Disco Lottery: Yup, We Are Doing It Again
Last year we came out of the closet with a parlor game we’ve been playing for many a Sundance: Disco Lottery. As a reminder, and giving credit where credit is due, our friend Mark Carr gets props for teaching and getting us hooked on playing.
What is Disco Lottery? Before a night out on the dancefloor, each person selects two songs: one they “hope” the DJ will play and the other one they “think” the DJ will play. Sometimes there is a bonus selection, like “last song” or “best remix.” Any association with the DJ excludes a player from participating. Longtime Sundance DJ Mark Thomas always greeted me with an eyeroll and growl as part of his greeting, “y’all playing that silly game of yours again this year?” and then he’d chuckle.
For a first year out in public, we were happy to have 19 people submit songs they hoped or thought the DJs would play. There were several winners. Even me! We published the whole submission list in issue 28-13, and you could crib from that or use the DJ’s online playlists as resource material for this year. Robbie Leslie even has all of his set from last year’s Sundance on Mixcloud for your listening pleasure.
I love what is familiar at Sundance, but I love even more what I hear for the first time. One year, even though nobody selected it, we first heard a tune from Jerry Springer, the Opera that made my jaw drop open on the dancefloor. It has become a kind of anthem for me, and I just might pick it as a Hope this year because I just wanna dance.
What do you Hope to hear? Where do you Think the DJ might go?
Both Robbie Leslie and Joe Gauthreaux have lots of sets available to listen to online through their own websites, radio stations, even YouTube. Take some time and study up. Plot your wishlist. Or just pick what you Hope and Think the DJ will play. It’s simple.
Pick your songs, and join our game. Since the dance is sort of a two-for-one night, pick FOUR songs if you’d like. Bonus Round this year: last song from Robbie; last song from Joe. Send your email selection (maximum: two HOPES, two THINKS, one bonus for each DJ) no later than 7 p.m. on Sunday, September 1, to discolottery@camprehoboth.com.
You must be present to win. You have to declare yourself a winner. We don’t keep track, but feel free to sidle over on the dancefloor and let us gloat along with you. We’ll all point at you and shout: “You’re a winner, you’re a winner!”
Remember, this is a self-monitoring game. We use the submissions mostly as evidence that a song was selected in advance as we’ve had some dodgy players over the years.
Anyone can be a winner. And multiple people can be winners. The more the merrier.
And what do you get if you are a winner? Gloating Rights. Yes, only Gloating Rights. For some of us, that is a big deal. As a matter of fact, our gloating abilities vary so much that we’ve designated three levels for Gloaters: beginners are Gloaticians, moderately advanced are Gloatologists, and the most advanced gets a Ph.G.—the Doctor of Gloatology. You get to point your fingers at yourself, gather congratulations, sing as loud as possible, dance with great élan, and leap with delight.
We will assemble the submissions for a follow up in the next issue of Letters.▼
Study Up. You Too Can Be a Winner!
- djjoegnyc.com
- joegauthreaux.podomatic.com
- siriusxm.com/studio54radio
- mixcloud.com/djrobbieleslie/
Enter to be a winner!
Send your email selection (maximum: two HOPES, two THINKS, one bonus for each DJ) no later than 7 p.m., Sunday, September 1, to: discolottery@camprehoboth.com.