Themes – Vangelis

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.

The X Factor – Iron Maiden

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.

The Wrong Side Of Heaven and the Righteous Side Of Hell – Five Finger Death Punch

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].

The Way Of The Fist – Five Finger Death Punch

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.

The War Of The Worlds – Jeff Wayne

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.

The Wall – Pink Floyd

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.

The Very Best Of Van Halen – Van Halen

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.

The Very Best Of Testament – Testament

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.

The Spaghetti Incident? – Guns N’ Roses

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.

The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion – Black Crowes

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.