I am a very avid listener of music, especially of the era I grew up in as a teenager: The Eighties. From the title of my blog, to what’s playing in my car and on my iPod, it’s almost all eighties all the time. I was such a die hard fan of music as a teen and was lucky to have many outlets to make my purchases. I frequented Tower Records, Liquorice Pizza, Sam Goody, The Warehouse and a couple of local places in San Diego (Lou’s Records and Blue Meannie).
Although I physically live in San Diego, England was the direction to which I genuflected and prayed to my musical gods: Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and New Order, just to name a few. The amount of time and money spent at Blue Meannie searching through their imports section for all things relating to the 80’s British Invasion would have easily paid for a trip to London, which I so longed for as a teen (and have lived out that dream with two trips there since then). Not only did I buy 45’s and 12″ vinyl records (remember those?), but shirts, buttons, badges, patches and imported magazines. As you can see, the desire to be British came to me at a very young age. One of my classmates went on a trip to London with his parents and I nearly died of jealousy. He bought me a couple of Depeche Mode items (a shirt and record), but that just made me all the more forlorn.
Most of the time, it’s so difficult for me to locate the groups that I love to listen to. A friend of mine had a 12″ single of “Have in Mind” by a group called Cetu Javu. I found the group on My Space, but couldn’t find them anywhere else to make a purchase. I tried Amazon, iTunes, Tower Records (online site) and even tried to physically go to Lou’s Records to find anything, but my search yielded nothing.
One last place I tried was a place where I had made several purchases in the past. I was only reminded of the website because I’m on their email list. The Ideal Copy (named after Wire’s 1987 album) is my site of choice when it comes to my favorite era. I’ve bought CD’s by the Red Rockers, Joy Division and Aztec Camera from this site. When I can’t find it on iTunes, I go to The Ideal Copy.
Now, the reason for this post is because I have found a CD that I have been dying to locate as badly as “Southern Lands” by Cetu Javu. It’s an album called “Rites of Passage” by Vitamin Z. I received an email alert of updates from The Ideal Copy and lo and behold, who do I see in their “Recent Additions” section but Vitamin Z! I quickly clicked on the link and one of my musical white whales has been found. If you are looking for the ultimate versions of your favorite artists (past and present), The Ideal Copy is the place to go. Their service is surprisingly quick and their selection is nearly unmatched.