Sunday, November 28, 2010

Junq Tour 2010: Neepawa

I've been away for a bit, but I knew that I had a huge blog entry to type up, and I needed to get a piece of equipment up and functional to make it possible. So here we are. I don't know why, but the Tape & Book store in Neepawa always manages to provide me with cool stuff. The thrift store there was also somewhat fruitful in interesting stuff. So hang on, because this entry is going to be a bit lengthy...

Top Chart Hits of Today Vol. 3


I was blown away when I found this record. My parents had this one when I was a kid, and I played it quite often. This is obviously another tribute album done by nobodies who jammed these tracks out in the studio. However, some of these versions are quite closely done to the originals and it can be difficult to tell if it's the real thing or fake. However, some things give it away such as the incorrect lyrics in "Let It Be" and the way "Bridge Over Troubled Water" crashes and burns at the end. The Jackson 5 cover is done well along with the Mark Lindsey song. "Ma Belle Amie" isn't even fucking close. So, here's a few selections from the record, both good and bad:

Bridge Over Troubled Water
Arizona
Let It Be


Concert-Disc Stereo Demo


Here's a bizarre record. It claims that all you need to adjust the balance control and connections on your stereo is the sound of a ping pong ball. After you adjust your stereo, you are then bombarded with pieces of classical music. At the end of the classical bouncy ball sandwich, you then get to hear three sound effects which is the track I put up for your enjoyment.

Listen to Ping Pong Game / Electric Train / Jet Plane


Margie Castle - The Soap Song


It looked interesting, so I bought it. Apparently, the world needed an international theme song for people who love soap operas. Why they needed this theme song is beyond me, but here it is. It's actually well done and kinda cute, so I included it here. According to the album cover, the characted "Soapie" had her tits trademarked. They must be amazing.

Listen to The Soap Song


Santana De Mazatlan


YES! After years of writing shitty blog entries featuring crappy artists, finally some talent has showed up. It's Santana! Oh wait, it's not THAT Santana, it's that OTHER Santana guy who sings karaoke songs. The guy has an okay voice, but his song selection leaves much to be desired. Here he is, sucking all the fun out of "Bad Moon Rising" with his smooth voice. His accent makes it quite obvious that English is his second (or third) language.

Listen to Bad Moon Rising


24 Golden Ukrainian Hits Vol. 2


Ah, now here's another one that made me a very happy boy. Finding CDs of Ukrainian polkas is quite difficult, but it seems that there's at least one Hunky living in Neepawa. This incredibly enjoyable CD has all your favorite Polka kings on it: Mickey & Bunny, Peter Picklyk, Four Seasons, Auntie Mary, Peter Hnatiuk, and the Kapusta Kids. Most of these artists are out of print, so it was nice to find a compilation where they all got together and had a good ol' drunken Ukrainian piss-up! The quality of the sound on here ranges from crystal clear to muddled in shit. I'm guessing V-Records (whom most of these artists originally appeared on) spilled whiskey and kielbasa all over the master tapes, so they had to use 2nd, 3rd, and maybe even 4th generation recordings.

The most amusing on here is Auntie Mary, solely because her voice is so funny to listen to. It's probably a dude talking like he's got his nuts pinched in a door frame, but that just makes it equally as amusing. If Miss Piggy can have a dude voicing her, then so can Antie Mary!

Listen to House Party Kolomeyka


Video Game: Tengen Tetris


I couldn't believe I found this Nintendo cartridge in the Book & Tape shop. It's a collector's item and usually sells on Ebay for around $40. I got mine for a buck. It doesn't have the original box, but has something that I think is much cooler (and probably much more rare):



Permastruct! They glued these fuckers to the game cases for purpose of renting the games out. It's the cliff notes version of the instruction book. This eliminated the possibility of the renter losing (or destroying) the instruction book. I haven't seen a Permastruct label since I last rented an NES game back in the early 90s. I forgot how incredibly lame they were, but it brings back great memories.

Anyway, back to the cartridge. I honestly don't think this cartridge is all that rare because this is the third copy I've seen in my lifetime, and now I actually own one! FOR A BUCK! If you want to know the story behind why this cartridge is a collector's item, you can read it here. It was only on sale for the duration of about 4 weeks before it was taken off the shelves and all remaining (and recalled) copies were destroyed. Hooray for big business!


And finally, we come to....
The Armed Forces Workout Video!


K-Tel put out this treasure in 1984. My copy is on Beta, and my Betamax was in need of some repair which is why this entry took a while to get up. But here it is, a video that rivals Gospel Aerobics. It starts out okay, but the minute the music kicks in, you know you're in for a real treat!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pve7qk9fP7Q

I also must apologize for the current state of some of my previously featured videos. I need to fix the links in this blog, and one of my backups got corrupted leaving me with no choice but to re-digitize some of the videos that were on Youtube. What a pain in the ass. I need to hire someone to help me do this shit, but since this blog makes no money, I can't afford to hire. Well, that's not true, my Amazon link has generated a total of 9 cents. So if any of you are looking for a job, you can work for me for a yearly salary of 8 cents (hey, I need commission!) please email me your resume and I might get back to you.