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

Mar 16

#LOTD2013: February Playlist

#LOTD2013 February PlaylistAs I explained in last month’s recap post of the January playlist, along with the Photo-a-Day project I launched on Jan. 1, I also decided to take on a daily Twitter project: sharing a Lyric of the Day (hence the #LOTD2013 hashtag that goes along with each Tweet).

Here’s the list of February’s Tweets (find the Spotify playlist I’ve created from these lyrics linked at the end of the post or on the 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!

  • “Quench me when I’m thirsty/Come on and cool me down, baby, when I’m hot. (ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)” #BobMarley “Stir It Up” #LOTD2013 2/1
  • “If I look hard enuf into the setting sun/My love will laugh with me before the morning comes” #RollingStones “Paint It Black” #LOTD2013 2/2
  • “I’d like to hear a little guitar/I guess it’s time to put the top down” #CountingCrows “Raining in Baltimore” #LOTD2013 2/3 – The Baltimore Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII, 34-31, over the San Francisco 49ers.
  • “Don’t it suck about the succubi, the bloodsuckers and the parasites/They’re never funny” #TheHoldSteady “A Slight Discomfort” #LOTD2013 2/4
  • “Rampart boys with loaded rifles/Guatemalan soccer ball instant replays/Mango ladies, vendedoras” #Beck “Que Onda Guero” #LOTD2013 2/5
  • “Because my inside is outside/My right side’s on the left side/’Cause I’m writing to reach you” #Travis “Writing to Reach You” #LOTD2013 2/6
  • “Some fools love to perform/U know the type loud as a motorbike/But wouldn’t bust a grape in a fruit fight” #JayZ “99 Problems” #LOTD2013 2/7 – Dedicated to fake tough guy lifting in my building’s rooftop gym.
  • “Stranded in this spooky town/Stoplights are swaying, phone lines are down/This floor is crackling cold” #KingsofLeon “Closer” #LOTD2013 2/8
  • “Please see for me if her hair hangs long/If it rolls and flows all down her breast.” #BobDylan “Girl From the North Country” #LOTD2013 2/9 – Struck by the placement of this song in “Silver Linings Playbook,” which I saw this Saturday night.
  • “Run a mile for the cause, I’m righteous above the law/Playa my style’s raw, I’m born to mack …” #Nelly “Country Grammar” #LOTD2013 2/10 – One of my top running songs, it shuffled on to my iPod at just the right moment this morning when I was running my first competitive 10k race in Santa Monica.
  • “Poets, priests and politicians/Have words to thank for their positions” #ThePolice “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” #LOTD2013 2/11
  • “Nothin’ much to say I guess/Just the same as all the rest” #U2 “Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World” #LOTD2013 2/12
  • “Give all of my mercy/Give all of my heart/Never thought I’d miss you/That I’d miss you so much” #TheJayhawks “Blue” #LOTD2013 2/13
  • “Cupid, draw back your bow and let your arrow go/Straight to my lover’s heart for me, for me” #SamCooke “Cupid” #LOTD2013 2/14 #HappyVDay – My favorite vaguely Valentine’s Day-related song.
  • “All day you’ve been working that hard line/Now tonight you’re gonna have a good time” #BruceSpringsteen “Out In The Street” #LOTD2013 2/15
  • “A live wire, barely a beginner/But just watch that lady go/She’s on fire …” #VanHalen “Dance The Night Away” #LOTD2013 2/16
  • “Cause I have done it before/And I can do it some more/I’ve got my eye on the score” #TheHives “Tick Tick Boom” #LOTD2013 2/17 – Experienced 11-plus amusing and rocking minutes of this tune at the House of Blues Anaheim on this fine night.
  • “When my thoughts start to feel like mine/They’re taken from me, it seems to happen every time” #TheWhiteStripes “Do” #LOTD2013 2/18
  • “Yeah, ya got plastic boots/Y’all got cocaine eyes/Yeah, ya got speed-freak jive” #RollingStones “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” #LOTD2013 2/19
  • “Motion pictures on my TV screen/A home away from home, livin’ in between” #NeilYoung “Motion Pictures” #LOTD2013 2/20
  • “Clean as a whistle/Smellin like a rose/She got no dirty little fingers/Bloodshot eyes are gone” #BlackCrowes “Twice As Hard” #LOTD2013 2/21
  • “Only a lad/Really can’t blame him/Only a lad/Society made him/Only a lad/He’s our responsibility” #OingoBoingo “Only A Lad” #LOTD2013 2/22
  • “Got the wheels, petrol’s cheap/Only went there for a week/Got the sun got the sand/Got batteries in the handycam” #U2 “Miami” #LOTD2013 2/23 – Arrival day in Miami Beach for an annual work trip. Always excited to arrive there.
  • “Glaciers melting in the dead of night/And the superstars sucked into the supermassive” #Muse “Supermassive Black Hole” #LOTD2013 2/24
  • “Feelin’ rough/Feelin’ raw/In the prime of my life/Make some music & some money/Find models for wives” #MGMT “Time To Pretend” #LOTD2013 2/25 – It’s nearly inevitable that at some point during a trip to Miami Beach, you find yourself noticing that much of it is actually closer to L.A.’s plastic reputation than L.A. really is.
  • “Hell-bent or heaven-sent/Listen to the propaganda/Listen to the latest slander” #ElvisCostello “Pump It Up” #LOTD2013 2/26
  • “All I get is these vampires and blood suckers/All I see is these ni**as I’ve made millionaires” #JayZ #KanyeWest “Monster” #LOTD2013 2/27
  • “The bus is running/It’s time to leave/The summer’s gone/And so are we” #CountingCrows “Miami” #LOTD2013 2/28 – Check-out day in Miami Beach. Always excited to leave there.

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