Apologies

I have been looking over my recent posts and they are pretty boring. I think part of the reason is that I am revisiting collections I rebuilt last year so I don't have the same enthusiasm for blogging about it as I did last year. I love building collections, especially in areas that I've never worked on before because I always learn something new. I like the joy of discovery. But most of the DVDs I've purchased so far this year have either been things I didn't have the funds to purchase last year or a filmed musicals and plays project I've been working on this year. My interest has waned pretty quickly on filmed plays. Most of the really good movies that were made from plays I already knew about and as I've recently groused about it seems that recently Broadway and Hollywood haven't been in sync. From reading the reviews many of the movies I purchased that were recent award winners on Broadway were mediocre at best on film. I bought them for classroom and 'life long learning' support. I don't mean to imply that it was money or time wasted, many of the musicals I bought were classics but since I really don't care for musicals I had overlooked them before. Then of course some movies age and others don't. Bringing up Baby and the Manchurian Candidate were both panned when they came out and are now considered classics.

I hope to begin working on the Blues as the next Music Collection to be revamped as soon as I finish reviewing Rock. With DVDs I would like to begin working on foreign film. I have already done French and Mexican. I am thinking about Italian, Bergman, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese. Then I will move on to evaluating the collection by Actor and Director.

Tony, Pulitzer, & NYDC

In March I'm finishing up with Tony, Pulitzer, and New York Drama Critic Award winning plays and musicals on DVD. Generally I don't think plays and musicals have contributed as much to the movies recently as they have in the past. Musicals especially seemed to be a rich source of inspiration for movies up until the 70's. Little Shop of Horrors, New York Drama Critics Award 1983, is about the last musical I can remember that made a good movie. Driving Miss Daisy, Pulitzer Prize 1988, is about the last award winning play that has made a splash at the movies. Compare that with award winners from the 60's, 1776, Becket, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Hello Dolly, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Man for All Seasons, Sound of Music, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The 40's and 50's provided an equally impressive line up of movies based on musicals and plays. I don't know whether it is the emphasis on 'blockbuster' movies or the general decline of Broadway. It does seem that Cats, the Lion King, and the Producers all made it big on Broadway without making a huge splash at the movies. (I'm not sure what to make of Disney's Lion King. Is it a filmed musical?)

Anyway the March DVD order finished up my Filmed Musicals and plays. April will be 2006 Box Office winners, with a continued emphasis on non-fiction.

March DVD orders
Tony, Pulitzer prize, and NYDC award winners
Rent
Proof
Crimes of the Heart
Gin Games
Great White Hope
How to Succeed in Business...
Delicate Balance
That Championship Season
Lost in Yonkers
I'm Not Rappaport
Copenhagen
Producers
Wit
Raison in the Sun
Pal Joey
Dinner with Friends
Sunday in the park with George
Glengarry Glen Ross
Brighton Beach Memoirs

Classic reprints - Television

Thunderball
Goldfinger
Face in the Crowd

Nonfiction

Buff Moms-to-be
Buff Moms: Beyond Baby Body
Jean Butler's Irish Dance Masterclass
Breakin' it Down
Tamilee Web: Tight on Time Body Blast
Kari Anderson: Hot Spots
Discovery Atlas - China Revealed
Discovery Atlas - Brazil Revealed
Greatest Journeys on Earth - South Africa: Journeys to Freedom Songs
Greatest Journeys on Earth - Japan: Journeys on the Tokaido
Greatest Journeys Greece
Costa Rica - A Traveler's Guide 2004-2005

A year to Review

Last year I rebuilt the major music collections. This year I'm reviewing how I did and filling in the blanks. My modest Contemporary Christian Music buy circulated very well. So did Latin and Rock. Country didn't fare so well but Country Music has a huge body of work going all the way back to the 20's and I think so far I've just built the core collection. This year I'm getting more of the Billboard 'Top 40's' type of material for everybody, including Country. I'm also working on a few minor collections. I'm buying folk music from around the world and music for Ballroom Dancing. Ballroom Dancing seems to be making a comeback and I'm getting a lot of requests. January was a country 'Top 40', February was a mix of Billboard top 40's, and March is Contemporary Christian back fill.

March CDs
Contemporary Christian

Jesus Freak DC Talk
(Portable Sounds) Tobymac
Go Newsboys
Casting Crowns Casting Crowns
Coming up to Breath Mercyme
Hearts of the Innocent Kutless
Stay Jeremy Camp
Mockingbird Derek Webb
Deeper Life Natalie Grant
Awaken Natalie Grant/Wynonna
Oxygen Avalon
Creed Avalon

Folk Music

Music & Songs of North America Lakota
Authentic Native American Music
Traditional Songs of Poland
Traditional songs and Dances from Africa
Traditional Songs from Turkey
East Africa: Ceremonial & Folk Music

Ballroom

Strictly Ballroom Dancing
Strictly Dancing: Best of Ballroom
Tango: Zero Hour Astor Piazzolla
Let's Dance! Best of Ballroom: Fox Trots & Tango
Let's Dance the Tango