The Scrounger's Report

Mar. 10, 2001

The Scrounger's Report - Pissed Off Edition

Yep. Pissed off. Mostly at myself...

Woke up this morning with a need to feed my CD addiction (there's
a shock :). In particular I wanted some more CD singles for my
burgeoning collection. Since I've pretty much cleaned out all the
pawn shops and used CD stores of CD singles within a 60-mile
radius, I figured I'd just bop down to "Music for a Song" to see
if they had any more import CD singles in since I was last there.

Since we're talking new material, we're talking the potential for
gambles. Now, by its very nature, the term "gamble" (when applied
to CD purchases) basically translates to "Gee, I'm fucking clueless
about this album. Should I chance it?" 90% of the time it works
out to the positive, since I can usually make an educated guess
as to the content based on cover art, record label, year, and
song titles. However, every now and again I completely blow a call
and wind up with a festering pile of steaming feces leaking out
of the CD player in my truck.

Today was just such a day. It took me 45 minutes to clean the shit
off my dashboard after I listened to this waste of a jewel case:

Bedlam - Anthology (2 CD). 19??. Zoom Club Records (U.K.) Cost: $7.97
   Hey! Zoom Club Records, Cozy Powell's name on the cover? 2-CD
   set for eight bucks? How can you possibly go wrong? *BAZOOKABARF*
   Sweet Mother of God! Which brain donor of a  marketing exec
   deserves to get drawn and quartered for thinking up this
   travesty? "Digitally Remastered". REMASTERED??? From *WHAT*???
   8-track tape??? 78-RPM record??? AM broadcast???   *SPIT*
   This thing sucks so hard, your balls oughta hurt just from my
   referring to it. Adding to the horrible sound quality is
   the fact that it is a compilation of material recorded in
   the late 1960s and early 1970s, an era affectionately referred
   to (by me anyway) as "The Stone Age of Recording Technology".
   Also, I'll admit that stylistically there's DAMNED little
   that came out of the 1960s that I find listenable; the fact
   that the music itself sucks rocks is my own fault for picking
   up a set that I knew nothing about. The only saving grace: for
   some inexplicable reason this thing sells for $20+ on Ebay,
   so I'll probably end up making money on this turd.

   Yes, it's for trade/sale if anyone's dumb enough to want it. :)

Another boner:

Iron City Houserockers -The Best of. 1992. Rhino Records. Cost: $2.97
   I'm not so pissed about this since (1) it cost me considerably
   less, and (2) I made no pretense of even remotely knowing what
   style it was. Bruce Cougar Mellensteen midwest rock garbage.
   Not my thing at all. Also goes onto the bounce pile.

The trip wasn't a total waste. I did end up with some keepers:

Backstreet Boys - S/T. 1996. Zomba (Germany). Cost: $7.97
   [Ok, I like some of the boyband stuff, so byte me.]
   This is the German release, which has a different song
   lineup than the U.S. version (same core set of songs,
   but there's a handful of tracks on each version that's
   not on the other).

Cretu and Thiers - Belle Epoque. 1988.Virgin (Germany). Cost: $7.97
   Cretu is the musical inspiration behind the group "Enigma".
   The stuff he did in the '80s is lite Euro pop stuff. I
   kinda like the stuff...

Slade - On Stage. 1999 (1982). Polydor (UK). Cost: $7.97
   I don't know how things are in other areas, but around here
   Slade discs are scarcer than hen's teeth; you might encounter
   the occasional "best of" compilation but that's it. So when
   I find any Slade material I take advantage of the opportunity.
   This is a live disc.

And we end up with a bunch of CD singles:

Crack the Sky - Mr. President. 1990. Grudge Records. Cost: $1.97
   LP version and edit version of the title cut.

Corrosion of Conformity - Vote With a Bullet. 1992. Relativity Records.
   Cost: $1.97
   Thought it was a 1-tracks single; it evidently is a 5-track
   single.

John Farnham - Human Nature. 1997. BMG (Australia). Cost: $2.97
   Title cut, "Everything Is Out of Season", and "You're the
   Voice (swing version)".

Joe Lynn Turner - Waiting for a Girl Like You. 1998.
   Pony Canyon Records (Japan). Cost: $7.97
   I'd seen this sitting there the last 3 times I was at the
   store, and it annoyed me into buying it. :)
   Title cut, "Freedom's Wings", "Shine On"

West Coast All Stars - Sir Duke. 1998. Horipro (Japan). Cost: $2.97
   I'd heard some people talking about this group, but had never
   seen anything from them (I think their stuff has only ever been
   released in Japan). The West Coast All Stars are: Tommy
   Funderburk (Airplay), Joseph Williams (Toto), Jason Scheff
   (Chicago), and Bobby Kimball (Toto). This single contains
   3 tracks: the title cut, "Stairway to Heaven" and "Hotel
   California".

So all in all a day of bad and good.

A reminder: If any of you have any AOR, hard rock, or heavy
metal CD singles, promo or retail, that you wish to sell, trade,
throw out, or give away :) :), please contact me offlist...

Till next time,

-Dan