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

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

Jul 24

#LOTD2013: October Playlist

LOTD Oct 13And with a much quicker turnaround, it’s a recap of the #LOTD2013 project from last October. Some good tracks in here, and many related to the actual goings on in my day-to-day life. 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!

  • “But look around/Here go the sound/Of the wreckin’ ball/Boom and pound/When I …” “Shut Em Down” #PublicEnemy #LOTD2013 10/1
  • “Stay cool/And be somebody’s fool this year/Cause they know/Who is righteous, what is bold” #SmashingPumpkins “Cherub Rock” #LOTD2013 10/2
  • “The tougher it gets & the more that I sweat/The harder it fights & the deeper it bites” #TheAlarm “One Step Closer To Home” #LOTD2013 10/3
  • “Out in the crowd/You are one in a million/And I love you so/Let’s watch the flowers grow” #Travis “Flowers In The Window” #LOTD2013 10/4 (Another fantastic show from Travis at the Wiltern, featuring the wonderful acoustic arrangement of this, my favorite Travis song.)
  • “So the conversation turned/Until the sun went down/And many fantasies were learned/On that day” #HumanLeague “Fascination” #LOTD2013 10/5 (This song, appropriately, popped on XM in the car while driving to an 80s-themed 40th birthday party. Sadly, when we arrived at the party, it was not painted completely red like a dot on a map.)
  • “Boom, boom, boom, boom/I’m gonna shoot you right down/Right off’a your feet” #JohnLeeHooker “Boom Boom” #LOTD2013 10/6 (Watched 13 Dodger runs in a bombing of Atlanta in Game 3 of the NLDS.)
  • “Famosa y que llamando/Pues me va a despertar/La noche para decir” #GipsyKings #Eagles “Hotel California” #LOTD2013 10/7 (A little Spanish flavor for Dodger hero Juan Uribe on this evening.)
  • “Thanks for the book/Now my table is ready/Is this a library or bar?” #PaulWesterberg “Dyslexic Heart” #LOTD2013 10/8
  • “Be the magic in the northern lights/Be the river as it rolls along/Be the rain you remember fallin” #NeilYoung “Be The Rain” #LOTD2013 10/9
  • R&H Cover“Lover, I’m on the street/Gonna go where the bright lights/And big city meet” #U2 “Desire” #LOTD2013 10/10 #RattleAndHum #25thAnniversary (25 years ago, I waited in line at midnight at the Tower Records in Brea to buy this CD. The first single, quoted here, had dropped a few weeks prior.)
  • Catch-up time for #LOTD2013. “Long nights allow me to feel/I’m falling/I am falling/The lights go out” #EddieVedder “Long Nights” 10/11
  • “I will be the bird in your straw/But you won’t get far/I will keep you in the corner of my eye” #Audioslave “#1 Zero” #LOTD2013 10/12
  • “Look out here I come again/I’m bringing my friends/OK alright/I know where I’ll be tonight” #Wilco “Outtasite (Outta Mind) #LOTD2013 10/13 (Hopped a flight to Chicago for work. Good enough reason to slip in a Wilco lyric.)
  • “Windows are for cheaters/Chimneys for the poor/Closets are for hangers/Winners use the door” #BruceSpringsteen “Rosalita” #LOTD2013 10/14
  • “We talked and we talked and we lay on the bed/And I can remember every word she said” #ChrisIsaak “Flying” #LOTD2013 10/15
  • “Causin’ confusion/Disturbin tha peace/It’s not an illusion/We runnin’ the streets” #Ludacris “Move Bitch” #LOTD2013 10/16
  • “Jennifer Juniper rides a dappled mare/Jennifer Juniper lilacs in her hair/Is she dreaming?” #Donovan “Jennifer Juniper” #LOTD2013 10/17 (An inspiration for my sister’s name. She was born 40 years ago this very day.)
  • “Everybody’s very happy/Cause the sun is shining all the time/Looks like another perfect day” #RandyNewman “I Love LA” #LOTD2013 10/18 (A salute to my Dodgers, whose thrilling and very fun 2013 season ended in the NLCS on this night.)
  • Donovan 45“Well, back home are no floods or tornadoes, baby/And the sun shines every day” #StevieRayVaughan “Texas Flood” #LOTD2013 10/19
  • “You would like those flowers on the hills/And the sunlight in the fall, even the coyotes call” #RyanAdams “Go Easy” #LOTD2013 10/20
  • “Birdie in the hand for life’s rich demand/The insurgency began and you missed it” #REM “Begin The Begin” #LOTD2013 10/21
  • “Are you really that pure, sir?/Thought I saw you in Vegas/It was not pretty/But she was” #JennyLewis “Rise Up With Fists!!” #LOTD2013 10/22 (As it was again on this night, Jenny Lewis at the Largo has become a very special type of “only in L.A.” experience.)
  • “Soothing/I’ll make you feel pure/Trust me/You can be sure” #Muse “Undisclosed Desires” #LOTD2013 10/23
  • “Picked you from a lineup in downtown Phila/Cigarette hangin out your mouth/#HenryMiller in your back pocket” #Live “Freaks” #LOTD2013 10/24
  • “Everybody has/Their own opinion/Everybody has/Their own opinion/Holding it back/Hurts so bad” #JanesAddiction “Mountain Song” #LOTD2013 10/25
  • “To this day/She glided on/Always home/But so far away/Like a word misplaced/Nothing said/What a waste” #PearlJam “Dissident” #LOTD2013 10/26
  • “Early dawning, Sunday morning/It’s just the wasted years so close behind” #VelvetUnderground “Sunday Morning” #LOTD2013 10/27 #RIPLouReed (With news of Lou Reed’s death on this particular Sunday morning, this one was a no-brainer of nearly cliche level.)
  • “Underneath the arches where the witches are saying/There are ghost towns in the ocean” #Coldplay “Cemeteries Of London” #LOTD2013 10/28 (The next four lyrics/song titles are a somewhat loose tribute to Halloween week.)
  • Boingo Shows“In starlit nights I saw you/So cruelly you kissed me/Your lips a magic world” #EchoAndTheBunnymen “The Killing Moon” #LOTD2013 10/29
  • “I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s/His hair was perfect” #WarrenZevon “Werewolves Of London” #LOTD2013 10/30
  • “I’m all dressed up with nowhere to go/Walkin’ with a dead man over my shoulder” #OingoBoingo “Dead Man’s Party” #LOTD2013 10/31 #Halloween (If you grew up in SoCal in the 1980s, you know.)

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