Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Cost of nostalgia
I had a bit of a tidy up in my loft recently and discovered a few old vinyl singles and albums that I had completely forgotten. Feeling nostalgic by these discoveries, and lacking a turntable, I ordered a few CDs off Amazon:
- Best of Blancmange
- Drowning in Berlin: Best of Mobiles
- The Circle and the Square by Red Box
- The Platinum Collection by Mari Wilson
I soon received an email from Amazon telling me that the Mari Wilson was out of stock and would be removed from the order. This was a blessing in disguise as the CD cost nearly £30! None of the others were more than £8.
I tried a few other places for the album and for the albums where most of the tracks were originally features but made little progress. They were either out of stock or cost an arm and a leg.
Why on earth is Mari Wilson so expensive and difficult to find? I know the CDs are probably expensive because they are difficult to find but very few 80s artists are available at such a high price.
In the end I downloaded the tracks I wanted individually from Amazon for substantially less (a total of £3.65, in fact) and put them on my iPod. No shiny CD but at least I have the music (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps, Cry Me a River, Just What I Always Wanted and a couple of others that were less well-known)
Of the other three, the usual 80s malady of one or two good tracks amid a sea of dross was firmly evident with the Blancmange and Mobiles CDs with only their one-hit-wonder tracks standing out as any good – Living on the Ceiling (Blancmange) and Drowning in Berlin (Mobiles).
Red Box’s Circle and the Square is remarkably enjoyable, putting a smile on my face during yesterday’s train journey and forcing me to put my laptop away. It has dated a bit with many of the concerns of the day making themselves known on several of the tracks, provoking my 21st Century cynicism but the songs rattle along in a very jolly manner without the wash of self-indulgent claptrap prevalent in many contemporary albums.
For that alone, it was well-worth that trip into the loft.
Labels: Amazon, Blancmange, Mari Wilson, Mobiles, Red Box
