Lego

#1121: A Look at the New CD Section at the Old Toys R Us Store [VIDEO]

 A sequel to #1119:  The Olde Toys R Us Store Sure Has Changed…

 

RECORD STORE TALES #1121: A Look at the New CD Section at the Old Toys R Us Store

Lo and behold!  CDs have joined their vinyl brethren at the Toys R Us Store!

They are filed with the same lack of attention and care, but they have arrived.  Deluxe and super deluxe editions?  Yes.  Deleted items?  Also yes.  Value?  Sometimes?  The prices were scattered from deals to ripoffs.

Pricing is a problem across the board, but keep in mind, they did beat the Beat Goes On across the street on some vinyl pricing on last visit.  It’s hard to tell if some prices were real or a mistake.  On vinyl, the new Beatles single, for example, on black 7″, was $32 bucks.  The same price as their cheapest Iron Maiden long-player.  They wanted $130 for their Whitesnake Still Good To Be Bad box set.   Other boxes, like Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull, were moderately priced in the low $30s.

Joining the CDs were DVDs, Blu-rays, and TV series box sets.  They had picture discs and collector’s editions.  I just hope the section continues to grow, and improves in execution, instead of withering on the vine.

For a detailed look at everything I scored at the Toys R Us music section, enjoy the short video below!

 

 

VIDEO: Mike and Roger Unbox Australia! CDs and Marvel Blind Box from Harrison the Mad Metal Man

Harrison the Mad Metal Man continues to be under the weather, and insisted that I open his parcel in the meantime.  So I got Metal Roger on the line and opened Harrison’s box.

My memory is horrible and there is a good chance I already knew about all of this stuff, but here’s what Harrison sent me in a handy-dandy video.  Or, if you’re not patient, there are some photos with additional details below as well.

I also opened one package from Amazon, furthering my quest to complete my Journey collection.

This video is for fans of metal, CDs, and those damned Marvel Lego blind boxes that cursed me last fall!  At the end, Roger and I took a brief foray into an interesting subject – the Mount Rushmore of metal mascots.  A topic for a future show to be sure.

Thank you Harrison for your generosity once again.

 

Iron Maiden – Live After Death – remaster in digipack

Food For Thought – Iron Maiden tribute

Dio – Holy Diver – 2005 Rock Candy reissue with bonus interview track

2 Much Music? on Grab A Stack of Rock! Mike’s CD Collection

Wanna see that “Holy Grail” CD I spent $300 Canadian for in 2001?  Then check out this episode.  This week’s CD show & tell is for fans of Metallica, Alice Cooper, The Four Horsemen, Coney Hatch, The Who, Sting, The Police, Pink Floyd, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Rock Candy, deluxe reissues with bonus tracks, jazz, Japanese imports, Canadian content, and Guns N’ Roses!

Revisit memories of the Mike Bullard show, and Mrs. LeBrain’s Mom.  Find ingenius way to make your own 2 CD deluxe editions.  See Rorschach blots on two different albums.  Hear about Listening stations and recommendations from Martin Popoff.  Listen to me rant about having to buy multiple deluxe copies of the same CD to get “all the tracks”.  Witness amusing stories about customers who accused me of selling them “scratched up crap”.  Hear me drop a couple F-bombs.  And of course, a big thanks to those who watched last night, and a “BOOOO!” to Metal Roger who missed me razzing him over Metallica’s much maligned Lulu album!

In the spirit of the CD bonus track, if you stay tuned to the end, you’ll get to see a very cool musical instrument made of little plastic bricks….

If you missed it, enjoy this 45 minute episode below.

 

Next week:

Harrison, Jex, John Snow, Aaron and Metal Roger go LeBrainless!

VIDEO: Jex Unboxes a Stack of Rock!

Collectors: aren’t we something?  Sometimes we end up with duplicates because we can’t remember what we ordered, or own already! I promised Jex a parcel several months ago, and I finally gathered enough excess music to fill a box.

Jex was kind enough to film an unboxing video, seen below.  I sent him some review copies, some CDs from my collection that I owned in duplicate, a sticker and a special surprise from the analog age!  Now get writin’ Jex, you have work to do!

SPOILER:  Great bubble wrap popping in this video.  So satisfying.

What out of this box would you have been most excited for?  Let me know in the comments.  I think I know Harrison’s answer already.

And don’t miss Jex with Harrison and new guest PLA tomorrow on Grab A Stack of Rock!

VIDEO: Target Practice! Jen Opens Our Very Last Lego Marvel Series 2 Minifig – LANGUAGE!

I swear to God, this really is the last one. I have lost track of how many duplicates we’ve unboxed, but there is no point in ever buying one of these Lego Marvel Minifig blind packs ever again.

For those playing at home:  I have had numerous triplicates, such as Echo, Werewolf By Night, and Agatha Harkness.  I have many duplicates, such as Mr. Night and Hawkeye.  I never managed to get Moon Knight, Kate Bishop, She-Hulk, or Beast.  Harrison has offered to send me his extra Kate Bishop.  I have donated two duplicates to Jex Russell for his kids, and given two others to my sister to sell.  I’m scavenging the rest for pieces for a new Tee Bone Man spinoff series called Jen In Space. You can see some of the Jen In Space minifigs in the thumbnail photo.

Thank you Jen for the gift, and thank you for doing this unboxing.

Thank you Harrison for the suggestion that I use this minifig for target practice…

I’m out of the minifig game.  It was fun at the start, but like any addiction, it became a chore later on.

 

VIDEO: I know I said I’d never open another one of these Lego Marvel Series 2 Minifig blind packs again, but…

LANGUAGE WARNING!

Bonus:  stay tuned for post-credit scene!

#1086: Seven Tales for Seven Photos

RECORD STORE TALES #1086: Seven Tales for Seven Photos

Instead of one new Record Store Tale, today I present seven mini-stories!  With photo accompaniment.

#1087 A:  Canadian Redneck

Found this guy on my Facebook one morning.  No idea who he is.  Looks kind of familiar.  “Hey ya’ll!” he said, apparently on his vacation.  “Take a vacation from yourselves once in a while!” he said.  Should I be taking advice from this guy?  Something tells me no, but something also tells me yes….

I’ll give this guy credit for one thing, whoever he is:  great hair.  That’s a classic style he’s sporting there.

#1087 B:  A Couple Turkeys

Fall has arrived and it’s turkey season.  I snapped this selfie up at The Beef Way, north of Kincardine Ontario.

Regular readers here know we take food very seriously.  We had some bad luck earlier at a Kitchener store called Robert’s Boxed Meats.  I am here to tell you that we will never shop at Robert’s Boxed Meats ever again.  Twice he sold us spoiled beef, and the last time was an expensive tomahawk steak.

The Beef Way sold us three freshly butchered tomahawks this summer, not to mention some T-bones, porterhouses and ribeyes.  He also sold us the best bacon I’ve ever had in my life, some amazing “fry-pies”, and condiments & jams.  It is a shame the Beef Way is so far from home, but we won’t be wasting any more dollars at Robert’s Boxed Meats.  Which is a shame, since Robert’s is the only place within 100 kilometers that sells A5 Waygu steaks.  Just not worth the risk.  Don’t be a turkey; don’t buy from Robert’s.  One pack of spoiled meat is an isolated incident.  Two is a problem.  You have been warned.

#1087 C:  Jen is Joining Tee Bone Man!

Harrison has created a prototype Jen figure for the Adventures of Tee Bone Man!  But this is not her final form, and we have her own Jen In Space spinoff planned.  I have purchased a number of different hair pieces and hats for Jen as she ventures into space on board the Galaxy Explorer.

You will just have to keep reading Tee Bone Man to see how she fits into the story.  Though she has been mentioned in the past, a few people asked me “Why is Jen not in the Tee Bone Man stories?”  The truth is there isn’t a good reason, aside from the fact that we don’t write together very well.  We never have.  We tried to write our own Trailer Park Boys fan fiction when we first met, and we immediately realized we do not collaborate well with the written word.  At all.  We’re better off creatively with me writing and her knitting!

However, this winter we’re going to start integrating her character into the story — wish us luck!

#1087 D:  If It’s Too Loud Then You’re Too Old

The porch is my happy place.  Music sounds better out there in the great green open!  And I play it loud.  It’s easy to forget how easily sounds carry at the lake.  You’d think the trees would act as a sound baffle, preventing the music from carrying.  You’d be wrong!

Maybe it’s the lack of city background noise, but if I am cranking it really loud, you can hear the tunes almost all the way down at the beach.  At normal volume, passers by can hear it from the road.

And they know I’m playing music way cooler than they are!

A few weeks ago, a couple kids were biking down the road with some kind of speaker on their bikes.  They were blasting “Kickstart My Heart” by Motley Crue.

“GOOD SONG!” said one kid to the other.

I just laughed, and remembered being told to turn that song down when I was their age, about 34 years ago!

 

1087 E:  Green Lamborghini

Driving home from the cottage on October 1, I snapped a photo at a stoplight.  I know, I know.  You’re not supposed to handle your phone at any time in a car, even a stoplight.  But I could not resist this beauty.  Two kids crossing the road filmed this car as it sat low to the ground, ready to rip.

He did not “rip” though; he drove the speed limit the whole way, even on Highway 8, which surprised us.

It was a pleasant drive home, with only one guy zipping in and out of passing cars, and it wasn’t this guy.  It was some guy whose car sounded like a weedwhacker when he gunned it.  Lambo Man just kept going the speed limit.

Good going, Lambo Man!

1087 F:  A Penny For Your Thoughts

I just found these coins in my music room:  one of each major denomination of Canadian coinage.

#1087 G:  The Face of Terror

Ah, childhood photos.  Always good for a laugh…or pure horror!

My parents took me to meet “celebrities” a couple times.  Once was David Prowse, dressed as Darth Vader.   He even signed his autograph as “Darth Vader”.  That terrified me…but just look at Bert and Ernie here!

I may be smiling, but I was terrified and did not want to be there.  Bert was tickling me.  I was not amused!  I wanted the hell out of there!

Somewhere out there is a guy who used to dress as Bert and tickle kids to get them to smile.

Parents, never do this to your kids!  They will only post the photo to shame you down the road!

 

 

 

Worst Haul Ever! Mike Unboxes 3 More Marvel Lego Minifig Wave 2 Boxes, And Gets a Dud! [Video]

I think I’m at the point now where I’m going to get a majority of doubles, before I get what I want.

What a disappointing haul this time!