24 Hours in December
Hi, I made a 24-hour playlist with some friends!
24 Hours in December is a 24-hour playlist on Spotify, designed to be listened to from 7am to 7am the next day some time this winter, but you can listen to it any way you want.
In 2018, I made a summer version by myself. For this one, I enlisted 23 friends to each make a one-hour playlist, based on a certain time of day.
Make sure you set the crossfade to 10 seconds in your Spotify settings!
Each hour-long set was made by a different person. As a prompt, I gave each person a specific time of day, and asked them to put together a short mix that matched that particular moment in the winter.
I separated each playlist by a 1ish-minute short interlude, and have noted it below to help you jump to different "times" of the mix. Below you can find out more about each person, their playlist, and which track to jump to if you want to skip around.
With 24 mixes inside this one giant playlist, there is a lot of info below. So, I will highlight each mix chronologically over the course of December through an Advent calendar. I'll post that with some other fun stuff on Instagram stories.
Hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think!
7:00-8:00am by Alex Teplitzky
Jump to song: “Nanda Devi” by Simon Fisher Turner
Alex says: “Coming off the mountainside early in the morning after gathering firewood. A gust of wind begins to howl, but you're almost home.”
8:00-9:00am by Hillary Bonhomme
Jump to track: “Dream” by The Pied Pipers
Hillary says: “My mornings are often a toggle between my earthly and voltage-powered selves. The earthy-human me is still stretching, still clutched to the coffee, and, sometimes, still yawning. The alien me has worked their way through devices: turning off the alarm, scrolling through email, and selecting an online workout. This mix reflects the scope of these dual selves: my humanity and my spaceship!”
9:00-10:00am by Willa Koerner
Jump to track: “Rowboat (Version 1)” by Finnolia Sound Effects
Willa says: “I always try to ease into mid-morning, and avoid committing to plans too early in the day. I want time to burn some incense, make coffee, try to get jazzed up for the day while watering the plants, reading a book, and watching the sun move around the room. This playlist isn't overly refined or committed, just some feel-good music that channels that easy spirit of marinating in a slow, uncomplicated morning.”
10:00-11:00am by Katie Hood Morgan
Jump to track: “Quick Dreams” by Charles Bukowski
Katie says: “In mid-September, my husband and I drove across the country to escape the toxic wildfire smoke and general pandemic malaise of the San Francisco Bay Area. We hid out in Upstate New York for a few weeks where the air was still warm during the day, but the leaves were just starting to change. It wasn't hard to put myself in the mindset of a cold December morning, stuck at home as I am now, drinking coffee and trying to motivate to make something of my day. Music has been real refuge over the past 9 months—a source of comfort and positive vibes. I think we could all use a cozy and groovy hug from Aretha and Roberta and Joan right about now.”
11:00am-12:00pm by Nora Gregory
Jump to track: “Public Libraries” by Celebrity Commercials
Nora says: “During 2020, I’ve found that my days either go boom or bust by the late morning hours. Am I going to be depressed or okay today? Fatalistic or hopeful? Productive or totally check outed? Usually I’ll know the answer by lunch. Here, in the eleventh hour, I try to gently usher the listener from a cozy gloom toward some mild joy.”
12:00am-1:00pm by Sarah Dahnke
Jump to track: “Sleigh Bells” by Finnolia Sound Effects
Sarah says: “You wake up late, mascara smeared under your eyes, a glittery dress rumpled next to the bed, your arm draped over a bare chest—maybe your long-time love, maybe your new friend from last night. It's chilly out. You're suddenly starving and in desperate need of coffee. This is your mix for that fuzzy holiday party open bar aftermath, when you're pouring from the French press and scrambling eggs in a bowl, trying to wake up your body and mind and relive some of the dancefloor moments from the night before.”
1:00-2:00pm by Jon Doyle
Jump to track: “Vespertine: The Birth of Aphrodite (live)” by Björk Guðmundsdóttir
Jon says: “This is a lo-fi chill time playlist for when you hunker down in your winter cabin and prepare your lunch of fresh bread and canned anchovies. Frozen poolside beats to enjoy a nice piping Earl Grey with under your favorite afghan under your most powerful heat lamp. For when you've realized your friends are much better skiers than you and your time is better spent preparing excellent Kahlúa®-based hot cocoas instead.”
2:00-3:00pm by Osama Aduib
Jump to track: “Shoveling Snow” by Stanley R. Fields
Osama says: “Lunch was good. Leftovers from last night’s stew, better than when it was served last night. You found yourself dozing off in front of the fire. A winter nap is the best nap. After getting up later than intended, a solo jaunt in the woods is needed to shake out the cobwebs. Throw on your warmest coat, step into some sturdy boots, double knot the laces, tuck into a hat, take a couple of deep tokes, step outside and let your feet and your mind wander... it’s so nice.”
3:00-4:00pm by Lee Levy
Jump to track: “Outro” by Magnus Egilsson
Lee says: “This is a playlist I would listen to right when I get off work and walk to the train. I’d be pumped about it and get a lot of energy then I chill out when I have to sit for my commute back home.”
4:00-5:00pm by Caitlin McCormick
Jump to track: “Over” by Moonspatz
Caitlin says: “I grow old ... I grow old ...
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.”
5:00-6:00pm by Austin Young
Jump to track: “Í lystigarðinum” by Leikhópurinn Kardemommubærinn
Austin says: “LA Cocktail hour, somewhere between camp and authenticity.”
6:00-7:00pm by Lily Becker
Jump to track: “Alka Seltzer - Plop Plop Fizz Fizz” by Radio Commercials
Lily says: “I started building this at the end of summer in Maine when the cold begins to lurk. By October, the first hard frost hits. We shut down half of the house as severe temps and blustery nights render the house frigid, forcing you to huddle up, blast the heat or tend to a fire. As homesteader, this was a self-assigned exercise in conjuring the *best* night for my guests and/or ghosts.”
7:00-8:00pm by Dan Tarro
Jump to track: “Wolves Baying” by Stanley R. Fields
Dan says: “Evening in the desert—when the day comes to a close and you begin to enjoy sinking in to exactly where you’re at.”
8:00-9:00pm by Andy Phillips
Jump to track: “Small Campfire Light Crackling” by Finnolia Sound Effects
Andy says: “How was your evening? What did you learn today that you didn’t know before? Who did you inspire today? How were you of service today? Tomorrow is a new day, a new opportunity to experience love and joy. Do great, be great and great forces will come to your aid.”
9:00-10:00pm by Alon Bisk
Jump to track: “42.12.24” by Edward R. Murrows
Alon says: “Good solid energy straight from the beginning, and a continuous build towards the end. this mix should energize and motivate you to keep the night going, and the music playing.”
10:00-11:00pm by Paola Pietrantoni
Jump to track: “Restaurant Ambience (Version 4)” by Finnolia Sound Effects
Paola says: “Midnight disco on a cold night during Pandemia.”
11:00pm-12:00am by Nadya Wasylko
Jump to track: "Silent Night" by Patrick Paige II
Nadya says: “Winter night in Kyiv, leaving my warm flat and walking through snowy streets to catch the metro to the party.”
12:00-1:00am by dacops
Jump to track: “Midnight in the Graveyard with Clock Chime” by Stanley R. Fields
dacops says: “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
1:00-2:00am by Jack Dillé
Jump to track: “Sugarplum Dance” by Ogden Nash
Jack says: “The party is really picking up at this point, you’ve been there for an hour and a half but there’s a noticeable shift in the energy. There are many dancing bodies in small spaces and it’s made perfect knowing the world is quiet just beyond the walls blanketed in a thin layer of snow. You take a quick break outside to chill off, enjoying the quiet of the night, and return to the party refreshed and ready to dance.”
2:00-3:00am by Martha Hipley
Jump to track: “Breaking Emptiness” by Simon Fisher Turner
Martha says: “I wanted to get into a witchy, solstice, looking out at frost on a moonlit field vibe.”
3:00-4:00am by Hank Shteamer
Jump to track: “Dreaming Away” by Auge Espiritual
Hank says: “I was going for a slow-motion shift in mood from eerie, desolate, mysterious and/or yearning to optimistic and even triumphant by the end. All these are artists and songs that mean a lot to me, and I hope there’s some kind of logic to the progression.”
4:00-5:00am by Dan Scofield
Jump to track: “Hexagon Drive” by Plane Window
Dan says: “It’s a slightly detached performance—some groups certainly get more expressive mileage out of the work’s climaxes and more consolation from the statement of its famous D major cello theme—but it has a wonderful sense of coherence and continuity.”
5:00-6:00am by Madeleine Fia Matsson
Jump to track: “The period of haymaking, crickets and orion” by Letnie Głosy Ptaków
Fia says: “Scandinavia in winter is not an uplifting time. Early morning can be especially hard when it’s still pitch black outside. The few day hours makes getting up to see the sun rise all the more important. Winter is heavy, it is quiet, it is introspective: beautiful if approached with the acceptance of what it is. It is what it is. The light is soft, the air is sharp, my breath is fog. I think of the family cabin north of Stockholm where I usually go over Christmas, still unsure of when my next visit can be...”
6:00-7:00am by Arjun Ram Srivatsa
Jump to track: “Geese” by Stanley R. Fields
Arjun says: “Softness often feels funny at first, but then seems somber once the nonsense is washed off.”
