data_boy

Am organizing & adding my music collection & releases to Discogs - letting go of some of it and adding to it at the same time :) Have been selling on eBay for over the past decade under the name "richtergrooves" and have a 100% positive profile rating. You can count on the same quality service when shipping and processing your orders :)


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WET DREAMS ... recently discovered/re-discovered gems, rants and raves

The Fleetwoods
Come Softly To Me - The Very Best Of The Fleetwoods
Besides the usual known hits on this release, "Come Softly To Me". "Tragedy" & "Mr. Blue", this CD contains some absolute gems recorded by this early 60s vocal group. While the entire CD plays one good song after another, couple of stand-out tracks that really shine are "Runaround" and "Lovers By Night, Strangers By Day". If you enjoy groups in harmony, this group does it very well.

Everly Brothers
Walk Right Back: The Everly Brothers On Warner Bros. 1960 To 1969
I really enjoy these boys & their harmonizing but it was some of the songwriters that I actually rediscovered once more. Besides the usual hits from this release, the songs that really stood out for me were written by Don Gibson & the songwriting team of Boudleaux & Felice Bryant. While most are familiar with Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams", I am absolutely loving "Just One Time". A great song. The release also features 7 songs by the songwriting team of Boudleaux & Felice Bryant. While I may have heard some of their songs before, I never was aware of who they were and the number of great songs they wrote together. I really like their style which worked perfectly for the Everly Brothers and certainly contributed to their success.

Recently acquired a few Julie Andrews albums & discovered an early gem among them, The Lass With The Delicate Air, this album features the track "Pedro, The Fisherman" and after listening to that particular track, it's easy to see why Julie Andrews became a STAR ;)

Rewind ... recently watched the musical Hair which I had not seen in many moons, some powerful musical numbers & performances, still fun after all these years, back to 1979, yiks I date myself !!! btw whatever happened to Cheryl Barnes ??? Her star shined much too briefly in this musical universe.

Back to the future ...
And now for something completely new to me ...

Ok I know many people especially "the young folks" are reallllllly into downloading music (I occasionally get requests for MP3 files!) & they probably can do it in their sleep, but its something of a new experience for me. For my birthday, I good friend of mine gave me an iTunes gift card.
Well, I wasn't exactly sure what I would use it for, since I didn't have anything specific in mind to download. You see I am a collector besides being a lover of music. I have to see it, touch it, lick it, etc. etc. To download something to me is like collecting air, it has no distinct characteristics I can cherish. So needless to say it took me about 6 mos to finally use my card! But when I did, it really came in handy, since I was compiling a collection of Broadway musical numbers to record to disc for a dear friends b'day. I discovered I was missing several that I wanted to use, I found all of them available on iTunes, so download I go go ;)

80s music fans, catch episode #1.3 of "Being Human". Nice soundtrack of 80s songs, had a great time watching it. Annie (ghost) meets Gilbert, a ghost who died in 1985 and totally lives the 80s music scene and his life is all about the song lyrics. His idea of Gilbert fun is going to the record shop and buying loads of records ie: searching for all the Echo & The Bunnymen Japanese imports! Gotta like a mate like that ;)

Let The Sun Shine In , Summer 2009

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WET DREAMS ... recently discovered/re-discovered gems, rants and raves

Martyn Bates A Map Of The Stars In Summer
My most recent prized possession, for some reason I'm starved, I just can't get enough of one of my favorite bands. The CD includes a new Eyeless In Gaza song "A Needle To North". While the other solo songs are excellent as well, this EIG track is the crown jewel of this Mini-Album. Getting richer with each repeated listen. My only disappointment is not being able to see them live during their tours around Europe, but this makes me so very H-A-P-P-Y ;)

Melpo Mene I Adore You
I rarely anticipate a commercial, however this is one big exception. Whenever it plays, I stand frozen, absorbing this tune featured in a commercial for Volvo running in the States. Anxiously await the album - the voice is mesmerizing - if the album is anything like that song, I will have to explore his other releases!

Frank Sinatra & The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
The Popular Sinatra Vols. 1-3
I seem to play Vol. 1 more than the other 2 volumes, fave track I can't seem to get enough of is "I'll Take Tallulah". A friend told me to check out the "I'll Take Tallulah" number featured in the film "Ship Ahoy" (1942). While not a great film, its pure fun and Frank Sinatra makes his film debut as a singer with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. I still prefer Frank's version, however the song makes more sense to me now after seeing the movie! It still plays over & over in my head, very catchy tune and makes me want to swing and sway to more big band tunes. A fairly new style of music for me as I begin digging this swingin' scene ;)

Buffy Sainte-Marie The Best Of Buffy Sainte-Marie
What a warrior! Fave tracks "Soulful Shade Of Blue", "Summer Boy", "Until It's Time For You To Go" (beautiful version of this, her own tune), "God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot" (providing the music and the great Leonard Cohen wrote the lyrics), "Piney Wood Hills", "Universal Soldier" and "My Country 'Tis Of Thy People You're Dying "(the last 2 songs still pack a punch in my gut). Decades later, the songs are still powerfully moving.

Buffy Sainte-Marie Coincidence & Likely Stories
Very underrated album and a classic by my standards. Incredibly timeless, after 16 years away from the studio, she releases this completely unexpected album and its as if she never left. To quote AMG, "The entire work is a hard-hitting condemnation of corporate greed and dirty politics, masked in new-agey sounds -- about as subversive as it gets". Stunning comeback, from beginning to end, me wish I had some Indian blood and a right proper Indian name ;)

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Once (Music From The Motion Picture)
This was listed on my Krisco Kisses, Spring 2008 posting, deserves repeating, still listening to this incredible release. Current fave track "Fallen From The Sky" although I still listen to entire recording of this well deserved Academy Award winner & stunner.

Buddha-bar collections v 1-10
Absolutely stunning, mostly, new discoveries for me from around the globe ... series a recent discovery for me ... perfect late night music to chill to ... often work to ... a friend turned me on to the series ... fits my many moods and plays most every night.

Switching to film, I recently have had a fascination with actor, John Simm.

After viewing his performances in both Life on Mars (2006-2007 UK TV series) and State of Play (2003 UK TV Series - await the US film version in 2009, will have to wait and see, can't imagine, since this sure-to-be a classic is about as good as it gets). I decided this actor deserved checking out other films in his career since I loved both of the above, taking in repeated viewings. (Not to mention his recent portrayal of The Master in the revived "Doctor Who" series, John Simm gets extra kisses for taking part in a fave series of mine, but I digress)

Which brings me back to music, that path lead me to discover both of the following films:

Human Traffic (1999), about five friends who spend one lost weekend in a mix of music, love and club culture. Completely loved it, until I read the user comments about a different UK version of the film. Damn, I just hate when they do s*#t like that! I am now anxious to see the UK version! Why Why Why they do me like that! I found this movie to be quite brilliant, refreshing and fascinating to watch.

24 Hour Party People (2002), as a fan of the 80s music scene, but from the States, this film gave an insight into that historical period in time when so much was happening in Manchester. The history of Factory records was indeed chaotic and episodic. Superbly reflected in this film according to the user comments and although I wasn't there, I believe it! Agree, the characterizations are brilliant, and the real life cameos (Vini Reilly, Howard DeVoto, (the real) Tony Wilson, Mark E. Smith, to name a few!), the archival footage (Siouxsie Sioux, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Iggy Pop, John Lydon) brought it all to life. Not to mention the acting, John Simm plays Bernard Sumner (Joy Division, New Order) and does a right good job of it, even performing a version of "Blue Monday" ! However IMO the real stars of the film are Sean Harris as Ian Curtis, Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson and Andy Serkis as Martin Hannett in that order. Whether it's completely accurate or not, the British ARE bloody brilliant !!

Absolutely Fabulous, Summer 2008