A to Z - S is for Sounds

And Star Wars.

Cos there's a lot of Star Wars soundtracks here. Hold on - I mentioned that before ! I have double cd soundtracks for Episodes 4, 5 and 6 and a single cd for Episode 1. The Star Wars soundtracks have always been one of the better features of the movies.

Oh and I've gotten to Empire Strikes Back, watched that yesterday did I. Wonder if I can introduce any Yoda sayings in to work ?

Oh - before diving into the rest of the S albums, I went shopping again ... Uhoh. It was last week when I acquired my remote speakers and I ended up in HMV. Didn't buy anything from there of course, they'll play stuff over their speakers that you literally cannot buy in the store. Why ? ! Silly people.

So what did I find ? The song playing in HMV (don't go there, they're expensive) was You Ruin Me by The Veronicas. I thought it was good enough to check them out, so I bought their Hook Me Up album (£5 on iTunes). First track - Untouched. Brilliant, utterly brilliant. It had me bouncy bopping in my chair. The violins give it a kick of energy that continues when the girls join in. I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of the album. Oh - here's the one I heard in the shop (You Ruin Me). And they might very quickly end up being another of my I MUST BUY ALL THEIR STUFF groups.

The other album I acquired was Taylor Swift's self titled album. I know. Mainstream. I'll give it a good checking out. Oh - last of the randoms is Megham Trainor with All About That Bass. This was playing in John Lewis as an example track for the Sony speakers. I didn't get the message in the shop but liked the song. Big is beautiful.

Little is pretty too. All sizes have their own attractiveness, just know that and believe in your own beauty. Everyone has it, it just takes a little self confidence to bring it out.

To the S albums ? Here we go :

Along with the Star Wars soundtracks, I have a few Star Trek soundtracks too. The soundtracks to the new movies are a highlight. I like what they've done with the theme tune. I have the soundtrack to the first movie too, which comes with an audiobook with interviews between Gene Roddenberry and members of the cast. It was worth getting the soundtrack just for that audiobook.

Dubstar is next with their Stars collection cd. Dubstar have come out with some excellent music over the years, fronted by Sarah's wonderfully pure voice. Highlights here are Anywhere and the rather sad Ghost.

More mainstream with Hard-Fi - Stars of CCTV. It's ok. It's worth an occasional listen but there's nothing special here. Similar with Cults - Static. Ok album but not nearly as good as their first.

Yet another game in the I Need To Play This is Stealth Bastard. Yep. The game features a swear. It also features an incredible soundtrack ...

I maintain a passing interest in Talking Heads, they've done some good stuff too. It's unusual, it can sometimes be brilliant, it can be nasty. Their Stop Making Sense collection features some of their best. And that intro with Psycho Killer ...

One voice I need to collect more of is Sam Brown. But I don't buy old albums for £8. That's a silly rip off that means that no sales are made. The S album is Stop, with the title track being a huge highlight.

Talking of awesome voices, Tori Amos did an album of covers + randoms called Strange Little Girl. And that's my highlight here.

A friend (Crazie Queen if I remember right!) bought me Stranger Things by Edie Brickell. This is one hell of an album, one of the best I have. There are so many great tracks here. Wonder if I can find one on the Youtubes ? Huzzah ! One Last Time. Here we go again. Edie and her band are the type where they could be playing in a club and everyone would be having a wonderful chilled out time, listening to songs they all identify with.

I mentioned bland earlier, Arctic Monkeys are anything but although I have to be honest, they aren't quite as good as they used to be. Suck It And See is their S album.

Fantastic movie time - Sucker Punch soundtrack. This is a split personality movie (literally!) with great action sequences set to awesome music. Here's the first major action sequence set to Army Of Me by Bjork. It's a wonderfully silly movie that I must watch again soon.

I'd like more Mindy Gledhill albums, except - price again. They're still expensive so I don't buy them. Her Sum Of All Grace does the religious thing but it's purity is great to listen to. Highlight - I Will Rest In You. Hmm. I feel all pure and strange now. Must listen to something dirty like Untouched again.

One from my parents time is Elkie Brooks and I bought them her collection, Sunshine After The Rain. It's a double cd and as you'd expect, lots of rubbish with the good. Her signature track will always be Pearl's A Singer but my personal highlight is Fool If You Think It's Over.

The latest album from the Ting Tings was Super Critical - not bad. They're still bringing out the quirky which I like. Highlight for me is Wrong Club.

The album which really sold me on Goldfrapp was Supernature. They have two styles, wonderful chill out and energy disco. This is energy disco and it gets you pumping right from the start with Ooh La La.

Almost there, I'm saving something special to finish off but before then :
Alanis Morrissette with Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. All her songs sound the same ! Which is a pity cos there's a great voice there.
Suzanne Vega's first album - also an incredible voice and a fantastic start to her career.
A Symphony Of British Music - when I saw this going cheap, had to get it. It was a wonderful collection that closed out the London 2012 Olympics.

Last one here is quite possibly the best album in my collection that isn't the rest by the Cardigans. It's Super Extra Gravity. There's some tough lyrics here matched to amazing songs. Every song is a massive highlight for me but my favourite will always be In The Round.

Cya soon for the T's. I'll wait at least until I finish that Taylor Swift album to see what I think of that.