Secondhand Sounds

Pirated copy of Various Artists - Now That’s What I Call Music! 47 (EMI Records, 2000)
Found In: Barnado’s (Above Bar, Southampton)
Price: 25p

Whoever made this pirate copy of Now 47 went Above and Beyond. Above as in “over the moon” and Beyond as in “over the hills and far away”.

I mean, look at this:

That’s not the original tracklist, as you can see, but the maker of this work of absolute ART still put the Virgin EMI logo and a barcode (copied from Now 46) on it. They had to make the tracklist from scratch instead of just scanning the back cover of the original CD because they - I shit you not - corrected an imbalance in the track distribution: the original has 20 tracks on disc 1 and 22 on disc 2, and this utter mad lad moved Storm’s Time to Burn over to disc 1 to make it an even 21/21.

This person’s choices make so much sense to me and I love them a little bit. They even went to the trouble of printing art on the discs!

Tracklist:-

Disc 1:

1. Rock DJ - Robbie Williams
2. Lady (Hear Me Tonight) - Modjo
3. Life Is a Rollercoaster - Ronan Keating
4. In Demand - Texas
5. It’s My Life [Dave Bascombe UK Radio Mix] - Bon Jovi
6. Beautiful Day - U2
7. Babylon - David Gray
8. Pure Shores - All Saints
9. Holler - Spice GIrls
10. Body Groove - Architechs feat. Nana
11. 7 Days - Craig David
12. Body II Body - Samantha Mumba
13. Lucky - Britney Spears
14. Can’t Fight the Moonlight - LeAnn Rimes
15. Natural - S CLub 7
16. It’s Gonna Be Me - *NSync
17. Time to Burn - Storm
18. I’m Outta Love - Anastacia
19. You Need Love Like I Do - Tom Jones & Heather Small
20. Kids - Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogue
21. Trouble - Coldplay

Disc 2:

1. I’m Over You - Martine McCutcheon
2. On a Night Like This - Kylie Minogue
3. Stomp - Steps
4. Absolutely Everybody - Vanessa Amorosi
5. Walk of Life - Billie Piper
6. Out of Your Mind - True Steppers & Dane Bowers feat. Victoria Beckham
7. I Turn to You - Melanie C
8. Silence [Airscape Edit] - Delerium feat. Sarah MacLachlan
9. Sky - Sonique
10. Kernkraft 400 - Zombie Nation
11. Feel the Beat - Darude
12. Ordinary World - Aurora feat. Naimee Coleman
13. You Take My Breath Away - SuReaL
14. Who the Hell Are You - Madison Avenue
15. Doom’s Night [Timo Maas Edit] - Azzido Da Bass
16. Who Let the Dogs Out - Baha Men
17. Country Grammar (Hot…) - Nelly
18. Unleash the Dragon - Sisqo
19. Tell Me - Melanie B
20. Beautiful Inside - Louise
21. Should I Stay - Gabrielle

Ministry of Sound did an AEROBICS DVD??? A full 25 years after home aerobics videos peaked?

I almost bought it but didn’t, details below for the curious.

Found In: Barnardo’s (Above Bar, Southampton)
Price: 25p

Reminds me of conversation I had with a coworker (born in 2004, the precious infant) - would have been nice to go to a school with none of the lessons or bullying, just 00s aesthetic vibes.

P!nk - Can’t Take Me Home (LaFace Records, 2000)
Found In: British Heart Foundation (Eastleigh)
Price: £2

The font, the fashion, the colour scheme, the pose - I defy anyone to find a more Y2K album cover. Sonically it’s a perfect example of Y2K R&B but visually it is somehow even more perfect. Uber-perfection.

I know I already mentioned the font but the FONT.

Her eye is perfectly framed by the CD clippy I cannot COPE.

Tracklist:-

1. Split Personality
2. Hell Wit Ya
3. Most Girls
4. There You Go*
5. You Make Me Sick
6. Let Me Let You Know
7. Love Is Such a Crazy Thing
8. Private Show
9. Can’t Take Me Home
10. Stop Falling
11. Do What U Do
12. Hiccup
13. Is It Love
14. Bonus Track: There You Go [Sovereign Mix]
15. Bonus Track: Most Girls [X-Men Vocal Mix]

*I don’t know why this asterisk was on the track listing, the CD doesn’t seem to say. Maybe it’s just a style choice.

Dearest Em,
Whatever you think you’ve done, don’t get it out of proportion with all the good, thoughtful things that you’ve done for other people!!
I think you’re a great, adventurous, and thoughtful person. And a good friend.
Take care
Love Ness
X

I bought some clip frames for my gallery wall that had some postcards and greetings card in them - most blank, but then there was this heartrending little snapshot into Emma’s life. I hope everything turned out OK for her.

Found In: British Heart Foundation (West Quay, Southampton)
Price: £3 for 5 frames

Taken in the Tenderloin, 2009

Pics from Fuji Digital Camera bought in thrift store, 2003

Man this is my sign to buy every thrift store digital camera just in case 😂

Sony MD Walkman MZ-E520 portable MiniDisc player + remote
2004
(x)

Choose your weapon

Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares for Me (Happy Days Are Here Again…, year unknown*)
Found In: Farplace Animal Rescue (Woolston, Southampton)
Price: 40p

What do you do when you wake up at 3am and can’t get back to sleep? Well, in my case today, you toss and turn for an hour and a half, then you give up, put the kettle on and listen to Nina Simone live.

I bought this for Pirate Jenny, which is an incredible cover of the Threepenny Opera number - even if it doesn’t quite have the bite of the 1964 live version I fell in love with.

And I believe I’ve mentioned that I don’t care for live versions of songs, but Nina Simone has such a way of pulling her audience in that the cheers and applause just sound like another instrument and I find myself suddenly understanding the appeal of live albums.

Tracklist:-

1. My Baby Just Cares for Me
2. Pirate Jenny
3. For a While
4. You Took My Teeth
5. Sugar in My Bowl
6. Backlash Blues
7. Do What You Gotta Do
8. Mississippi Goddamn
9. See Lime Woman
10. The Other Woman
11. Four Women
12. I Sing Just to Know That I’m Alive

*References to Michael Jackson, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan in Mississippi Goddamn indicate that this was probably recorded in the 1980s, but Happy Days Are Here Again did not see fit to include the year anywhere on the disc.

I got this album on a thrift trip aaaaaages ago, still haven’t listened to it yet

and you know what

thrifting = fishing

i can’t keep pretending it’s not

P!nk - Greatest Hits… So Far!!! (JIVE Records, 2010)
Found In: Sue Ryder (Bitterne, Southampton)
Price: £1

Jewel cases crack, the front covers snap off when you so much as look at them wrong, the weird little plastic nubs that hold the booklet in place are infuriating, and I don’t doubt that they are so much worse for our precious Earth than the new cardboard CD cases they’re putting out these days. But I can’t help it, the cardboard ones give me the ick.

Anyway. I picked this up for Raise Your Glass and Fuckin’ Perfect (sorry, I did a bad language - I meant to say “F**kin’”) because I have all the others on their respective albums, but listening to all - well, most of - the hits in one go like this is a lot of fun, and Heartbreak Down was an unexpected banger as well.

Tracklist:-

1. Get the Party Started
2. There You Go
3. You Make Me Sick
4. Don’t Let Me Get Me
5. Just Like a Pill
6. Family Portrait
7. Trouble
8. Stupid Girls
9. Who Knew
10. U + Ur Hand
11. Dear Mr. President [feat. Indigo Girls]
12. So What
13. Sober
14. Please Don’t Leave Me
15. Bad Influence
16. Funhouse
17. Raise Your Glass
18. F**kin’ Perfect
19. Heartbreak Down

Various Artists - M Music: The Definitive Hits Collection Volume 1 (BMG Entertainment, 2001)
Found In: Cry Shop (Fareham)
Price: £1.50

When they put this collection together, I’m sure they were thinking to themselves “let’s put together a list of the Very Best Jams to do Pokémon embroidery to” - and they nailed it.

I’m really feeling my Y2K (which I’m defining as 1998-2002) compilations right now, so… yeah. I was considering spreading them out and filling in with other stuff like my jazz and jazz revival so my posts aren’t so genre-blocked? But, it’s what I’m listening to so let’s just be accurate here.

Tracklist:-

Disc 1:

1. Uptown Girl - Westlife
2. Here With Me - Dido
3. Love Don’t Cost a Thing - Jennifer Lopez
4. Rendezvous - Craig David
5. Independent Women Part 1 - Destiny’s Child
6. No More - a1
7. Dancing in the Moonlight [Stargate Radio Mix] - Toploader
8. Back Here 2001 - BBMak
9. Pop Ya Collar - Usher
10. Shut Up… And Forget About It - Dane Bowers
11. Things I’ve Seen - Spooks
12. Why? [UK Garage MC Radio Edit] - Mis-Teeq
13. Think About Me - Artful Dodger feat. Michelle Escoffery
14. Dance With Me - Debelah Morgan
15. We Will Survive - The Warp Brothers
16. Deliver Me - Sister Bliss feat. John Martyn
17. The Ladyboy Is Mine - Stuntmasterz
18. Touch Me - Rui Da Silva
19. American Dream - Jakatta
20. Salsoul Nugget (If U Wanna) - M&S presents The Girl Next Door

Disc 2:

1. So Why So Sad - Manic Street Preachers
2. Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus
3. Mr. Writer - Stereophonics
4. Plug In Baby - Muse
5. Shining Light - Ash
6. Buck Rogers - Feeder
7. Gravel Pit - Wu-Tang Clan
8. 911 - Wyclef Jean feat. Mary J. Blige
9. Not That Kind - Anastacia
10. You Make Me Sick - Pink
11. Whoomp! …There It Is - BM Dubs presents Mr Rumble feat. Brasstooth & Kee
12. Could It Be - Jaheim
13. No Good 4 Me - Oxide & Neutrino
14. Boys - b.o.n.
15. Falling - Boom!
16. Army of Two - Dum Dums
17. Affirmation - Savage Garden
18. Overload - Sugababes
19. He Don’t Love You - Human Nature
20. Crazy for This Girl - evan and jaron
21. All Hooked Up - All Saints

Using all the labels from all my thrifted CDs as laptop decoration, because why not.

Eve - Scorpion (Ruff Ryders, 2001)
Found In: Cancer Research UK (Shirley, Southampton)
Price: £1.50

WARNING: Do not listen to this album if you are doing something that requires you remain calm, such as working from home. Eve is the anti-Enya, and Scorpion is the album you play when roaring, stamping battle energy is needed.

Or, you know, maybe I was just in the throes of a manic episode and hate my job. But I’m gonna give Eve the warcry credit here.

Tracklist:-

1. Intro
2. Cowboy
3. Who’s That Girl?
4. Let Me Blow Ya Mind [feat. Gwen Stefani]
5. 3 Way [feat. Erex & Stevie J.]
6. You Had Me, You Lost Me
7. Got What You Need [feat. Drag-On]
8. Frontin’
9. Gangsta Bitches [feat. Da Brat & Trina]
10. That’s What It Is [feat. Styles of The Lox]
11. Scream Double R [feat. DMX]
12. Thug in the Street [feat. The Lox & Drag-On]
13. No, No, No [feat. Damian & Stephen Marley]
14. You Ain’t Gettin’ None
15. Life Is So Hard [feat. Teena Marie]
16. Be Me [feat. Mashonda Tifrere]

Various Artists - The Greatest Hits of 1999 (Telstar TV, 1999)
Found In: Debra (Above Bar, Southampton)
Price: 25p

In the bizarre intersection of two of my semi-niche interests, I realised upon listening to Turn Around by Phats & Small that, because of the amount of time spent in my room between the ages of 9 and 12, listening to contemporary house music and reading Silver RavenWolf and the Spooky! section of Mizz magazine, certain very specific songs trigger the urge to do witchcraft.

Which is fantastic, because why listen to whalesong or panpipes or whatever when you can cast spells while singing “HEY! what’s wrong with you-u-uuu?” Spotify below because even a vintage girlie such as myself understands the value of modern technology. Sometimes.

Tracklist:-

Disc 1:

1. When the Going Gets Tough - Boyzone
2. 2 Times - Ann Lee
3. If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time - R. Kelly
4. Turn Around - Phats & Small
5. Sometimes - Britney Spears
6. Kiss Me - Sixpence None the Richer
7. You Get What You Give - New Radicals
8. Praise You - Fatboy Slim
9. In Our Lifetime - Texas
10. If I Let You Go - Westlife
11. I Want It That Way - Backstreet Boys
12. Heartbeat - Steps
13. End of the Line - Honeyz
14. From the Heart - Another Level
15. Thank Abba for the Music - Steps, Tina Cousins, Cleopatra, B*Witched and Billie
16. National Express - The Divine Comedy
17. The Bartender and the Thief - Stereophonics
18. When I Grow Up - Garbage
19. Electricity - Suede
20. Dead from the Waist Down - Catatonia

Disc 2:

1. 9pm (Till I Come) - ATB
2. Better Off Alone - Alice Deejay
3. Sweet Like Chocolate - Shanks & Bigfoot
4. Get Get Down - Paul Johnson
5. Sun Is Shining - Bob Marley vs. Funkstar de Luxe
6. Red Alert - Basement Jaxx
7. Ooh La La - The Wiseguys
8. You Don’t Know Me - Armand van Helden feat. Duane Harden
9. In and Out of My Life - A.T.F.C. presents Onephatdeeva
10. Sing It Back - Moloko
11. Right Here Right Now - Fatboy Slim
12. You Should Be… - Blockster
13. Feel Good - Phats & Small
14. Straight from the Heart - Doolally
15. Saltwater - Chicane feat. Maire Brennan
16. Synth & Strings - Yomanda
17. Can’t Get Enough - Soulsearcher
18. I Breathe Again - Adam Rickitt
19. Love’s Got a Hold on My Heart - Steps
20. Bring It All Back - S Club 7

Various Artists - Top Gear: Driving Anthems (Sony Music, 2013)

Found In: Mountbatten (Portswood, Southampton)

Price: £1

I think this may win the prize for most recent thrifted CD in my collection to date.

My summary: disc one is the modern, what-the-kids-are-listening-to-these-days-and-by-“these-days”-I-mean-13-years-ago bops; disc two is the fun Britpop and post-Britpop indie rock; disc three is the Gen X equivalent to the disc one jams.

The album insert has a way better analysis though…

Also, the inclusion of both Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Beady Eye really sounds like Mrs. Gallagher told the BBC that Noel and Liam need to be treated equally. It’s giving “you have to let your brother join in” energy.

Tracklist:-

Disc 1:

1. Pompeii - Bastille
2. Hysteria - Muse
3. Fire - Kasabian
4. AKA… What a Life! - Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
5. Paradise - Coldplay
6. Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
7. Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap
8. Many of Horror - Biffy Clyro
9. Pelican - The Maccabees
10. If You Wanna - The Vaccines
11. Flick of the Finger - Beady Eye
12. Golden Skans - Klaxons
13. Electric Feel - MGMT
14. I Feel Better - Hot Chip
15. Breezeblocks - Alt-J
16. Another Love - Tom Odell
17. Keep Your Head Up - Ben Howard

Disc 2:

1. Champagne Supernova - Oasis
2. A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers
3. Alright - Supergrass
4. Valerie - The Zutons
5. I Predict a Riot - Kaiser Chiefs
6. Burn Baby Burn - Ash
7. Somewhere Else - Razorlight
8. Indian Summer - Stereophonics
9. Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors - The Editors
10. Stop Me - Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather
11. Living for the Weekend - Hard-Fi
12. Geraldine - Glasvegas
13. Sit Down - James
14. Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode
15. Ashes - Embrace
16. Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet
17. Just a Day - Feeder

Disc 3:

1. I Wanna Be Adored - The Stone Roses
2. True Faith - New Order
3. Step On - Happy Mondays
4. Canned Heat - Jamiroquai
5. Can You Dig It - The Mock Turtles
6. Rocks - Primal Scream
7. Lust for Life - Iggy Pop
8. A Town Called Malice - The Jam
9. Bohemian Like You - The Dandy Warhols
10. Aisha - Death in Vegas
11. Whole Truth - Don Broco
12. All Eyes - Post War Years
13. Take a Walk - Passion Pit
14. Lights Out, Words Gone - Bombay Bicycle Club
15. Follow Baby - Peace
16. Come Closer - Miles Kane

Alicia Keys - Songs in A Minor (J Records, 2001)
Found In: Cry Shop (Shirley, Southampton)
Price: 50p

That label is really sitting there with a straight face mentioning Fallin’ and Girlfriend and isn’t going to mention A Woman’s Worth? OK then.

I remember sitting in my grandparents’ living room watching the videos for Fallin’ and A Woman’s Worth on MTV (or whatever the UK equivalent of the era was, probably The Hits or TMF) and being captivated, so it’s weird that the latter track wasn’t named on the label… but I guess maybe the album predates that single’s release? Who knows.

Tracklist:-

1. Piano & I
2. Girlfriend
3. How Come You Don’t Call Me
4. Fallin’
5. Troubles
6. Rock Wit U
7. A Woman’s Worth
8. Jane Doe
9. Goodbye
10. The Life
11. Mr. Man [feat. Jimmy Cozier]
12. Never Felt This Way (Interlude)
13. Butterflyz
14. Why Do I Feel So Sad
15. Caged Bird
16. Lovin U [hidden bonus track]

Enjoy this throwback to before I started adding my finds on Tumblr

photog: flexdame

Various Artists - Fresh Hits 96 (Sony Music / Global Television / Warner Music, 1996)
Found In: PDSA (Shirley, Southampton)
Price: 50p

Look at this tracklist. Look at it. It’s a 2-disc compliation (“2 CD DOUBLE VALUE”) but divided into four parts… why you ask?

Well I’ll bet that was because this was also released as a double cassette version, and it was divided into four parts to cover the two sides of both cassettes, and it was cheaper to put the tracklist that way in both versions. And would you look at that? I was right.

Image shamelessly stolen from garden1001 on eBay with absolutely no permission.

1996 was a great year for music, turns out - Better Watch Out by Ant & Dec off the telly has my heart as an underrated Britpop banger - but WOW this collection was put together with no concern for listening cohesion. Lauryn Hill’s gorgeous voice on Killing Me Softly gives way to the hyperactive flamenco of the Macarena, and the rest of the compilation doesn’t get any better.

Tracklist:-

Disc 1:

1. Killing Me Softly - Fugees
2. Macarena - Los Del Rio
3. Crazy - Mark Morrison
4. Mysterious Girl - Peter Andre
5. Better Watch Out - Ant & Dec
6. Nobody Knows - Tony Rich Project
7. You’re Makin’ Me High - Toni Braxton
8. Because You Loved Me - Celine Dion
9. We’re In This Together - Simply Red
10. Three Lions - Baddiel & Skinner & Lightning Seeds
11. We’ve Got It Goin’ On - Backstreet Boys
    [cassette break]
12. Naked - Louise
13. Freedom ‘90 - George Michael
14. Walking Wounded - Everything But the Girl
15. Don’t Stop Movin’ - Livin’ Joy
16. Good Thing - Eternal
17. Fable - Robert Miles
18. X-Files - DJ Dado
19. That Look - De'Lacy
20. Where Love Lives - Alison Limerick
21. Krupa - Apollo 440
22. Born Slippy - Underworld

Disc 2:

1. A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers
2. Oh Yeah - Ash
3. Tattva - Kula Shaker
4. Trash - Suede
5. The Day We Caught the Train - Ocean Colour Scene
6. Sale of the Century - Sleeper
7. Champagne Supernova - Oasis
8. Peaches - The Presidents of the United States of America
9. 500 (Shake Baby Shake) - Lush
10. Female of the Species - Space
    [cassette break]
11. 24/7 - 3T
12. Lifted - Lighthouse Family
13. Do You Know Where You’re Coming From - M-Beat feat. Jamiroquai
14. Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check - Busta Rhymes
15. Tha Crossroads - Bone Thugs 'n’ Harmony
16. You’re the One - SWV
17. I Can’t Sleep Baby (If I) - R. Kelly
18. Something for the Weekend - Divine Comedy
19. Daydream Believer - Robson & Jerome

Various Artists - Sisters of Swing 98 (PolyGram, 1998)
Found In: Sue Ryder (Shirley, Southampton)
Price: £1

Apparently there was a period in the late 90s where we were just referring to perfectly good R&B as “swing”? But the sisters are at least represented in abundance, so the title is half accurate.

Real talk, I don’t know if this would swing (ha) a newbie to the wonders of 90s R&B, but for Someone Who Was There - albeit as a child - this hit all the nostalgia buttons to release the good serotonin. All Saints! Cleopatra! Lutricia McNeal! Hinda Hicks! Robyn! Solid Harmonie! I’M HORNY, HORNY-HORNY-HORNY–

Ahem. I don’t know if it makes it better or worse that 8-year-old me was singing the Mousse T. classic at maximum volume with no idea that “horny” had any other meaning than “in possession of horns, in the manner of a goat, antelope, or devil”.

Also, I’m kind of living for the fact that the flash-in-the-pan one-hit-wonders are loud and proud on Disc 1 and the enduring matriarchs of the genre (Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, Aaliyah, Queen Latifah) are relegated to the bitch disc. Such was life in ‘98, I suppose.

Tracklist:-

Disc 1:

1. Under the Bridge - All Saints
2. Life Ain’t Easy [Brooklyn Funk R&B Mix] - Cleopatra
3. All My Love - Queen Pen feat. Eric Williams
4. Boom Boom - N-Tyce
5. Stranded - Lutricia McNeal
6. You Think You Own Me - Hinda Hicks
7. Much Love [Album Version] - Shola Ama
8. A Rose Is Still a Rose [Desert Eagle Discs Remix] - Aretha Franklin
9. Love Shy [Cutfather & Joe 7"] - Kristine Blond
10. Show Me Love [Radio Edit] - Robyn
11. Rewind [Cutfather & Joe Remix] - Celetia
12. Big Bad Momma - Foxy Brown & Dru Hill
13. You’ve Got a Friend - The Brand New Heavies
14. Don’t You Love Me - Eternal
15. Falling - D'Influence
16. Strawberries - Smooth
17. I Want You to Want Me - Solid Harmonie
18. Closer Than Close [Original Mix] - Rosie Gaines
19. Horny [Horny 98 Radio Edit] - Mousse T. vs. Hot 'n’ Juicy

Disc 2:

1. Don’t Let Go (Love) - En Vogue
2. Everything - Mary J. Blige
3. On & On [Clean Version] - Erykah Badu
4. Never Gonna Let You Go [Blacksmith Remix] - Tina Moore
5. G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T. [Single Version] - Changing Faces
6. Head Over Heals - Allure
7. Kiss & Tell - Brownstone
8. Revival [Original Radio Edit] - Martine Girault
9. Slow Flow - The Braxtons
10. Crush - Zhane
11. I Like the Way - Deni Hines
12. Days of Youth - Laurnea
13. Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number - Aaliyah
14. Special Kind of Lover - Nu Colours
15. No Doubt [LP Version] - 702
16. I’m Not Feeling You [Radio Version] - Yvette Michelle
17. It’s Alright - Queen Latifah
18. Distant Lover - Taral Hicks

[pioneer RMX9 cm(1997)]