Oh, December…you frozen tundra. Not of emotion, but of landscape. Most of my December remained hidden underneath a white veil of snow. It dampened my spirit and sent me hiding underneath the covers, begging for Spring to make haste and arrive. Music was the saving grace for me. Lifting me when I was down, warming me when I was chilled to the bone, and inspiring me when I stared at a blank canvas.
“Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani
I wake up with the oddest songs in my head and this is the song I woke up humming on December 1st. Couldn’t tell you why but I figure that this is The Universe telling me to fight for what I believe in and to stand up for myself.
“Holding on for Life” by Broken Bells
I can listen to this song on repeat. IT’S. THAT. GOOD. Take a little 70’s vibe of Bee Gees mix a little 2013 in it and you’ve got “Holding on for Life.” I love the lyrics, “What a lovely day to be lonely. You’re holding on for life…Well, you may belong
to another time, till you have to carry on. Nowhere else to go and you never know
what to hide and what to show…”
“Closer to the Edge” by Burlap to Cashmere
I probably surprised a lot by this not being “Closer to the Edge” by 30STM and this song is nothing like the 30STM song that I live by, but just as powerful to me. Another reminder to not give up. “Closer to the edge I found
I was standing in the second round. I was laughing but I didn’t make a sound. Now I’m flying with my feet on the ground. And me, I never had me a home. Never sleeping in a place with my own. I was crying but I didn’t make a sound. Now I’m flying with my feet on the ground…”
“The South” by The Cadillac Three
I really adore this band. Southern to the roots and proud of it. They make me Southern proud and this song really made me miss home as I sit in snowy Detroit. You can take me out of the South, but I will always be Southern and I still say ma’am, sir, please and thank you, bless your heart, and I miss sweet ice tea and grits. “Where the world don’t seem so damn modern and a good ole boy like me still has a chance. This is where I was born, this is where I’ll die. It’s all about the South. Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Carolina. Don’t you wanna get down and dirty? Cause, Florida I’m thirsty. Hit me with your Tennessee whiskey and crank it up loud…Laid back, you crazy old timer, sweet magnolia, dive bars and diners…”
“Single Ladies” by Beyonce
I had a dream someone I know sang this at my wedding. When I told her of this dream and that if it should ever come true, I hope she could sing because I was signing her up. She said she hopes it comes true and sent me the link to this song. Randomness of the subconscious!
“East Bound and Down” by Jerry Reed
Get this song stuck in your ear and your screwed. For two weeks I hummed this song nonstop since it was featured on Fast ‘n Loud (one of my favorite TV shows).
“Shot in the Dark” by Ozzy Osbourne
This song kept randomly popping up in the month of December. From the radio, to iPod, to Spotify and so on. The Universe was trying to tell me something.
“Royals” by Lorde
I couldn’t escape this song. It was everywhere. And it’s a goddamn ear worm.
“Set It on Fire” by My Darkest Days
Temptation seems to be having a running theme in December but I’m single so I’m not really picking up what the Universe is actually laying down other than good tunes. Anyway, who doesn’t want to set someone’s world on fire (in a good, non homicidal way)? “You got a smile that knocks me down, you don’t waste time, you tell the truth…I don’t want to give you the run around
I’m holding on to what we’ve found. You pull me in deeper with the way you move…The world comes crashing down
when you come around…”
“Between the End and Where We Lie” by Thrice
These lyrics —-> “…all of my dreams, always find me far beyond these fake fluorescent skies. I know there must be something more, if I could only find the door then I could free myself and see the world outside. Where daylight breaks on you and shines into the grey that sleeps beneath your skull. Daylight breaks on you and burns away the grey that suffocates your soul. For now I hold a key, and though I may be lost I know that I will find my way…Daylight pours fire into my grey eyes, pour grace into my grey life, breaks in and lights the way. I can’t live without the day…”
“You’re So Dark” by Arctic Monkeys
I love the temptation in this song. There’s always one person who is like this in everyone’s life even if we admit or not. “You got your H.P. Lovecraft. Your Edgar Allan Poe. You got your unkind of ravens and your murder of crows…Cause you’re so dark, babe but I want you hard…And you’re so mysterious, got that obsession with death…You watch Italian horror and you listen to the scores. Leather-clad and spike collar, I want you down on all fours…I know you’re nothing like mine cause she’s walking on sunshine and your love would tear us apart. And I know I’m not your type cause I don’t shun the daylight, but baby I’m willing to start…”
“Stop the Wold I Wanna Get Off with You” by Arctic Monkeys
There’s always one guy who will make a gal’s heart just melt. The one that she will bend over backwards for even if he has no clue that she makes her weak in the knees. This is the song you want to play for them so they know how you feel. “….Well I know that getting you alone isn’t easy to do
but with the exception of you, I dislike everyone in the room. And I don’t wanna lie but I don’t wanna tell you the truth…So I’m telling you, stop the world cause I wanna get off with you…”
“Scream & Shout” by Will.I.Am (featuring Britney Spears)
I love a song I can dance to and I can dance to this.
“Only One” by John Butler Trio
The song makes me want to twirl in the sand and soak in the sunshine, but I absolutely hate the video for this otherwise lovely and upbeat song. (video below)
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“I Want” by Alejandra Ribera
This is another song I can put on repeat. There’s something about this song that makes me think of everyone back home, in the South. I hear this song and it makes me happy because I know they understand me and would understand the lyrics “…I want the aching of a melody and I want my comrades to share this with me. I want to want just to want just a little something…”
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/115635849″ params=”color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEANuKC9mWg?rel=0]
[spotify id=”spotify:user:shelia1975:playlist:4cP1J3wfxulkmhRQHIElkX” width=”300″ height=”380″ /]