Have I Listened to This Album Before?: No Am I Familiar With This Artist/Songs from This Album?: One Would I Listen to this Album Again?: No Favorite Tracks: None Thoughts: I remember “Sweet Love” as a radio staple in the mid-to-late 80s but never gave it much thought. The album contains several more tracks with the same style of jazz-inflected R&B. I don’t want to say its bad, but it’s definitely not my thing.
Artist: Ghostface Killah Album: Supreme Clientele Year: 2000 Label: Epic Have I Listened to This Album Before?: No Am I Familiar With This Artist/Songs from This Album?: No Would I Listen to this Album Again?: Maybe Favorite Tracks:
“The Grain”
“Buck 50”
“Malcolm”
“Cherchez LaGhost”
“Wu Banga 101”
Thoughts: Yet another hip-hop artist I previously only knew by name. I like Ghostface Killah’s rhyme style and the musical production/sampling. I’m also amused by all the references to Iron Man well before the MCU made Tony Stark a household name.
Artist: Fela Kuti and Africa 70 Album: Expensive Shit Year: 1975 Label: Sounds Workshop Have I Listened to This Album Before?: No Am I Familiar With This Artist/Songs from This Album?: Yes Would I Listen to this Album Again?: Yes Favorite Tracks:
“Expensive Shit”
“Water No Get Enemy”
Thoughts: Is a recording with one song on each side, an album or a single? In the case of Expensive Shit, the two songs are a combined 25 minutes, giving it album length. The title track is based on a true story of Kuti eating a joint to avoid arrest, but the police took him in anyway and waited for him to produce the excrement. The album is a classic of Afrobeat, part political, part joyful, all brilliant.
Artist: Blondie Album: Blondie Year: 1977 Label: Private Stock Have I Listened to This Album Before?: No Am I Familiar With This Artist/Songs from This Album?: Yes Would I Listen to this Album Again?: Yes Favorite Tracks:
“X Offender”
“In the Flesh”
“Look Good in Blue”
“Kung Fu Girls”
Thoughts: This debut album from the New York punk band looks back to early 60s pop and doo wop while setting the vanguard for 80s New Wave. Wry lyrics bring a 70s sensibility (and sexuality) to seemingly innocent tunes.
Running List of Albums I’d Listen to Again
500. Arcade Fire, Funeral
498. Suicide, Suicide
497. Various Artists, The Indestructible Beat of Soweto
494. The Ronettes, Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes
489. A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector from Phil Spector and Various Artists, Back to Mono (1958-1969)
487. Black Flag, Damaged
485, Richard and Linda Thompson, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
483, Muddy Waters, The Anthology
482, The Pharcyde, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde
481, Belle and Sebastian, If You’re Feeling Sinister
478, The Kinks, Something Else by the Kinks
477, Howlin’ Wolf, Moanin’ in the Moonlight
469, Manu Chao, Clandestino
465, King Sunny Adé, The Best of the Classic Years
464, The Isley Brothers, 3 + 3
462, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Gilded Palace of Sin
459, Kid Cudi, Man on the Moon: The End of the Day
457, Sinéad O’Connor, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
456, Al Green, Greatest Hits
455, Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley/Go Bo Diddley
453, Nine Inch Nails, Pretty Hate Machine
452, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Anthology
451, Roberta Flack, First Take
448, Otis Redding, Dictionary of Soul
446, Alice Coltrane, Journey in Satchidanada
444, Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
443, David Bowie, Scary Monsters
440, Loretta Lynn, Coal Miner’s Daughter
439, James Brown, Sex Machine
438, Blur, Parklife
437, Primal Scream, Screamadelica
435, Pet Shop Boys, Actually
433, LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
431, Los Lobos, How Will the Wolf Survive?
430, Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True
429, The Four Tops, Reach Out
428, Hüsker Dü, New Day Rising
427, Al Green, Call Me
426, Lucinda Williams, Lucinda Williams
425, Paul Simon, Paul Simon
424, Beck, Odelay
423, Yo La Tengo, I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One
Panorama of the Mountains 