2001-09-16 - 1:47

Special forces in an armoured car

Today was quite cool. The highlight came after Flett and I went downtown to do a little CD shopping. I've mentioned before that I tend to pick up eclectic combinations of CDs, but I've never gotten a good reaction for my efforts.

The girl at Record Runner changed that fact; and, in doing so, she definitely made my day. "What the?! You have The Dears, which is such beautiful music, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy . . . and Slayer!?" I don't know if she knew who Matmos were--she seemed like the kind of girl who would, but she didn't comment on that part of my purchase.

At any rate, her reaction was amusingly over the top. She even gave me the "I'm Special" award for the day:

Although, come to think of it, she never really answered me when I asked if that meant special or, you know, special. Hmmm . . .

As I said, that made my day, and I still have the sticker on my shirt. (The fact that it's my "Your favorite band sucks" shirt only adds to the visual intensity. Heh.)

The CDs themselves are quite cool. The Dears EP is simply another reason for me to hope that the band gets things together and records a second album. The set that I saw them play in Halifax deserves to be captured on disc. BPB is always cool, and this covers EP includes PJ Harvey's "Sweeter Than Anything." I also enjoyed Matmos' odd new disc and Tricky's latest, which I finally picked up.

I don't know why I let the critics scare me from buying that CD sooner. From everything that I had read, I thought that Tricky had gone commercial. The disc is not without its flaws; but it's still a great, moody piece of work that sucked me in very quickly. Anybody who can let the guy from Live sing on his album and come out with a respectable piece of work is doing something right.

Tricky is someone who usually gets me introspective, possibly because I associate Juxtapose so strongly with my last term in school. As it turned out, though, I didn't need that stimulus for reflection tonight--not after I heard that my ex is getting married.

That's a curious feeling, although I seemed to put off reacting until after I got through a few CDs. Of course, since I think very highly of Kim, I'm happy for her. I'll be sure to pass along my best wishes, which are wholly sincere.

It is interesting to see how people's lives take such different paths. It seems like I know a lot of people who have gotten married or will be soon, which is the farthest thing from my reality or from where I see myself headed.

Thinking about things tonight was odd. It was another one of those times when I'm acutely aware of my constant loneliness. Every once in a while, that feeling gets me for a few minutes or a few hours or a few nights. Tonight it was as sharp as it has been in a long time, although fairly short-lived.

I must say though, that I can't top my friend Don, who told me tonight that he had an ex get married last month to the guy with whom she cheated on him. Whattaya mean, Barq's has bite? It was cool getting together with Greg, Kelly, and Don for supper downtown, which is where he told me that story.

Before I wrap up this lengthy entry, I'll say that I hope that Jennie had a fun birthday :) As long as I remember to pass birthday wishes on to my brother John on Monday, I'm doing well in that department.

All in all, I'd call it an interesting day. And, hey, at least I'm special, right?

J.