Album 101: I had too much to dream last night

Just the right side of quirky, just the right side of psychedelic rock. It's as if The Monkees were taking themselves seriously, but of course not too seriously.

The Electric Prunes – I Had Too Much To Dream

7/10

Album 663: Straight Outta Compton

Awww bless.

N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton

5/10

Album 652: 808:90

I can see why this album is on this list, and Pacific 202 deserves it's place in the breakthrough triad of early 90s dance music singles along with Little Fluffy Clouds and Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately it's a bit dull by comparison with albums by The Orb or Orbital.

808 state: 808:90
5/10

Album 345: A night at the opera

A great album should be more than the sum of it's songs. It should flow and develop as a whole. Queen definitely achieve this here, much to the benefit of the painful You're my best friend. Some great work from their "no synths" period, and it annoys me that none of their 80s albums, where they embraced electronica, are on this list.

Special mention to '63 possibly the greatest Country ballad I've heard.

Queen – A Night At The Opera

8/10

Album 45: A girl named Dusty

Some songs I knew, some songs I didnt, all delivered in a beautiful way. Dusty deserves to be known for more than just her contribution to the Pulp Fiction soundtrack.

Dusty Springfield - A girl named Dusty
7/10

Album 371: The Stranger

Mostly tedious.

Billy Joel - The Stranger
4/10

Album 712: Your Arsenal

We hate it when our idols become idiots.

Or at least I do, I ignored Gold against the Soul at it's release because of Nicky Wire's pathetic comments about whether Michael Stipe had AIDS. Similarly, I despaired of Morrissey's antics at Madstock, where he appeared to be championing a political movement that wants to build a Britain that has no place for the likes of me or him.

And this album has several wonderful songs; but with The National Front Disco in the middle, it's not one I want to listen to again. It's like discovering The Flight of the Valkyries includes calls to slaughter Englishmen.

Not even the end-riff from Rock N Roll Suicide "taken on loan" beautifully in I know it's going to happen someday can lift my spirit from it.

Morrissey – Your Arsenal

4/10

Album 781: Snivilisation

Another album that, in my opinion of course, is not as good as one of its sequels. In this case, in sides and Halcyon are both much better. Certainly there's nothing here as awe inspiring as their reworking of the Doctor Who theme (Doctor?) or as fresh as their breakthrough single Chime. A shame.

Orbital: Snivilisation
6/10

Album 505: Pelican West

This band sound like a very poor cousin of at least a dozen new wave bands, however Ive never heard them on an 80s compilation.  There are very good reasons for that.

Haircut 100: Pelican West
0/10

Album 206: If only I could remember my name

I'm not a fan of 70s folk rock. However, there's nothing wrong with this album. Occasionally nice, mostly forgetable though.

David Crosby – If I Could Only Remember My Name

5/10

Album 806: Timeless

I've always liked Goldie's Inner City Life, but wasn't prepared for to enjoy this so much. Sounding often like a soundtrack for a gritty romance set in the time of Blade Runner, this draws on many urban music genres to expand further the soundscape of harsh rhythm and rolling strings and vocals.

Some might find this consciousness expanding.

Goldie – Timeless

8/10

Album 484: Architecture and Morality

Haunting ephemeral electronica. However, with the exception of Souvenir none of the songs reach the heights of Enola Gay or Pandora's Box.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Architecture And Morality

7/10

Album 538: Purple Rain

I've long despaired of the antics of the artist not yet known as the artist formerly known as a symbol. If he made decent music, maybe things would be different; but this isn't a good album by any means. The worst thing about it is that some of the songs are quite good, but the execution is awful.

There should be a term for songwriters who write decent songs, but then perform them badly. When doves cry is great when it's covered, and I'm sure I would die 4U would be the same.

Prince – Purple Rain

2/10

Album 463: The Ace of Spades

70s metal infused with the speed and frenzy of punk. Every song as intense as the overplayed title track. Very enjoyable.

7/10

Great North Run: Memories

Some memories to hold of the great north run:

• Members of the public offering out random foodstuffs.
• The children offering their hands for Hi-5s
• The quasi-football chants echoing through the concrete underpasses in Newcastle
• The changing landscape: Urban to industrial estate to retail park to suburban to high street to beach
• Having someone step on my shoe, pulling it off, as we were walking to the start
• The costumed, overheating after 2 miles, walking with costumes unzipped.
• A red arrow skimming the sea. I missed the main displays, starting too far back to see anything past the initial flyover and finishing too late to see anything but the last elements of the final display.
• As someone near me said "the restful pitter-patter, like raindrops" as our footsteps echoed back from the city buildings
• Hunting, like the guy behind me and the girl in front, through the goodie bag unsure of where the medal was. I was sure it was in there somewhere, they weren't sure at all.
• Scenes identical to Monty Python's Marathon for the Incontinent throughout.
• Being startled by the number of Steel Bands there are on Tyneside
• Sprinting from the final turn to the finish (as I couldn't see it from then), and then having to go back over the finish line to recover my baseball cap (which served very well to keep the sunshine out of my eyes at 2 miles and then kept the torrential rain out of my eyes at 7 miles), as it had blown off.

Whilst the BBC highlights programme (that we only just made it back for) focused heavilly on the elite races and two charity causes, the great north run isn't about a race. It's about 40,000 odd races. Each of us, running their individual race for their individual reasons. In the pens at the start they took a break from the psyching-you-up-for-a-race music to play a very decent version of Abide with me, for everyone to take a few moments to remember their reasons. For the rest of us, most of them were clearly written on their rear-number-plates.

I did get a bit sick of the theme to Local Hero, mind.

Above all, the event brought to mind when Diana's body was driven north after her funeral, and everyone was throwing flowers onto the car. I'd never seen that done before, but it came natural for so many people to do that together.

Great North Run: Initial Datacrunching

I'll post my thoughts on competing in this year's Great North Run later, but as I thought I'd share some initial data-crunching with you.

54,000 places were awarded.

Of these 37,491 people finished. I haven't seen numbers for how many people started, so I can't say how many didn't start (e.g. injured beforehand and so deferred) compared to those that started and couldn't finish.

22,133 of the finishers were male, 15358 were female.

I was the 25,125th fastest overall, the 11,532th fastest under 35yr old and the 17,387th fastest male.

Still very happy, all the same

Figures derived from Great North Run website: http://www.greatrun.org/Results/

Album 595: Faith

Nauseating.

George Michael – Faith

1/10

Album 810: Better living through chemistry

Great, but the secret sauce that infused the sequel, You've come a long way baby, isn't that obvious. Like the third album, Halfway between the gutter and the stars, the sound is more club-orientated. If you like the second half of You've come a long way baby, then you'll probably like this - definitely more Love Island than Rockafeller Skank.

7/10

Fatboy Slim – Better Living Through Chemistry

Cold calling charities

Where I live in North Yorkshire, there are a lot of elderly and vulnerable people nearby. A couple of years ago, North Yorkshire County Council's Trading Standards established a "No-cold calling" zone on my estate.

From their website:"Trading Standards has seen an increase in the number of serious cases it has dealt with arising from doorstep incidents and it has therefore begun a programme of establishing 'No Cold Calling Zones' in neighbourhoods where all the residents do not want any cold callers. The zones are highlighted by displaying notices throughout the area warning traders that it is a 'No Cold Calling Zone'. If traders do cold call, Trading Standards or the police will attend and take whatever action is appropriate."

It's worked well, gone are the people selling cheap electricity, roof repairs and the like. However, today a team of people came down our street knocking on the doors. They were MacMillan Cancer Support volunteers.

When I was doorstepped, they told me that they weren't cold-calling, which they were. So I terminated our discussion over whether I'd like to give them money for their worthy cause there. I don't see how tactics that annoys me is intended to make me support them, but it's not me that I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about the other residents of this estate who might not find it so easy to say no.

I'm not saying McMillan don't do a valuable job. Of course I'm not, and I know they need to raise money somehow - I just don't agree with the tactics I experienced today. Certainly when I've been involved in raising money for the local Sue Ryder hospice or the Yorkshire Air Ambulance we didn't do anything antagonistic.

So, in true affluent 21st century style, I posted on Twitter: ".@macmillancancer I've just had 1of your volunteers cold calling at my home. I live in a no-cold-calling area. Do you believe you're exempt?"

Not 10 minutes later they responded "@kevfrost Hi, sorry to hear that, if you send us some more details we'll look into that for you http://j.mp/osL2DD". Delighted at that response, so we'll see how this pans out.

Album 495: The Visitors

The final ABBA studio album, a very tired affair. Tired music, tired style and apparently tired of each other. At best a pale imitation of Goldfrapp's Head First.

2/10
ABBA - The Visitors

Album 158: Kick out the Jams

I didn't think that rock music got so angry back in the 60s. Punk arrived a decade early.

6/10

MC5 – Kick Out The Jams

Album 214: Live at the Fillmore East

Just look at that photo: It's the 70s, and they have substantial facial hair. It sounds exactly like you would imagine, only much better.

6/10

The Allman Brothers Band – Live At The Fillmore East

Album 458: Fresh fruit for rotting vegetables

A band who delight in shock value isn't necessarily a bad thing, particularly when their songs are well crafted. So whilst I'm not going to suggest my parents listen to this album, it's still fabulous. Just the song titles give a good indication of how offensive this album is, so if you're offended just listen to the final track, which is one of the best covers of Viva Las Legas.

8/10

Dead Kennedys – Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

Album 307: Autobahn

A 22 minute track about motorways? Yes, and it's brilliant, as are the remaining tracks on this album.

8/10

Kraftwerk – Autobahn

Album 62: Pet Sounds

The entire album sounds sugar coated, even the Sloop John B sounds performed with big smiles on their faces. 

Perhaps this is genuinely how California felt 45 years ago, but these songs "say nothing to me about my life".

Pet Sounds: The Beach Boys
3/10

Album 618: Green

I've had a love-hate relationship with REM for as long as I can remember. Some of their songs are amazing, others are dull. This album is mostly dull. Songs like Orange Crush and Stand are fabulous, the rest are already forgotten.

Part of me wants regrets the speed by which I'm going through this 1001 album list, and thinks that if I listened to this album a few times it would grow on me; however I've listened to Automatic for the People, Out of Time and Reveal many times and a lot of the album tracks just don't grab me.

R.E.M. – Green

5/10

Album 271: (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)

As I go through the many old albums on this list, it occasionally feels like I'm touring French castles that were massively significant in their day but are relics now. This is one of them.

The only thing I knew about Lynyrd Skynyrd is a story that their concerts would be interrupted halfway through by the crowd chanting "Play Freebird", and there is an essence of them being a one-hit wonder trying to escape from the magnificence of that song. Some of the tracks are great, others aren't; the style of blues influenced Southern US rock isn't particularly to my taste; but they play it much better here than I've heard from other bands.

5/10

Lynyrd Skynyrd – (Pronounced 'Leh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd)

Album 273: Aladdin Sane

Bowie being Bowie at the time where Bowie was at the top of his game. However, it's not as good as Ziggy Stardust, and the piano gets a bit tiresome at times. I've marked it down because the album version of The Prettiest Star is a mess and I love the single version, otherwise a decent enough album.

David Bowie – Aladdin Sane

5/10

Album 770: Smash

The album before they hit the mainstream with the Pretty Fly for a white guy single and it's parent album Americana, here is Offspring still raw and ambitious. This album contains their two best singles: Come out and Play and Self Esteem, both were big in indie rock circles at the time. Did Offspring help bring Emo to the mainstream? No sure - but this is a great album of self aware rock.

The Offspring – Smash

8/10

Album 279: Berlin

Not a bad album, just one that doesn't seem to make much sense on the first listen. I'm looking forward to revisiting his earlier Transformer album (no 251) which if I recall sounds so much better.

Lou Reed – Berlin

4/10