Sep 01

#LOTD2013: November Playlist

LOTD Nov 13The latest playlist to (finally) get a work-up in my Lyric-of-the-Day project is from November 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.

Remember, if you want to see the lyrics as they pop up daily, just give me a follow on Twitter!

  • “In your head they’re still fighting/With their tanks and their bombs/And their bombs and their guns” #Cranberries “Zombie” #LOTD2013 11/1
  • “That part of me left yesterday/The heart of me is strong today/No regrets I’m blessed to say” #TI #JT “Dead And Gone” #LOTD2013 11/2
  • “She’s got wonderful eyes/And a risque mouth/And when i ask her before/She said she’s holding out” #TheCars “Let’s Go” #LOTD2013 11/3
  • “Want my opinion? I’d give you 10-to-1/Give me a million, a franchise on fun” #ABC “How To Be A Millionaire” #LOTD2013 11/4
  • “Wanted something better/Wished for something new/Wanted something beautiful/Wished for something true” #FooFighters “Wheels” #LOTD2013 11/5
  • “I’ll be fine/I’ll be waiting patiently/Till you see the signs/And come running to my open arms” #DepecheMode “It’s No Good” #LOTD2013 11/6
  • “Law don’t mean shit if you got the right friends/That’s how the country’s run” #DeadKennedys “I Fought the Law (And I Won)” #LOTD2013 11/7 (The first in a string of Bay Area-tinged lyrics to celebrate the annual USC Bay Area weekender for Saturday’s game at Berkeley.)
  • “Walking down to Market St./Feeling my heart skip a beat/To see someone who looks like you” #ChrisIsaak “San Francisco Days” #LOTD2013 11/8
  • “Living and dying and the stories that are true/Secret to a good life is knowing when you’re through” #Rancid “Time Bomb” #LOTD2013 11/9
  • “Watching the ships roll in/Then I watch them roll away again, yeah” #OtisRedding “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” #LOTD2013 11/10 (Spent some nice time sitting watching boats on the bay near the Embarcadero in San Francisco.)
  • “Put a gun in my hand & you hide from my eyes/You turn and run farther when the fast bullets fly” #BobDylan “Masters Of War” #LOTD2013 11/11 (Happy Veterans’ Day, not necessarily to those who’ve often sent those soldiers rather cynically into questionable battles.)
  • “Changing clothes/Now he’s got ventilated slacks/Bouncing off the walls/Mr. Jones is back” #TalkingHeads “Mr. Jones” #LOTD2013 11/12
  • “Mike D come on and get it on y’all/Talking sh*t about a mile a minute” #BeastieBoys “B-Boys Makin With The Freak Freak” #LOTD2013 11/13
  • “Well you’re dirty and sweet/Clad in black/Don’t look back/And I love you” #TRex “Bang A Gong” #LOTD2013 11/14
  • “There’s a king on a throne with his eyes torn out/There’s a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt” #Police “King Of Pain” #LOTD2013 11/15
  • “I said, ‘Hey, what’s your name?/Maybe we can see things the same?'” #Free “All Right Now” #LOTD2013 11/16 #USC#BeatTheFarm (USC 20, Stanford 17. Best moment of the season for the Trojans. Why not celebrate with a rousing rendition of the Cardinal’s “fight song,” which also stands in as the USC band’s song when the Trojans force a turnover.)
  • “When we bend a new corner/I feel like a sweepstake winner” #BobMarley “Satisfy My Soul” #LOTD2013 11/17
  • “Why don’t you tell it like it is/Why don’t you tell it like it really is/Before you go on home” #Stereophonics “Mr. Writer” #LOTD2013 11/18
  • “Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner/But he knew it wouldn’t last” #TheBeatles “Get Back” #LOTD2013 11/19
  • “I could talk all night/My mind goes sleepwalking/While I’m putting the world to right” #ElvisCostello “Oliver’s Army” #LOTD2013 11/20
  • “So never mind the darkness/We still can find a way/’Cause nothin’ lasts forever/Even cold …” “NovemberRain” #GunsNRoses #LOTD2013 11/21 (Cliche, but I had to wait 2/3 of the month for some rain in order to use it!)
  • “Still I have the warmth of the sun/Within me tonight” #BeachBoys “The Warmth Of The Sun” #LOTD2013 11/22 #JFK #JFK50 (Brian Wilson and Mike Love began writing the song early on the morning of 11/22/63 and finished it that afternoon following the news of JFK’s assassination.)
  • “Had to back up off it & sit my cup down/Tanqueray & chronic yeah I’m f*cked up now” #SnoopDogg “Gin & Juice” #LOTD2013 11/23 #Doggystyle20
  • “You’re still alive she said/Do I deserve to be/Is that the question/And if so/Who answers, who answers” #PearlJam “Alive” #LOTD2013 11/24 (One of my favorite lyrics ever. Special to see it live at the L.A. Sports Arena on this night.)
  • “You don’t have to answer me/You don’t have to call me back” #X “Your Phone’s Off The Hook But You’re Not” #LOTD2013 11/25
  • “Can’t get it outta my head/Miss her, kiss her, love her/Wrong move, you’re dead” #BellBivDevoe “Poison” #LOTD2013 11/26 (Impressive cover by Justin Timberlake at his Staples Center show on this fine evening.)
  • “Your fingers weave quick minarets/Speak in secret alphabets/I light another cigarette/Learn to forget” #Doors “Soul Kitchen” #LOTD2013 11/27
  • “Today my world it smiles/Your hand in mine we walk the miles/Thanks to you it will be done” #LedZeppelin “Thank You” #LOTD2013 11/28 (Happy Thanksgiving!)
  • “All the people/So many people/They all go hand in hand/Hand in hand through their parklife” #Blur “Parklife” #LOTD2013 11/29
  • “Palm trees are candles in the murder wind/So many lives are on the breeze” #BadReligion “Los Angeles Is Burning” #LOTD2013 11/30 (A salute to the annual USC-UCLA football game. And, unfortunately in 2013, its outcome.)

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

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

Jul 12

#LOTD2013: September Playlist

#LOTD2013 SeptemberWell, I imagine the fact that I decided to continue the Lyric-of-the-Day project into 2014 somehow made these updates a little less urgent for me. However, let’s be honest, I might have lost interest in the recap posts if I was you by this point! 🙂

Nonetheless, I will forge on and eventually catch up — starting now. Here’s the monthly #LOTD2013 playlist for last September (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!

  • “Two lovers lie with no sheets on their bed/And the day it is breaking” #U2 “Electrical Storm” #LOTD2013 9/1
  • “I am smitten/I’ll do anything (I’ll do anything)/A kiss, breath turpentine” #REM “Crush With Eyeliner” #LOTD2013 9/2
  • “Time passes much too quickly when we’re together laughing/I wish I could sing it to you” #Chicago “Beginnings” #LOTD2013 9/3
  • “Don’t harass me/Can’t you tell/I’m going home/I’m tired as hell/I’m not the cat I used to be”#Pretenders “Middle Of The Road” #LOTD2013 9/4
  • “My life/You electrify my life/Let’s conspire to ignite/All the souls that would die just to feel alive” #Muse “Starlight” #LOTD2013 9/5
  • “I don’t need to fight/To prove I’m right/I don’t need to be forgiven” #TheWho “Baba O’Riley” #LOTD2013 9/6
  • “I’ve seen the good side of bad/And the down side of up/And everything between” #Everlast “What It’s Like” #LOTD2013 9/7 (A perfect perspective for a long-time USC fan on this night when the Trojans lost their home opener, 10-7, to lowly Washington State.)
  • “She looked at me and told me/I was the only one in the world/Now I have found my girl” #TheDoors “Blue Sunday” #LOTD2013 9/8
  • “Been thinking ’bout catching a train/Leave my phone machine by the radar range” #SherylCrow “A Change Would Do You Good” #LOTD2013 9/9
  • “2 of a kind/We’ll find a way/To do what we’ve done/Let me be the 1 that shines with you/And we can …” “Slide Away” #Oasis #LOTD2013 9/10 (A little turn of phrase for the birthday girl.)
  • “Dear New York I know a lot has changed/2 towers down but you’re still in the game” #BeastieBoys “An Open Letter To NYC” #LOTD2013 9/11 (Self-explanatory, I’d hope.)
  • “You just want someone to talk to/They just wanna get their hands on you/You get whatever you choose” #Eagles “Those Shoes” #LOTD2013 9/12
  • “Always take a big bite/It’s such a gorgeous sight/To see you in the middle of the night” #TheCure “Friday I’m In Love” #LOTD2013 9/13
  • “When I hear that trumpet sound/I’m gonna rise right out of the ground” #JohnnyCash “Ain’t No Grave” #LOTD2013 9/14
  • “Don’t stop inspiring me/Sometimes it’s hard to keep on running/We work so much to keep it going” #NoDoubt “Running” #LOTD2013 9/15 (A running lyric for the USC Urology Charity 5K I ran this morning.)
  • “I know what is going on/I know that I’ll wait til dawn/I know just exactly what’s on your mind” #Raconteurs “Rich Kid Blues” #LOTD2013 9/16
  • “Turn the tables with our unity/They’re neither moral nor majority/Wake up and smell the coffee” #L7 “Pretend We’re Dead” #LOTD2013 9/17
  • “And in the world a heart of darkness/A fire zone/Where poets speak their heart/Then bleed for it” #U2 “One Tree Hill” #LOTD2013 9/18 (One of my dad’s favorite songs on his birthday.)
  • “Turn it up a notch/First you get a swimming pool full of liquor/Then you dive in it” #KendrickLamar “Swimming Pools (Drank)” #LOTD2013 9/19
  • “Cut the night just like a razor/Rarely talk & that’s the danger” #INXS “The One Thing” #LOTD2013 9/20 (25 yrs ago tonite @PacAmp w/@kzener) (Guess I made my own note about this one in the actual Tweet, eh Karl?)
  • “Put de lime in de coconut/You drink ’em bot’ togedder/Put de lime in de coconut/And you feel better” #HarryNilsson “Coconut” #LOTD2013 9/21
  • “It’s how/I give this gift to you/It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s the best that I could do” #Sugar “Gift” #LOTD2013 9/22
  • “We hope you enjoy your stay/Outside the sun is shining /It seems like heaven ain’t far away” #Killers “Enterlude” #LOTD2013 9/23 #LasVegas (Headed to Las Vegas on this fine morning for an annual work event.)
  • “Your mommy’s all right/Your daddy’s all right/They just seem a little weird” #CheapTrick “Surrender” #LOTD2013 9/24 (On this lovely Tuesday evening, I attended two separate private parties at Surrender nightclub at the Encore in Las Vegas.)
  • “We’ve come too far to give up who we are/So let’s raise the bar and our cups to the stars” #DaftPunk “Get Lucky” #LOTD2013 9/25 (The tune we chose for our annual DRMA member video, which debuted on this night at the Marketer of the Year party in Las Vegas.)
  • Catch-up time: “I’m always hearing voices on the street/I want to shout but I can’t hardly speak” #RollingStones “Rocks Off” #LOTD2013 9/26
  • “Such a muddy line between/The things you want/And the things you have to do” #SherylCrow “Leaving Las Vegas” #LOTD2013 9/27
  • “There’s danger on the edge of town/Ride the King’s highway, baby/Weird scenes inside the gold mine” #TheDoors “The End” #LOTD2013 9/28 (An ode to Lane Kiffin on the occasion of his final embarrassment as USC’s head coach.)
  • “Taking me where I want to be/I’m taking a ride/With my best friend” #DepecheMode “Never Let Me Down Again” #LOTD2013 9/29 (Caught D-Mode at Staples Center. Impressive show.)
  • “Ring out the bells again/Like we did when spring began” #GreenDay “Wake Me Up When September Ends” #LOTD2013 9/30

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