BOOYEAH!!! I got my order from Amazon.com in early today. The main course is Justice Leauge Unlimited’s final season. Lacking cable at that time, I missed the entire season except for the last moments of the last episode. I pre-ordered it for $18.99 and I’ll be watching it later this week. With any luck, I’ll be able to round up some other people and make a big whoopidy-doo about it. My love for the 90’s/2000’s DC animated universe runs deep. It’s one of the things that kept my love of comic books alive during a point where the actual books from both DC and Marvel weren’t doing much for me. Until recently, it had the only version of Batman that I gave a damn about. Yes, I know that lots of people love the emotionless, bland Batman that popped up a lot through the 90’s, but I prefer the DCU version a lot more. But JLU brought life to so many other characters that it’s magic fun candy for an old-school comic geek like me. I’m sure I’ll be yammering about this at a later date, but I’m just going recommend that you get JLU season 2 in advance because you know it’s good. It has the DCAU version of the Legion of Doom. I was made to love this. Amazon.com has it for $19.99 now, so get it while it’s still cheap!
As I side dish (and to bump the order up enough to get free Super Saver Shipping), I got something that’s just as tasty. It’s Cameo: the 12-inch collection and more. This kinda/sorta/perhaps replaces the regular Cameo Greatest hits CD that was stolen over 10 years ago. A lot of these seemed to be engineered for DJ use and more club-friendly, but in a good way. In fact, the shortest song on the CD is still over five and a half minutes long. This CD has the extended versions of my favorite non-ballad songs of the group including I Just Want To Be, Candy, and Rigor Mortis. Unlike most people, Word Up isn’t one of my favorite songs by the group only because I like the other songs that more and a lot of people seem only know Cameo for that song. My all-time favorite may be She’s Strange which, strangely enough, gets TWO alternate versions here. The one titled She’s Strange has a lengthy, extended intro and a deeper echo on the synth kick drums that probably vibrated quite a few dance floors back in the day (and probably even now). The second version is called Room 123 (She’s Strange) and features an extended rapping section to it. I love both versions for different reasons, but I like the Room 123 version a bit better. I’m going to be groovin’ off this for a long time. Amazon.com’s reviewer Rickey Wright hit it dead on: “Despite the absence of the anti-Reagan “Talkin’ Out the Side of Your Neck,” The 12″ Collection all but renders The Best of Cameo moot.” Now that I have these exclusive versions, I can skip that collection and get the individual albums. It’s just good to hear Larry Blackmon yell, “OOW!” again.