Went online to do a few things, then headed out around 12:30. Stopped at WaWa in Collingswood for money and a Propel, then went to the Pop Shop to use up the last of that gift card Rose gave me for Christmas. I had Banana Cream French Toast and an iced tea. I suspect the "cream" was actually pudding, but it still tasted good, with lots of banana slices in the middle and cut up on the side.
While I waited for my lunch, one of the waitresses came out and told everyone that they were testing the fire alarm and not to panic. I think she forgot how popular the Pop Shop is with very young children and their families. The second the alarm went off, the two older kids near me covered their ears or stuck their fingers in them, and the poor toddler in the booth in front of me burst into tears and let loose with wails louder than the alarm. Thankfully, she quieted down when it went off.
Cut across Collingswood and down the White Horse Pike to Audubon to check out Abbie Road next...but it wasn't there. The only thing in the store when I arrived was a yellow couch. I went down the street to Desserts by Design for two small jam sandwich cookies and to ask the head baker about him. Turns out he moved to King's Highway in Mt. Ephraim in October. It was only a ten-minute ride and I needed to work off the French toast anyway, so I let her write down the address for me and moved on.
Ducked across Audubon to King's Highway. Truth be told, it wasn't the nicest day. It spit slightly earlier, but by 1:30, it was just cloudy, windy, and chilly. I wasn't sure I was going in the right direction, but I pulled over on King's Highway and learned I was just a few blocks away.
Abbie Road was now housed in its own separate building in Mt. Ephraim along King's Highway. While it lacked the back office and cavernous basement, it did have far more space in the main building and a yard where I parked my bike. Bob was happy to see me and to have moved. It sounds like he was basically pushed out so they could put in an office and says he fits in better where he is.
I'm a little disappointed that he no longer carries the TV show DVD sets he had, but I made some finds that were just as good. Along with The Benny Goodman Story, Laura, and a double feature set of Rhythm on the River and Rhythm on the Range on DVD, I found:
Bruce Springsteen - Working On a Dream
Frank Sinatra - Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely
The soundtrack from The Commitments (CDs)
Rupert Holmes - She Lets Her Hair Down
Get It On! - Ronco rock collection from 1974
The original cast of the 2018 Broadway revival of Carousel
The soundtrack from It Happened In Brooklyn
Hogan's Heroes Sing the Best of World War II (Records)
Dodged traffic on the Black Horse Pike by cutting across Mt. Ephraim going home. I couldn't avoid crossing the busy Pike, though. Things were better in Oaklyn. I wanted to get a juice at Heartbeat Nutrition, but for some reason, they're only open on Tuesdays and weekends. Just rode home instead.
Went straight into Alexander's Ragtime Band when I got in. I go further into this through-the-years drama featuring Alice Faye, Ethel Merman, and Tyrone Power at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Did some job hunting for a while, then broke for dinner and Match Game Syndicated. The first episode has everyone trying to figure out "Skip __" in the Audience Match, while Susan Richardson is nervous about doing "Aching __" in the Head-to-Head. Brett's so delighted with her new Match Game sweatshirt in the second episode, she does a bump and grind routine to show it off!
Finished the night listening to some of the records I've acquired lately, starting with the first two discs from Unforgettable Fifties. This 1988 four-disc collection features quite a few songs I didn't have elsewhere. Among my favorites from the first two records are "Catch a Falling Star" by Perry Como, "You Belong to Me" by Jo Stafford, "This Ole House" by Rosemary Clooney, "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" by Perez Prado and His Orchestra, and "Be My Love" by Mario Lanza.
Hogan's Heroes Sing the Songs of World War II is what it says on the tin. Four of the five Heroes were excellent singers, and they perform numbers that would have been popular when the show was set. This was a big surprise. I thought it would be a cheesy tie-in album, but the songs are legitimately well-performed. My favorite was real Frenchman Robert Clary's lovely "The Last Time I Saw Paris." He also joins Richard Dawson for a decent "Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square."
It Happened In Brooklyn is one of the most underrated major MGM musicals. It's so sweet and low-key, it was the last MGM musical to be filmed in black and white. Sinatra, Peter Lawford, and Kathryn Grayson are hopefuls trying to make it in New York. Jimmy Durante helps them along. It introduced two charming standards, "I Believe" with Sinatra and Durante trying to encourage a young boy to follow his own dreams, and the gorgeous ballad "Time After Time." Durante and Sinatra have a blast with their duet "The Song's Gotta Come from the Heart."
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