Jul 01

#LOTD2013: December Playlist

#LOTD2013: December PlaylistAfter a long, long, LOOOOOONG delay, I’m bound and determined to post the rest of my Lyric-of-the-Day project playlists from 2013-2014. 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, I was posting links and more information on those lyrics and playlists.

The latest playlist to (finally) get a work-up in my Lyric-of-the-Day project is from December 2013. Here’s that month’s #LOTD2013 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.

  • “Jesus was born and so I get presents/Thank you Jesus for being born” #Cartman “O Holy Night” #LOTD2013 12/1 #SouthPark
  • “Then comes that big night/Giving the tree the trim/You’ll hear voices by starlight” #Sinatra “Mistletoe & Holly” #LOTD2013 12/2
  • “We know that Christmas will be green & bright/Sun to shine by day & all the stars at night” #BingCrosby “Mele Kalikimaka” #LOTD2013 12/3
  • “I want to roll around like a kid in the snow/I want to re-learn what I already know” #TheKillers “A Great Big Sled” #LOTD2013 12/4
  • “Chains no longer bind me/Not the shackles at my feet/Outside are the prisoners/Inside the free” #U2 “Silver & Gold” #LOTD2013 12/5 #Mandela (South African apartheid hero Nelson Mandela passed away, necessitating this break from the holiday tunes to drop U2’s homage to him.)
  • “You’ll get a sentimental feeling when you hear/Voices singing ‘Let’s be jolly'” #BrendaLee “Rockin Around The Christmas Tree” #LOTD2013 12/6
  • “Santa’s got to make it to town/Santa make him hurry/Tell him he can take the freeway down” #ChuckBerry “Run Rudolph Run” #LOTD2013 12/7
  • “So this is Xmas/I hope you have fun/The near & the dear one/The old & the young” #JohnLennon “Happy Xmas (War Is Over) #LOTD2013 12/8 #RIP (43rd anniversary of the assassination of John Lennon.)
  • “There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel/One in the park as well” #PerryComo “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” #LOTD2013 12/9
  • “There’ll be parties for hosting/Marshmallows for toasting” #AndyWilliams “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” #LOTD2013 12/10 (The Response team hosted its annual Winter Bash cocktail party in New York City.)
  • “City sidewalks busy sidewalks/Dressed in holiday style/In the air/There’s a feeling of Christmas” #DerBingle “Silver Bells” #LOTD2013 12/11
  • “I’ve been for a walk/On a winter’s day/I’d be safe and warm/If I was in L.A.” #MamasAndPapas “California Dreamin'” #LOTD2013 12/12 (Throwing out some hometown love from a very cold Thursday in New York City.)
  • “Rhymes so loud and proud you hear it/It’s Christmas time and we got the spirit” #RunDMC “Christmas In Hollis” #LOTD2013 12/13
  • “The orange and palm trees sway/There’s never been such a day in old L.A.” #DarleneLove #PhilSpector “White Christmas” #LOTD2013 12/14
  • “She’s candyapple red with a ski for a wheel/When Santa hits the gas/Man just watch her peel” #BeachBoys “Little Saint Nick” #LOTD2013 12/15
  • “Oh that we could always see/Such spirit through the year” #VinceGuaraldiTrio “Christmas Time Is Here” #LOTD2013 12/16
  • “What a bright time/It’s the rite time/To rock the nite away/Jingle bell time/Is a swell time”#BobbyHelms “Jingle Bell Rock” #LOTD2013 12/17
  • “So anxious for your look of joy and delight/Waiting for just your surprise” #SmashingPumpkins “Christmastime” #LOTD2013 12/18
  • “Church bells in town/Ringin’ a song/What a happy sound” #DarleneLove #PhilSpector #U2 “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” #LOTD2013 12/19 (Hopped a plane “home” to Boston to spend the holidays with my future wife’s family.)
  • “Sleigh bells ring, are you listening/In the lane, snow is glistening” #Eurythmics “Winter Wonderland” #LOTD2013 12/20
  • “Through the years we all will be together/If the fates allow” #LouRawls “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” #LOTD2013 12/21
  • “I feel just like I wanna kiss you underneath my mistletoe” #BruceSpringsteen #OtisRedding “Merry Christmas Baby” #LOTD2013 12/22 (Got engaged to my baby in Newburyport, Mass.)
  • “Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time” #BandAid “Do They Know It’s Christmas” #LOTD2013 12/23 pic.twitter.com/aXIsH5YhlL
  • “He knows if you’ve been bad or good/You better be good for goodness sake” #Bruce #EStreetBand “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” #LOTD2013 12/24
  • “And so I’m offering this simple phrase/To kids from one to 92” #NatKingCole “The Christmas Song” #LOTD2013 12/25 #MerryChristmas
  • “Our little group has always been/And always will until the end/Hello hello hello how low” #Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” #LOTD2013 12/26 (Group dinner with Caitlin’s old friends in Boston.)
  • “Me and my cousins/And you and your cousins/It’s a line that is always running” #VampireWeekend “Cousins” #LOTD2013 12/27 (Family party in Maine with Caitlin’s many cousins.)
  • “I used to dream/Of better days that never came/Sorry ain’t nothin’ to me” #BlackCrowes “Seeing Things” #LOTD2013 12/28
  • “I’m goin’ back to Cali/Shakin’em, bakin’em/Takin’em to spots they never before hung” #LLCoolJ “Going Back To Cali” #LOTD2013 12/29 (Flying home to L.A. after a great holiday.)
  • “I feel that ice is slowly melting/Little darling it seems like years since it’s been clear” #Beatles “Here Comes The Sun” #LOTD2013 12/30
  • “As vintage wine from fine old kegs/From the brim to the dregs/It poured sweet and clear” #Sinatra “It Was A Very Good Year” #LOTD2013 12/31

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

Dec 23

Photo-A-Day 2013: Week 52

I’m happy to report that this post (finally) wraps up my Photo-A-Day project from 2013! It only took me almost an entire year after 2013’s completion to get it done — but done it is. Week 52 is actually a nine-day stretch from Dec. 23-31. If you’ve traveled this long pictorial road with me, thank you. Hopefully it was enjoyable — I know I enjoyed living it! Finally — and for the last time — to see any of the images here (or in any of the Photo-A-Day posts) at full size, simply click right on it.

23-DEC-2013: Portsmouth, N.H., has this holiday thing figured out.

23-DEC-2013: Portsmouth, N.H., has this holiday thing figured out.

24-DEC-2013: The Boston Pops on Christmas Eve. As good as it gets for holiday spirit.

24-DEC-2013: The Boston Pops. Christmas Eve. Talk about holiday spirit.

25-DEC-2013: Merry Christmas, baby.

25-DEC-2013: Merry Christmas, baby.

26-DEC-2013: A little post-Christmas dusting in Newburyport.

26-DEC-2013: A little post-Christmas dusting in Newburyport.

27-DEC-2013: Cooper cousins reunion in Maine. Great fun!

27-DEC-2013: Cooper cousins reunion in Maine. Great fun!

28-DEC-2013: Celtics-Cavs from high above the TD Garden floor. Top row, as a matter of fact.

28-DEC-2013: Celtics-Cavs from the top row of TD Garden.

29-DEC-2013: Back at the scene of the crime, one week later, before heading back to L.A.

29-DEC-2013: Back at the scene, one week later, before heading back to L.A.

30-DEC-2013: Our first chance to celebrate the engagement at home. Perfect weather for some champagne on the roof!

30-DEC-2013: Our first chance to celebrate the engagement at home. Perfect weather for some champagne on the roof!

31-DEC-2013: One last night on the town in DTLA. What a wonderful year!

31-DEC-2013: One last night on the town in DTLA. What a wonderful year!

Dec 21

Photo-A-Day 2013: Week 51

By the end of the week of Dec. 16-22, not only would I have arrived in Boston for the holidays, but I’d also be engaged. So, for a week that started out relatively quietly around the house, things got pretty exciting. Let’s take a look at the images (and remember, to see any image at full size, simply click on it)!

16-DEC-2013: She seems to be holding up pretty well after a couple weeks.

16-DEC-2013: She seems to be holding up pretty well after a couple of weeks.

17-DEC-2013: The Kings dropped Edmonton, 3-0, in this one.

17-DEC-2013: The Kings dropped Edmonton, 3-0, in this one.

18-DEC-2013: Whiskey. Ice. Glass. Perfect.

18-DEC-2013: Whiskey. Ice. Glass. Perfect.

19-DEC-2013: The last day before the holiday with our L.A. tree.

19-DEC-2013: The last day before the holiday with our L.A. tree.

20-DEC-2013: After a red-eye to Boston, a snow-filled sunrise over the city from a Charlestown rooftop.

20-DEC-2013: After a red-eye to Boston, a snow-filled sunrise over the city from a Charlestown rooftop.

21-DEC-2013: Ready to root on the Trojans in the Las Vegas bowl from snowy Massachusetts.

21-DEC-2013: Ready to root on USC in the Vegas Bowl from Massachusetts.

22-DEC-2013: About 45 minutes before this, she said yes.

22-DEC-2013: About 45 minutes before this, she said yes.