AIWA HS-P02 MkII, but...

I'm a fan of  the "Back To The Future" trilogy, since I was a child!

My favourite episode is part I, because I always loved the 50s atmosphere, the Lou's Cafè, the cars, the clothes, the music, etc.
I watched "Back To The Future" (the italian title is "Ritorno Al Futuro") million times during my life!!

Between 2009 and 2010, I collected some props from BTTF I & II as replicas (not screen-used props, I'm not rich!!) and some original common items from the 80s-- stuff that appeared in the movies. I'll show you my treasures soon!

I'm actually a vinyl enthusiast; but before that I was a cassette enthusiast, and my dream was to own an Aiwa HS-P02 MkII walkman, the same model used by Marty McFly in the I episode of the trilogy!

So, I started a research on eBay and other online markets... but at that time (2009-10) Marty Aiwas were very hard to find and much expensive!

The situation today is not different: rare and much more expensive!

In late 2009 I've found a """similar""" model (uhm.....) here in Italy: a Sanyo M1111 from 1984, new old stock with original packaging and instructions. Similar and cheaper.
Bought!

I used this Sanyo some times, played various cassettes and it worked very fine. After, I cleaned it, replaced in the packaging and placed in my display cabinet with my other relics from the 80s.

That's all.
Hope you enjoyed this post!

Thank you for reading and see you on Sunday.

~ Chris ~

 

Restorers in ITALY:

- JUKEBOX LANFREDI : a very professional jukebox restorer from Verona.

- VESCOVO RESTAURI : probably the best typewriter restorer in Europe; very professional.

Liturgical incense at home: WEIRD.

A thing that I love:

the sweet perfume of an incense stick, when I'm listening to a record during an Autumn or Winter afternoon; even better if it's raining outside!

Good music with a nice smell in the air: lovely!


But, I have a Gohic-Dark soul and one day in 2015 I was curious to learn all about liturgical incense. The same kind of incense used by priests here in Italy during ceremonies, marriages, Easter Mass, etc... so, I searched for information online about what I needed:

1: "Olibano di Gedda" is the official incense used in churches; in grains only

2: Charcoal incense pucks

3: A good jet flame lighter

4: A good burner or......... a thurible!



I immediately found Holyart, a great italian store with many kinds of incenses from all over the World, along with charcoal pucks, burners and more.

Link: HolyArt

Well, I bought the necessary and tested everything; it's all OK - it's the same kind of incense used by priests!

Some pics:

Burner with a charcoal puck and the "Olibano di Gedda" incense in grains:

Various incense samples:

Burning burner:

WARNING

DON'T burn it in a small room with closed windows!!!

This kind of incense is a good idea if you want to scent your ENTIRE home; on HolyArt, you can choose from many different types of incense,

not the liturgical "Olibano di Gedda", of course!!!!

Hope you enjoyed this post and see you on Sunday.

Thanks

-Chris-

ITALO DISCO

  == ITALO DISCO, OFFICIAL TOPIC! ==

In this topic, I will show you my personal collection of Italo Disco gems. Most of them are 12" singles, which I prefer over 7" records.

For those who don't know, Italo Disco is a sub-genre of disco music, originated in Italy (!!) at the end of the '70s and lasted until the late '80s; 

briefly:

Electronic dance music with simple lyrics in english, inspired by american life, night-life, love stories, the future, technology and... NONSENSE!!

Italian singers of this genre often used english names to call themselves.

Italo Disco: '80s disco music, "Made in Italy"!

Today, this genre is somewhat snubbed here in Italy... ther's a niche of collectionist who apppreciate it: I'm one of them.

Most of Italo Disco records are very expensive, because of two main reasons:

1- Many were used by Dj's over the years, worn out and trashed (hopefully not in 2025); so, many titles are hard to find in good conditions at a fair price.

2- In many cases, only a few copies were released.
It's possible to find brand new releases made during the '20s (of 2000!) on Amazon or Discogs.

So, here are four new arrivals of the week, with wonderful covers:

1st: "Sweepin' Off", by High Resolution, original 1983 "SPQR" release made in Rome; ultra rare "TIR" extended version, that lasts 8:40.

In my opinion, not an Italo Disco song properly, but a perfect background music for a sex scene!!!
The sleeve is PURE ART!

I really love this record!

2nd: "Batida", by Cariocas. Another original '83 release, obviously made in Italy;

A rare Italo-Funky-Reggae-Electronic track...

3rd: "Survivor", by Mike Francis! A very famous song here in Italy!

Original 1984 Concorde release. This one has two tracks:
"Survivor" on A  side, "Last Summer Night" on B side.

Worn cover, dusted and cleaned only; the record, luckily is in excellent condition.

4th: "Comanchero", by Raggio Di Luna (Moon Ray), a fantastic original 1984 "Il Disc8 (Discotto) production"! 

Another famous and lovely song here in Italy.

There's a yellow "Discopiù" round sticker on cover, a well-known music store in Rimini that's been around since '79!
Link of the store: https://www.discopiu.com/it/

I'm really happy with these purchases and I plan to buy more Italo gems soon; in the future, I'll update this topic with other pieces from my collection and new additions.

Now, I want to share with you the Antonio Stanzani YouTube channel; there, you can find dozens of Italo Disco pearls, played on an original Technics SL-1200 turntable:

See you on Sunday, thanks for reading!

~ Chris ~

Why I prefer records to Compact Discs...

 
Last Sunday I was listening to some CDs from the '90s;

first:

"The Fat Of The Land" by Prodigy, original 1997 (...italian...) release - perfect!

"Follow the Leader" by Korn, 1998 release made in Austria. And... check out the video below:

This is the reason why I prefer spend my money buying music mechanically engraved (🔨🗡️) on vinyl rather than digitally mastered (🪄) on CDs; a record is forever (if well preserved), while a CD can die suddenly without any warning!

CD enthusiasts, please don't hate me!!

-See you next Sunday-

~Chris~

Seeburg M100C (1952)

The most impressive and coloured piece of the "Weird Stuff" collection you can see in this blog:

my 1952 SEEBURG M100C JUKEBOX!

Bought in 2017 as a self-gift for my 30th birthday from "Jukebox LANFREDI", a very professional restorer in Verona, Italy, this jukebox was my dream as a "HAPPY DAYS" fan;

...do you remember the season 1 intro, with Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock"?

As I mentioned before, this wonderful jukebox was totally cleaned and restored in 2017:

-new veneering, faithful to the original;

-new resin pilasters;

-new paint on the rear panels, same as the original;

-new metal pilasters in front of the speaker. Original ones were in glass;

-rebuilded amp. AS THE ORIGINAL FOR ORIGINAL 1952 SOUND;

-original Seeburg cartridge, with new needles;

-original 15" speaker;

-working coin mechanism:

1 PLAY: Nickel
2 PLAYS: Dime
6 PLAYS: Quarter

-new chrome plating;

-original "Seeburg Select-o-matic 100" screen print on glass;

-50 7" records 45 rpm, most of them original from '50s and early '60s;
only "The Storms" record is a replica...!

Pics:

Green neon clock bought in 2020, on "eBay"...

HANK WILLIAMS - ELVIS PRESLEY - BUDDY HOLLY

"JUKEBOX LANFREDI", BEST JUKEBOX RESTORER IN ITALY:

jukeboxlanfredi.it

Thank you and

see you next sunday!

-Chris-