Category: Music

I bought this album because Smith and I were due to see this band at some festival somewhere at some time. I haven’t seen this band. I seem to remember the album being OK. Nothing special but also not terrible.

This is communication number 1938, here are some things that happened in that year:

• Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
• The Yellow River flood kills at least 400,000.
• “I have in my hand a piece of paper”.
• LSD is first synthesised.
• Nuclear fission of uranium discovered.

Not overly sure why I got this! I think I had seen Blade Runner and wanted some nice calming music in the same style. I don’t know. I’m not sure I’ve played it al the way through. Sometimes songs will come on as part of a shuffle and it depends on my mood as to whether I skip or not.

This is communication number 1934. Here are some things that happened that year:

• The Japanese invaded Manchuria.
• The Philippines is given some autonomous control from the USA.
• A typhoon in Japan kills 3036 people.
• Australian Frontier Wars end.

I am not sure if I’ve ever really listened to this album.

This is communication number 1931. Here’s what happened that year:

• Oswald Mosely founds the New Party.
• Porsche is founded.
• The China floods have deaths between 400,000 and 4,000,000.
• The Panama Canal is closed for a while due to damage by earthquakes.

I think all I had to say about FFDP I said in the previous communication about them. There seems to be a bit of a dip in quality albums in this area of the alphabet. Or, it’s just that there are a lot of Ts and coupled with my mistake of the “THE” word creates a stretch of albums I’m not fussed about.

This is communication number 1930 and I’m kinda trying to beat my “most in a month” record while at the same time trying to keep the quality up. It’s 19 days into the month and progress is good. I’ve got some ideas for longer communications too so maybe they will get written when I have some more time and freedom? Here are some things that happened in 1930:

• The existence of Pluto, dwarf planet, is confirmed.
• Lili Elbe begins sex reassignment surgeries.
• A fire in the Ohio penitentiary kills 320 people.
• The last recorded lynching of African Americans in USA.
• The Pope stresses the sanctity of marriage, the ban on artificial birth control and the church’s view on abortion [what a cunt].

I got a number of FFDP albums after I saw them at Download and then a location in London. I don’t mind when one of their songs comes on in a shuffle but I am definitely not bothered about playing a complete album. I’m not too fussed by their double bass drumming all the way through complete songs. Chaps, you have to have variation. But then, I’m old so maybe that is the way to go? So, there may be good stuff on here, there may not. I’m also trying to beat one of my previous best communications-per-month totals so that is why I’m publishing a lot this month.

In 1928 some of the following things happened:

• Frederick Griffith proves the existence of DNA.
• A dam failed north of LA killing 600.
• The voting age for women in UK lowers from 30 to 21. Prior to this only women over 30 and with property could vote.
• Farnsworth demonstrates the first all-electric television system.

This is actually a really good album in that late 1970s way. I’m glad Jeff has made a shit-ton of money from this. I like the fact that the first Martians land near Jase’s house, also loads of the place names are places I know. But those two things were more about HG than Mr Wayne. Oh well.

Communication number 1927 so in keeping with recent tradition and recognising this communication feels like a “cheat”, there’s not much to it, here’s what happened in 1927, curated by me:

• British troops land in Shanghai which is British [apparently].
• The UK formally becomes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• The Mississippi floods and kills 700,000.
• Iraq gains independence from the UK.

I think I own this because everyone thinks they should own this album. I don’t particularly enjoy Pink Floyd’s music and while some of it is quite good and catchy I find the rest dull and repetitive. Yes, I know, that makes me an awful person in the view of many but I just can’t quite get it. I’ve always felt like this about Floyd, not sure why, you can’t help what you like I guess.

Communication number 1923 so here we go:

• First flight of an autogyro.
• First Le Mans 24 hours race.
• Louis Armstrong makes his first recording.
• Large hailstones kill 23 in Russia.
• A damn bursts in Italy killing 356 people.

There’s something about “best of” albums that ends up meaning I don’t play them much. I think I buy a “best of” because I know some of the songs and want a few more but I don’t want to be saddled with an album that might be a bit shit. So, I get a “best of” and I hope that I enjoy listening to it. Broadly speaking I don’t enjoy listening to it and I don’t play it that often. With Van Halen I really love the album 5150 and enjoy listening to that all the way through but for some reason having the “best of” doesn’t bother me and I don’t play it. I think my emotional attachment to 5150 belongs with when I first encountered it in my life and it takes me back to the summer of 1988. Live albums are slightly different though and while they are a kind of “best of” they are also different from the studio recordings and so you discover new parts to each song.

This is communication number 1922, so here are some things that happened then:

• Snowfall causes a roof of a theatre to collapse in Washington DC killing 98.
• Insulin treatment is successfully used for the first time.
• Monza race track is opened.
• The Barbary lion and the Amur tiger both become extinct in the wild.

I’m pretty sure I bought this as an alternative to buying the album Practise What You Preach. The idea was that I would get all the good Testament songs and not have to worry about buying a few albums. Eventually I went on to buy the albums individually anyway as a couple of albums a month keeps me happy. I honestly don’t know what is on this album. I probably played it a few times when I got it but since then I’ve always done the right thing and listened to the proper albums.

In the communication number is the year that I write about continuation this is number 1920 and here’re some things that happened that year.

• The Treaty Of Versailles takes affect officially ending WW1.
• The Khan Of Khiva abdicates.
• The five interlocking rings of the Olympics are first displayed in Antwerp.
• UK, France and Italy discuss how to partition the Ottoman Empire.
• A bomb kills 38 in New York.

I’m not sure if this album came out before or after the Use Your Illusion duo and I can’t be bothered to check on Wikipedia, if you want to have a look then you can. What I can tell you is that this album is a bunch of covers and gave a return to a well-produced but still raw sound for GnR. Listening to this gives me real flashbacks to living in Fulham and spending loads of time with the Fulham Five. I really enjoy this album and I love the speed, energy and sound. You might find it a little derivative nowadays but at least it didn’t take fourteen years to produce like other GnR albums!

This is communication number 1981 so, here are some words to increase the word count:

• The 1918 flu pandemic first recognised in Kansas.
• Russia adopts the Gregorian Calendar.
• The last Carolina parakeet dies.
• Marie Stopes publishes “Married Love” and opens the discussion about birth control [which must be misnamed!]. She is also a massive eugenicist and so we can celebrate her positive contributions to society while still condemn her shit views.
• 453 people die in a fire in Cloquet.

I feel that this album really cemented where the Black Crowes were going with their style and sound. However, it’s not really my bag. I played this album yesterday and I enjoyed listening to it, the guitar blues sounds were really nice and it’s a lovely calming album. They have backing singers and the whole thing works really well. It’s a lovely album.

This is communication number 1917 and so here are some things that happened in that year:

• The King of UK changes his surname from Saxe-Coburg to Windsor.
• The “miracle” of the Sun in Portugal – ha ha.
• Women campaigners are deliberately assaulted while imprisoned.
• The world is still going to shit with war.

I bought this album to help complete my NIN collection but I’m not sure that I’ve listened to it all the way through. NIN albums that I’ve had for a long time have all been listened to quite comprehensively. I’ve got this on while I perform some admin on the computer, I’m backing up my Minecraft world and creating a map, and it’s ok. I think I would say that the sound isn’t as rounded as other NIN albums. This is perfectly good NIN stuff.

Communication number 1915 requires some information about what happened in that year:

• US House of Representatives rejects giving women the vote.
• “Typhoid Mary” infects 25 people while working as a cook.
• Pluto is photographed for the first time.
• The Ottoman Empire genocides the Armenians.
• The US occupies Haiti until 1935.
• Theory of Pangaea published.

I really like Rob Zombie’s music, there is a definite feel about it and he was great when I saw him live at M’era Luna. Could I tell you what is on this album? No. But I can tell you it’s a good album and worth having. You know you are going to like whatever is on here.

This is communication number 1913 and so as with recent tradition here are some things that happened in that year [AD yes, I know that term excludes many around the world]:

• Tibet declares independence from China.
• Igor Sikorsky is first person to pilot a four engined aircraft.
• Stainless steel is invented.
• The Great Lakes Storm claims more than 250 lives.

OK, now this is a great album. I don’t know the individual songs and I can’t put the correct names to the correct rhythm but I can tell you that this album ROCKS. The signer’s voice really adds to the overall theme and you can tell that if he wasn’t there it would be mediocre. I’d be interested to see this band live and I nearly did but the tickets were too expensive for a trip to Wembley Arena where this band were the support. It would be nice to see them at a festival, when festivals are happening again. Go and get this album, you’ll love it.

This is communication number 1907, so as with my recent trend here are some things that happened in 1907. Clearly, these aren’t the most important things to happen but they are things that stand out to me:

• The “mud march” takes place in London with women fighting for the right to vote.
• 19 women are elected to the assembly in Finland.
• A peace conference happens in the Hague.
• A mining explosion kills 362 in West Virginia.

I got this album when Satyricon were meant to play Alt-Fest in 2014. I have to say I listened to some bits of some songs and pretty much hated it.

As this is communication 1906 here are some of the things that happened that year [common era]:

• The pope didn’t like France’s law declaring a separation of church and state, but fuck the pope.
• A mine explosion in France kills 1060.
• Women get the vote in Finland.
• The BCG vaccine is developed.

This album, this debut album is shocking. It’s a collection of noises from the collective called Throbbing Gristle. This album was so influential with artists producing electronic music along with the rest of their back catalogue. When you listen this album you become hypnotised by the noise and curiosity of what is going to happen. The track listing is as follows:

• Industrial Introduction
• Slug Bait
• Slug Bait
• Slug Bait
• Maggot Death
• Maggot Death
• Maggot Death

There’s an utter fascination that draws over me whenever I listen to this band. I think a part of it is the horror of the sounds. Then there’s the wondering what’s going to come next and finally there’s the intrigue of who and what created these sounds. When you listen to Throbbing Gristle you might not enjoy it [I do] but you end up knowing you have experienced. If you can, it’s worth the listen, but be warned.

This is number 1904 and so here’re a few things that happened in the year 1904 when the year 1 is what some people consider to be when JC was born but it wasn’t and that kinda messes everything up:

• Roger Casement publishes an account of Belgian atrocities in the Congo.
• The British defeat Tibetan troops.
• The SS Norge sinks killing 635.