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Post by beef on Sept 21, 2019 23:37:39 GMT
Bump...is that still a thing? Great writing about great music... I heartily endorse this message! still enjoying my daily dose of 365 albums jimhxn... would be interested to know how you choose them (some choices are clear enough but some less so...) Also how you research each day's piece? Your knowledge seems to be encyclopedic... much as I have appreciated and played music all my life, I've never pursued it in such an intellectual or critical way... yet you also convey the artistic and emotional aspects of the albums so well. I reviewed a few releases for a small magazine years ago and after a while concluded that I had no right to, given the subjectivity of the listening experience - even though we all rely on chance or opinion to find new music. Anyway, I'm enjoying your writing and it's introduced me to some new things along the way, so thank you! |
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Post by Rendrags on Sept 22, 2019 15:05:18 GMT
I heartily endorse this message! still enjoying my daily dose of 365 albums jimhxn... would be interested to know how you choose them (some choices are clear enough but some less so...) Also how you research each day's piece? Your knowledge seems to be encyclopedic... much as I have appreciated and played music all my life, I've never pursued it in such an intellectual or critical way... yet you also convey the artistic and emotional aspects of the albums so well. I reviewed a few releases for a small magazine years ago and after a while concluded that I had no right to, given the subjectivity of the listening experience - even though we all rely on chance or opinion to find new music. Anyway, I'm enjoying your writing and it's introduced me to some new things along the way, so thank you! For some while now I've been meaning to post something to say thanks to Jimhxn for the daily 365 albums review - but Beef you've said it for me!
There are many albums on here which I've never heard of and thought, 'I really must listen to that', but haven't yet got round to doing so. I think there will be enough to keep me busy for some while yet!
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Post by jimhxn on Oct 16, 2019 22:50:12 GMT
still enjoying my daily dose of 365 albums jimhxn... would be interested to know how you choose them (some choices are clear enough but some less so...) Also how you research each day's piece? Your knowledge seems to be encyclopedic... much as I have appreciated and played music all my life, I've never pursued it in such an intellectual or critical way... yet you also convey the artistic and emotional aspects of the albums so well. I reviewed a few releases for a small magazine years ago and after a while concluded that I had no right to, given the subjectivity of the listening experience - even though we all rely on chance or opinion to find new music. Anyway, I'm enjoying your writing and it's introduced me to some new things along the way, so thank you! For some while now I've been meaning to post something to say thanks to Jimhxn for the daily 365 albums review - but Beef you've said it for me!
There are many albums on here which I've never heard of and thought, 'I really must listen to that', but haven't yet got round to doing so. I think there will be enough to keep me busy for some while yet! Thanks for both of your kind words! Let's see what I can answer... I choose the albums entirely based on personal preference. They're all albums I like, to some degree or other, or that I otherwise think as 'good' in an interesting way - sometimes those criteria don't quite match up, which makes it extra fun to write about! I selected most of the albums at the end of last year before I started, leaving space for new releases and new discoveries, and the list has evolved naturally since then, with some dropping out and some coming in etc. I choose each day's album using the random number generator at random.org - that way I don't get stuck on trains of thought for too long, and it's always throwing up something different. That method also sometimes provides interesting juxtapositions between albums that I otherwise would never have considered, which adds an extra exploratory element to the whole thing. I generally do some degree of research for each album. Usually that's just to the amount of looking up factual stuff like names and dates, but in some cases, it takes me down a rabbit hole of itself and I end up learning about styles of music and musicians' biographies that I never knew about. Generally, though, this is all music that I enjoy and that intregues me, so I generally know quite a bit about each one anyway. One of the things I am good at is that I have a pretty good mind for remembering music and music-related things. As a music journalist and ethnomusicologist by profession, a lot of this is also things that I have done lots of research and study into in the past, which helps. But you may also notice that sometimes I barely write about the album at all, or sometimes I only write about the album and not actually its music or musicians. I'm trying to embrace that subjectivity. Sometimes I'll write about what I know, other times I'll just write about how I feel. Of course, I listen to the album before/during the writing process too, often for the first time for many years, so a lot of it is very emotional, in the way that I let that experience of listening dictate what comes out onto the page. One thing I love about doing this blog is that it lets me explore many different styles of writing that I otherwise wouldn't be able to in a different context. I can do a deep-dive into a genre's cultural implications, or I can analyse how one particular song works in a musicological way, or I can just use the album as a springboard to tell a story from my life that is tangentially connected to it. That variety keeps it interesting to write and I hope it keeps it interesting to read. I'm really grateful that you are sticking with it along with me. It's difficult at some point, but it's definitely on the home stretch now. And I hope I've given you some things you've completely disagreed with me on, some things that I may have changed your mind about and possibly even one or two new favourites. I love to hear about any/all of it! |
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Post by beef on Oct 17, 2019 7:20:25 GMT
Thanks for explaining jimhxn - I was really interested to know some of the process behind the blog, so thank you. I have certainly picked up a few new albums thanks to your writing - unfortunately, I have had to put most of them on my Christmas list, so I will let you know. I also enjoy playing snap! on the odd day that our collections converge.
I can imagine that it's a tough discipline to keep doing it everyday - but is a great piece of work that I will keep coming back to.
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Post by deserttraveller on Oct 17, 2019 22:39:19 GMT
Yes, I had Passion in my collection of Gabriel work but until you listen to it as a complete piece it doesn't impress as in individual tracks; a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.
I think the same is true for some of PG's other work, it takes some getting used to and even as a hard core PG fan there are songs I really don't understand why they made it into the light of day and albums that on first hearing appear not so great; they normally improve after several plays.
I have been listening to Passion this week by co incidence, the PG fans rate it highly in the discography's.
I love it partly because it reminds me of my travels as a DT in those lands, sadly curtailed by politics/ safety.
Very interesting blog, well done.
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Post by beef on Dec 31, 2019 14:16:19 GMT
Feeling a bit sad that we've already reached number 365 today - but today's looks like a great album to end with on new year's eve. Thanks so much jimhxn for this entertaining and informative year of writing - I'm guessing that you are at least a bit relieved that it's finished?
I'm sure I will revisit the blog over the next year as there was so much to absorb. When I'm a bit more organised I will list the new music I've picked up along the way thanks to the blog and those interesting "snap!" albums. I was betting on Paul Simon's Graceland or something from Mark Hollis / later Talk Talk appearing on one of the 365 days... but then 365 days is finite and music is infinite - which is the whole joy of it, of course...
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Post by olirow on Dec 31, 2019 14:50:38 GMT
Fantastic to keep it going for the whole year, something to be really proud of. I am still enjoying listening to the albums although progress has been slow and I've just reached the cumbia songs of January 28th.
I'd love to keep going but I guess you might need to take the blog down at some point? Or is it going to be there forever?
Happy New Year and thanks again for the songs and inspiration.
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Post by jimhxn on Jan 5, 2020 22:32:35 GMT
Thanks for all your kind words! And if anyone else wants 346 hours of good music and 157,000 words about it, now's as good a time to start as ever! Go now! 365goodalbums.blogspot.com/Feeling a bit sad that we've already reached number 365 today - but today's looks like a great album to end with on new year's eve. Thanks so much jimhxn for this entertaining and informative year of writing - I'm guessing that you are at least a bit relieved that it's finished? I'm sure I will revisit the blog over the next year as there was so much to absorb. When I'm a bit more organised I will list the new music I've picked up along the way thanks to the blog and those interesting "snap!" albums. I was betting on Paul Simon's Graceland or something from Mark Hollis / later Talk Talk appearing on one of the 365 days... but then 365 days is finite and music is infinite - which is the whole joy of it, of course... I hope you enjoyed your New Year's Eve album - can't beat a bit of old school Russian folk EDM! I'm definitely relieved - I knew it was a big project when I started out but I wasn't quite prepared for how much it would control my life for a year. Still, I'm really glad I did it, and I do miss it in some ways. It was really nice to be able - and basically be obliged - to listen to all these wonderful albums, many of which I'd not heard for a long time. It was a great voyage of rediscovery as well as a useful exercise is writing (almost) every day, even when I found it difficult. And of course I would love to read your lists! Fantastic to keep it going for the whole year, something to be really proud of. I am still enjoying listening to the albums although progress has been slow and I've just reached the cumbia songs of January 28th. I'd love to keep going but I guess you might need to take the blog down at some point? Or is it going to be there forever? Happy New Year and thanks again for the songs and inspiration. Well, considering you're even reading at all, I'm really pleased to hear that! I'm very grateful for your kind words and that you take the time out to peruse when you could be doing something else  as for the blog itself - I don't intend on taking it down, I think it should all stay up there for as long as Google - and thus Blogspot - exists. So feel free to go at your own pace! You have a lot of good stuff to come, even if I do say so myself... and please do continue to let me know if there's anything else that particularly catches your ear. i've been enjoying the feedback I've been getting so far, and I love that I've been able to introduce people to some great music that they otherwise wouldn't have known about! I seem to have written quite a lot here...can you tell that my typing fingers are feeling a little restless? Never fear, I will of course keep writing for places like Songlines Magazines and others...but I think you have plenty of reading and listening to be going on with so far! |
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Post by olirow on Jan 13, 2020 12:42:29 GMT
So I finally reached the end of January, hurray, and a bit of a test it was right at the end too. I might be the only person in the world that finds Jeff Buckley really hard to listen to, and an endless live set just wasn't going to change that. But I got through it, however never again!
Bang on form for 1st February though with the Keur Moussa monks from Senegal. I'd never heard of them before, and they are really something special.
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Post by olirow on May 20, 2020 15:07:34 GMT
So, one of the few advantages of lockdown, I have been able to listen to some more of jhxn's excellent 365 albums, and have got to the end of February!
I would highly recommend anyone who hasn't done so take a listen to some of the music, anything you have not heard before, which is pretty much everything for me.
February has brought brilliant music from Laos, Somalia and Mauretania, just three that come immediately to mind.
Not that everything is my cup of tea, adapted video game music in particular, and I also struggle with free jazz. But given it's a personal collection, no complaints really.
I wonder how widely it has been distributed, as I am sure a lot of people would get a deal of pleasure from listening. Maybe it could be promoted by Womad?... Just a thought.
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Post by jimhxn on Aug 16, 2020 21:34:38 GMT
So, one of the few advantages of lockdown, I have been able to listen to some more of jhxn's excellent 365 albums, and have got to the end of February! I would highly recommend anyone who hasn't done so take a listen to some of the music, anything you have not heard before, which is pretty much everything for me. February has brought brilliant music from Laos, Somalia and Mauretania, just three that come immediately to mind. Not that everything is my cup of tea, adapted video game music in particular, and I also struggle with free jazz. But given it's a personal collection, no complaints really. I wonder how widely it has been distributed, as I am sure a lot of people would get a deal of pleasure from listening. Maybe it could be promoted by Womad?... Just a thought. Hi Olirow, thanks for keeping going! I find it really interesting to see what resonates with different people and what doesn't - I've heard lots of positive things about the Mauritanian selections particularly. It never got too widely distributed, save for occasionally when a featured artist would post it to their channels which was always nice, and Songlines did give a mention a couple of issues ago. But it was mainly just a personal challenge that I hoped would improve my writing - not sure if it did but I'm pleased that I did it! I've just come back to this thread because I've been reading back some of the entries now... and I'm pleasantly surprised! I may have to start keeping up with this Jim fella... |
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Post by olirow on Feb 20, 2021 11:17:07 GMT
Hi Jim
I got to the point on your blog where you highlight the Tinariwen cassette Tenere. There's a link on the blog to the recording but it seems to have expired - any chance you could send it again. Or on here. That would be brilliant. Many thanks.
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Post by standing stone on May 16, 2021 10:40:09 GMT
Just listening to this week's Music Planet it is the Songlines Awards and our Jim has just got a shout out in recognition and appreciation of his work - hurray! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏😃
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Post by beef on May 16, 2021 17:08:13 GMT
Just listening to this week's Music Planet it is the Songlines Awards and our Jim has just got a shout out in recognition and appreciation of his work - hurray! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏😃 Thanks for letting us know standingstone - after enjoying his 365 albums blog so much, I'm really glad to hear his great writing is getting the recognition it deserves! |
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Post by olirow on Dec 23, 2021 22:54:21 GMT
So I am still ploughing my way through these, and have reached June.
Still loads of good stuff (plus a few that are not my cup of tea) but the album by Super Parquet is worthy of special mention. That is music that was meant to be written. I'd guess there is loads of potential for harmonic variations within a wall of sound, and I have often wondered why it's so rarely done. Think old Killing Joke mixed with Philip Glass. Awesome. Would be amazing to hear live.
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as for the blog itself - I don't intend on taking it down, I think it should all stay up there for as long as Google - and thus Blogspot - exists. So feel free to go at your own pace! You have a lot of good stuff to come, even if I do say so myself... and please do continue to let me know if there's anything else that particularly catches your ear. i've been enjoying the feedback I've been getting so far, and I love that I've been able to introduce people to some great music that they otherwise wouldn't have known about!
