Well, that was fun. Finished listening to the final Simple Minds album I bought, their seventh one, Once Upon a Time. It reminded me a lot of the UK music coming out at the time, like Hipsway and Blow Monkeys, with that play-that-funky-music-white-boy guitar. I'm keeping half of the songs: the main singles ("All the Things She Said", "Alive and Kicking", and "Sanctify Yourself") and "Oh Jungleland".
Finished listening to this three-hour audiobook during lunch today. I give it three out of five stars. Interesting. I wonder if the series is so popular because the protagonist, a robot, comes across as an intelligent teenager that is socially awkward.
Story was OK. Seemed like a script that could have worked as a Doctor Who episode. My only complaint is that the climax was too short. Most stuff I read is overwritten, but that section of the story could have been a little longer.
Don't think I'll listen to any other installments in the series, but I don't regret using an Audible credit on this one.
I listened to this 2020 album several times and I'm going to keep every track on my computer. While it's not as good as their two albums and one EP from the late '80s, it's still solid. Like Garden Variety's Knocking the Skill Level, it works better listening from beginning to end rather than playing one song. Post Neo Anti is a bit mellow compared to their '80s output, but's that understandable: difficult to capture the vigor of youth when pension days are on the horizon.
Finished listening to this Simple Minds album, the sixth one out of seven that I purchased recently. Out of ten songs, I kept five:
One final Simple Minds album to listen to, Once Upon a Time. Interesting to hear if there are any other good songs on it outside of the three big singles.
Been listening to Close Lobsters' Post Neo Anti: Arte Povera in the Forest of Symbols. Really enjoying it. Wonder if it's because their last album came out in 1989. Perhaps: "Absence makes the ear grow less critical."
Been meaning to blog about this for a couple days now. I listened to Simple Minds' New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) several times; and out of nine songs, I'm only keeping four:
Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the album. If I had picked up as a freshman in high school, I probably would have loved it, but — I dunno — sounds dated. Plus, it seems they mimicked whatever popular sound was fashionable. On the one hand I understand it: it's their livelihood. But on the other, it lacks conviction.
The Guardian interviewed Claire-Louise Bennett. This part caught my eye:
Asked recently to write about a book that changed her life she says she realised that Marx and Engels’ The German Ideology, which she studied at A-level, had had a profound effect. “After that, I just thought: ‘Oh, my God, everything’s just made up. And it’s made up by the ruling class, and there isn’t such a thing as reality. It’s all just ideology, and it’s there to suit them, and we’re all a load of plebs. And I’m not. And they can shove it!’”
I listened to Simple Minds' fourth album five times and got a good handle on it. Out of the 15 tracks, I kept 6:
The three songs with asterisks I was already familiar with because they're on The Best Of Simple Minds comp. "70 Cities as Love Brings the Fall" and "Sound in 70 Cities" are cool because of that sound running throughout that reminds me of a cow mooing; "League of Nations" is weird in the best of ways. Most of the songs on this double album just didn't do it for me. I found the slapping of the bass to be overdone. Of course, following up Empires and Dance with an equally excellent album was an almost impossible task.
Wow, what a comeback after their sophomore slump with Real to Real Cacophony! Not one piece of filler on Empires and Dance. The sequencing is perfect too. Highlights include "I Travel", "Celebrate", "Twist/Run/Repulsion", "Thirty Frames a Second", and "Kant Kino". It sounds like a British record that came out in 1980, but that's a good thing from my point of view, since some of my favorites tunes came out in the early eighties. The epitome of New Wave.
When I listen to Empires and Dance, I can't help but think if Real to Real Cacophony was an in-between album. They needed to made that disappointing album in order to create the excellent Empires and Dance.
Had to return this novel to the library last night. Over a week I read less than 50 pages. Part of the reason over my lack of interest is that I had to buy a new computer and I'm still working on recreating my favorite playlists in iTunes. Also, I've noticed after I read an excellent novel (in this case, Nancy Tucker's The First Day of Spring), the next book on my TBR shelf almost always disappoints. Oh well. . . .
One minor downside to the pandemic is that it takes me forever to finish audiobooks, since I used to mainly listen to them during my commute to and from work. Took me about three months to get through Peter Garrett's memoir/autobiography, though, things started to slow down for me when he got to his political career — partly because I'm not too familiar with Aussie politics, and also because I don't respect Garrett for sidestepping out of his activist role to be part of major political party. What's the axiom, those attracted to power are either mediocre or venal?
Not surprising, I was more interested in the chapters about Midnight Oil, and even though he devoted a decent portion to them, he seemed more detailed on his political career. My sense is politics is his passion and music a distant second.
Anyway, I gave it three out of five stars. Glad I listened to it, but could've used an editor to tighten things up.
I listened to Simple Minds' second album five times, so I formed an opinion on it. I kept 4 out of 12 songs: "Carnival (Shelter In A Suitcase)", "Cacophony", "Veldt", "Film Theme". The last three are instrumentals. I dunno, I may remove one or two of them. "Carnival" reminds me a little of the World/Inferno Friendship Society's "The Cat in the Hat Has a Right to Sing the Blues" although Simple Minds' song came first by 31 years.
The album's Wikipedia page says that the band only had four songs going into the studio. My, how it shows. A definite sophomore slump after the excellent Life in a Day.
