Another Good Haul

A Bran Tub of Discs

I like recorded music. Live music is great if the event is dedicated to listening to the band, but if it’s just there as well as everything else then it doesn’t really get listened to and at its worst detracts from the evening out. But a nicely recorded studio album can be for my ears only.

I’ve been very much taken with That’s Entertainment and their big boxes of sleeveless CDs, DVDs and games for 49p each. Before watching Guardians of the Galaxy we ambled in for a mocking flick through the discs. We decided against the endless discs of Friends (a show I have come to truly loathe) and 24 (the innovative split-screen gave me appalling headaches in season one), and emerged with an eclectic £13.50’s worth of discs…

Music

• Pearl Jam – Vs   Dammit, I already have this one.
• Madonna – The Immaculate Collection   From before Madonna learned how to sing, but these are classics!
• Jim Kroft – Lunatic Lullabies   I have no idea what this is but I liked the album name.
• Gwen Stefani – Love. Angel. Music. Baby. I adored No Doubt‘s Tragic Kingdom but am unaware of anything Stefani has done since. This might be good, or dreadful I suppose.
• Michael Jackson – Bad  I need to find Thriller and Moonwalk as well to properly revisit that part of my childhood.
• Drum and Bass Assassins (2 disc) A surprisingly excellent collection – Dillinja, Shy FX, Ram Trilogy…lots of classic D&B.
• Black Grape – It’s Great When You’re Straight…Yeah   I seem to remember this being ace, but am assured by friends that my recollection is incorrect.
• Adele – 19  She has a lovely voice and I look forwards to hearing more of it.
• Men In Black – the Soundtrack   Aww, back when Will Smith when charming and funny.
• Ian McShane – From Both Sides Now  OK, somewhat a joke purchase, but the man who was Lovejoy and Deadwood deserves a chance. It doesn’t look like there’s a song called ‘Swidgen Cocksucker’, but I live in hope.
• Toploader – Onka’s Big Moka  I know…
• Mark Snow – Soundtrack from Millennium (2 disc)  I only saw a few episodes of the show but I liked it. Hurray Lance Henrikson! I’ve been enjoying film and TV soundtracks while working lately.
• Queen – Greatest Hits I, II, III  All three for £1.47! A bargain of wondrous proportions.
• Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Mimosa  From the era when they were just adorable.
• Daft Punk – Discovery  They are the only good thing about Tron 2
• Forrest Gump – the Soundtrack (2 disc) I hate the film of Forrest Gump – Hanks at his most insipid with such a platitude-riddled script that I want to vomit chocolate. Gah. The soundtrack though is great.
• Texas – The Greatest Hits Does exactly what it says on the tin.

A lot of this is quite old stuff (I’m heading that way too), but I like shuffle mode where I’ll get blistering jungle followed by songs from my childhood.

Films

• John Carter  This was a bit of a let down at the cinema, but I think it will improve on a TV viewing.
• Let The Right One In (original Swedish version) I read the book recently and it was amazing, I have heard similarly splendid things about both film versions.
• Sunshine  Another one I was disappointed by at the cinema, but for unknown reasons I feel obliged to try again. Maybe it’s just Cillian Murphy’s pretty eyes…
• Big Trouble In Little China  Is there anything not to love about this film?
• A Scanner Darkly  I reckon this is the best faithful adaptation of a Philip K Dick story (including BladeRunner)
• Save The Last Dance  Inspirational dance movie! My favourite genre.
• High Society  Another dance movie from a more glamorous era
• The Royal Tenenbaums  Why am I buying films that disappointed me? This is another one I maybe believe is better than I thought it was

Eclectic is good.