Feb 10

#LOTD2014: March Playlist

Continuing to push through the way-overdue Lyric-of-the-Day project recaps from 2013-2014 with the March 2014 playlist. As a refresher, each day from Jan. 1, 2013 through Dec. 31, 2014, I posted a lyric on my Twitter feed. At the end of each month, I created a Spotify playlist of the songs featured, and throughout much of 2013-14 here on the blog.

Here’s March’s #LOTD2014 playlist (find the Spotify playlist I’ve created from these lyrics linked at the end of the post or on the clickable image at right), with some brief explanations (in italics) for a number of the lyrics.

  • “I’m filling a need/I’m plugging a hole/My mama’s so glad/I ain’t on the dole” #RollingStones “When The Whip Comes Down” #LOTD2014 3/1
  • “All my friends know the low rider/The low rider is a little higher” #WAR “Low Rider” #LOTD2014 3/2 #BeALotCoolerIfYouDid #McConnaissance (Matthew McConaughey wins the Best Actor Oscar for “Dallas Buyers Club”)
  • “For the millionth time askin’ me/Questions like Wendy Williams harassin’ me” #JayZ “A Million & 1 Questions” #LOTD2014 3/3
  • “I have no fear of falling/But I hate hitting the ground” #TheBadlees “Fear Of Falling” #LOTD2014 3/4 (I took a tumble while jogging in downtown L.A. and broke my left pinkie.)
  • “They can plead/But they can’t see the light/Cause the boy with cold hard cash/Is always Mr. Right” #Madonna “Material Girl” #LOTD2014 3/5
  • “Bend my finger back (snap)/Wrap it in a paper towel/Break a twig in half and set it straight” #VampireWeekend “Finger Back” #LOTD2014 3/6 (Surgery on that broken pinkie with my long-time hand and wrist specialist, Dr. Shin.)
  • “Light up, light up/As if you have a choice/Even if you cannot hear my voice/I’ll be right beside you dear” #SnowPatrol “Run” #LOTD2014 3/7
  • “The infrastructure will collapse/From voltage spikes/Throw your keys in the bowl” #Radiohead “House Of Cards” #LOTD2014 3/8
  • “Take the water prisoner/Fill the sky with screams and cries/Bathe in fiery answers” #TownesVanZandt “Lungs” #LOTD2014 3/9 #TrueDetective (HBO airs the last episode of the amazing first season of “True Detective.”)
  • “Hey brother, do you still believe in one another?/Hey sister, do you still believe in love I wonder?” #Avicii “Hey Brother” #LOTD2014 3/10
  • “Headphones are loud/Chilling on a pillowy cloud/Comfort of codeine & Springsteen pristine” #KurtVile “Snowflakes Are Dancing” #LOTD2014 3/11
  • “Sun’s brighter than its ever been/Why ain’t I?/Cause I’m a Son of an American/ That’s why” #TheSoSoGlos “Son Of An American” #LOTD2014 3/12
  • “Ain’t nuttin goin on but the bomb-ass rap song/Hittin all night long” #IceCube “You Know How We Do It” #LOTD2014 3/13 (cc: @danny_mendoza)
  • “I forget to forget nothing is important/Holding back the fool again” #SmashingPumpkins “To Forgive” #LOTD2014 3/14
  • “Shoefly, dragonfly/Get back t’your mother/Pick up a flat rock/Skip it across Green River” #CCR “Green River” #LOTD2014 3/15 #StPatsChicago (In Chicago for work, but spent the day enjoying the city’s incredible annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration.)
  • “I need a garden/Where nothing’s forbidden/I need an apple/That no one’s been eatin'” #TheWallflowers “When You’re On Top” #LOTD2014 3/16
  • “When the night has no end/And the day yet to begin/As the room spins around/I need your love” #U2 “Hawkmoon 269” #LOTD2014 3/17
  • “Cannonball and rifle/Rifle and cannonball/That’s the way the thunder rumbles” #EchoAndTheBunnymen “Bedbugs And Ballyhoo” #LOTD2014 3/18
  • “We live for just these twenty years/Do we have to die for the fifty more?” #DavidBowie “Young Americans” #LOTD2014 3/19
  • “Does your imagination try to make you what you wanted to be/I’m sorry I do what I did but it came naturally” #Haim “The Wire” #LOTD2014 3/20
  • “Moons and Junes & ferris wheels/The dizzy dancing way you feel/As every fairy tale comes real” #JudyCollins “Both Sides Now” #LOTD2014 3/21 (Attended the “Mad Men” creator and cast roundtable at Paleyfest at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.)
  • “Hold back the dam/Fill these bags with sand/Every boy, woman, every man/Has got to…” “Lend A Hand” #JakobDylan #LOTD2014 3/22 #SCervice (Worked with a group of underprivileged junior high and high school students interested in journalism as part of USC’s annual Day of Service.)
  • “Put our heads together/Start a new country up/Our father’s father’s father tried/Erased parts he didn’t like”#REM “Cuyahoga” #LOTD2014 3/23
  • “Lake made of sand/And the milk don’t pour/And the honey don’t dance/And the money ain’t yours” #ChanceTheRapper “Pusha Man” #LOTD2014 3/24
  • “Did I tell you how much I miss your smile?/Did I tell you I was okay?/Well no way” #AdamAnt “Wonderful” #LOTD2014 3/25
  • “You wake and let’s wait to start the morning process/Rebuilding & you’re still a work in progress” #Eminem “Beautiful Pain” #LOTD2014 3/26
  • “I’ve been watching you/Think I wanna know ya/I’m a little dangerous/I’d love to show ya” #MorrisDayAndTheTime “Jungle Love” #LOTD2014 3/27
  • “There’s a brand new groove goin’ round/In your city, in your town/And the kick drum is the fault” #Prince “Housequake” #LOTD2014 3/28
  • “Lay your cross down/And let the long reaching arm/Of hope bring you around” #TerenceTrentDarby “Dance Little Sister” #LOTD2014 3/29
  • “Now I’m lookin’ at a flashback Sunday/Zoom lens feelings just won’t disappear” #JGeilsBand “Freeze Frame” #LOTD2014 3/30
  • “There’s music on the station/But I’m just listening to cold wind whistling” #ArcadeFire “Cold Wind” #LOTD2014 3/31

Here’s the Spotify playlist if you’d like to listen along: #LOTD204: March

Feb 28

#LOTD2013: August Playlist

I will catch up. I will catch up. I will catch up! Much as I continue to forge ahead with completing my 2013 Photo-A-Day project here, so too will I persevere in presenting the monthly #LOTD2013 playlists I cobbled together. In that spirit, here are August’s Lyric-of-the-Day Tweets (find the Spotify playlist I’ve created from these lyrics linked at the end of the post or on the clickable image at right), with some brief explanations (in italics) for a number of the lyrics. Remember, if you want to see the lyrics as they pop up daily, just give me a follow on Twitter!

  • “Teach our twisted speech/To the young believers/We’ll train our blue-eyed men/To be young believers” #TheClash “Clampdown” #LOTD2013 8/1
  • “You know I can’t sleep, I can’t stop my brain/You know it’s three weeks, I’m going insane” #TheBeatles “I’m So Tired” #LOTD2013 8/2
  • “Wake up it’s time/We need to find a better place to hide/Make up your mind/I need to know tonight” #FooFighters “Razor” #LOTD2013 8/3
  • “Happiness, coming and going/I watch you look at me/Watch my fever growing/I know just who I am” #TheVerve “Lucky Man” #LOTD2013 8/4
  • “The kids want a little fun/The kids all have to get their kicks/Before the evening’s done” #MC5 “High School” #LOTD2013 8/5 (I was able to spend some time catching up with old HS friends in Anaheim before and after attending the Angel game with some work pals.)
  • “There’s a smile on my face for everyone/There’s a golden coin that reflects the sun” #OingoBoingo “Just Another Day” #LOTD2013 8/6
  • “I’ll throw away/A chance at greatness/Just to make this/Dream come into play” #MatthewSweet “Sick Of Myself” #LOTD2013 8/7
  • “Billy Joe shot a man while robbing his castle/Bobbie Sue took the money and run” #SteveMillerBand “Take The Money And Run” #LOTD2013 8/8 (Post-industry event, a group of us were spinning this on vinyl in a friend’s hotel room in Hollywood.)
  • “Ain’t never count me out/Y’all better count me in” #DJKhaled #Ludacris #RickRoss #SnoopDogg #TPain “All I Do Is Win” #LOTD2013 8/9
  • “Bright lights is enticing but look what it did to Tyson/All that money in 1 night, 30 mil for 1 fight” #JayZ “Holy Grail” #LOTD2013 8/10
  • “Perfect strangers when we meet/Strangers on the street/Lovers while we sleep” #SmashingPumpkins “Perfect” #LOTD2013 8/11
  • “You got a job downtown/Man that leaves your head cold/Everywhere you look/Life ain’t got no soul” #Springsteen “Murder Inc” #LOTD2013 8/12
  • “I’m charming and dashing/I’m rental car bashing/Phony paper passing/At Nix Check Cashing” #BeastieBoys “High Plains Drifter” #LOTD2013 8/13
  • “May your heart always be joyful/And may your song always be sung/May you stay forever young” #BobDylan “Forever Young” #LOTD2013 8/14 (A special bond in this song for my dad and I, and we had a great time at the Dodger game on this night.)
  • “Never saw rainbows in my wine/But now that your lips are burning mine” #EllaFitzgerald “I’m Beginning To See The Light” #LOTD2013 8/15 #ORF
  • “We could fly a helicopter/Nothing left to talk about/Entertain you/Celebrate you” #Garbage “When I Grow Up” #LOTD2013 8/16
  • “I went down Virginia/Seekin shelter from the storm/Caught up in the fable/I watched the tower grow” #CCR “Who’ll Stop The Rain” #LOTD2013 8/17 (Spent a rainy Saturday in Virginia Beach/Norfolk — my first visit ever — with friends.)
  • “Devil and the deep blue sea behind me/Vanish in the air you’ll never find me” #ThePolice “Wrapped Around Your Finger” #LOTD2013 8/18
  • “She broke down & let me in/Made me see where I been/Been down 1 time/Been down 2 times” #FleetwoodMac “Never Going Back Again” #LOTD2013 8/19
  • “Time is a string of pearls/See the future just hanging there/A new frame, a new perspective” #Passengers “Your Blue Room” #LOTD2013 8/20
  • “See him drink/From a bottle/See him eat/From a plate/Cute, cute/As a button” #TalkingHeads “Stay Up Late” #LOTD2013 8/21
  • “Hot like a cheetah/Neon mamacita/Eat at tacoria/Pop locking’ beats from Korea” #Beck “Hollywood Freaks” #LOTD2013 8/22 (Took the Metro up to Hollywood for a movie and, suffice it to say, the freaks were out in force.)
  • “Your groove I do deeply dig/No walls only the bridge/My supperdish, my succotash wish” #DeeeLite “Groove Is In The Heart” #LOTD2013 8/23
  • “I’ve got something here/If you give me one more beer/I’m gonna call a runner” #KingsOfLeon “Back Down South” #LOTD2013 8/24
  • “I’m standing here on the ground/The sky above won’t fall down/See no evil in all directions” #INXS “Don’t Change” #LOTD2013 8/25
  • “I got a backstreet lover on the passenger seat/I got my hand in my pocket, so determined, discreet/I pray” #PearlJam “Once” #LOTD2013 8/26
  • “I used to make a living, man/Pickin’ the banana/Now I’m a guide for the CIA/Hooray for the USA” #Ramones “Havana Affair” #LOTD2013 8/27
  • Back from #Hawaii. Time for some #LOTD2013 catch-up. “Vacation/All I ever wanted/Vacation/Had to get away” #TheGoGos “Vacation” 8/28
  • “All hail to alma mater/To thy glory we sing/All Hail to Southern California/Loud let thy praises ring” #USCTMB “All Hail” #LOTD2013 8/29 (I attended USC’s 30-13 win over Hawaii at Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium … and, as is my wont, I sang the alma mater post-game.)
  • “Come a li’l bit closer/Hear what I have to say/Like children sleepin/We could dream the nite away” #NeilYoung “Harvest Moon” #LOTD2013 8/30
  • “I have this dream where I’m down on my knees on the black sand/I’m facing the sea as the wind …” #JennyLewis “Black Sand” #LOTD2013 8/31 (Took the Road to Hana on Maui today and made a stop to take a dip on a black-sand beach.)

Here’s the Spotify playlist if you’d like to listen along: #LOTD2013: August

Jul 07

#LOTD2013: May Playlist

#LOTD2013: MayThanks to the long holiday weekend, I’ve been working on pulling together my Lyric-of-the-Day (#LOTD2013) playlists. Here are May’s Tweets (find the Spotify playlist I’ve created from these lyrics linked at the end of the post or on the clickable image at right), with some brief explanations (in italics) for a number of the lyrics. Remember, if you want to see the lyrics as they pop up daily, just give me a follow on Twitter!

  • “Start again in the month of May/Come on and blow the wires away” #ArcadeFire “Month of May” #LOTD2013 5/1
  • “The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun” #TheKillers “Read My Mind” #LOTD2013 5/2 (Another great Killers show, tonight at the L.A. Sports Arena. And this one’s always fantastic live.)
  • “There was so much space/I cut me a piece/With some fine wine/It brought peace to my mind” #JanesAddiction “Summertime Rolls” #LOTD2013 5/3
  • “I’ve got more rhymes than I’ve got gray hairs/And that’s a lot because I’ve got my share” #BeastieBoys “Sure Shot” #LOTD2013 5/4 #RIPMCA (A salute to Adam Yauch on the one-year anniversary of his passing, far too soon.)
  • “Singing songs of passion/It’s the truth they all look for/One thing they must keep alive” #LosLobos “Will The Wolf Survive?” #LOTD2013 5/5 (One of the best from some of L.A’s favorite Latino sons on Cinco de Mayo.)
  • “We’ll be playing and having fun/And it makes me feel so fine/I can’t control my brain” #Weezer “Island In The Sun” #LOTD2013 5/6
  • “Baby, stop me when I’m passin’ by/See now all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy” #VanHalen “Ice Cream Man” #LOTD2013 5/7
  • “Happiness will make you wonder/Will I feel OK?/It scares the disenchanted/Far away” #SmashingPumpkins “Hummer” #LOTD2013 5/8
  • “Everybody, get on the beat/We’re gonna show U mothers how 2 scream/People everywhere, loosen up your hair” #Prince “D.M.S.R.” #LOTD2013 5/9
  • “Listen to my gearshift/I’m blastin, outlastin/Kinda like Shaft/You could say I’m shaftin” #LLCoolJ “Mama Said Knock You Out” #LOTD2013 5/10
  • “Look now, look all around, there’s no sign of life/Voices, another sound, can you hear me now?” #DuranDuran “Planet Earth” #LOTD2013 5/11
  • “I’m all 6s and 7s and 9s/Say now baby, I’m the rank outsider/You can be my partner in crime” #RollingStones “Tumbling Dice” #LOTD2013 5/12 (This song could be my #LOTD pretty much any day that I hear it. I love it that much.)
  • “Love myself/Better than you/I know it’s wrong/So what should I do?” #Nirvana “On A Plain” #LOTD2013 5/13
  • “And when I look in my window/So many different people to be/It’s strange, sure it’s strange” #Donovan “Season Of The Witch” #LOTD2013 5/14
  • “Free to fly the crimson sky/The sun won’t melt our wings tonight/Oh now here she comes” #U2 “Even Better Than The Real Thing” #LOTD2013 5/15 (On my 42nd birthday, a song from my favorite band relating to how I feel about someone rather special.)
  • “If I could just be/Everything and everyone to you/This life would just be so easy” #INXS “Not Enough Time” #LOTD2013 5/16
  • “Mr. Wendal, a man, a human in flesh but not by law/I feed you dignity to stand with pride” #ArrestedDevelopment “Mr. Wendal” #LOTD2013 5/17
  • “I like you and I’d like to/Be free, be free, be free, be free/Yeah, I like you and I’d like to/Be free” #Travis “Quite Free” LOTD2013 5/18
  • “I got a new suit of clothes, a pretty red rose/And a woman I can call my friend” #BruceSpringsteen “Better Days” #LOTD2013 5/19
  • “Dance on fire as it intends/Music is your only friend/Until the end/Until the end” #TheDoors “When The Music’s Over” #LOTD2013 5/20 #RIPRay (A salute to Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek on his passing. I grew up with The Doors, thanks to my dad, and Manzarek’s sound will always remain distinct.)
  • “Blindly snap the broken beats/Said it’s cut with a dirty trick/It’s taken all these days to find ya” #Kasabian “Club Foot” #LOTD2013 5/21
  • “I’m your conscious/I am love/All I really need is 2 know that/U believe” #Prince “I Would Die 4 U” #LOTD2013 5/22
  • “Turn the crowd up now/We’ll never back down/Shoot down a skyline/Watch it in primetime” #SwedishHouseMafia “Save The World” #LOTD2013 5/23
  • “Keep your head on tight/Make it thru the night/You gotta make a friend along the way” #BlackCrowes “Movin’ On Down The Line” #LOTD2013 5/24
  • “Have another beer/What’d we do without all these jerks anyway?/Besides all our friends are here” #DonHenley “Sunset Grill” #LOTD2013 5/25
  • “I’ll go away/And I’ll turn around this little game/Cuz I don’t need your praise” #Cracker #FlaminGroovies “Shake Some Action”#LOTD2013 5/26 (Saw a screening of “Clueless” thanks to Cinespia at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and remembered Cracker’s version of this little gem popping up in it.)
  • “They send you down to war/When you ask them/How much should we give/They only answer more” #CCR “Fortunate Son” #LOTD2013 5/27 #MemorialDay
  • “Drove down the hwy/Til I came to Los Angeles/Town of the angels/Best this country can do” #Mellencamp “Hotdogs & Hamburgers” #LOTD2013 5/28
  • “How long do I have to climb/Up on the side of this mountain of mine?” #Coldplay “Speed Of Sound” #LOTD2013 5/29
  • “No longer overwhelmed & it seems so simple now/Funny when things change so much/It’s all state of mind” #PearlJam “In Hiding” #LOTD2013 5/30
  • “As it was again it will be/Though the course may change sometimes/Rivers always reach the sea” #LedZeppelin “Ten Years Gone” #LOTD2013 5/31 (My wedding was 10 years ago today. Though things have changed and divorce came down the line, it’s not a day I regret in the least.)

Here’s the Spotify playlist if you’d like to listen along: #LOTD2013: May