every now and then, look you see, i, if not all of us, have some sort of whim or idea that comes to mind for no apparent reason. of the several i have undoubtedly had over the last week or so the most abiding was to once again watch the motion picture called The Blues Brothers. as it transpires i am eerily if not slightly spookily alone in this, but that would not be a story for here.
i was aware of the fact that i owned this film on DVD. further awareness was, alas, that it was boxed up, and would be most troublesome to retrieve. if you are in a rush, a conclusion can be drawn from the fact that i now have a bad back from moving boxes, but for those who really like linear let us go on.
having paid for the service (and with no qualms or regrets about it), it occurred to me that having a search on that Netflix thing was my most practical point of call in terms of watching this movie again. and so, to that extent, i searched.
no, Netflix does not, sadly, have The Blues Brothers available by its service. this was of course disappointing and quite a surprise, as the company seems to have a fair few titles off of Universal studios, so i had taken it as some deal was in place with that distributor.
whilst i am aware that "alternate suggestions" off of Netflix is nothing new in terms of internet discourse over the perplexities of their choices, these two were ones that had me, if only partially, raise an eyebrow. i mean, i can understand them throwing the magnificent documentary Janis Joplin - Little Girl Blue my was as a semi-possible replacement viewing idea, but Star Trek The Next Generation? i am unsure i get how exactly it is related to what i was looking for.
or, maybe i do. whilst it was never explicitly stated in the series (that i can remember), perhaps the whole point of Star Trek The Next Generation is that they too were on a mission from God. if so, that kind of puts a whole different spin on the series, and would no doubt upset a large amount of the fanbase of the show as they are in all likelihood self-styled atheists.
on a Friday, right, i like to browse around the store with a few coins in my pocket. with CDs at £1 or £2 each, i can usually end up "treating" myself to some vibes to listen to either at home or in the car. to that end, i recently got another copy of The Joshua Tree, i believe the 5th or 6th i have bought, for £1. i figured that was an OK cost for a car based copy.
the store has at present a bonzer or if you prefer boss special on. you can get 6 CDs that are marked £1 each for £5, or if you like if you buy five then you get one free. and i did, despite only intended to get one or two. i got to that stage where it was "you know what, i might as well just pick six".
as i took that picture of the spines of the six discs with an iPhone (one of the classical versions that has a headphone port) i have every confidence that you can clearly read the titles of what i got. if not, and you are interested, fear not, as we will go back to them. and, yes, The Blues Brothers. but first, not.
i don't know what happened in the 90s (a lot of things went wrong when i turned my back it seems), but back in the 70s and 80s, when England was all decent, one of the most interesting ceremonies was bringing forth a tin that had been repurposed to house a selection or if you like assortment of biscuits. to explain, friends outside of England and those within who were not present during that era, when one had visitors, announced or otherwise, one served their visitors tea. if one did not do this then one would be guilty of treason, and they would need not worry about visitors ever again, for one would be in prison. and when you served tea, you offered biscuits too.
the purpose of offering a biscuit or two (to take three was a social faux pas that was as unforgivable as it was just as likely to have you again arrested for treason) was to show off your social status. your level of wealth, your class and your value to the community was judged solely on what biscuits you could afford to offer freely. and do bear in mind, dear reader, that there was no such nonsense as "supermarket own brand" rubbish then.
if you were working class you would of course have digestives on offer. should you be progressive working class or middle class, what you had on offer was finer unwrapped biscuits, such as Romany Creams, or entry level wrapped biscuits such as Penguin. should you be of the elite, as in at the very top of the social class ladder, your biscuit tin featured a generous assortment of Club and Viscount biscuits.
it was delightful yet depressing, then, to see that in this modern England which has been created Viscount biscuits are now the preserve of the Poundland proprietors.
on the one side it is wonderful that Viscount are accessible to all. it is a triumph, and indeed vindication, of John Major's ambition to create a truly "classless society", although of course Jeremy Corbyn wants to put the class system back now. it also reflects the merry fact that the title Viscount is now as common as the most frequently found muck. whereas once one would gasp in honour when introduced to a Viscount, now so many have the title we might all as well have it.
i cannot but help thing, however, that we have lost something by not reserving some things for the elite. how may one show off how well they have done for themselves if the accepted way - through the biscuits they presented to guests uninvited or otherwise - has gone for good?
anyway, back to the six, or if you like one south of seven, CDs that i purchased for £5 in coins of money, or if you like a fiver. no, i did not use one of them "new" five pound notes for the transaction, although that is none of your business.
what did i select and why? in order from the upper top left, then. the soundtrack off of the film Control, what does not feature as much Joy Division and New Order as you might think. i am listening now, and Bowie doing Drive In Saturday has just come on. Higher Ground off of Barbara Streisand is now just one year south of being 20 years old. yes, it is the album what features her doing You'll Never Walk Alone, and that duet with Celine Dion. i've never got why Americans tease and taunt Canadians, but i have to say if Canada puts forward Celine Dion as some sort of "Canadian Barbara Streisand" then i'm not going to quibble. Lead Vocalist is a Rod Stewart release from 1993 that's superb. it features a combination of classic Rodders that was not, at that time, issued on a CD anywhere, along with a few new recordings that were produced by Trevor Horn, the talented man who really is only famous because Frankie Goes To Hollywood allowed him to work on their records. yes, Rod's boss variation on Waltzing Matlida is on that disc.
down at the bottom we have The Living Years off of Mike & The Mechanics. an album that was a side project for one of the less well known members off of Genesis, it features the title track that became a huge hit worldwide, as well as Nobody's Perfect. Addictions Volume 1 is a very serviceable "best of" off of Robert Palmer, a wonderful singer who has sadly not been with us for quite some time. finally, Contraband off of Velvet Revolver. bought as it's dirty, sleazy, provocative rock, and the ladies will notice me and want to have sex with me if i play it really loud in the car with the window down, maybe.
although i am thrilled to have got so many quality vibes for so little, it remains sad that we have devalued music to this point. many would say, indeed, that i have "overpaid" for the above, as i could just go and get them for free, or if you like gratis, off of the web.
"free" music off the web has been a reality for, what, 17 or 18 years now. we're feeling the price of this with an ever dwindling supply of new, decent music. what is the point, after all, of putting effort into work if you are not getting rewarded for it? we're left with those artists who have already made money in the days before the free putting effort in. when they are gone, i fear music has gone.
anyway, The Blues Brothers. yes, i worked out what box it was in and yes i spent a good hour or so moving boxes around and climbing over them to get it. and get it i did.
what's that next to it? a rather smart bookmark that happened to be in one of the boxes i looked in. it's a boss T2 or if you like Terminator 2 one, with a hologram of Arnie that reveals his robot skeleton head when you turn it. off of America, it is. it's possible that Mum & Dad got it for me, but for some reason i think Gillian is the one that found it and got it for me.
anyway, i now just need to find some two hours and twenty minutes to watch The Blues Brothers once more, since i am apparently of a mind to do so. the last time i watched it was on a flight to or from England from either Africa or Dubai. brilliant, the film is.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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