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My Gen X Playlist: Zombie – Cranberries

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I had a Christmas hangover the other day. No, not from drinking too much, but from the crash in energy from hosting Christmas. We did have a wonderful holiday, so there are no complaints there. We caught up with all of our nieces and nephews in various stages of life: high school kids applying to college, college aged kids home on winter break and a few fairly recent grads who are now in the real world adjusting to adulting. My 84 year old mom was in heaven chatting from one grandkid after the next. She had a visible glow and a huge smile from ear to ear. They are her inspiration to live a healthy long life.

But cleaning the house, putting up decorations and preparing the menu for 14 guests was a bit of a scramble. Thankfully, our family members never come empty handed, always bringing yummy dishes to add to the meal. So it wasn’t a hundred percent resting on our shoulders. After we finished cleaning and tidying up the next day, I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch napping, watching Netflix, napping some more, then eating leftovers.

And when I began to feel I was losing too much steam, I hit the leftover deserts. Hard. We had a lot of homemade deserts to choose from: blueberry cheesecake, double chocolate cake, gluten free coffee cake and a berry pie. They all went so well with a hot cup of coffee. That gave me the needed sugar rush to finish cleaning the final stack of serving dishes. I think we have enough desert leftovers for at least three more days. Yum.

All in all, it was a successful and wonderful Christmas. It served as a reminder to be present in the moment and not to take time spent with family for granted. It was definitely worth the next day hangover. I felt no guilt laying on the couch all day.

While I was thinking about song pairings, the Cranberries came to mind. Their first few CDs included the same couch for the cover art.

As a young designer starting to observe album art, I remember the first time I saw the album cover for “No Need to Argue”. I remember thinking, “I saw that couch before” and recalled the same couch theme being used in the album cover for The Cranberries breakthrough album, “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” I thought it was a brilliant way to subtly brand the artist (they also used the same band logo on each cover) and have people remember the album before. It was a perfect connection.

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In fact, on No Need to Argue, the sofa was carried by hand and photographed at various locations throughout Dublin. While it makes for very cool artwork on the CD cover and inside sleeves, that’s way too much work and these efforts go against a couch’s true intentions: to encourage people to lazily lounge around all day. I chose a different path on my hangover day and remained horizontal as I recuperated from hosting a full house of guests. I enjoyed being a Zombie and lounged around most of the afternoon after Christmas. No harm in that and it was just what the doctor ordered.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken?

But you see, it's not me
It's not my family
In your head, in your head, they are fightin'
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head, they are cryin'

In your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie
What's in your head, in your head?
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie-ie, oh

Do, do, do, do
Do, do, do, do
Do, do, do, do
Do, do, do, do

Another mother's breaking
Heart is taking over
When the violence causes silence
We must be mistaken

It's the same old theme
Since nineteen-sixteen
In your head, in your head, they're still fightin'
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head, they are dyin'

In your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie
What's in your head, in your head?
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie-ie
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, eh-eh oh, ya-ya

23 thoughts on “My Gen X Playlist: Zombie – Cranberries”

  2. Well done! A successful Christmas dinner for 14! Bravo!! (I’m still on the couch and we only had 9 people.)
    It was interesting to watch that Cranberries video—a 90s song that I do remember well. We’ve been watching “Say Nothing” (about the Troubles in Ireland) so the video sent me down a rabbit hole on the song’s sad backstory.

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    1. Yeah, the video was a little intense. I remember when it first came out I was a little thrown.

      Your first Xmas with your grandchild must have been precious! It will only get better and better! But the first one must have been so special!

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      1. It was special, but a bit hectic. I established a new “format” which seemed to work. We did brunch & presents with our kids and granddaughter only and then my parents and problematic sister were invited to join later on for dinner only. (You’re lucky all your siblings are so great.)

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  4. That’s a big gathering. I too had a non-booze-infused hangover on Boxing Day. With twelve around our table including a three- and five-year-old joyfully running around and screaming (in a well-behaved kind of way), I was just shattered by the time they all left, and had no juice to keep going and power through all the cleanup, despite (speaking of desserts) scarfing down some shortbread cookies our neighbour dropped off (she’s from Chicago and calls them “American-style, lots of icing for extra calories”). Cleanup waited until the next day, and wasn’t too painful.

    Great song choice… I could have used this for the cleanup!

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    1. The 3 and 5 year old running around is the best kind of noise! But yeah, that’s a pretty big group and I understand being sapped out. Our cleanup waited until the next day, too. I did have to look up Boxing Day. That was a new one for me. I enjoy learning about others traditions. Always interesting.

      Hope you are recovering and getting your energy back!

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      1. I sometimes forget that Boxing Day is a British Commonwealth/Canadian tradition.

        I am feeling more energetic, thanks, after a few nights of longer sleeps, and riding the indoor trainer plus taking a few walks with my sweety. It’s been mild this past week, which is welcome.

        I hope you’re recovering, too!

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      3. It’s so great for all aspects of health, plus I love it!

        I think whatever we do that makes us feel healthy and whole, is the right thing for us. Sounds like you are really finding what you need and what to prioritize. It’s enjoyable and heartening to read your stories and how they relate to the songs.

        Plus the YouTube quotes are a nice touch. Some of those are soooo good.

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      4. I was selective in my new role. I have no desire to climb the corporate ladder anymore. Just want to put in a productive days work and have enough time and energy to enjoy life. That’s the plan. Let’s see how it goes!

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  6. That’s another Christmas memory. It’s lovely to celebrate with a big group. Makes me reminisce home.

    One is allowed to be a zombie until the 31st 😅. The song is one of my favorites. She has good voice control too.

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