As I write it is sunny, but a storm is headed downtown from the southwest, which will bring rain, high winds, cooler temperatures and cleaner air. I have an interview for tomorrow and have my medical appointments all sorted out, more or less: I can adjust my ultrasound (yes, I had one this month and it's not my last) and trip to the Women's Unit as I see fit - the last trip was interesting. I was warned to take painkillers back in May as I was supposed to have a D&C and so I sat, slightly out of it, for an hour, waiting to be ushered to an examination room, only to find they don't want to look at me until my current Provera dosage is up. My big fat uterus continues to be healthy, if a bit too thick for their liking, and I continue to take it and feel slightly tired. While waiting for my doctor to come in, I overheard her talking on the phone with someone about a certain drug & how it will turn her urine orange and how she should wear glasses & not wear contacts while she is on it. Things could be worse.

Sam's had their auction today - I wasn't there, as they were charging just to participate, and I am not a souvenir-type person anyway - instead I kept going, going, going to see what I could find. More than once I felt the distinct prescence of MC, causing me to gasp, smile, and otherwise be (to others) foolishly happy.

In no particular order:

Blow Up Vol. 3 - More groovy music, this time from France, from the excellent series based on music played in the Blow Up club in London. I could not understand how it just appeared in front of me, but it did, and it wasn't the only one...

The Shining - J Dilla - This showed up amidst the dreck that has been around for the past week. No, I have no idea why it was there either, but I'm glad it was.

Schizophonic - Geri Halliwell -Once upon a time, there was the Spice Girls; then Geri left and this was her first solo album. Clearly, heat, a 30% discount and other unmentionable factors led me to buy it, but I have to obey my little voice, even if it goes against accepted public taste.

The Hush - Texas - The same as above, with the added factor of Sharleen being half-Scots, half-Italian thrown in. MC has promised to find me a copy of White on Blonde and will scour the MVEs and charity shops until he does. What a guy!

A Night at the Village Vanguard - Sonny Rollins - I bought this as there was only one left, and the jazz section was already depleted of just about anything else worth buying. I've only listened to the first part so far, but of course it's great.

The Return of The Rentals - The Rentals - Remember "Friends of P"? Remember when Matt Sharp left Weezer to make even better music? The Hayden sisters sing, play violin and Moog, and it's just as great now as it was in '95.

The Virginian - Neko Case and Her Boyfriends - In which honorary Canadian Case makes her first album with future New Pornographers. A little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll. I actually overheard a woman say, "She likes alternative music. Do you know where Neko Case is?"

The Remix Album - All Saints - Lots of different versions, all mixed by Pete Tong. This one went fast. If only Studio 1 was as easily found for a pound!

University - Throwing Muses - In a typical messy Sam's error, you could buy this for very little, or find it in the main room for full price. That's how unorganized the whole thing was, which made it worth going by every day to see what was on discount and what was still there. Then, of course, there's just the pleasure of browsing and nosing around. More 1995 goodness.

People Move On - Bernard Butler - If what you liked most about Suede was the guitars, well, Butler's your man. Not the best voice, but then how many guitar players have great voices? (Feel free to leave a note or sign my guestbook and let me know!)

The Shore - The Shore - California's very own Britpop group, apparently. I haven't listened to this yet, but the lyrics point to Oasis, Verve...only better, I'm guessing.

Afterglow - Dot Allison - Sometimes I would come across cds that gave me good vibes without really knowing why. I knew Dot Allison's name, but from where? I got this as Arab Strap remixed one of her songs, and I inherently trust Arab Strap & their taste.

Been There - Ebba Forsberg - Sweden's laid back female singer of the Lillith Fair persuasion, she was signed to Madonna's Maverick, but Dido apparently eclipsed her. I haven't gotten to this yet, but I doubt if she is much like Dido, based on her lyrics.

Sustainer - Starling - Hey kids, remember when Danny Michel was in a band? Me neither, but here it is and it looks to be quite promising, even though he only has one song on it.

Chronicles - Verbow - A dark horse purchase, made only because Bob Mould produced it, which means, yes, there's guitars and cellos and probably angsty lyrics. Will it be like his own Workbok? Well, I'll see.

Down Here - Tracy Bonham - If you are noticing a pattern here of neglected singer-songwriters, well, yeah, they did pop up everywhere, along with not very good hip-hop, not very good dance music and inexplicable stuff that I could never quite figure out. Tracy is a classically-trained violinist-turned-rocker and was part of the whole Lillith Fair, Angry Chick division back in the day. She's still around, and her 2005 album is quite good, I hear.

Te Dejas Ver - Mikel Erentxun - I picked this up as it was produced by Fred Maher, who has also worked with Lloyd Cole and Matthew Sweet (who do backing vocals). Erentxun was in Duncan Dhu, a fine Spanish group who were hip for a few months in 1989, and I expect this to be just as good. If Sweet & Cole sing in Spanish, bonus!

Straitjacket Fits - Straitjacket Fits - The pride of New Zealand, along with The Chills, The Clean and Bailter Space. This is a best-of which, again, inexplicably showed up. You can always trust the Flying Nun label.

.........

A small pause now, to talk about the sale. I went last Saturday and couldn't find anything, so I went to Penguin Music and found two albums I expected to find at the sale - Dream's It Was Only A Dream and SugarJones' one and only album. They were on sale, as your rock people who usually go to Penguin would not be caught dead even looking at them, but I was happy to find them. Eventually I think I will have something by every girl group who ever existed, Popstars-enabled or no.

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And now, yesterday: I went in genuinely expecting to find nothing - I had hopes on finding one cheap cd, only to find they had been consolidated again, so I had to look everywhere for something that never did show up - but I did find something that I know MC left for me (even though it turns out he has two of them already) - three cds by Broadcast! Tender Buttons, Haha Sound and Pendulum. I stood there, mouth open, facing the clerks (who certainly knew me by sight by now), turned around and laughed. It was stupefying to find these so late in the sale, which I can only explain by nobody here knowing or caring who Broadcast are. I then trawled the main room & found A Sun Came! by Sufjan Stevens, and left, saying a quiet adios as I walked into the hot sunshine.