1969
Noah’s Barks pages covering things relating to the year 1969.
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1001 Nights
Not to be confused with Osamu Tezuka’s 1969 film, ‘1001 Nights’ is a short film from 1998 that features the surreal, evocative art of Final Fantasy alum Yoshitaka Amano. (read more)
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Army of Shadows
It’s remarkable and deserving of more respect how modern Jean-Pierre Melville‘s films still look. Show Army of Shadows to your cousin and I can’t promise they won’t call it boring, but they certainly wouldn’t look immediately away. A palpably cold struggle against one of the most imposing mountains of an army in human history. As… (read more)
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The Shaggs – “Philosophy of the World” (1969)
Haha, what the hell is with Helen Wiggin’s drumming? She never stops tapping away for even a second. It’s like someone sat her down at the kit and flipped a switch on her back to the “on” position and walked away. Obviously, no one in The Shaggs is known for their musicianship—quite the opposite, which… (read more)
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Deep Purple – “Deep Purple”
Deep Purple’s third album is the final with their original vocalist. Nonetheless, they deliver one of their most psychedelic, darkest works. (read more)
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The Who – “Tommy”
I’m gonna be upfront: I hate rock operas, honestly. Tommy is not an exception. A melodramatic story that’s impossible to relate to in its campyness and is amateurishly written to boot. There’s a reason The Who are musicians first and not authors, though listening to Tommy almost tempts me to forget the reason for even… (read more)
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Dusty Springfield – “Dusty in Memphis” (1969)
Aah, Dusty in Memphis is beautiful. Dusty Springfield’s voice is as soft as the warm air coming off a hot fire, and the string arrangements here decorate it in golden lace. The sitar at the end of “In the Land of Make Believe” is genuinely kind of innovative for soul/baroque pop music. I wish there… (read more)
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Nick Drake – “Five Leaves Left”
Five Leaves Left is currently my favorite album by Nick Drake, only in competition with Bryter Layter for his best (not like there’s much to compete with). All the strings in this album accentuate the music perfectly. The piano often may as well not be there, but it doesn’t bother much. Also, I’m pretty sure… (read more)
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Tim Buckley – “Blue Afternoon”
‘Blue Afternoon’ returns Tim Buckley to a more conventional, modest-length song format, a departure from the ethereal album cohesion shown prior. (read more)
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The Mothers of Invention – “Uncle Meat” (1969)
To this day, Uncle Meat remains one of the most unique listening experiences I’ve ever had. Unique to the point where I almost don’t even want to call it “music.” Not as a value judgment, but because it genuinely feels like improper categorization compared to literally everything else in my library. Uncle Meat isn’t something… (read more)
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David Bowie – “David Bowie” (1969)
There are some serious hints of brilliance on 1969‘s David Bowie in its beautiful psychedelic/folk songs “Space Oddity” and “Letter to Hermione.” “Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud” and “Memory of a Free Festival” also deserve some mention. Most tracks on here have interesting segments to them, like the beginning of “Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed.”… (read more)