Day One

May is the first actual month of Spring around these parts. To me, spring music should be the song equivalent of flowers: soft, delicate and unassuming. I don't think any band hits that mark better than Belle and Sebastian. The entire If You're Feeling Sinister album is an excellent spring disc.

Day One: Belle and Sebastian - "Mayfly"
http://youtu.be/2HudzT7dS10

BURST

1. Kishi Bashi - "It All Begins With a Burst"
2. Conveyor - "Woolgatherer"
3. Jamie Lidell - "I'm Selfish"
4. Gorillaz - "DoYaThing" [feat. Andre 3000 & James Murphy]
5. Playgroup - "Front 2 Back" [Fatboy Slim Remix]
6. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Thrift Shop"
7. Icona Pop - "I Love It"
8. Justin Timberlake - "Suit & Tie"
9. Everything Everything - "Cough Cough"
10. Django Django - "Default"
11. Starfucker - "Millions"
12. Foals - "My Number"
13. Chairlift - "Sidewalk Safari"
14. Langhorne Slim & The Law - "The Way We Move"
15. JEFF the Brotherhood - "Sixpack"
16. The Spinto Band - "Shake it Off"
17. Frightened Rabbit - "Holy"
18. They Might Be Giants - "When Will You Die"

We Need a Myth: The Best tracks of 2011

Disc One:

1. Bibio - "Wake Up!"
2. M83 - "Midnight City"
3. Handsome Furs - "Repatriated"
4. Junior Boys - "Itchy Fingers"
5. Active Child - "Call Me Tonight"
6. Wolf Gang - "Lions in Cages"
7. Foster the People - "Pumped Up Kicks"
8. Grouplove - "Tongue Tied"
9. The Rapture - "Miss You"
10. Architecture in Helsinki - "Contact High"
11. Rubblebucket - "Came Out of a Lady" (it's not as gross as it sounds)
12. Tune-Yards - "Bizness"
13. Thao & Mirah - "Eleven"
14. St. Vincent - "Cruel"
15. Battles (feat. Matias Aguayo) - "Ice Cream"
16. DJ Shadow (feat. Posdnous & Talib Kweli) (yeah, really) - "Stay the Course"
17. 13 & God - "Death Major"
18. Cults - "You Know What I Mean"
19. YACHT - "Shangri-La"

Disc Two:

1. Okkervil River - "We Need a Myth"
2. The Dodos - "Going Under"
3. Mates of State - "Maracas"
4. Beirut - "Santa Fe"
5. Loch Lomond - "Blood Bank"
6. David Wax Museum - "Born with a Broken Heart"
7. Middle Brother - "Middle Brother"
8. Smith Westerns - "End of the Night"
9. The Drums - "Book of Revelation"
10. The Go! Team - "The Running Range"
11. Anthony Hamilton - "Mad" (Got me some serious black envy and this track is why)
12. Girls - "Vomit"
13. The Antlers - "Every Night My Teeth are Falling Out"
14. Bon Iver - "Minnesota, WI"
15. Iron & Wine - "Walking Far From Home"
16. The Mountain Goats - "High Hawk Season"
17. The Wooden Birds - "Too Pretty to Say Please"
18. Fleet Foxes - "Helplessness Blues"

***The following hyperlinks are intended only for those who have purchased all of these songs and not for public sharing without the express written consent of the artists and/or their mothers. I want to be very explicit about that. Let it be on YOUR head if you "pirate" this mix.****

Disc One: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ug2hn7rb1n6ri7r
Disc Two: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?tvvt22sv5yh79qz

More tales from real life

Me: *reading in hallway at school*
Woman: *sitting across from me and pushing same button on phone with volume up over and over again for several minutes*
Me: *series of eye rolls and audible sighing*
Woman: *adds mouth generated laser noises into the mix*
Me: Are you kidding me?
Woman: Whaa?
Me: Could you switch your phone to silent, please?
Woman: My phone don't have that.
Me: I'll bet you a thousand dollars I can silence that phone.
Woman: I don't wanchu tuchin ma PHONE.
Me: You're probably right.

Fun with bigotry

Customer: Christmas Blend still, huh?
Lombard: Yeah, we're gonna have to start calling in Valentine's Blend.
Carolyn: Or Martin Luther King, Jr. Blend.
Me: Black and bold with a shot in it?

The most puzzling thing is that the customer neither looked entertained nor offended. Clearly you should be one, probably both.

Kismit

So every morning at Starbucks, we cut out newspaper stuff for customers to stare at instead of staring at us. This morning I found a cartoon word bubble, and decided it would be funny to stick it on to a picture, and this picture seemed like a winner. The guy with the word bubble is the President/Owner/something of Paetec, and the guy at the podium is Mayor Duffy. Now, I don't really know anything/care about local politics, and this certainly wasn't commentary. I just thought the guy looked kinda bored.

WOULDN'T THAT FREAKING GUY WALK INTO STARBUCKS?

I wasn't on the floor at the time, but according to Mikey, the guy held up the clipboard and said "Well, I wasn't expecting this." Not angry at all, just genuinely surprised and a little amused. I couldn't have planned it better.

A customer interaction for the ages.

Lady Customer: Is there any dairy in the butter croissant?
Me: *blank stare*
Lady: I know there's butter, my mom can have butter, just not milk.
Me: Well...it's real butter, so there is milk.
Lady: Can you go check the packaging for me to see if it says "milk" in the ingredients, dear?
Me: Of course. *Goes into the back to tell Joe this mindblowing tale.*
A few minutes later..
Me: Yes, it does say milk in the ingredients.
Lady: Do you have any pastries without milk?
Me: They all have milk, I checked them all to make sure.