Author: Mark Alexander

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Blue or Gold?

Just a bit of a rant…

Does this record look blue to you?


This is the “blue” vinyl pressing of Madonna’s True Blue I mentioned a while back that finally arrived.

Disappointed does not begin to describe it.

I immediately contacted the buyer who agreed to a return:

“If you wish. I did not manufacture the record so I am not sure what you expected.”

Excuse me? Then, in an attempt to make me the bad guy in this transaction, sent several followup emails, including one from someone not even involved in the transaction, dated September 2016!:

“Does anyone know why there were such variations in the colour of the Vinyl in the Aust edition? I have one that when not held against the light almost looks black and has a marble effect, and another that is perfect blue. Happy to post a pic if someone could help.”

The seller followed that up with, “Did you look at the photos?”

You mean the one you just sent with that two-and-a-half year old email?

And the final email received:

“A buyer asked me to send photos so I did. If you ask for photos of the item I can sedn them. Please remember that I DID NOT MANUFACTURE THE ALBUM”

If that weren’t enough, the vinyl grade of VG+ he assigned to the record itself was more than a bit overstated. The surface noise was horrific.

Even though he agreed to cover the cost of the disk itself, I was out on shipping. Considering it cost me an additional $25 to send the record back to Australia, honey, that ain’t happening. I lodged a complaint with Paypal, so I’m hoping to get the initial shipping fee refunded as well.

In the meantime, I discovered that True Blue had been reissued in 2016 by Sainsbury’s in the UK:

As you can see, the vinyl is truly blue.

It was a couple dollars more than I paid for the 1986 pressing, but this one is brand new and unplayed. Fingers crossed. It’s somewhere over the Atlantic as we speak…

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Shower Thoughts

Someday your children and grandchildren are going to walk into your outdated “grandparent” house, with its 4K flat screen, hardwood floors, and stainless steel appliances, and think you’re a loser.

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Not a Fashionista

I am not a fashionista.

My uniform for the last forty years has been some brand of pique polo shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Back in the 80s—when I still had a relatively flat stomach, and was able to get into size 31 jeans—this combo was the gay uniform. (At least in the clubs I frequented at the time.)

I was relieved when it finally became standard casual Friday office fare and later pretty much acceptable office dress any day of the week no matter where I worked.

While I’ve worn polo shirts since 1980, I’ve never really been able to justify the cost of what I viewed as the ultimate polo, a Lacoste, opting instead for the much more affordable Brittania brand back in the day. I did, however, own one red Lacoste in 1983 after splurging on the purchase ($25 as I remember).

I was finally a member of the Alligator Club, even if the fit (medium) was a little snug back then.

Flash forward 40 years and Target discontinues Merona—my go-to polo brand for at least a decade—leaving me in a lurch. I tried their new Goodfellow shirts, but the fabric was cheap and the shirts just didn’t fit the same way as Merona. I tried St. John’s Bay from JC Penney, but they didn’t fit the same way as Merona either.

So this sent me to eBay to see if I could snatch up a few “gently used” Meronas. But then I got to thinking…if Merona, why not Lacoste?

Jackpot!

(I knew they were still being made; I happened across a table full in a Macy’s a few years ago, but was aghast that they were still as unaffordable as they were in the 80s. But I’d never thought about buying them used.)

Times and priorities change, y’know?

So anyway, after 40 years, I’m now close to having a week’s worth of those little alligators to wear to work, knowing full well that they’re probably viewed as an anachronism, a throwback to ages long past (when our country seemed relatively sane), but I don’t care. They make me smile, and that’s what’s important—especially with the world being in its current state.

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I’m Going To Hell


Mrs. Bommer adjusted her housedress and smiled as she thought, “I don’t even care if Dale sees the wet spot on the couch!” as Jimmy hurried back to his bike.

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Shower Thoughts

No one had any choice in being born, no one really knows why we’re here, and no one knows what happens after we die. The sheer amount of bullshitters who claim otherwise is astonishing.

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FUCK TRUMP

And fuck Brunswick News Inc. for terminating their contract with cartoonist Michael de Adder because reasons “wholly unrelated” to his publishing this comic on Twitter (which the assholes didn’t even run in their newspapers).

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Released 33 Years Ago Today

Madonna: True Blue (1986)

From Behind the Grooves:

“True Blue”, the third album by Madonna is released. Produced by Madonna, Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, it is recorded at Channel Recording in Los Angeles, CA from December 1985 – April 1986. After the massive whirlwind success of the “Like A Virgin” album and “The Virgin Tour”, the pop superstar does not rest on her laurels, beginning work on the crucial follow up at the end of 1985. Working with long time collaborator Stephen Bray and new producer Patrick Leonard (Michael Jackson, Jody Watley), the album is praised upon its release as her strongest effort to date, and is widely regarded today as one of the best albums of her career. It spins off five top five hits including “Live To Tell” (#1 Pop), “Papa Don’t Preach” (#1 Pop), “Open Your Heart” (#1 Pop) and the title track (#3 Pop). “True Blue” also marks the beginning Madonna’s long association with famed fashion photographer Herb Ritts who shoots the LP’s iconic cover photo. The original LP package also includes a poster of the album cover shot. As a promotion for the album, MTV sponsors the “Make My Video” contest, inviting viewers to submit their own visual interpretations of the title track. The winning entry comes from Angel Gracia and Cliff Guest, whose black & white clip is rotated heavily on the video channel. The pair are awarded a check for $25,000 by the pop superstar herself at MTV’s New York studios. The alternate video directed by James Foley, featuring Madonna with close friends actress Debi Mazur and fashion designer Erika Belle is shown largely outside the US. Madonna also supports the album with the worldwide “Who’s That Girl Tour” beginning in June of 1987. It is remastered and reissued on CD in 2001, with the extended 12″ mixes of “La Isla Bonita” and the title track included as bonus tracks. The vinyl LP is reissued in Europe in 2012, including the original inner sleeve lyric sheet and poster featured in the original release. In October of 2016, a limited edition release of the LP pressed on blue vinyl, is issued as exclusive through the European supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. “True Blue” spends five weeks at number one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 7x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

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