OTIDT Outtakes: Monday October 25

Other things I did on Monday that could've been turned into One Thing I Did Today entries:

• My job for the day was to basically act as an on-site representative for Dominion Voting, the company who provided the software and machines for tabulating election results. If anything went wrong, I was supposed to be there to "help." I'd received about two hours of training, so I wasn't expecting to be able to do much, but when I arrived in the town of LaSalle, they were getting error messages galore. After looking through their setup, I realized that they had an older version of the software! I e-mailed Dominion HQ, got the newest version e-mailed to me, and installed it on their computers. Things ran MUCH smoother after that. I believe the phrase "saved the day" was thrown around when they discussed my contributions. You're welcome, LaSalle residents, for saving democracy.
• Amherstburg's setup had no problems, so I wasn't needed much there, but there was one highlight: among the scrutineers watching the results being tabulated was an outspoken old woman who constantly asked questions and seemed generally suspicious of the process. At one point, she called the chief election officer in Amherstburg a "bitch." I know this not because I witnessed it, but because both parties mentioned it to me later (old lady: "I shouldn't have called her a bitch..."; election officer: "at least you didn't get called a bitch today!")
• For breakfast, I went to a restaurant called Cora's and ordered the most ridiculous plate of fruit I'd ever seen. It was easily the most fruit I've eaten in one meal in my life, even counting fruit salads. It was also the first time I can remember ordering a meal which the menu describes in terms like "beautiful" and "lavishly cut."
  

iTunes Playlist: "favsongs"

Earlier this month, I made reference on One Thing I Did Today to a playlist I'd compiled on iTunes: 17 songs that I could absolutely listen to over and over without getting sick of them. I was asked about these songs since then, so I figured I might as well share them here.

Now, here's the thing about this list: I don't consider these the best songs in the world, or even in my collection. They're not necessarily the most-played tracks in my iTunes, and they aren't necessarily the ones I'd mention first if I was asked to rhyme off a few all-time classics. I'm not even sure if I'd call some of them my favourite songs, despite what the playlist title suggests. But as of right now, October 18th of 2010, these are the songs that I'd have an incredibly hard time skipping if I heard their first five seconds(*). That's it.

(*) Qualifier: I've also had them in my iTunes for at least a few months, so that I've had ample opportunity to get sick of them. Otherwise, Rihanna's "Only Girl (in the World)" would definitely be making the cut....

Here they are:

Favourite songs from favourite bands

The Thermals - A Pillar of Salt
The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend
The Strokes - 12:51

Short and sweet

The Marked Men - Fortune
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Eight Day Hell
Deer Tick - Ashamed

Incredible post-bridge conclusions

The Speedies - Time
Plants and Animals - Bye Bye Bye
Islands - Rough Gem

Secretly the best songs they've ever been involved in

Loretta Lynn - Portland, Oregon (feat. Jack White)
Teddybears - Punkrocker (feat. Iggy Pop)
Julian Casablancas - Out of the Blue

Perfect female-sung hooks

Santigold - Lights Out
Major Lazer - Keep it Goin' Louder (feat. Nina Sky & Ricky Blaze)

Party hard

Andrew W.K. - Ready to Die
Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet

The one I forgot until I saw I'd only listed 16 here

Spiritualized - Soul on Fire

Memorable Quotes: Lap Dance

"Oh, great! Here we go. I'm just another cock getting wired into the global economy. Uhhh, how should I look like? Bond-like neutrality? As though I'm so used to real-life naked women? Or, don't want to be rude... smiling encouragement? That's not a leer, is it? Got to avoid the leer at all costs. And the dribble. Oh God, she looks amazing. This really should not be allowed. This is what men want and we shouldn't be allowed to have it because it's horrible and it make you feel sick! Oh great, now I'm getting an erection. How grimly predictable."
- Mark Corrigan, Peep Show

Odds & Ends: Ice, Traveling, Repeating Oneself, YouTube

Thoughts while trying to get to sleep last night:

• I'm always torn over whether or not to get ice when I buy a fountain pop. On one hand, I prefer not to dilute the flavour of, say, my Dr. Pepper with a handful of ice cubes that will eventually water down the drink. On the other hand, no ice means that I have to plow through an oversized Dr. P in ten minutes or less, lest it get all warm and gross.
• I generally resent people who travel a lot, particularly overseas. I mean, I'm not a jerk about it, but it's there on some level. It's not necessarily a matter of being jealous -- often I wouldn't care to go to the places they're going. It stems more from the fact that I feel very protective of my own city and country, and almost take it as a sign of disrespect that these travelers are constantly trying to get away from it.
• When I'm talking to someone and they have to ask me to repeat myself a couple times, I feel really embarrassed, like I'm speaking way too low or mumbling. But when I have to ask someone to repeat themselves multiple times, I feel equally embarrassed, like they're speaking at a standard volume and my hearing is just awful. I should let myself off the hook in one situation or the other, right? But which??
• I don't really get people who can spend hours at a time on YouTube, clicking from one video to another. I mean, if there's a specific focus to their browsing (say they're watching performance videos for '60s songs and keep seeing related videos that look good), I sort of understand it. But random meme-ish videos? Ugh. Whenever someone links me to a video like this, I assume it will suck until it proves otherwise. This is why I didn't watch Double Rainbow until about a week after it blew up.
  
• Things I don't do nearly as much anymore that were a huge part of my formative years: Watch movies, go to live shows, chat on MSN.
  

Memorable Quotes: "Past Surprise"

"Past hope. Past kindness or consideration. Past justice. Past satisfaction. Past warmth or cold or comfort. Past love. But past surprise? What an endlessly unfolding tedium life would then become!"
-- Francis Wolcott, Deadwood

Some Contenders for Single of the Year

Hardly a comprehensive list...

Things I've Written

Randomly decided to take inventory of what I've written online since the Sports-Den/Xanga era. As far as I can tell/remember, it breaks down as follows:

• 1335 posts at One Thing I Did Today
• 1314 tweets under @jlukeadams
• 396 stories for MLB Trade Rumors
• 272 entries on Livejournal
  
• 142 entries at I Like These Lyrics
• 61 tweets under @championsblog
• 47 entries at One Thing I Remembered Today
• 39 posts at My Opinions On...
• 26 posts at These Are Things I Think About
• 25 Facebook notes
• 9 entries at Champions of America's Pastime
• 9 blurbs for OFG Radio
• 7 posts for MuchMusic
• 7 pieces (4 reviews, 3 features) for Stylus Magazine
  
• 5 entries for ExtravaDanza

Planning My Pitchfork Festival Schedule

Yes, I'm reviving this blog from the dead for a post that will mostly only be of interest to me. And maybe the handful of other people I know who will be at the Pitchfork Festival next month.

So let's do this. Green and bold is for artists I REALLY want to see. Red is for artists I have no interest in seeing. Black is for artists who I wouldn't mind seeing if the opportunity arises.

Friday July 16 (gates at 3 p.m.):

3:30 Sharon Van Etten (a)
4:00 The Tallest Man on Earth (c)
4:35 El-P (a)
5:30 Liars (c)
5:45 Hannibal Buress (b)
6:25 Robyn (a)
6:30 Wyatt Cenac (b)
7:15 Michael Showalter (b)
7:20 Broken Social Scene (c)
8:00 Eugene Mirman (b)
8:30 Modest Mouse (a)

Saturday July 17 (gates at 12 p.m.):

1:00 Free Energy (a)
1:00 Netherfriends (b)
1:45 Real Estate (c)
1:55 Sonny and the Sunsets (b)
2:30 Delorean (a)
2:50 Kurt Vile (b)
3:20 Titus Andronicus (c)
3:45 Dâm-Funk (b)
4:15 Raekwon (a)
4:45 Smith Westerns (b)
5:15 Blues Explosion (c)
5:45 WHY? (b)
6:15 Wolf Parade (a)
6:45 Bear in Heaven (b)
7:25 Panda Bear (c)
7:40 Freddie Gibbs (b)
8:30 LCD Soundsystem (a)

Sunday July 18 (gates at 12 p.m.):

1:00 Allá (a)
1:00 Cave (b)
1:45 Cass McCombs (c)
1:55 Best Coast (b)
2:30 Girls (a)
2:50 Washed Out (b)
3:20 Beach House (c)
3:45 Local Natives (b)
4:15 Lightning Bolt (a)
4:45 Surfer Blood (b)
5:15 St. Vincent (c)
5:45 Here We Go Magic (b)
6:15 Major Lazer (a)
6:45 Neon Indian (b)
7:25 Big Boi (c)
7:40 Sleigh Bells (b)
8:30 Pavement (a)

Now that I've written all this out, my schedule-making decisions look much easier. The only real problems:

• Wish the comedians were starting a little earlier Friday night. Not overly excited about El-P or Liars, and wouldn't mind having a few laughs instead.
  
• Big gap between Smith Westerns and Freddie Gibbs on Saturday. Guess I'll be getting dinner and watching Wolf Parade again during those hours.
• I wouldn't mind seeing ANY of the bands from Best Coast to Surfer Blood on Sunday, which means I'll have to pick and choose. I'm guessing after Best Coast, I'll catch a little Washed Out, then all of Beach House and at least some of Lightning Bolt out of curiousity.
• Sunday night is another tough one. Looks like I'll have to miss Sleigh Bells, which is too bad.