Category: Music

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Taking Matters Into My Own Hands

Since HBO took their sweet time issuing an official soundtrack from last year's Sharp Objects—and then with only a meager assortment of the music used in the show—I decided to put my own together.

The task was made easier because Popsugar provided what was supposedly the definitive list of all the music used in the series' eight episodes.

So between Popsugar, the official release playlist, YouTube, and the magic of Audio Hijack and Adobe Audition, I've created my own soundtrack.

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My Latest Acquisition


Matt Drey Presents DSP: From Russia With Love (1999) (2 disk EP)

● Original Mix
● Oliver Lieb Remix
● Solar Stone Red City Remix
● Solar Stone Blue Remix

Been in love with this one since I first heard it in the early 00's on Ibiza Euphoria, but never thought to look for it on the original vinyl.

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Finally!

It seems like it took forever coming from Italy (because I chose standard shipping instead of expedited and tracked which would've cost more than the disk itself), but it finally arrived today: Madonna's Like a Virgin on clear vinyl.

I realized several months ago that for some very strange reason, I had no Madonna in my vinyl collection at all. Sure, I had every one of her releases on CD squirreled away in box in a closet somewhere, but there was no sweet vinyl.

I started rectifying that back in April with You Can Dance and of course the whole True Blue fiasco in July. I think next up will be Like a Prayer…

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I Remember You

This was playing when we walked into Starbucks this afternoon. I haven't heard the song in years.

I always associated it with my life in San Francisco, especially in regard to my 1998 return to The City. It was pumping out of my car stereo as I first crossed the Bay Bridge that one particular afternoon, and is forever burned into memory in that context.

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Damn You, Discogs!

As I wrote on Instagram, it's so nice to buy a sealed, never-played piece of vinyl! (Especially considering some of my recent luck in buying used.) And how can you not love ABBA? I was grinning through all four sides of this record yesterday.

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My Latest Acquisition

Kind of disappointed with this one too. The seller rated the media as NM/NM+ (near mint, meaning it essentially plays and sounds like a new record). It most definitely is not. Of the two disk set, Disk One Side One is, indeed, nearly flawless. Disk One Side Two skips on one song (it's not a piece of gunk on the disk; I already ran a fingernail to verify). Disk Two Side One is horrific pops and clicks from beginning to end. Disk Two Side Two is good until about halfway and then it's as bad as the other side. I think that the seller either (a) did a visual inspection and didn't see any scratches so decided it was all good, or (b) listened to only the first side and assumed the entire album was that same condition.

I've notified him of my concerns. He's got a 100% satisfaction rating, so I'm  waiting to see what he has to say.

And yes, it came from overseas again, this time from the UK, so—like True Blue—it wasn't cheap.

I haven't heard this record in years, yet it was my go-to Elton John album when I was in high school (at least until Captain Fantastic came out). At the time the depth of the misogyny in most of Bernie Taupin's lyrics here was unapparent because no one was "woke," but now…oh my god, they scream off the vinyl and make half the songs on this record cringe-worthy at best and nearly unlistenable at worst.

UPDATE: The seller refunded the purchase price. Didn't even ask that the record be returned.

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Late To The Party, As Usual

I finally saw Bohemian Rhapsody the other day. Yeah, I know. I know.

I will readily admit that after reading early reviews that claimed Mercury's sex life had been horrifically whitewashed and the whole gay thing had been swept under the rug, I had been consciously boycotting the film.

But when I saw it pop up on HBO or Showtime or wherever it was, I said, "Fuck it" and set it to record.

I was pleasantly surprised. Whitewashed? I didn't see it. Freddie's sexuality was pretty clearcut (he followed a trucker into a t-room, for chrissake!) and presented in a non-judgmental fashion. Maybe he was a bigger freak in the sack than portrayed on screen, but in no way was I confused about where he wanted to bury his pole or felt that it had been glossed over.

More interesting for me was how the song the film is named after had such a horrific initial reception—something I don't remember at all—rapidly turning into something that will far outlive any member of the group who spawned it. As I told Ben the other day, I fully expect Bohemian Rhapsody to be played as "classical" music in centuries to come.

My biggest complaint about the film was that I never saw Freddie. I only saw Rami Malek. The three other members of Queen, seemed spot on, but Freddie was just…missing.

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August 1986

In addition to True Blue (post below), the other main component of the soundtrack of transitioning from Tucson to my new life in San Francisco was Pet Shop Boys' Please. It was also one of those albums (along with True Blue) that I only ever owned on CD from that period.

I rectified that last April.

I'm really amazed it sounds as good as it does on vinyl because until this purchase, I'd only ever heard it digitally.

Although it doesn't happen any more, for many, many years after purchasing Please I would jump out of my skin at the PC beep in Two Divided By Zero because at that time the sound was so…unexpected. Now I don't even consciously hear it.

Still my favorite PSB album.

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FINALLY!

It arrived today, and it's perfect.  One of four personal Holy Gails acquired.

Next up, Kraftwerk: Man Machine (in red), then—of course—Prince: Purple Rain (in purple), and then maybe—if I have money to burn—Madonna: Bedtime Stories (in pink)*.

*after finally seeing photos of the 2-disk Bedtime Stories album, I've kind of lost my hard-on for getting them. I wasn't expecting Dolly Parton Baby I'm Burnin pink; I was thinking it would be more of a powder pink like was used on the Bedtime Story CD Single.