Ursula's Stories and Melodies in 2024

Hello everyone! I'm Ursula: 52, an American living in Germany (my 4th non-US country) since March 2023. My household consists of the 3 sweet airheads pictured above (Rollo, Istanbul street cat turned man about the house; Archie, the snuggliest of boys; and Cleo, Archie's fussy but champion biscuit-making sister) and my mathematician husband, Morgan who is 43 or at least will be shortly.

In reading, I tend toward fiction and the grim, but grim isn't a requirement, it's just where I often end up I guess! In 2023 I hit the 75 mark for the first time in quite a while; we'll see if I manage it two years in a row. I also do a weekly roundup of what I'm listening to. I am usually working my way through a variety of "best of" lists - the big one is the 1001 Albums list, which goes chronologically and where I'm starting the year out with albums from 1977, but I also listen to quite a lot of new music. I'm an artist so you may see some of my drawings posted here occasionally. I do a fair amount of urban sketching/drawing on location, and I also like to draw animals (in the past year I've been working on a series of birds).

Favorite reads of 2023
(in order I read them)

          

New Animal by Ella Baxter
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
Ducks by Kate Beaton
Death Is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa
The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Devil House by John Darnielle
Revenge by Yoko Ogawa
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall
The Wager by David Grann

Favorite listens (new releases) of 2023
(in alphabetical order)



I'll post about these in some detail later.

Here are some stats about my 2023 reading and how it stacks up against previous years:



For no particular reason I focused a bit on reading books from Japan, so this was the first year that I've really had any satisfying variety in the color of the dots on my map (especially for anything other than England). Almost 23% of my authors were from Japan.



A little low for the amount of non-fiction I aim for (usually about 25% although I haven't made that for the last few years), more short stories than usual, and the genre stats are pretty typical.





The average year is artificially pulled down by starting off the year with The Golden Ass. Hoping to continue the upswing in number of books read. And finally, as you can see, the supremacy of the ebook is complete.

Currently Reading


The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto


Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval


Travelers by Helon Habila

Read in 2024

Januar ❄️🎂
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck
My Soul To Keep by Tananarive Due
Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki
The Club by Takis Würger
Wool by Hugh Howey

bonus: Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells

Februar ❤️🍫
Dear Child by Romy Hausmann
The Short End of the Sonnenallee by Thomas Brussig
The Promise by Damon Galgut
Gaza by Norman Finkelstein

März 🌱☔️
The Doll Collection by Ellen Datlow
Network Effect by Martha Wells

That's it - if I forgot anything I'll add it in when I realize it. I will still post my last couple of reads over on my 2023 thread but I think all the wrap-up etc will go here.

Dropping off my star, Ursula, and looking forward to following your threads again.

Your kitties are very handsome/beautiful!

>7 katiekrug: Hi Katie! I haven't managed to get around to any threads yet or even to the introductions topic, but I'm planning to get there ASAP. I appreciate your early visit and the kitties are always here for compliments! ;)

Dropping off a star and wishing you a happy new year!

Welcome back Ursula - I especially look forward to reading your music updates and opinions in the coming year.

>9 bell7: Lovely to see you as always! I'm barely hanging onto my socks as we slide into the new year but I will be making appearances of my own soon. :)

>10 PaulCranswick: Thanks- I'll definitely be continuing the music posts!

Hi, Ursula. I don't think I've followed you before, but you got me on the Introductions thread with cats and music, so here I am, eager to see what you get into in 2024.

Happy New Year!

>12 laytonwoman3rd: Hello and welcome! I am always happy to see anyone new poke their head in. (And of course all the usual suspects too.) I will definitely come by and check out your thread as well.

>13 mahsdad: Thank you and happy new year to you as well!

Season's greetings to you and your fur balls and wishing you a ray of sunshine, great reads, great music, and a wonderful year of drawing. Happy New Year.

I'm starting to fill in the stuff up top - some stats and such so scroll on back up if you haven't seen them yet and it interests you.

Just placing my cushion/star Ursula. How are the fluffy three getting on with their German?

>12 laytonwoman3rd: well that's funny, I had the same reaction!

Ursula, I've seen you around here in prior years but never visited your thread before. Happy new year!

Welcome back, Ursula!

>17 Caroline_McElwee: Hello! Well, if we're being honest there are no thoughts in Archie's head, we're not sure he even speaks proper Catanese. Cleo understands everything but is too much of a perfectionist to speak. Rollo proclaims the supremacy of Turkish over German but he's doing his best to integrate!

>18 lauralkeet: New visitors always welcome! I will hop over to your thread as well. :)

>19 drneutron: Thanks! And thank you as always for making this the place to be!

>20 Berly: The more you know! (I know it's not that but it does remind me of it.)

My top 10 albums (see >2 ursula:) fall into somewhat-natural pairings so I'll take them on two at a time.

First up: Female-led indie rockers

Lucky for You - Bully

Big 90s vibes on this one. I could almost imagine some of these songs on the soundtrack to Singles. Shoegaze-adjacent with a fair amount of distortion, but the vocals are riding high over everything. A more melodic Courtney Love, a little Breeders-adjacent. There's an in-studio performance of one of my favorites from the album on YouTube here: Days Move Slow. Other favorites on the album are Hard to Love and Change Your Mind.

The Window - Ratboys

This was an album I fell in love with instantly. This is more a country-/folk-tinged indie; I'm not surprised they've shared a bill with Wilco. It's got some sparkly guitars, an occasional violin, and a singer with a voice that's mostly on the soft side of things but definitely belts it out when required. My favorite song is The Window, which is from the point of view of the singer's grandfather - her grandmother died in the hospital during Covid when no visitors were allowed. The official video for that one is here on YouTube. Other favorites are Morning Zoo, Black Earth, WI and No Way (which has the lyric "I'll take a penny for your thoughts and I'll throw it straight to hell" that always gets stuck in my head).

Happy New Year Ursula!

>23 SandDune: Thank you, and happy new year back atcha!

Hi Ursula- I am inspired by your stats and hope to get mine up soon. Happy New Year! I'll see you around :)

Hi Ursula - happy new year. I love the pie charts of your reading - I enjoy checking these out for my own reading (and falling down rabbit holes trying to work out why the LT stats don't fit my own). Your cats look very content - great photo.

>25 LovingLit: I'll definitely check yours out too! I'm hoping to see and be seen around a little more this year.

>26 charl08: Yeah, I look at the LT stats occasionally but I prefer my own because like you said, they often don't match what LT has and I can't be bothered to work out why or how!

The kitties are quite content. We're lucky they all really like each other. We get every combination of snuggling.

A few more stats on 2023 from my Bookly app:

Total read time: 268 hours, 44 minutes (+)
Reading speed in pages/hour: 85.2 (-)
Average pages per day: 62 (+)

Changes are as compared to 2022:

Total reading time: 207 hours, 30 minutes
Reading speed in pages/hour: 85.4
Average pages per day: 47

Happy new year and happy new thread, Ursula!

>28 ursula: - Intrigued by mention of the Bookly app... Must investigate!

>22 ursula: Your description of The Window sounds intriguing, but I can't seem to get the album from the library. Hmpf.

>30 katiekrug: I needed another place to track like I need a hole in my head but I like having the time aspect without having to track it manually, and they do little shareable infographics of finished books, or of time periods.

>31 bell7: Maybe it'll turn up? I don't know what drives cd acquisitions at libraries, but it's on a bunch of year-end best lists. :)

Oops!

>29 SirThomas: Happy new year to you too and thanks for stopping by!

Hi Ursula. Happy New Year!

>1 ursula: Love the pic of your kitties. Do they speak German yet?

>34 karenmarie: Happy new year! I'll quote what I said to Caroline about the kitties' German proficiency:

Well, if we're being honest there are no thoughts in Archie's head, we're not sure he even speaks proper Catanese. Cleo understands everything but is too much of a perfectionist to speak. Rollo proclaims the supremacy of Turkish over German but he's doing his best to integrate!

Happy reading in 2024, Ursula!

>36 FAMeulstee: Thank you, same to you! :)

Happy New Year, Ursula.

>2 ursula: What, no Springsteen in your favorites? ;)

>38 BLBera: Luckily, he didn't release an album last year.

>32 ursula: Well, in my case since I work there, I can ask the person who orders CDs if she can fit it in her order 'cause I want to try it haha. She doesn't have a huge budget, but I'll let you know if I'm able to get my hands on it.

Happy New Year, Ursula! Great cat pic :-)

Happy new year! Love the photo of your kitties :)

Found you! I have you starred and can't wait to see what you read and what you are listening to

>40 bell7: Well of course, you have slightly different methods! ;)

>41 norabelle414: Happy new year to you as well! I was a bit disappointed we only had 2/3 loaves, but Rollo is just not a loafer when relaxed.

>42 curioussquared: Happy new year! Thanks for the kitty love!

>43 figsfromthistle: Awesome, always good to see you around!

>44 ursula: My orange cat is much more of a shrimp or cinnamon bun than a loaf, too.

Leonard is both a shrimp and a loaf. I got this T-shirt for TW for Christmas:



Cuz it's Leonard, and cuz we both hate those Live, Laugh, Love signs people put in their houses :)

>46 katiekrug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSOkQ94uHS8

>47 laytonwoman3rd: - Yes! That made us giggle when we first saw it :)

>45 norabelle414: Rollo is a molded-into-any-position-to-cuddle-another-cat. He does tend to be a cinnamon bun on his own.

One of the things I love about him is that when you approach him, he rolls over to let you pet his belly.

>46 katiekrug: Ha, love that. That's a much better version.

>47 laytonwoman3rd: Into the trash! Yes!

Checkin' in, Ursula. Seems that all is in order here. I wish for the same here at my house.

>50 weird_O: Yep, alles ist in Ordnung, as they say. Definitely hope the same for you!

Okay, I'm back at my top 10 albums of 2023, and here's the next category: Sad folks with instruments (my usual category would be "sad bastards with guitars" but since Elliott is female and she also often has a piano, that doesn't quite work here)

Elliot Green - Everything I Lack

Her voice reminds me of another singer I enjoy immensely - Julien Baker. But she's better than a simple comparison - she's a singer-songwriter whose voice sounds amazing backed by spare instrumentation like a piano or guitar, but she can also kick it into high gear with a full backing band. My favorite tracks: Friendly Advice, Second Try, and Bottom Line. There are no actual videos up on YouTube, but here's the audio for Second Try.

The National - First Two Pages of Frankenstein

The National have been around for quite a while, and they actually released 2 albums in 2022, this being the first one. A lot of people didn't like it very much! Too downbeat for a National album, or something. On the other hand, I've seen it end up on some year-end best-of lists so maybe there was a reevaluation at some point. I enjoy the mellow vibes of the album, and I enjoy the specific-yet-universal lyrics. I think it was written about/during a divorce so the snapshots of moments are relatable even if the specific places and events aren't. They also have the rare (very) deep-voiced singer I like. Favorite tracks: Eucalyptus, New Order T-Shirt, and Alien. Not a video again, but this is the official visualizer for New Order T-Shirt.

"Sad folks with instruments" is my kind of music! Making note of these two and will try to give them a listen soon.

>53 katiekrug: Nice, fellow sad-folks music enjoyer! :)

Good luck with your 2024 reading. I have Kairos on my TBR.

Happy new year of reading Ursula! Look at all the kitties in one photo! :) I have quite a few of your faves from last year still on my list to get to and I'd not heard of the one by Yoko Ogawa, but I've enjoyed their other work and am definitely adding that one to the list as well.

>55 Tess_W: Thanks! I'm about halfway through it now. I usually start the new year most of the way through some books and it gives me something to post about in the beginning of the year. But this year I started everything on the 30th/31st because I was sick the week before. So there's no book content here yet! Have you read anything else by Erpenbeck? This is the only one available to me through my libraries.

>56 WhiteRaven.17: Hello and thank you! The kitties are often in one place in the evening, as they all pile onto us and the couch to watch tv. But sometimes they're there by themselves too. :) I read The Memory Police last year, but I definitely liked this book of short stories more. And I'm not even much of a fan of short stories usually.

If I may intrude - I read Heimsuchung a few years ago and I liked it a lot.

>58 SirThomas: Intrusions always welcome! Unfortunately I don't read German. :)

There is an english translation named Visitation If it
helps.

>60 SirThomas: It doesn't, but thanks! As I said above, Kairos is the only one available through my US libraries. I don't buy books.

First one of the new year!

WEEKLY 5x5



Complete Discography - Minor Threat [hardcore punk] (200 Best Albums of the 80s list)
40 Greatest Hits - Hank Williams [country] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list), partial album
Birds, Bees, the Clouds & the Trees - Harrison [jazz] (2023 lists)
American Heartbreak - Zach Bryan [country] (2022 lists) ♥
The Score - The Fugees [hip hop/r&b] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)

Panama 77 - Daniel Villareal [psychedelic] (2022 lists)
RAT WARS - HEALTH [noise rock] (2023 lists)
Guy - Jayda G [r&b] (2023 lists)
Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam - The Comet Is Coming [dance/electronic] (2022 lists)
”Heroes” - David Bowie [rock] (1001 Albums list)

Skinty Fia - Fontaines D.C. [post-punk] (2022 lists)
Hindsight is 50/50 - Ghostwoman [noise rock] (Morgan’s top 10 of 2023)
Timeproof - Ital Tek [ambient electronic] (Morgan’s top 10 of 2023)
The Modern Dance - Pere Ubu [rcok] (1001 Albums list)
Food for Worms - Shame [post-punk] (2023 lists)

Gemini Rights - Steve Lacy [r&b/soul] (2022 lists)
Good Living Is Coming for You - Sweeping Promises [indie rock] (2023 lists)
Lust for Life - Iggy Pop [garage rock] (1001 Albums list)
The Idiot - Iggy Pop [art rock] (1001 Albums list)
Purple Rain - Prince & the Revolution [funk] (200 Best Albums of the 80s list)

Psychonautic Escapism - The Ephemeron Loop [darkwave] (2022 lists)
Objects Without Pain - Great Falls [screamo] (Morgan’s top 10 of 2023)
One World - John Martyn [experimental pop] (1001 Albums list)
Myopia - Mizmor & Thou [doom/black metal] (2022 lists)
Zach Bryan - Zach Bryan [country] (my top 10 of 2023), partial album ♥

----------------------------
******Notes on this week:

• Below the chart:
  Oxygene - Jean-Michel Jarre (1001 Albums list)
  The Man-Machine - Kraftwerk (TrebleZine 100 all-time favorite albums list)
  less - deathcrash (Morgan's top 10 of 2023) +
  The Rime of Memory - Panoptican (Morgan's top 10 of 2023)
  When No Birds Sang - Nothing & Full of Hell (Morgan's top 10 of 2023) +
  
  Skipped for recency:
  Low- David Bowie (1001 Albums list)
  Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (1001 Albums list)
  Trans-Europe Express - Kraftwerk (1001 Albums list)
  21 - Adele (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  The Joshua Tree - U2 (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Daydream Nation - Sonic Youth (200 Best Albums of the 80s list)
  


• Let's briefly take stock of where I am as the year starts:
  
  On the 1001 list, I'm nearing album #400, and firmly entrenched in 1977.
  On the Rollilng Stone 500, I've got a lot of albums I can skip because I've listened to them recently from other lists, but I'm hovering right around #100 there.
  On the 80s list, I'm (almost) done! I listened to most of the top 10 last week but had Minor Threat still waiting, and I have one more Kraftwerk album which I thought I had listened to but I was mistaken. The number one album was Purple Rain, so as soon as I get through the Kraftwerk, that list is done and dusted!
  I'm essentially through the 2022 lists, just finishing up some top 10 albums from straggler lists.
  And of course, now it's time to start the 2023 lists, so that is underway.


• Morgan and I shared our favorites of the year with each other so I've been working my way through his. He challenged me with some electronic, some metal, some screamo. My favorite of his choices so far was definitely When No Birds Sang, a collaboration between Nothing and Full of Hell, so sort of shoegaze/metal. In finishing up the 2022 lists, I finally went back and finished up the last 10 songs on American Heartbreak by Zach Bryan - I liked the album, but 34 songs is a lot all in one go, and then I got distracted. Anyway, so much good stuff on that one.
  
  A couple of albums sent me down memory lane: Hank Williams reminds me of the little electronic keyboard my Nonna had - I desperately wanted to learn to play. What she had to play from was a songbook of Hank Williams, so that's what I played. Eight-year-old me ended up learning a lot of Hank Williams songs very well!
  
  The other story involves Purple Rain for having to involve my parents in my purchase because it was ground zero for the "parental advisory" battle. My mom said I could have it, but she wanted to hear the objectionable material. Which meant I sat there while she listened to Darling Nikki with its story about Nikki masturbating with a magazine. Then she turned to me, shrugged, and said, "I've heard worse."


• The worst thing I put in my earholes this week: probably Jayda G - the lyrics were terrible, the music was terrible. Shame was also bad, but forgettable. The Ephemeron Loop was like ego death through primal scream therapy set to music but it wasn't boring.

+ = added to my library
♥ = already in my library

If you're new here, I welcome comments of whatever sort! (I also welcome them if you're not new here, but you know that already.)

While I wait for some book content to present itself (I'm a few days from finishing anything, still), here are some stats on my music listening last year:

Amount:


(scrobbles = songs played) I think it said it was 60 days' worth of music.

Genres:


Basically, most varieties of rock were my top genres - indie rock, classic rock, plain old indie, plain old rock, blah blah. Other things peeked out here and there but those overwhelmed everything else in the long haul.

Date released:


I ... did not expect this to be quite so skewed!

>62 ursula: LOL on your Mom listening to Purple Rain and her comment. ; )

>64 Berly: It was honestly kind of an epic moment!

>65 ursula: I'll bet!

Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck

I finally finished a book! I really hate it when I end up with books started so close to the end of the last year, it's a long drought until I finally finish something.

First line: Will you come to my funeral?

Katharina, 19 years old, meets Hans, 50-something, by chance one day on the streets of Berlin. They begin a love affair. The book is a retrospective of that affair and that time; a much older Katharina is looking back after she receives word Hans has died.

The story happens mostly in the couple of years before the Berlin Wall came down, but a little bit afterward as well. The end of east and west tends to be talked about in terms of freedom, but it was also unmooring. That comes across well here. Power, control, and the illusions of both are big themes. Hans is unlikable, and Katharina is not entirely sympathetic, so if you're looking for characters to root for, this is probably not your book. It's also pretty slow-paced, so the combination was sometimes kind of challenging for me (this was my before-bed book, maybe not the best choice!). But overall I enjoyed it, and found myself reflecting on it for a while after I finished.

Quote: Even a lie must be properly engineered for it to be believed, thinks Katharina at night in Berlin, alone in her apartment. The lie as the preferred form of power for those who have no power.

>67 ursula: - That one sounds interesting. I think I have two books by Erpenbeck in my stacks, but I haven't heard of this one.

>68 katiekrug: I hadn't heard of her at all before this. :) I did end up finding another one of her books at one of my libraries (Go, Went, Gone), so I'll probably also be reading that at some point this year.

Weekly 5x5



The Wall - Pink Floyd [rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
40 Greatest Hits - Hank Williams [country] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list, partial album)
When we were that what wept for the sea - Colin Stetson [jazz] (2023 lists)
My Life - Mary J. Blige [r&b] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
We’re Still Here - The Hirs Collective [punk/hardcore] (2023 lists)

Ramona Park Broke My Heart - Vince Staples [hip hop] (2022 lists)
The Clash - The Clash [punk] (1001 Albums list)
Hold On Baby - King Princess [indie pop] (2022 lists) +
Exit Simulation - Niecy Blues [r&b] (2023 lists)
like dying stars, we’re reaching out - Runnner [emo] (Morgan’s top 10 of 2023)

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols - Sex Pistols [punk] (1001 Albums list)
Music from the Penguin Cafe - Penguin Cafe Orchestra [pop] (1001 Albums list)
Peter Gabriel [I - Car] [progressive rock] (1001 Albums list) ♥
Colder Streams - The Sadies [country rock] (2022 lists) +
Un Verano Sin Ti - Bad Bunny [latin trap/reggaeton] (2022 lists, partial album)

We Cater To Cowards - Oozing Wound [metal] (2023 lists)
Eulo Cramps - Call Super [house] (2023 lists)
Lust for Life - Iggy Pop [rock] (self pick) ♥
everything is alive - Slowdive [shoegaze] (Morgan’s top 10 of 2023)
Hallelujah Hell Yeah - String Machine [indie] (2022 lists) +

Psychonautic Escapism - The Ephemeron Loop [darkwave] (2022 lists, but it shouldn’t actually be here)
The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers [rock] (1001 Albums list) ♥
Rattus Norvegicus - The Stranglers [punk/new wave] (1001 Albums list)
Maggot Brain - Funkadelic [funk] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
Computer World - Kraftwerk [electronic] (200 Best Albums of the 80s list)

----------------------------
******Notes on this week:

• Below the list:
  Aja - Steely Dan (1001 Albums list)
  Suicide - Suicide (1001 Albums list) ♥
  The Blue Hour - Shara Nova & A Far Cry (2022 lists)
  Nature Morte - Big Brave (2023 lists) ♥
  
  Skipped for recency:
  Talking Heads: 77 - Talking Heads (1001 Albums list) ♥
  Dummy - Portishead (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
  1999 - Prince (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  A Night at the Opera - Queen (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Vols 1 & 2 - Ray Charles (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)


• Let's see ... first up, The Wall. I'm not a fan of Pink Floyd and as a result I haven't listened to this album in long enough that some of the less well-known songs didn't sound familiar to me (although on the other hand, my mind could fill in the transitions between many others). This is a better album than I remembered it to be. I still can't imagine putting it on, but it was a better experience than I expected. Finished the second half of the Hank Williams album. Good stuff. Colin Stetson was pretty interesting, although I remember nothing beyond that. I think the Sex Pistols are just impossible to put into context for me. I found it boring. Peter Gabriel is one of my all-time favorite artists and this album is maybe my favorite? Here Comes the Flood is just brilliant, and let's not even talk about Solsbury Hill.


• Added a few things from the 2022 lists, King Princess, The Sadies and String Machine. We'll see if they stick around in my library on re-listening. One of Morgan's picks from 2023, Slowdive was a super-mellow and dreamy version of shoegaze. I was kind of surprised he chose something without any hard edges. I've listened to the Suicide album before, but the contrast of that with the Sex Pistols in the same week made a big impression, with the Sex Pistols coming out sounding even thinner and less punk.


• The worst thing I put in my earholes this week was probably Call Super. It's not my kind of thing anyway but ugh. The Hirs Collective is pretty abrasive for me, but it is a prominent collective of and for trans and queer artists, so I support that, and it's great to see the guest artists they pull in.

+ = added to my library
♥ = already in my library

Yesterday was my birthday. We went to Heidelberg and visited the Kurpfälzisches Museum.

I took this photo of part of the portrait of Elisabeth Charlotte von der Pfalz by Hyacinthe Rigaud from 1713.



Phenomenal treatment of the textured, shiny fabrics here. Really amazing.

We also had lunch at a bowling alley (we were not bowling). 🤭 That was due to a little bit of a mixup, and it was weird, but the food was good! We had their "Philly cheesesteak", which would have been run out of town and left outside the city limits in Philly, but it was tasty nonetheless.

Happy Birthday, Ursula.
Thank you for the great picture, I must visit the museum sometime, Heidelberg itself is also a beautiful city.
Have a wonderful day.

>71 ursula: That is an amazing painting!
And Happy Birthday!

Happy belated birthday! It sounds like a nice day out, but the big question is... Did it rain?

The detail from that painting is amazing.

I was skimming through >70 ursula: and I wondered: when you are listening to things for this project, are you just sitting listening or do you have it on while you do other things? Just curious. I'm thinking it's more the former since you take away so many insights into the music.

Happy birthday!

Uh. Now you tell me. Kurpfälzisches Museum would have been a perfect attraction for my late wife and I on our couple of visits to Germany. We spent time in Heidelberg, and we both had Pennsylvania Dutch heritage, and many, if not most, of the Pa. Dutch came to America from the Palatinate. I do think I could muddle through a visit, but I can't conceive doing it without Judi.

My Soul To Keep by Tananarive Due

First line: Though his steps are not silent, no one hears the man walking down the darkened wing of Windsong Nursing Home in Chicago, his heavy soles echoing across the polished vinyl.

I read this because I have seen the author's name around and I thought it would be horror, based on the cover and the blurb by Stephen King. I guess I would more likely classify it as a supernatural thriller, though.

David and Jessica are married, and they have a young daughter, Kira. But there's something strange about David - for example, he avoids doctors like the plague and shrugs off every injury as nothing. And quickly (way too quickly), they are nothing. Pretty soon you get the backstory, and David is actually ancient and immortal, though Jessica doesn't know that. If you're trying to keep a major secret though, I would suggest that you choose a wife who is not an investigative reporter. 😉

David's big failing is that he isn't happy to stay with others like him and study for eternity. He seems to get too involved in the lives of humans (this is not his first marriage or long stay with a family), which endangers everyone else in his group of immortals. And when that happens to one of them, the Searchers of their group are sent out to find them and bring them back to their original home.

I almost put this down never to be picked up again around page 30 or so. Why? I'm not sure - maybe because I was expecting horror and it felt ... fluffy. And then I realized that I read and enjoyed (some number of the) Interview with the Vampire series way back when, so it was possible I could enjoy this too. And after getting a little farther into the book, I was pretty drawn in. It's a series, and I don't know if I'm invested enough to continue with that, but for as a novel on its own, it took some unexpected turns and was something I was looking forward to getting back to in my rotation of reads.

>72 SirThomas: It was reasonably big, too. We didn't see everything and we spent a couple of hours there. It depends on how thorough you are (us: very).

Heidelberg is nice, this is the 2nd time we've been there.

>73 arubabookwoman: Thanks! And yeah, I really enjoyed looking at the different textures etc. in the painting.

>74 katiekrug: It did not rain. Now that our forecast is all highs of -1 or 0 (celsius), there is no rain. Just drab, flat gray and cold.

I usually listen to music while I'm doing other things. While I'm cleaning, or browsing the internet, or drawing. I don't listen while I'm reading unless it's something I'm already familiar with, I tend to tune out the music in that case. I've learned to listen a little more carefully since Morgan and I have started talking about what we listen to, and since I've started doing these posts. In the past, I might listen to several albums and have very little memory of them. Now, it takes a few days before I totally forget them, haha.

>75 elorin: Thank you!

>76 weird_O: Interesting, I didn't realize they came from this area. I can understand why they left!

Happy belated birthday! Sounds like a nice day out.

>77 ursula: I'm not sure I want to read this one in particular, but I am interested in checking out some of Tananarive Due's work. The Reformatory is potentially on my list.

>71 ursula:. Amazing!

Happy belated birthday.

>80 bell7: Yeah, The Reformatory is one title I've seen kicked around. I would try another one of her books, she was able to turn this one into a page-turner for me even though I almost chucked it at the beginning!

Thanks for the birthday wishes. :)

>81 banjo123: Isn't it though?? Thank you for the happy birthday wish!

>71 ursula: Belated birthday greetings Ursula.

I love that treatment of textiles.

A slightly belated happy birthday, Ursula.

>63 ursula: Those stats are fascinating. No idea what my own stats are but I would hazard that they don't approach your own in number.

>71 ursula: Happy belated birthday! Sounds like you had a great day.

The next pair from my 2023 favorite albums.

Category: Emo-tastic

Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me (Void Filler) - Short Fictions

Loose-sounding, distorted guitars, personal, often meta lyrics. Relistening, I realized it often reminds me of 60s garage rock, but with an emo and math rock twist. Although they also veer into indie rock and screamo territory here and there. My favorite songs are Self Betterment in a Time of Loneliness, Reno Nevada, January 2020, Wasting, Anymore (In Praise of Ann Elizabeth). Here's the audio for Reno Nevada, January 2020 on YouTube.

The Whaler - Home Is Where

More typical emo - a voice that might set your teeth on edge even before she starts screaming, twinkly guitar riffs, glimpses of country rock. My favorites on the album are Lily Pad Pupils, Yes! Yes! A Thousand Times Yes! and Floral Organs. For audio, I'll go with Floral Organs on YouTube.

>83 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks! And yeah, it's really good stuff. Not easy to do!

>84 PaulCranswick: Thanks! I imagine not, Morgan and I are pretty similar on stats but I'm at home alone all the time and he's in a job where he is on his own about 90% of the time. Also, I get through considerably fewer books than you do. ;)

>85 figsfromthistle: Thanks! It was a pretty good day, no real complaints.

Happy belated birthday, Ursula!

Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki

I think I've been avoiding writing about this collection of short stories because I just don't know what to say. The stories were all rather long, and all set in a variety of different future scenarios. In the first one, society is all women. They live together, raise children together, etc. The men are kept in some sort of camps, kind of like prisons.

Another story involved something about getting implanted into someone else's dreams. One had a woman married to a being from another planet (Earth had made contact with several other planets). The title story is about too much tv watching. One interesting idea in that one was a twist on representative democracy where people would vote for a celebrity, who would then vote for leaders, although you didn't know how they would vote.

After I finished the collection I read that her writing is considered a sort of proto-cyberpunk, which makes sense. It's not my thing, and the stories felt too long for me (and I tend to think the problem with short stories is that they're too short, apparently we've hit the barrier on the other side of that complaint). I could appreciate some of these stories for their ideas, but I didn't enjoy reading most of them.

>88 norabelle414: Thank you so much!

You're not going to believe this, but the weather finally did something decent!

>91 ursula: -

*faints*

>92 katiekrug: Me too, dead away!

>91 ursula: Beautiful.

>94 Caroline_McElwee: It was! And still kind of is, it's been well below freezing so it's stuck around mostly. But the streets and sidewalks are ICY. I went out for a walk today and I was glad to have snow boots for the traction, even if I didn't need them for deep snow.

>91 ursula: How pretty! Stay safe on the ice...

>96 bell7: Yes, absolutely always safe on the ice! I don't mind clomping along like ... well, some clompy thing. ;) I'm not interested in falling!

In other news, since I'm still working my way through my current reads:



Finished a puzzle that we originally bought in Michigan but haven't had a place to work on since we left Fresno. And on the right is the puzzle we've started working on now that we bought a couple of weeks ago in Mannheim.

>98 ursula: - Puzzles!

I admit, they both look like ones I would avoid as being too challenging :D

Hello, Ursula. been awhile since I stopped by. Glad the weather finally did something besides rain and enjoyed seeing your puzzles. Happy reading and listening!

>98 ursula: Years since I did a puzzle. No space to work one. Too many books.

>91 ursula:. Pretty! But careful with the ice.

>71 ursula: Happy belated birthday!!!

>91 ursula: I was kinda offline for a bit with power outages due to ice -- glad you didn't lose power!! That's my excuse and I am sticking to it. : )

>99 katiekrug: We like a challenge - we did a Jackson Pollock painting back when we were living in Antioch! That was an experience. :)

>100 Kristelh: Me too about the rain. I'm finally closing in on finishing a couple more books, so that's exciting. This January everything has somehow lined up so that I'm starting and finishing multiple books at the same time - I hate that! I'll try to fix it moving forward.

>101 Caroline_McElwee: It's been a while for us too, we didn't have a big enough flat space in Istanbul. Books are obvoiusly never a problem here, I think we're down to a shelf and a half not counting Morgan's math books.

>102 banjo123: Yes! Super careful when I was out yesterday but honestly mostly I just haven't left the house so it's easy to be careful. ;)

>103 Berly: Thank you! I did see you had lost power, scary how long that went on. I don't think that will happen here, I think everything is underground (can't remember seeing any overhead lines at least). But it used to happen so much in Istanbul, not related to weather. And the water going out. Don't miss that at all!

Weekly 5x5



Back Home - Big Joanie [post-punk/indie rock] (2022 lists)
This Year’s Model - Elvis Costello & The Attractions [new wave] (1001 Albums list/Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) (vinyl) ♥
Even God Has a Sense of Humor - Maxo [hip hop] (2023 lists)
Immutable - Meshuggah [groove metal] (2022 lists)
Paul’s Boutique - Beastie Boys [hip hop] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥

good kid, m.A.A.d city - Kendrick Lamar [hip hop] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
Achtung Baby - U2 [rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
Another Music in a Different Kitchen - Buzzcocks [punk] (1001 Albums list)
Let the Festivities Begin! - Los Bitchos [alternative] (2022 lists)
Fire Worshipper - The Stargazer’s Assistant [electronic] (2023 lists)

Darkness on the Edge of Town - Bruce Springsteen [rock] (1001 Albums list)
At Budokan - Cheap Trick [rock] (1001 Albums list)
Meant Like This - Rezzett [techno] (2023 lists)
Out:Side - Runkus & Toddla T [modern dancehall] (2022 lists)
Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me (Void Filler) - short fictions [emo] (2023 releases) ♥

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers [rock] (1001 Albums list) ♥
No Place Like Home - VACATIONS [indie] (2024 releases)
Moondance - Van Morrison [soul] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
Homenaje a Remedios Varo - John Zorn [jazz] (2023 lists)
Pastel Blues - Nina Simone [jazz] (TrebleZine 100 all-time favorite albums list) +

Love in Exile - Arooj Aftab, Vijay Ayer & Shahzad Ismaily [jazz] (2023 lists)
Attack on Memory - Cloud Nothings [indie/post-hardcore] (self pick) +
6°30’33.372”N 3°22’0.66”E - Emeka Ogboh [ambient/experimental] (2022 lists) +
The Ruby Cord - Richard Dawson [freak folk] (2022 lists)
Heavy Weather - Weather Report [jazz] (1001 Albums list)

----------------------------
******Notes on this week:

• Below the chart:
  Ambient I: Music for Airports - Brian Eno
  Agriculture - Agriculture (2023 lists) +
  
  Skipped for recency:
  Parallel Lines - Blondie (1001 Albums list)
  Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Stand! - Sly & The Family Stone (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
  Hotel California - Eagles (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Disintegration - The Cure (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
  
  Skipped for Kanye:
  Late Registration - Kanye West (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  


• I got to listen to some things I already loved this week: Elvis Costello, for example. It's funny when I think "hm, I don't think I listened to this album much" and then realize I know it by heart. Guess I listened to it more than I thought! That's what happened back in the day when I only had 50 albums and 50 cds. Beastie Boys have some questionable lyrics like every hip hop act of the day, but I do still love this album. Of course, the short fictions album, which I relistened to in order to do my writeup for my favorite albums of 2023 (above at >65 ursula:). Tom Petty self-titled is really good, aside from one unfortunate song.


• Other stuff that I liked: Even though I usually don't like live albums, Cheap Trick was pretty good. Mostly no-nonsense, and I loved hearing them introduce Surrender as their new song from their upcoming album. There are some great songs on Moondance, but I don't listen to Van Morrison anymore. I had a song by the Cloud Nothings in my library, so I went and investigated the whole album and loved it! And finally, Agriculture was just a wonderfully weird album - starting off sounding kind of like country rock and then the metal vocals kick in? I don't even know how to describe this one.


• The worst thing I put in my earholes this week was probably Meshuggah. When Morgan listened to it he asked if they were all playing their instruments with hammers, haha. (And we all know how I feel about Springsteen, so.)

+ = added to my library
♥ = already in my library

I used to love Van Morrison but his politics have turned me off. I know I'm supposed to separate the art from the artist or whatever, but I have trouble with that :-P

I had a cassette (I think? Maybe it was a CD) of 'Achtung Baby.'

So what is it about Springsteen you don't like? I like a lot of his stuff, but I'm not a "music person" like you :)

Oh, and what is the unfortunate song on the Tom Petty album?

Hi Ursula!

>71 ursula: Very belated happy birthday. Gorgeous detail.

>77 ursula: Somehow or another I have this on my Kindle – don’t know who recommended it, but it’s been there since 2021. Good review – I may not actually get to it, but I’ve tagged it 2024 toberead.

>91 ursula: Very nice. Snow. Nice photo, too.

>107 katiekrug: Same reason for no longer listening to Van Morrison. I can separate the art from the artist when he's dead.

Springsteen - a lot of the arrangements with the E Street Band are just overdone to my ears. The lyrics are often corny. Those are the main things.

The unfortunate Tom Petty song is called Strangered in the Night, here is an excerpt of the lyrics that bother me:

Well I didn't see them shotguns
Oh I didn't see no knife
But I saw this crazy black guy
With a demon in his eyes
And I heard him say "white man"
I've seen that silver cue
You don't remember me well
But I remember you

Well the sound just split the night
Like it hiding from the light
Like strangers in the night
Strangers in the night

Well the knife just left his fingers
As the black guy took his aim
White guys head exploded
Black guy howled in pain
And then everybody scattered
I heard some woman scream
"God damn you old black bastard
Well you've blown away my dreams"

>108 karenmarie: Hello! Thanks for the birthday wishes, welcome at any time!

I toyed with the idea of reading the next in the Due series eventually but for me I think everything I'm interested in happened in the first one so I'm probably done. If you get to this one, I'll be interested to see what you think!

Thanks about the photo, we're lucky to have a couple of cute buildings right across from us.

>91 ursula: beautiful, the snow has been gone here since last night.
>98 ursula: I like the puzzles, we often do them in winter, but this year my wife and I are playing a lot of Scrabble.
>106 ursula: Your music is always inspiring.
Have a good start to the week!

>109 ursula: - Thanks for that.

*wincing at those Petty lyrics*

>110 SirThomas: It was mostly gone by last night, but washed away thoroughly by today's rain!

We enjoy doing puzzles together even though our methods are total opposites. I think playing Scrabble together wouldn't be a fair fight in this house. :)

>111 katiekrug: No problem.

Yeah, the lyrics are not great! That'll be a regular skip for me.

The Club by Takis Würger

First line: In the south of Lower Saxony is a forest called the Deister, and in that forest there was a sandstone house where the forest ranger used to live.

The club in the title is the Pitt Club at Cambridge. How we end up there from the opening sentence is honestly not that interesting. The main character, Hans, is orphaned and although he has an aunt named Alex who lives in England, she does not step in to raise him. In fact, he doesn't hear from her until he's of an age to start college and she contacts him to tell him that she would like him to attend Cambridge and help her solve a crime by getting into this Pitt Club.

Hans of course goes and wiggles his way into the club with the help of the father of a young woman he's met. There's boxing, and

Look, I'm getting bored all over again writing this. Don't read this book. It is the typical bullshit about an exclusive club for privileged, obnoxious boys and keeping secrets for bro code and mistreating women. There was nothing about Hans getting into this world and being accepted that was believable. The woman he gets involved with, Charlotte, was not believable as a female human being. There were shifts to points of view that added literally nothing to the story, including multiple times to one student who desperately wants to get into the club and I guess maybe he does? I don't know, it was unimportant whether he did or not. I guess the author just wanted to put in a character who would list his breakfast, time and location of masturbation, and aphorism every day. There is the egregious, repeated use of the r-slur, not just by the mustache-twirling villain. Avoid.

"Look, I'm getting bored all over again writing this." I had to laugh, because that's happened to me on occasion. Extra points to you, both for finishing the book and for telling us all what's wrong with it so we can avoid wasting our time! I hope you'll post your review on the book page, and possibly save a few other lucky people from exposure.

>114 laytonwoman3rd: Glad it was relatable! (Or sorry it was relatable, I guess.) I don't usually post on the book page because I would not call what I write about books a "review" by any stretch of the imagination!

I finished it because it was fast, and I'm trying to read books by German authors this year. Just like last year with Japanese authors, I'm at the mercy of my libraries so I will probably be reading (and finishing) stuff I would not choose for myself at least part of the time.

>113 ursula: - Bwahahaha! Reviews of books people didn't like are always entertaining.

>113 ursula: If it's any consolation, I enjoyed your review :) Thanks for suffering through to warn us off! I feel like some of the best reviews come from hating a book.

>115 ursula: I look at the reviews for exactly the sort of information you put in yours. Posting it would definitely be a public service.

>113 ursula:. Thanks for the review Ursula. Will bypass that one.

Points for taking the time to post the review and save us all!! : )

I loved that review, Ursula. Don't underestimate your review-writing talents! Like Katie, I find hate-reviews fun to read (I have occasionally written one myself and that's fun, too). I also tend to agree with Linda that it's very helpful to find reviews like that one on the book page.

Anyway, I hope your next read is more satisfying.

>116 katiekrug: I feel the same way! Glad you were entertained.

>117 curioussquared: It is a great consolation! Certainly a lot of the most fun ones do, I think some of it has to do with often feeling like there's no reason to avoid spoilers, at least that's what I find when I read hate reviews.

>118 laytonwoman3rd: Noted, I'll do it. :)

>119 Kristelh: Good idea!

>120 Berly: I had to get something out of reading it, and writing that was quite satisfying!

>121 lauralkeet: Even when I don't agree with the point of view, I also like reading hate reviews. At least there's passion in it. :) "Meh" reviews are so hard to write.

Wool by Hugh Howey

First line: The children were playing while Holston climbed to his death; he could hear them squealing as only happy children do.

I read this now because several months ago we watched the first season of the AppleTV adaptation of this, called Silo. I remember some time back that everyone seemed to be reading this series (and loving it) but I wasn't interested. I decided to see what the fuss was about after the show.

So since everyone's already read this one, I'm not going to bother with a synopsis beyond: dystopia, humans living in a silo underground with the usual problems of humanity (power hungry people, lies, manipulation, etc), the outside is uninhabitable ... or is it?

This was fine. I mean, it was slightly better than fine but I wouldn't go beyond that. The writing occasionally bemused me ("She laughed at the switch, at having gone from counting the seconds in her life to fending for each and every one of them." - I've never seen "fend" used in that way, and I'm not convinced it should be), and the rest of the time was mostly serviceable. I'm not mad I read it, but I doubt I'll go on with the series unless something in the next season of the show makes me want to see how it went down in the books.

I also read Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells - a mostly pointless short story that was included with one of the Murderbot books at some point. It fits in with where I am in my reading of the series, so I breezed through it. Now on to the next book.

I read Wool several years ago while on a business trip. It was a perfectly fine distracted/airplane read, but I never felt compelled to read the others.

>125 katiekrug: Sounds like we are totally on the same page with this one.

Next pair from my favorite 2023 albums:

Category: Familiar, in the very best way

Summer Moon - There Will be Fireworks

This is like a (probably) less depressed Frightened Rabbit. Scottish indie band that describes themselves as "making music at a glacial pace" (their last album came out in 2013). The music just feels so good, for example in the soaring guitar tones of the first song on the album, Smoke Machines (Summer Moon). I'd describe this as feel-good music with kinda not feel-good lyrics, while still not being too sad. More like lyrics about getting old and feeling uncertain about your role in the world. My favorite songs: the aforementioned Smoke Machines, Our Lady of Sorrows, Something Borrowed, Classic Movies. Here's the video for Something Borrowed on YouTube.

Infinite Spring - Superviolet

Apparently the guy behind Superviolet is from a band called Sidekicks that I've never listened to, or even heard of. This reminds me of some bands I have loved, like The Shins and Apples in Stereo, in the sense that it just feels like music that scratches some itch in my brain, it connects exactly right. This is what makes a "comfort album" for me, one that just always seems to draw me to put it on again. Favorite songs: Angels on the Ground, Blue Bower, Overrater, Locket, Infinite Spring. The video on YouTube for Overrater is kind of terrifically absurd.

(previous writeups are at >22 ursula:, >52 ursula: and >86 ursula:)

>91 ursula: WOW! That's amazing

Also, the art, music and books on your thread....all v. appealing!

>128 LovingLit: It was nice to have something scenic outside the apartment window. :)

Thanks for stopping in, there's a little bit of everything here!

Hello, Ursula. I have been lurking, and I have to say that I really love your thread and the thoughts that you share. Birdy and I have been picking an album each week from your Weekly 5x5 and listening to it. We both loved The Nationals, who were new to both of us.

>127 ursula: Loved the first video and the second one cracked me up. We will probably listen to both of those albums.

>130 Crazymamie: Hey, lurkers welcome, always! Very cool that you and Birdie have been doing some listening, awesome that you enjoyed The National.

I don't normally watch videos so looking them up for sharing has been interesting - that Superviolet one was just unexpected and hilarious to me.

Are you keeping a low profile this year? I didn't see a thread for you, unless I need a special knock or secret handshake!

>124 ursula: I read the book when it came out and mostly enjoyed it, and then watched the TV show and mostly enjoyed that, too. They made some smart changes, like getting rid of the knitting references which never worked. I think at this point no one is really sure what's going to happen next season on the show, since the second book in the series is a prequel that takes place in 2007.

>132 norabelle414: I don't think they really need to worry about it, the series ended before a lot of the stuff in the first book happened. I'm not sure if it's enough for an entire season, but it could be close, depending on how they do it.

Weekly 5x5



Shook - Algiers [alternative] (2023 lists) +
Marzipan (Habibi Funk 023) - Charif Megarbane [Lebanese/funk] (2023 lists) +
Cave World - Viagra Boys [punk] (2022 lists)
The Loveliest Time - Carly Rae Jepsen [pop] (2023 lists)
Vento De Maio - Elis Regina [MPB/bossa nova] (1001 Albums list)

Good Person - Ingrid Andress [country] (2022 lists)
Real Life - Magazine [post-punk] (1001 Albums list) +
Visitor - Empath [noise pop] (2022 lists)
Live Through This - Hole [grunge/punk] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
Special - Lizzo [pop] (2022 lists)

Is This It - The Strokes [indie/garage rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
HELLMODE - Jeff Rosenstock [punk] (2023 lists)
Music from Big Pink - The Band [rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
Loose Future - Courtney Marie Andrews [folk] (2022 lists) +
When the Pawn Hits the Conflict He Thinks Like a King… - Fiona Apple [art rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)

En Letra de Otro - Goyo [pop latino] (2022 lists)
Honky Tonk Masquerade - Joe Ely [country rock] (1001 Albums list) +
Hard Again - Muddy Waters [blues] (1001 Albums list)
This Is Why - Paramore [pop punk] (2023 lists)
Dub Housing - Pere Ubu [post-punk] (1001 Albums list)

Little Rope - Sleater-Kinney [punk] (2024 release)
Dire Straits - Dire Straits [rock] (1001 Albums list)
Furling - Meg Baird [psychedelic folk] (2023 lists) +
Summertime Blues - Zach Bryan [country] (self pick) ♥
Marquee Moon - Television [rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list/1001 Albums list) +

----------------------------
******Notes on this week:

• Below the chart:
  Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf (1001 Albums list)
  
  Skipped for recency:
  Third - Big Star (1001 Albums list)
  Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! - Devo (1001 Albums list)
  One Nation Under a Groove - Funkadelic (1001 Albums list)
  The Man-Machine - Kraftwerk (1001 Albums list)
  Here, My Dear - Marvin Gaye (1001 Albums list)
  The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Control - Janet Jackson (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Court and Spark - Joni Mitchell (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Transformer - Lou Reed (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
  At Fillmore East - The Allman Brothers Band (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Sticky Fingers - The Rolling Stones (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  3 Feet High and Rising - De La Soul (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  The Clash - The Clash (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)


• Progress note: The Band is album 100 on the Rolling Stone list; we’re closing in on the end!


• I don't think I'd even heard of Magazine before, but I liked the album. Also in looking them up I see that a couple of them came from the Buzzcocks and one of them went on to join Siouxsie and the Banshees, so that's interesting. I got to listen to two albums I loved but haven't listened to in quite a while: The Strokes - Is This It and Hole - Live Through This. They both hold up quite well, I think. I listened to the brand new album by Sleater-Kinney; it's pretty good! I'll have to listen to it again to have much of an opinion about it beyond that. This is the second time I've listened to a Fiona Apple album and thought, "hey, I don't hate this as much as I remember hating this." Overall I had a pretty good listening week, a fair amount of stuff that was new to me that I enjoyed.


• The worst thing I put in my earholes this week would normally be Paramore. I'm not a fan of theirs anyway but this was not pop punk so much as it was just pop, and not good pop at that! However, Jeff Rosenstock swooped in and saved them from the title with a single line in one of his songs. He talks about running into Aaron Carter in a Target (Aaron Carter in a Target screamin'/“Is it a mistake?”) and it was just like ... why would you do a no-context name-check of someone like that after his death? I feel like you leave that out, or provide more context, or something. So I searched up an interview where he talks about it, and he had this to say: "Obviously, Aaron Carter passed away, and it's really sad, and I was like, people are regular people, we all live, we all die. It doesn't matter if you were famous for a little bit or rich for a minute, we all have our struggles—and I'm not saying that to empathize with billionaires or anything like that. Dude was going through some shit! He's also Aaron Carter, teen sensation. I thought more about how to explain it since he passed away, of course, because I figured I would have to. But at the time, I just liked how the words sounded, and the imagery was interesting." So, he's just an asshole.

+ = added to my library
♥ = already in my library

>127 ursula: Both of those sound interesting, but again, hard for me to get. I may see what I can find on YouTube.

>134 ursula: I was pretty meh about the 2023 Paramore album. I didn't hate it, but there was nothing I had any kind of reaction to, where with their older stuff, I liked the ballads and still had a reaction to the songs I didn't like.

>135 bell7: I think they're both available on YouTube, I saw some audio-only options there when I was searching for videos.

I've never understood Paramore (this is not a value judgment, it's just never been for me), and I think this one was a change in their sound, but I didn't understand how fans of the band liked it, it was just pop. I remember that you didn't feel much about this album either.

One of your cats looks like one i own, which i think is pretty cool.

>137 Owltherian: Which one looks like your cat?

>138 ursula: The one that is cuddled up next to the orange one.

>139 Owltherian: Oh! You have a Van cat too, or a pseudo-Van like ours. :) Archie has the two tabby spots you see on his head, one on his side, and a tabby tail.

Dear Child by Romy Hausmann

First line: On the first day I lose my sense of time, my dignity, and a molar.

The cover of this thriller says it's a "nightmarish and high-tension Gone Girl-meets-Room thriller" from the arbiter of taste, Parade magazine. On the other hand, I enjoyed Gone Girl. So anyway, this is my third novel from Germany of the year and it is the second terrible one.

In a snapshot: cabin in the woods, woman held prisoner by a man with two children. She escapes and gets hit by a car, therefore ending up in the hospital. Meanwhile the parents of a woman who disappeared 13 years earlier expect that this will be their missing daughter - she goes by the same name, Lena. But somehow it's not her.

There was potential here but it was squandered on plot holes, confusing narration and some patented Villain Monologuing at the end.

>140 ursula: Yeah, their name is Caladin

>141 ursula: - I can't believe Parade Magazine steered you wrong! LOL.

Weekly 5x5



Red (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift [pop] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
The Forever Story - JID [hip hop] (2022 lists)
Asha’s Awakening - Raveena [experimental pop] (2022 lists)
Duck Stab / Buster & Glen -The Residents [art rock] (1001 Albums list)
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams [alt country] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) +

Multitude - Stromae [French language pop] (2022 lists)
Crazymad, For Me - CMAT [pop] (2023 lists)
I Play My Bass Loud - Gina Birch [alternative] (2023 lists) +
Perfect Picture - Hannah Diamond [hyperpop] (2023 lists)
The Liar - John Fullbright [country] (self pick)

Automatic for the People - REM [alternative] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
The Scream - Siouxsie and the Bansees [post-punk] (1001 Albums list)
Bandwagonesque - Teenage Fanclub [alt rock/power pop] (self pick)
All Mod Cons - The Jam [power pop] (1001 Albums list)
DeAnn - Zach Bryan [country] (self pick)

Lighten Up - Erin Rae [indie pop] (2022 lists) +
Mid Air - Romy [dance pop] (2023 lists)
More Songs About Buildings and Food - Talking Heads [new wave] (1001 Albums list) ♥
Crossing the Red Sea - The Adverts [punk] (1001 Albums list)
Z1 - Zora [pop] (2022 lists)

Spiritual Cramp - Spiritual Cramp [punk] (2023 lists)
The Only Ones - The Only Ones [power pop] (1001 Albums list) +
Give Up - The Postal Service [indietronica] (Morgan’s pick / vinyl) ♥
Family Ties - Charles Wesley Godwin [country] (self pick) (partial album)
Master of Puppets - Metallica [metal] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)

----------------------------
******Notes on this week:

• Not on the chart because the lastfm bot doesn’t allow the cover to be displayed:
  Morbidity Triumphant - Autopsy (2022 lists)
  
  Below the chart:
  First Issue - Public Image Ltd. (1001 Albums list)
  Superache - Conan Gray (2022 lists) (partial album)
  Desolation’s Flower - Ragana (2023 lists)
  Quiet, Heavy Dreams - Zach Bryan (self pick)
  
  Skipped for recency:
  The Cars - The Cars (1001 Albums list) ♥


• Let's see here - love me some Lucinda Williams and Postal Service. I'm doing a thing listing 20 albums that influenced my taste in music and The Postal Service is on it. I never knew it was possible for me to like something full of bleeps and bloops, but I love that album. Talking Heads, of course. Still not my favorite of theirs but it's grown on me. I could say the same for Automatic for the People, which I've always thought of as the album where I started not liking REM anymore, but it's got some good songs on it. Red was the first Taylor Swift album I really listened to and although she's obviously matured since then, this is a good album. Master of Puppets is my second-favorite Metallica album, but I would probably only listen to a few songs off it in general. I've heard it so many times and I think it's just sucked the marrow out of it for me.


• The Only Ones was totally new to me but I really liked it. Gina Birch was in The Raincoats, and this album was weird and wonderful, totally dug it. An online friend is into Teenage Fanclub and suggested I listen to this one. It is totally fine, and I can't imagine ever choosing to play this over anything else.


• The worst thing I put in my ear holes this week was ... hmm. There's a lot of aggressively boring stuff here and not much totally terrible, but I guess I'll say it was Zora.

+ = added to my library
♥ = already in my library

>142 Owltherian: ❤️

>143 katiekrug: Haha! I know you're joking, but also I'm just reading whatever is in the library catalog that's from Germany - and even so when I saw the blurb from Parade I almost didn't read the book! (It's now a probably-terrible Netflix series.)

>145 ursula: - I feel like you need to watch the Netflix series for completism's sake...

>144 ursula: - "Automatic for the People" was a big part of my high school years. "Drive" came on the satellite radio in the car the other day, and I was instantly taken back to sitting around with a group of friends, crushing on my years-long crush, Brian... and hoping, simultaneously, that he would and would not talk to me :-P

>146 katiekrug: I'm ashamed to admit that occurred to me as well.

Love the way music can do that! My biggest REM memory is also maybe my first/only real "music snob" moment. I had just met my college roommate, Molly, and I was playing REM - Green in the room. She wrinkled her nose and said "what's this?" I showed her the album cover and she said "hmmm ... oh, wait! I know this band! "Stand"! I love that song."

The Lonesome Bodybuilder by Yukiko Motoya

Can we just assume I'm not enjoying my reading a ton this year? I'm reading for other reasons than pleasure, I'm realizing. And that maybe sounds like a negative thing, but it's not really. I'm continuing my exploration of books from Japan to some extent, and I'm reading from Germany, and those are a mixed bag. And I'm continuing to expand my reading of short stories, a format that definitely does not always work for me ... but on the other hand, I've read a few amazing collections over the last year or so.

So yeah, this was a book of short stories. They started out all right and just got weirder and more off-putting. The title story is about a woman who becomes interested in/fascinated with/obsessed by being a bodybuilder. She gets larger and larger and everyone in her life notices - except her husband. There are a lot of stories that take relationships as their starting-off point, often in surreal contexts (one woman is married to a bundle of straw, for example). I'm not sure if I need to understand more cultural context to know where these stories might arise from, or if that wouldn't make any difference at all.

And finally my last pair of 2023 favorite albums.

Category: country-adjacent and country

Weathervanes - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

I've been a fan of Jason Isbell for a few years; he was maybe the first artist that made me wonder how it was possible I liked any country music. Maybe because he has a voice that just feels so comfortable and he's a great storyteller/songwriter, go figure. He just won a Grammy for "best Americana song", which is funny since his social media bios say "rock musician"!
Anyway. This one is another album full of songs I love. My favorite and the one that first grabbed me on this album is King of Oklahoma (written while he was there filming his part in Killers of the Flower Moon). But other standouts are Middle of the Morning, Cast Iron Skillet (the one he won the Grammy for), and White Beretta. The one I'll highlight here is called When We Were Close, and it's generally about losing someone to addiction but specifically about Justin Townes Earle, who he used to play guitar with. I don't normally share live versions but here he is playing When We Were Close on Jimmy Kimmel.

Zach Bryan - Zach Bryan

I heard a song from Zach Bryan a while back (in 2020 I guess), Heading South, and I really liked it but I didn't dig any further into who he was. Then his 2022 album American Heartbreak was on our lists and I was like "hey, it's that guy" and I really liked it. So when his self-titled album came out last year, I was ready to enjoy it. But I was not prepared to be obsessed with it, and the EP he surprise-released just a month later. His voice, I rarely say that I could listen to someone sing me the phone book, but yes please. My favorites from the album are East Side of Sorrow, Ticking, Tourniquet, El Dorado... I could go on! I really can't decide which song to share from here, but I think I'm going to choose Ticking, it has most of the things I love about his voice (aside from higher notes, I think) - there's a lyric video up on YouTube. And here's a bonus song from his EP, Nine Ball. The video just came out a few days ago and it stars Matthew McConaughey.

(previous writeups are at >22 ursula:, >52 ursula:, >86 ursula: and >127 ursula:)

Rollo has been on a weight-loss journey since a trip to the vet a few weeks ago. He is pre-diabetic and so we've been working on getting some kilos off. So far he's down .25 kilos (about half a pound). Still more work to be done but he's honestly doing pretty great and he needs to lose slowly anyway to make sure his kidneys and liver do all right.

He anyway seems to feel very comfortable, a wonderful picture.
Have a wonderful Sunday!

What a gorgeous cat! All of your cats are gorgeous but it's nice to see Rollo in the spotlight.

>151 SirThomas: He does know how to be comfy! (Note the cat bed under a hand-knitted cat blanket, under a (my) scarf.) Thank you, schönen Sonntag to you too!

>152 lauralkeet: Aw thanks. I think he's a handsome fellow too!

Weekly 5x5



Take Care - Drake [hip hop] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
Supa Dupa Fly - Missy Elliott [hip hop] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
Live and Dangerous - Thin Lizzy [rock] (1001 Albums list)
Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot - Liquid Mike [indie] (2024 releases) +
Baduizm - Erykah Badu [r&b] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)

Letter to Self - Sprints [post-punk] (2024 releases) +
Heyday - The Church [alternative rock] (self pick)
Axis: Bold as Love - Jimi Hendrix [psychedelia] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
Eternally Yours - The Saints [punk] (1001 Albums list) +
Traditional Music of South London - Dale Cornish [electronic] (2022 lists)

D.O.A. The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle - Throbbing Gristle [industrial] (1001 Albums list)
I’ve seen a way - Mandy, Indiana [experimental rock] (2023 lists) ♥
After the Gold Rush - Neil Young [folk rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) / vinyl ♥
The Window - Ratboys [indie rock] (self pick/my top 10 of 2023) / vinyl ♥
Walk the Wheel - Truth Cult [punk] (2023 lists)

Van Halen - Van Halen [rock] (1001 Albums list) ♥
Highway to Hell - AC/DC [hard rock] (1001 Albums list)
Blue Öyster Cult - Blue Öyster Cult [psychedelic/progressive rock] (self pick)
Cheb Terro vs DJ Die Soon - Cheb Terro vs. DJ Die Soon [experimental hip hop] (2022 lists) +
The Serpent’s Egg - Dead Can Dance [neoclassical dark wave] (self pick)

The Swan - Nwando Ebizie [experimental/afrofuturism] (2022 lists)
Stardust - Willie Nelson [pop] (1001 Albums list)
Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) - Jaimie Branch [jazz] (2023 lists) +
This Stupid World - Yo La Tengo [indie rock] (2023 lists)
everything is alive - slowdive [shoegaze] (2023 lists / Morgan's top 10 of 2023) ♥

----------------------------
******Notes on this week:

• Below the chart:
  Black Pearl - 50 Foot Wave (2022 lists) +
  American Rituals - Cheri Knight (2022 lists) +
  Funhouse - The Stooges (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Siembra - Willie Colón & Ruben Blades (1001 Albums list)
  Orbweaving - Midwife & Vyva Melinkolya (2023 lists)
  Tøyen, ’13 - Flight Mode (2024 releases) +
  
  Skipped for recency:
  Risqué - Chic (1001 Albums list)
  Darkness on the Edge of Town - Bruce Springsteen (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Hunky Dory - David Bowie (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)


• This was a week for weirdness, but I'll get to that in a minute. First off, I listened to Axis: Bold as Love again because the last time I listened to it, it was on the 1001 list and that meant that the Hendrix albums were in rapid succession - in that case I found this album my least favorite of them, and thought it was a little too far into psychedelic for me. Anyway, this time around I really liked it. Also, while listening to If 6 Was 9, I heard Jimi say "I'm gonna wave my freak flag high" and it made me wonder when that phrase originated. As it turns out, this is the first documented use of it! I'm never mad about listening to After the Gold Rush. Gave my new vinyl copy of The Window a spin, that was fun. I'd never heard of Jaimie Branch, but I loved this album. I was sad to see that she died before this album's release. Anyway, I'm no connoisseur of jazz but I enjoyed this a lot.


• I've been listening to some albums from social media where people are talking about various ones - mostly in the context of albums that influenced their musical taste. That's where most of these self-picks come from, they were all new to me. So as I said at the beginning, this was the week of weird. One of those albums from social media falls into that category: Dead Can Dance. I'd heard the name before but I didn't know what to expect - I wouldn't have known to expect new age-y (not like Enya, more like Cirque du Soleil) music, chanting in other languages and an orchestral atmosphere. Same story (had heard the name but didn't know anything) with Throbbing Gristle, which was also intensely weird. Reading that they were a musical and visual arts group put a lot of that in perspective. I don't even think I can describe this album. The Mandy, Indiana and Cheb Terro albums were weird, though in different ways (electronic experimentation vs. Arabic horrorcore (I think, I obviously can't understand it), and I'll need to give them another listen to really decide how I feel about them.


• Also really weird was Cheri Knight. It was a lot of repetition of words and seeing how they merge or create new sounds and meanings. It's really hard to explain but I was reminded of a video/sound/immersive art exhibit we saw in Mannheim last year. Super interesting but also not something for every occasion.

+ = added to my library
♥ = already in my library

Morgan and I finished our San Francisco puzzle and are now starting on one of Quebec.

>155 ursula:, that's such a cool puzzle.

Here's to a puzzling weekend filled with music!! Hi. : )

>156 Kristelh: It was a fun one, hopefully the new one is as well.

>157 Berly: Hi and thanks! I do also read occasionally, haha. I am hopefully closing in on finishing a couple of things.

>158 ursula: I know you do. LOL. Add fun reading to your weekend plan. ; )

Ha, that was not a dig at your message, just me laughing ruefully at how slow the completion rate has been lately!

Well, I just didn't want you to think my message was a dig on your reading!! LOL. We are even. And no stressing on the completion rate -- Reading is supposed to be fun! : )

>134 ursula: I remember really over-listening to Fiona Apple back in the day. And my lovely other *loves* Pere Ubu :)

The San Fran puzzle is an interesting perspective! I thought it was a river at first, then realised it was the famous scene from a different view.

>161 Berly: I finished 2 of my books, now I just have to figure out what to write about them. Or you know, not!

>162 LovingLit: I never really got Fiona Apple aside from Criminal, I guess. I've given her extra attempts in these lists because of that and I think I'm starting to come around. I don't think I knew anything about Pere Ubu before aside from the name. So many things just pass us by.

Yeah, I guess it's maybe a drone shot? I don't think I'd ever seen a view quite like that of Lombard Street.

I took a BB for one of your fav books of 2023, The Wager. Now, to just read it!

>164 Tess_W: That's always the tricky part!

Hi Ursula! How are you today?

The Short End of the Sonnenallee by Thomas Brussig

First line: Life abounds with opportunities to divulge your home address, and Michael Kuppisch had found that whenever he mentioned the Sonnenalle, the street where he lived in Berlin, people responded warmly, even sentimentally.

This book immediately had two strikes against it: 1. it's a German comic novel, and 2. it is a revised translation by Jonathan Franzen, who also wrote the introduction.

The street of the title is sectioned off during the division of Berlin so that both sides have some of it, but the East German part is just a short little stub. This means that the main character and his family live under the eyes of West Germans, who draw some conclusions based on what they see. Of course, the East Germans also draw some conclusions. Michael and his family have another view of the West, provided by Michael's uncle Heinz who lives in the west and always "smuggles" in some items for them.

Michael is a teenager, and there's all the usual angsty stuff teenagers are concerned about, but with a "humorous" attitude about it and of course with the added problems of the Stasi and such.

This one was not for me. At least it was short.

>167 Owltherian: Doing all right. The weather is gray and not very inspiring, as always, but I'm doing all right.

>169 ursula: In my area of the world, its sunny and hot.

Weekly 5x5



Tusk - Fleetwood Mac [rock] (1001 Albums list)
Blonde - Frank Ocean [r&b] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
Boxer - The National [indie rock] (self pick / new vinyl purchase)
Armed Forces - Elvis Costello & The Attractions [new wave] (1001 Albums list) / vinyl ♥
The Pleasure Principle - Gary Numan [new wave/synth pop] (1001 Albums list)

Old-Time Folks - Lee Bains & The Glory Fires [southern rock] (2022 lists)
Forgiveness - Girlpool [indie] (2022 lists)
Games of Power - Home Front [post-punk] (2023 lists)
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon [rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
Maloo - Maylee Todd [dance/electronic] (2022 lists)

Hit with the Most - Ribbon Stage [pop punk] (2022 lists)
A Legacy of Rentals - Craig Finn [indie] (2022 lists) +
Living Proof - Drain [hardcore punk] (2023 lists)
Duran Duran - Duran Duran [new wave] (self pick) ♥
Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division [post-punk/gothic rock] (1001 Albums list) ♥

The Greater Wings - Julie Byrne [indie folk] (2023 lists) +
One More Thing - Lime Garden [indie pop] (2024 releases)
Murder Ballads - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds [alternative] (self pick) +
Eye on the Bat - Palehound [alternative] (2023 lists)
The Rhythm of the Saints - Paul Simon [singer-songwriter] (self pick) ♥

Quiet Life - Japan [new wave] (1001 Albums list) +
Broken English - Marianne Faithfull [new wave] (1001 Albums list)
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis [jazz] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
The Serpent’s Egg - Dead Can Dance [neoclassical dark wave] (self pick)
The Rime of Memory - Panopticon [blackgaze] (2023 lists / Morgan’s top 10 of 2023)

----------------------------
******Notes on this week:

• Below the chart:
  Street Life - The Crusaders (1001 Albums list)
  Movies - Holger Czukay (1001 Albums list)
  
  Skipped for recency:
  Entertainment! - Gang of Four (1001 Albums list)
  The Doors - The Doors (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
  Back in Black - AC/DC (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Dusty in Memphis - Dusty Springfield (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Sly & The Family Stone - There’s a Riot Goin’ On (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
  Hold The Girl - Rina Sawayama (2022 lists)
  
  Started but couldn’t bring myself to finish:

  Give or Take - Giveon (2022 lists)
  777 - Latto (2022 lists)
  Bell Bottom Country - Lainey Wilson (2022 lists)
  Hood Hottest Princess - Sexyy Red (2023 lists)


• Let's see here - this part of the 1001 Albums list is pretty good for me (Elvis Costello, Joy Division) and also not my thing at all (Fleetwood Mac, Gary Numan). I recognized the cover of the Japan album but I had never listened to it. I noticed that the guy on the front looked just like Nick Rhodes to me, so imagine my surprise when the album also sounded a lot like the first Duran Duran album! A little googling turns up that this is a known fact - lots of people talking about how Duran Duran ripped off Japan wholesale. 🤣 But it seems that it's maybe a case of shared influences/time periods and DD knew and appreciated Japan. Anyway, that's why I put on the Duran Duran - for my own comparison and also because Morgan and I were listening together and he isn't intimately familiar with the DD discography!
  
  Who doesn't love Murder ballads? And who doesn't love Nick Cave? It's obviously a match made in heaven, or hell, or somewhere. I really liked the Craig Finn album. He's from The Hold Steady, a band I've seen people evangelize about but I've never listened to. Expect an album or two of theirs to show up next week. Fun to see one of Morgan's picks of 2023 (Panopticon) show up on one of the "best of" lists we're doing. One of mine will show up next week.


• The Julie Byrne album didn't completely grab me although I thought it was pretty good. I've had a recommendation for another album of hers to try, so I'll check that out soon. I maybe had higher expectations because I heard a collaboration song she did and I really loved it. But not everything puts me under a spell on a first listen.


• The worst thing I put in my earholes this week (that I finished) was maybe Lee Bains & The Glory Fires. It just felt like some soulless, Mumford and Sons business.

+ = added to my library
♥ = already in my library

And bonus, here's my new National record!

>170 Owltherian: Well, that's nice! Germany seems to be allergic to the sun.

Also today I went and got my eyes checked for real (as opposed to going to the ophthalmologist here, who won't check your vision). I have new glasses on the way, hopefully in a week! I'm beyond excited - it's been 3 years and my glasses have not been working well enough for a while now.

>172 ursula: ah, is Germany nice to be in?

>174 Owltherian: It's a place. It has a couple of nice things about it.

>175 ursula: Its past isnt the best really tbh

>176 Owltherian: Its present isn't so great either.

>177 ursula: I guess so, although i have never been there.

The Promise by Damon Galgut

First line: The moment the metal box speaks her name, Amor knows it's happened.

This was sort of aggressively okay to me. Very middle of the road. South Africa, Booker Prize etc. I don't think I can say anything interesting about it, so I won't bother.

Gaza by Norman Finkelstein

Completed.

Have you read The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Rushdie?

>181 Kristelh: No, I think I've only read one Rushdie so far, The Moor's Last Sigh. Why?

It has a lot of music mentions in it. Some the author alters, etc. I thought of you because of your love of music and just wondered. I am not necessarily recommending it but maybe you’d find it intriguing. There is a lot of sexual and language content.

Weekly 5x5



Esquemas - Becky G [Latin] (2022 lists)
Beyoncé - Beyoncé [pop] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
touched by an angel - Klein [classical (?)] (2023 lists)
Germ Free Adolescents - X-Ray Spex [punk] (1001 Albums list) +
Blu Wav - Grandaddy [indie rock] (2024 releases) +

Good Lies - Overmono [electronic] (2023 lists)
Bird Wood Cage - The Wolfgang Press [post-punk] (self pick)
Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette [alternative] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
Machine Gun Etiquette - The Damned [punk] (1001 Albums list)
Where we’ve been, Where we go from here - Friko [indie rock] (2024 releases) +

What Do We Do Now - J. Mascis [rock] (2024 releases)+
Loveless - my bloody valentine [shoegaze] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) +
Harvest - Neil Young [folk rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
Fear of Music - Talking Heads [new wave] (1001 Albums list) ♥
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco [indie rock] (TrebleZine 100 all-time favorite albums list)

Tinta y Tiempo - Jorge Drexler [pop latino] (2022 lists)
Off the Wall - Michael Jackson [disco] (1001 Albums list)
Infinite Spring - Superviolet [power pop] (2023 lists, also my favorites of 2023) ♥
Something to Give Each Other - Troye Sivan [pop] (2023 lists)
Fade - Yo La Tengo [indie] (self pick)

The B-52’s - The B-52’s [new wave] (1001 Albums list) +
Who’s Next - The Who [rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
We Are Family - Sister Sledge [disco] (1001 Albums list)
This House Is Made of Corners - Brigitte Calls Me Baby [alternative] (self pick)
Boulder blues - Staraya Derevnya [alternative folk] (2022 lists) +

----------------------------
******Notes on this week:

• Below the chart:
  Inti Watana (El Retorno del Sol) - Luzmila Carpio (2023 lists)
  
  Skipped for recency:
  The Wall - Pink Floyd (1001 Albums list)
  Pretenders - Pretenders (1001 Albums list)
  Metal Box - Public Image Ltd. (1001 Albums list)
  London Calling - The Clash (1001 Albums list) ♥
  Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols - Sex Pistols (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Superfly - Curtis Mayfield (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Lady Soul - Aretha Franklin (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
  Renaissance - Beyoncé (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Straight Outta Compton - NWA (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Blue - Joni Mitchell (TrebleZine 100 all-time favorite albums list)
  
  Skipped because Kanye
  The College Dropout - Kanye West (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)


• All right, let's see here. I've often had the experience of thinking I didn't listen to an album that much when it came out and then realizing I know every note. This week I had a slightly different experience. I felt like I had listened to Jagged Little Pill endlessly - but after hearing it this week I realize I must have used the skip button pretty liberally. There are songs on here I would believe I'd never heard in my life. Of course I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to listen to Harvest, even though I actually have listened to it endlessly. Off the Wall is probably my favorite era of Michael Jackson (not counting the Jackson 5) but there are definitely some songs here that don't suit him very well. I was pleased to run across Superviolet, one of my favorites of the year, on a list and took the opportunity to listen again.


• The Wolfgang Press is a band I'd never heard of but a friend is doing a run through bands on the 4AD label, and this one came out. It's from 1988 but doesn't really feel like it. I listened to My Bloody Valentine - Loveless again. I love shoegaze but I have never really caught the flame from MBV although they are one of the originals. Sometimes I think you had to be there. This is a good album, but I still haven't fallen in love with it. Listening to the B-52's again made me contemplate just how incredibly weird they were. Fun. Good. And deeply, deeply weird. Ooh! Speaking of deeply weird, I really enjoyed Staraya Derevnya but it is weird.


• Also weird but interesting was the Luzmila Carpio. It's like Andean music combined with modern guitar and electronic music. Okay so, the worst thing I put in my ear holes this week was ... this is hard, almost everything on here was either good or interesting, and boring seems inoffensive enough to not get the worst title. But I'm going to call it a tie between Overmono (boring) and Brigitte Calls Me Baby (felt like it just wanted to be The Smiths).

+ = added to my library
♥ = already in my library

I love your 5x5s...reminds me of my university days when I had all my DC covers out of their cases and blu-tacked up on the wall :) Great wallpaper!

>185 LovingLit: Ha, yes! There is something very satisfying about that visual type of collection. I don't like physical collections so I do it digitally!

hi ursula

>187 Owltherian: Hi Owl, I haven't been around much lately. Hope you're doing well.

The reading is going incredibly slowly lately, for a few reasons. Hopefully speeding up now though, at least a little!

Weekly 5x5



Cry Sugar - Hudson Mohawke [electronic] (2022 lists)
GI - Germs [punk] (1001 Albums list) +
Reasonable Doubt - Jay-Z [hip hop] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
The Undertones - The Undertones [punk] (1001 Albums list) +
The Specials - The Specials [ska] (1001 Albums list)

Viral Wreckage - Aunty Rayzor [dance/hip hop] (2023 lists)
Targala, la maison qui n’en est pas une - Emmanuelle Parrenin [ambient] (2022 lists) +
WOW - Kate NV [experimental pop] (2023 lists)
Live at the Witch Trials - The Fall [post-punk] (1001 Albums list)
Springs Eternal - William Doyle [indie] (2024 releases)

Boom. Done. - Anthony Green [singer-songwriter] (self pick)
The Past Is Still Alive - Hurray for the Riff Raff [Americana] (2024 releases)
Reggatta de Blanc - The Police [rock] (1001 Albums list) ♥
Harm’s Way - Ducks Ltd. [indie rock] (2024 releases)
Natural Wonder Beauty Concept - Natural Wonder Beauty Concept [dance/electronic] (2023 lists)

Nostalgia Por Mesozoica - Nikolaienko [ambient] (2022 lists)
DUSK - Plasma Canvas [alternative/indie] (2024 releases)
Everyone’s Crushed - Water From Your Eyes [indie] (2023 lists)
Regards/Ukłony dia Bogusław Schaeffer - Matmos [experimental electronic] (2022 lists)
The Vanity Project - IceBoy Violet [electronic] (2022 lists)

Blow Up the Fizz - PLAIINS [alternative] (2024 releases)
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane [jazz] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) +
Ground Aswim - Sinai Vessel [indie rock] (partial)
Spiral - Darkside [electronic] (partial)
Past Lives - LS Dunes [post-hardcore] (partial)

----------------------------
******Notes on this week:

• Skipped for recency:
  Cut - The Slits (1001 Albums list)
  Back in Black - AC/DC (1001 Albums list)
  Hounds of Love - Kate Bush (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Live at the Apollo - James Brown (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Stankonia - Outkast (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Aja - Steely Dan (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)


• I also didn't do as much listening this last week as I normally do. But here's what I got through. My first time listening to The Germs, maybe surprisingly. It was pretty good. I feel like I also liked The Undertones, although I have no specific memory of it at the moment. Some good new releases - the country/folky Hurray for the Riff Raff and the really well-crafted Ducks Ltd. stand out for me.


• There was a lot of weird stuff this week! Nostalgia Por Mesozoica was an ambient concept album about exactly what it says - what the sounds of the Mesozoic might have been like. The Matmos album was also a lot of weird ambient type things. And Kate NV is reliably weird, if that's possible. We had previously done an album of hers a few years ago and here's a video for one of the songs, based on a Russian children's show if I remember correctly: Marafon 15. Emmanuelle Parrenin also was in the weird category, but in a good way.


• The worst thing I put in my ears this week was I guess the Aunty Rayzor. Not my thing at all. Jay-Z has also never been particularly inspiring to me but I did like one of his lines: "And even if Jehovah witness, bet he'll never testify."

+ = added to my library
♥ = already in my library

>188 ursula: I try, but its hard with the time I'm online and my parents, and especially with school makes me stressed

The Doll Collection, edited by Ellen Datlow

In the introduction to this anthology, Datlow says that she stipulated "no evil doll" stories. You know, the doll is actually the container for a demon or something. Boring! Let's do "creepy doll" in other ways.

The stories mostly deliver. We've got dolls in some sort of futuristic/post-apocalyptic landscape that play a sort of protective/advisory role, dolls that are stand-ins for bigger horrors, dolls that sit in judgment of the people who have wronged them, dolls in a seldom-frequented doll hospital, a new take on Pinocchio, a ventriloquist's dummy (rather: "a figure, sometimes a doll. Never a dummy."), the town's scary house with dolls nailed all over it, etc.

A couple of them didn't feel unsettling to me at all, and a couple more I didn't really see the point of, but there were some really solid stories in here. The one that took place in the town's scary house was truly horrific, in the best/most disturbing ways.

The authors were as follows:

Tim Lebbon
Stephen Gallagher
Joyce Carol Oates *
Gemma Files
Pat Cadigan *
Seanan McGuire
Carrie Vaughn
Stephen Graham Jones *
Miranda Siemienowicz *
Mary Robinette Kowal
Richard Bowes
Genevieve Valentine
Richard Kadrey *
Lucy Sussex
Veronica Schanoes *
John Langan
Jeffrey Ford

I've starred the ones who wrote the stories I enjoyed the most.

>192 ursula:. That's an intriguing idea for a book.

Network Effect by Martha Wells

You know, Murderbot.

Honestly, it might have been partially my frame of mind, but this felt much longer than 350 pages to me.

>194 ursula: - It seems like a lot of people haven't loved the last couple of Murderbots as much as the first ones. I've listened to the first 3 and enjoyed them well enough, but the novella length is probably all I could take at one time. I don't think longer ones would work for me, but I'm not a big sci-fi person.

>195 katiekrug: I think part of my issue (aside from personal reading time/distraction) was just that it was a lot of battling, and that's not my thing. I can handle some of it, but there was just a lot of whys and wherefores about it all and I think I kind of skim. Not helping my comprehension at all.

Weekly 5x5



Darklife - death’s dynamic shroud [electronic/vaporwave] (2022 lists)
Escapology - Kode9 [electronic] (2022 lists)
City of Gold - Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway [bluegrass] (self pick)
All Shook Down - The Replacements [alternative] (self pick) ♥
Kings of the Wild Frontier - Adam & The Ants [new wave] (1001 Albums list)

My Soft Machine - Arlo Parks [indie pop] (2023 lists)
Memento Mori - Depeche Mode [synth pop] (2023 lists)
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels - Dexys Midnight Runners [new wave] (1001 Albums list) +
Crocodiles - Echo & the Bunnymen [post-punk/new wave] (1001 Albums list) ♥
Appetite for Destruction - Guns N’ Roses [rock] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)

ILYSM - Wild Pink [indie] (self pick) ♥
23 - Blonde Redhead [shoegaze] (self pick) +
She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She - Chelsea Wolfe [electronica] (2024 releases) +
Another Blue - crosslegged [folk] (2023 lists)+
Paid in Full - Eric B. & Rakim [hip hop] (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)

Purge - Godflesh [industrial metal] (2023 lists)
Rust Never Sleeps - Neil Young & Crazy Horse [rock] (1001 Albums list) / vinyl ♥
Forgot About Me - Pouty [indie] (2024 releases)
Killing Joke - Killing Joke [post-punk] (1001 Albums list)
What Comes After the Blues - Magnolia Electric Co. [indie] (self pick) +

Remain in Light - Talking Heads [new wave] (1001 Albums list) ♥
Disharmonium - Blut aus Nord [black metal] (2022 lists)
Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) - Kelsea Ballerini [country] (2023 lists)
Arc Of a Diver - Steve Winwood [soft rock] (1001 Albums list)
Him, fast sleeping ,soon he found In labyrinth of many a round, self-rolled - Manja Ristić [ambient] (2022 lists)

----------------------------
******Notes on this week:

• Below the list:
  
Left to Rot - Erupt (2022 lists)
  Ani Klang LP - Ani Klang (2022 lists)
  A Lot More Free - Max McNown (2024 releases)

  
  Skipped for recency:
  Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden (1001 Albums list)
  Closer - Joy Division (1001 Albums list) ♥
  British Steel - Judas Priest (1001 Albums list)
  Ace of Spades - Motörhead (1001 Albums list)
  Peter Gabriel (Melt) - Peter Gabriel (1001 Albums list) ♥
  Astral Weeks - Van Morrison (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  Talking Book - Stevie Wonder (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥
  Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list)
  The Band - The Band (Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list) ♥


• This is so late this week! I have been trying to deal with some things around how I have space and time to get things done around here and it's resulted in me being scattered and mostly not being on the internet. Yay, I guess?
  
  So I'll make this quick: I had never listened to an entire album of either Adam and The Ants or Dexys Midnight Runners. The former was gloriously weird, the latter was surprisingly good. I also had not listened to Blonde Redhead even though I know they're one of Morgan's favorite bands. This album is so good, listen to it! Continuing exploration of Magnolia Electric Co., something I missed entirely when Jason Molina was alive, unfortunately. Such good music.


• I listened to Molly Tuttle because apparently my daughter went to high school with her. In one of the songs on this album, in fact, she mentions Paly (Palo Alto High). The album is pretty good! This was Chelsea Wolfe's most recent album, she makes weird but interesting music.


• The worst thing I put in my ear holes this week was Killing Joke, no question. Morgan said he thinks they're maybe the most influential terrible band out there. (Or most terrible influential band? I guess either way works.)

+ = added to my library
♥ = already in my library

Travelers by Helon Habila

First line: We came to Berlin in the fall of 2012, and at first everything was fine.

The main narrator of this book is a Nigerian man who is living in Germany. He meets other Africans who are living in Germany, or passing through there, as well as through some circumstances, people living in a refugee camp in southern Italy.

One of the characters in this book was so revolting to me I don't know why it doesn't appear in any of the reviews I skimmed but hey, maybe I'm the only one bothered.

Anyway, people seem to think this is "moving" and "powerfully written" so you might like it.

Quote: “Are you traveling in Europe?” he asked. I caught the odd phrasing. Of course I was traveling in Europe, but I understood he meant something else; he wanted to know the nature of my relationship to Europe, if I was passing through or if I had a more permanent and legal claim to Europe. A black person's relationship with Europe would always need qualification—he or she couldn't simply be native European, there had to be an origin explanation.

>198 ursula: - I picked up a copy of that in London a few years ago. It has since languished on my shelves...

>199 katiekrug: I am just having a hard time overall with my reading so far this year. I'm spending less time reading, and having difficulty connecting with anything (perhaps related because I'm often having to remind myself who people are and what's going on in a book when I pick it up). So I'm willing to chalk up a fair amount to that - on the other hand, the male character I mentioned did something repulsive and the narrative didn't seem to think it was quite so terrible? I don't know, that really put me off.

Well, it seems like a good time for a new thread. (By which I mean, after neglecting it pretty seriously for a month.)