Chicago - GREATEST HITS 1982-1989
A truly one of a kind CD. Ultra-nostalgic, not just for its 80's values, but also its reminder of my final years in California, (1995-1997) when I became more like a man and less like a boy...And the music is top notch, a must have for any fan of sappy love songs. The thing is nobody pulled those off quite like Chicago. They were tender and moving, unabashedly romantic, yet also had a "rock" edge, thunderous guitars and drums, as well as what some might call "avant-garde" - i.e.: the horn section; apparently some DID consider that to be too "artsy" b/c after Columbia Records fired them and before they got another contract with Warner Bros., they were offered a contract on the grounds that they ditch the horn section, which thankfully Chicago refused.
OINGO BOINGO - SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET: THE BEST OF OINGO BOINGO
I LOVE EVERYTHING about this CD. The music is awesome, but the print on the disc, the color of the disc surface - which many might mistake for a simple "clear", but it's actually a...um..."Off-clear"? I don't know if there's a word that specifically describes it. But the cover-art is a no-brainer - freakin' classic - scary, cheesy, classy...my word!! Even the copyright info looks just...perfect...
Sometimes I think of this CD and the first time I saw this album cover, around the time it came out, me and my father & Mom (and I think Danielle, my sister, was there too), were walking through this music store in the mall and they still sold CDs in long boxes back then, and I saw that and NOTHING TO FEAR, which was almost as awesome as the SKELETONS... CD cover, but not quite...I also noticed DEAD MAN'S PARTY, which I was ga-ga over at the time but now I think it just looks cheesy (DEAD MAN'S PARTY, along with BOI-NGO, are my least favorite OB CDs BTW, although I like BOI-NGO a little more, just wish Elfman could get off his high horse and quit bashing Christianity - i.e.: "New Generation").
But as I was saying - I think of the time I first saw this album cover and a whirlwind of other images come into mind, like the cover-art for movies like MONKEY SHINES (1988), EVIL DEAD 2 (1987), FRIDAY THE 13TH, FRIDAY THE 13TH Part 2, 3 & 4, as well as 7 & 8 (JASON GOES TO HELL was not around at this timeframe & Pt V & 6 are kinda bland looking, although at the time I embraced them as well).
I have the GHOSTBUSTERS: ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM Audio CD, the original release, b/c I like the cover-art; the basic imagery for it is the same as the 2006 re-issue, but the "Compact Digital Audio Disc" logo has been removed, the no-ghost insignia is not as "thick" looking anymore, the red is a different shade, and the back cover art now has a bunch of clutter surrounding it.
I would just have GHOSTBUSTERS on VHS, the cover-art is just as good, and you get the movie, which is much better than "just" The soundtrack, but VHS, like it or not, is dead. It was never destined for great things, there was SOOO much room for improvement - thanks DVD! - that most people never thought about. DVDs/Blu rays are much better - i.e.: with VHS, you have a constant countdown in deterioration, that gradually builds to a climax. You can literally see the destruction take place with each viewing. With DVDs/BDs, if the disc wears out, it'll do so ONCE - there will be a day when you wake up to play your favorite movie and the disc won't play. Most people don't face this problem b/c DVDs/CDs/BDs... are designed to play a certain number of times - it's a huge #, and look at the time! DVDs had only been around 10 years and they already rolled out a new format for us to get excited about! By the time my DVD of THE GOLDEN CHILD would be set to wear out, it'll be impossible, because DVD players will be non-existent and I will have already upgraded to Blu ray or some future format...of course, humans only live to be 85 years on avg, that number will probably go up 5 or 10 years by the time I reach what is currently considered the "average life span" and even so, I seriously doubt my DVD copy of THE GOLDEN CHILD, supposing DVD players still existed, would be in any danger of wearing out, b/c I simply don't watch the same movie that many times.
But as I was saying - it just seems weird to think of all the kickass eye candy out there that I could buy but w/o reason. If I had some kind of display stand to put some of my favorite images (VHS covers, CD covers for albums that I don't really like, vinyl etc....) then that would be cool, but so far I haven't even bought a book shelf to put my DVDs and books on - I finally got a CD rack (at a yard sale for a buck!), so those are sitting on the table that my BD player & my Gramma's TV (on loan) are on, but I have nowhere to put my DVDs. My 1988 VHS copy of E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL is on a high up shelf in my closet where my books and DVDs are currently at. That shelf space is very minimal though and half of it is not visible with the closet door all wanky - the latches of it are broken so you have to grab it and move it (thankfully the other door is a total goner, or else I'd have absolutely nowhere to put my DVDs...or would I?.........).
I never watched THE JETSONS that I can recall, at least not in large qtys. I think one of my babysitters had that playing on her TV and I watched, mildly entertained. But sometimes when I think of 1981-1983 - the years that immediately preceded my birth, i.e.: the year my parents got married until the time of my inevitable birth - I think of the cover-art for Crosby Stills & Nash's DAYLIGHT AGAIN (1982) and then I imagine the inside of those saucers and I think Look! The Jetsons! You'd think STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION would have more to do with my idea of the would-bes of the saucer inhabitants, but that was AFTER I was born. I mean, I literally remember (however vaguely) watching that repeatedly with my mother and it has a definite 80's metallic look to it, but The Jetsons is a thing of the SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK variety, and although The Jetsons may not have actually been around in the '70's, it's more '70's-like than 80's (I'd say the same about THE SMURFS, too. I guess that explains why THE LAST UNICORN (1982) feels so much like a memory from a hypnosis session, since it's kind of a merging of the 70's and 80's animation styles; that on top of the fact that it's a deliberately "weird" film, almost "not a kid's film"....).
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