PEARL JAM - "PISS BOTTLE MEN" 1996 2-CD

 

In 1995, Pearl Jam were at the peak of the Grunge Rock movement. With Kurt Cobain of Nirvana having passed away the year prior, PJ and their contemporaries did their absolute best to keep the wave of fuzzy guitars and angsty lyrics rolling.

Via their "Ten Club" fan club, PJ sent free tickets to a show to take place at the Moore Theater in Seattle, WA on February 5th, 1995. In an attempt to ensure only "Ten Club" members knew about the show, they billed themselves as "Piss Bottle Men".

The show was recorded (mostly) professionally, and the stellar 20-song set includes "Lukin" being played live for the very first time!

Some sites continue to sell this bootleg, but for all intents and purposes it was meant to be spread around for free for PJ fans to enjoy. Discogs won't even allow sales of this now-legendary bootleg. And so, here is the entire performance, in glorious 320k CBR! Enjoy!

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320kbps CBR

"DINOSAURS: AN EDUCATIONAL COLORING BOOK" - 1986 Cassette

 

Now here's a cassette that's very dear to my heart. When I was a little one, I was absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs. I had more books, tapes, toys, etc based around these creatures than you could possibly imagine. They fascinated me to no end, and that fascination continues today.

I'm honestly surprised this cassette survived considering how often I'd listen to it. This cassette is a companion piece to the Spizzirri Publishing book "An Educational Coloring Book of Dinosaurs" (which can still be purchased directly from Spizzirri today!).

Charles Fuller's calm and collected narration is a stark contrast to the dynamic stock 1940's/50's background music, and it creates a weirdly scary-yet-comfortable feeling as you listen to Mr. Fuller describe some of the more well-known dinosaurs that roamed the Earth millions of years ago.

Technically, this isn't fully OOP. The cassette format is long-gone, but Spizzirri is actually selling this book (albeit with a new cover) along with a CD with what I assume is the same narration. So if you enjoy this cassette rip, please head on over to their shop and purchase the updated set.

Take a trip back in time and hear all about some fantastic prehistoric beasts!

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256kbps CBR

"CASTLE GRAYSKULL" - 1983 Kid Stuff Read-Along Cassette

Time for another round of HE-MAN goodness! This time it's the 1983 Kid Stuff Records Read-Along cassette simply titled "Castle Grayskull".

To be honest, it's not even a story; it's more of a condensed version of the self-titled LP, or more like a "cliffs notes" of what the original MotU premises was when the toy line made its debut.

Still, it's another neat entry in the long list of MotU albums, and worthy of adding to any Read-Along collection. Enjoy!

Internet Archive

Soundcloud

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256kbps CBR

Thrifting Pickups - Week of 9/20/20

Nothing spectacular this week, although as a huge "Twin Peaks" fan I was pretty stoked to find this brand-new book for only $3.00. A children's record is always something I'll pick up if it's in good shape, and the assorted foreign Easy Listening / Jazz CDs were a neat little find, too.

Every year during the Holidays I buy my wife a Tinkerbell ornament... just so happens that this year I was able to find one before Christmastime came around!

Lastly, the copy of "The Specials" on DVD was a stellar find. This long-forgotten superhero comedy was actually James Gunn's (Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy") first foray into writing a superhero movie! It was just released on BluRay this past Summer, but the original 2000 DVD print is still quite difficult to come by.

And that does it for this week's finds; hopefully I discover even more next week! And don't forget that you may find some of these items - and more - on my eBay Store!

"WHERE IN AMERICA IS CARMEN SANDIEGO?: THE GREAT AMTRAK TRAIN ADVENTURE" 1998 CD-ROM

Here's a bit of software so rare that absolutely nobody online, anywhere, has it available for download.

In 1998, Amtrak was in danger of losing their funding. They decided to take what they dubbed "the McDonald's approach" and get kids interested in their product (namely, wanting to go on trips across the country).

They worked with Broderbund Software to develop this, a "Carmen Sandiego" game wherein the player chases Carmen and her fellow crooks nationwide via - what else - Amtrak trains.

It's surprisingly fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a kid. The game has loads of animations and videos sprinkled throughout, including cameos from the "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" PBS TV game show, most notably Lynne Thigpen reprising her role as "The Chief".

As stated earlier, it appears nobody has uploaded an ISO of this long-OOP title to the 'net. For years I've searched numerous "Carmen" fan sites, old PC game sites, shady torrent sites, you name it. So it looks like this is a great opportunity for "Carmen" fans who didn't get a chance to play this rare gem to finally take a crack at it.

As is the case with all older software, it may take a bit of fiddling/troubleshooting to get it running on modern PCs and Macs.

So are you up to the task, Gumshoe? If so, download the ISO and get to sleuthing!

Internet Archive

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EAST OF EDEN - 1989 Self-Titled Debut CD

East of Eden (not to be confused with the psychedelic UK band of the same name) were a very short-lived Pop Rock band in the late 1980's. Fronted by sultry songstress Cinde Lager, this Boston/Philly outfit released only one album during their tenure.

It's a standard late-'80's Power Pop album; lush chords and dreamy production, with some vocals most definitely inspired by Chrissie Hynde and Siouxsie Sioux. There are a few memorable tracks on here, such as their biggest single, "Mystic Love".

This LP has long been OOP, with only the few original 1989 presses ever being released by any record label, and nothing digitally. I have the album in its entirety right here for your enjoyment (as well as a copy on my eBay store SOLD). If you're looking for some tunes that fit right into that time between Madonna and Nirvana, download and give it a listen!

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192kbps VBR

"X-MAN" ("RUN AGENT RUN") Pac-Man "X-Files" Clone Game

In the mid-90's, a software company called "Parroty Interactive" came and went. They pumped out a few pieces of software, each filled with minigames centered around a specific movie or TV show. Of these, they created "Star Warped" (a parody of "Star Wars") and "The X-Fools" (a parody of "The X-Files").

On the "Star Warped" disc, there was a demo for one of the minigames for the then-upcoming "X-Fools" disc, a PAC-MAN clone called "X-MAN". For the official release, the game's name would be changed to "Run, Agent, Run" (my guess would be to avoid confusion with another "X" property involving Mutants).

In the game, you play one of four stages, each one based around a classic episode of the "X-Files" TV show. You choose either Mulder or Scully (sometimes referred to in the included audio clips as "Mully" or "Scudder", even though the voice actors hop between using the 'real' names and the parody ones), and run around collecting folders (actual X "files", har har). Your power-up isn't a Power Pellet though, it's a gun, in which you have several seconds to shoot down the monsters roaming around the stage.

It's easily the most fun minigame on either of these discs, so thank The Little Green Men that it can be removed and isolated as its own launchable game!

Just launch "XMAN32" and you're good to go. If it won't open, run Troubleshoot Compatibility, and even when it launches and you get an error message, just hit "Continue". Trust me, it'll run on Windows 10.

However, if you complete the game and get a nice high score, you might want to Screenshot it, because once you close the game, your score'll disappear like a UFO into the night sky.

Enjoy!

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ANDREW DICE CLAY - "FILTH" 1998 3-CD

And now for something completely different!

In today's Politically Correct culture, comedian Andrew "Dice" Clay has a hard time staying relevant. However during the late 1980's and early 1990's, he was an absolute powerhouse. I will forever shout from the rooftops that his sophomore effort, "The Day The Laughter Died", is one of the greatest standup comedy albums ever recorded.

However after some Box Office bombs and some shaky material, by the mid-1990's he had been shunned by the entertainment industry. Then in 1998, he concocted an attempt at a comeback, and released his TRIPLE album "FILTH" exclusively through his newly-launched website.

"Filth" is Dice hitting all the right notes again, and has some of his best material of that era of his career. Disc 1 features skits, songs, and a complete set in front of a semi-large crowd. Disc 2 features a more low-key performance ala "The Day..." , and Disc 3 (dubbed "Even More Filth", and available only if you pre-ordered the first 2 discs) is full of spontaneous bits recorded in a bootleg style.

I have a sealed copy of "Filth" and don't want to open it. Luckily, I have all 3 discs available for you all to download and enjoy! Since Dice has yet to make this album available again through his website or any other means, I feel it is my duty to make sure it gets heard by as many "Diceman" fans as possible.

I'm ova HERE now...

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192kbps CBR

X-MEN: THE PHOENIX SAGA 1996 Interactive CD-ROM Comic Book

 

In 1996, Toy Biz launched several Marvel Comics character action figures that came with accompanying interactive CD-ROMs. Working on both Windows and Mac computers, they took classic stories and shoehorned in narration and footage from then-current Marvel animated series. They were a bit sloppy, but they were still highly entertaining.

And each one even had an intro from "The Man" himself!

Sadly, these unique little CDs were never digitized. Fortunately, I saved at least one - "X-Men: The Phoenix Saga" - and copied it in its entirety to an ISO!

The disc needs to be unpacked, and while it works perfectly fine on older computers, ones running Windows 10 may require some fiddling. Still, it's a real treat once you get it running.

EXCELSIOR!

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Internet Archive

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"MY SO-CALLED LIFE" - Music From The Television Series CD

One of my wife's favorite shows growing up was "My So-Called Life". Although it wasn't on the air for very long, it definitely had a lasting impact, and therefore it's a shame that the Soundtrack has been lost to obscurity, surviving only via unofficial Spotify playlists created by fans.

The complete series is available to purchase on DVD as well as stream via various sources, but the soundtrack is currently only available through third-party vendors.... until now.

Since there are plenty of individual songs on this soundtrack that are available elsewhere, this specific compilation will only be available via free download, and not on Soundcloud or Archive.org. If Atlantic Records ever re-releases this compilation via a legal streaming service, I'll happily remove this download.

Until then... Enjoy!

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320kbps CBR

Thrifting Pickups - Week of 9/14/20

One of my absolute favorite things to do is go "thrifting". Flea Markets, swap meets, yard sales, online deals, local comic/toy/game stores... you name it! And at the end of every week I like to compile together all of the neat things I stumbled across. In fact, when I used to create YouTube content, I would share my pickups via a video series.

This past week didn't yield a ton of amazing items, but still some cool stuff nonetheless! The Taylor Swift LP is a gift for my wife. "Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur" #1 for $3.00 is a great deal in and of itself; the fact it's a Hip-Hop Variant is just icing on the cake! A few cool little DVDs, CDs and a game for between $0.25 to $1.00 a piece... a classic Commodore 64 title, CIB... and the cream of the crop are two old "Shadow" pulps!

Some of these items may find their way to my eBay Store, so make sure to check it out and Follow it!

People always try to tell me "there are no good deals anymore, finding stuff in the 'wild' is hard, don't bother, etc". I say they're WRONG. You never know what you'll find unless you go out and look. There are always deals to be had, so KEEP THRIFTING!

"MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE" - 1983 Kid Stuff Records LP Record

 

I've been waiting a long time to share this one!

Many, many years ago, there was an awesome website called "The Secret Cavern of Read-Along Treasures". There is where I discovered the cleanest, best-sounding rip of one of my absolute favorite childhood albums, Kid Stuff's 1983 LP simply titled "MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE". I downloaded the rip and immediately made sure to archive it.

Soon after, the Cavern closed its doors. And to this day, that particular rip disappeared from the internet. The ones all over YouTube still have the hisses and pops from a traditional amateur LP rip.

But now... that rip is BACK. And it's RIGHT HERE.

This album, guys... it's a gem. From the corny 5-minute power-pop intro, to Peter Fernandez's mesmerizing opening monologue (seriously, it's some fantastic writing), to Skeletor's scary-as-Hell voice, to the haunting ghostly voices of The Council of Elders... this single album holds more memories for me than the entire MotU TV show. I make this claim with zero exaggeration.

I took the liberty of cleaning up the album even further, added extra metadata and tags, and used the best picture of the LP I could find for the artwork. I want to make sure this crisp, clean recording never disappears again.

And so, it is my great honor to re-unveil to the world... MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE! Enjoy!

YouTube

Transcript via BattleRamBlog

Soundcloud

Internet Archive

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192kbps CBR

"FAIRYTALE: A TRUE STORY" Motion Picture Soundtrack - CD

 

OOP for over 20 years, this is Zbigniew Preisner's beautiful score to the captivating 1997 film "FairyTale: A True Story".

Currently unavailable anywhere else digitally.

Enjoy!

Internet Archive

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Atlantic Records, UPC: 07567927902, October 1997
192kbps VBR

"SUPER MARIO BROS. - TRAPPED IN THE PERILOUS PIT" Read-Along Cassette

This is a great OOP read-along narrated by one of my favorite childhood narrators, William Woodson! Also features the majority of the cast of "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show" reprising their roles (except for John Stocker, who replaced Harvey Atkin as the voice of King Koopa).

Saved via multiple methods to ensure it stays archived. Enjoy!

Soundcloud

Internet Archive

YouTube

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"THE CHIPMUNKS' CRUISE" Kid Stuff 1985 Read-Along Record

One of my favorite Read-Alongs from my youth, released by Kid Stuff Records. This was also released as a Random House mini-book, and the version with a record is very HTF.

Luckily I had a nice, clean copy... and it's on my SoundCloud as well as other locations! Enjoy!

YouTube

Soundcloud

Internet Archive

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192kbps VBR

"PURPLE PEOPLE EATER" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD

For the first "real" post on this blog, I'd like to share the OOP soundtrack for the 1988 Ned Beatty and Shelley Winters movie "Purple People Eater"!

This soundtrack is currently unavailable anywhere else digitally. Enjoy!

Internet Archive

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256kbps VBR

 

A NEW BEGINNING

Hello folks! My name is Neil, and for the past 30-odd years of my life I've been collecting anything and everything you can think of - comics, games, cards, toys, records, cassettes, you name it. For the past 19 years, I've been buying and selling these types of vintage and/or nostalgic goodies on eBay.

Two years ago, I decided to take my hobby full-time and change my eBay account from a personal one to a business. I chose the name THE RANDOM SANCTUM because, well, it seemed to fit my personality; I'm all about finding random collectibles, and whenever I'm feeling down, thrifting and collecting comforts me.

In the past I've attempted to create a Blog, but I always found myself trying to keep them too linear. My blogs, YouTube channels, and other social media were always fixated on one aspect of my interests and hobbies.

I hope that with this Blog, I can change that.

Aside from my collecting hobbies, I've always had a soft spot for archiving some of those items - mainly out-of-print (OOP) media - and preserving them. From children's record rips, to long-lost trailers, to extracted video game soundtracks, I've obtained a sizable collection of nostalgic goodness, and have already taken the liberty of adding them to sites such as SoundCloud.

With this Blog, I hope to be able to archive and share every bit of my collection as I can.

This Blog will become the epicenter of all of my collecting ventures: I'll share my latest eBay and Mercari listings, link audio and video goodies, and share pictures and insight into all kinds of... well, random stuff!

While this feels like Attempt number 69 at getting a social media presence "right", maybe this time, it'll stick.

I hope you'll come along with me! 😎

   --- Neil