Introducing our California holiday playlist
The days are shorter. I often admire Christmas trees glistening through the windows of houses. Rain visited parts of the state this week.
No matter how subtle, it’s starting to look like winter in California.
Today I’m unveiling a California holiday playlist, a collection of seasonally appropriate songs about the Golden State, based largely on your recommendations.
I’m sharing the seven inaugural issues below, as well as a little tidbit about why each was selected. You can also listen on Spotify here.
Feel free to send your own California holiday song recommendations to CAtoday@nytimes.com. Please include your full name, the city you live in, and why you think the song deserves to be included.
Enjoy listening.
“White Christmas” by Darlene Love (1963)
This pick comes from my colleague Jill Cowan, who previously led this newsletter and created our original California playlist. Jill pointed out that “White Christmas,” written by Irving Berlin, is told from the perspective of a Californian longing for snow. We’ve included an LA artist’s version with the telling verse: “The sun is shining, the grass is green / The orange and palm trees are swaying / There’s never been a day like this / In old LA”
“Little Saint Nick” by the Beach Boys (1964)
From the Beach Boys Christmas album. Enough said.
“Christmas in LA” by the Killers, featuring Dawes (2013)
This song is about feeling lonely in LA around the holidays, through the eyes of a struggling actor (played by Owen Wilson in the film video clip). He laments, “There’s a well-rehearsed disinterest/ In the atmosphere/ I don’t know if that’s what this city gave me/ Or if it led me here.”
“A Long December” by the Counting Crows (1996)
This is one of my favorite end-of-year songs, by the Counting Crows, from the Bay Area. The song is a reflection on the promise of the year ahead and ends with the narrator breaking through his malaise in LA noticing the possibilities of joy surrounding him: “It’s been so long since I’ve seen the ocean / I guess I should.”
“Snow in California” by Ariana Grande (2013)
In this song, Grande asks Santa Claus to help her keep a man she is in love with in California for a while longer by delaying his flight. But she is realistic about her demands: “Just let it snow in California? / I’ll even settle for rain.”
“If We Make It to December” by Merle Haggard (1973)
This is the first single from the 1973 Christmas album released by Haggard, the prolific country music star from Bakersfield. The song is about a family struggling financially around the holidays: “I’ve got plans to be in a warmer city in the summer / Maybe even California / If we make it to December, we’ll be fine.”
“Let It Snow,” written by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn (1945)
According to Spectrum News NY1, This song was written during an oppressive July heat wave in Hollywood, with the lyrics about a snowstorm being just a mental escape. We’ve included the most popular version, recorded by Dean Martin.
If you read one story, let it be this one
It took an LA book club 28 years to read ‘Finnegans Wake’. Now it starts again.
Where we travel to
Today’s tip comes from Greg Sirbu, who lives in Redondo Beach:
“My favorite place in California: hiking the Sierra Nevada Mountains trail outside Mammoth Lakes. A truly breathtaking experience with absolutely beautiful, picturesque mountain meadows, lakes, streams and wildlife. Something all Californians and Americans should do!”
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We will share more in future editions of the newsletter.
Tell us
How do you celebrate the holidays in California? With a refreshing walk on the beach, a batch of tamales or stargazing in the desert?
Email me at CAtoday@nytimes.com with your Golden State holiday traditions. Please include your name and the city in which you live.
And before you go: good news
At Bouchaine, a winery in Napa Valley, Chris Kajani has cast aside chemical pesticides in favor of a more natural and perhaps less typical form of pest control. She uses falcons, owls and hawks to ward off animals that threaten the vineyard’s grapes before they are ready for harvest.
Kajani, Bouchaine’s president and winemaker, has been using the method for just under eight years, after a flock of birds wiped out the vineyard’s entire chardonnay crop in 2015. Around that time, Kajani met Rebecca Rosen, a falconer, and brought her on board to protect the property.
Years later, the benefits are significant: Kajani estimates that the vineyard has saved as much as $859,000 each year, assuming that 10 percent of its yield would be lost to pests in a given vintage year.
Bouchaine is just one of a few vineyards where Rosen and her twenty birds of prey work. According to vineyard owners, the method is not only very effective, but also organic.
“The falcons are great because they don’t make loud noises,” said Aaron Fishleder, vice president of Cakebread Cellars and another Rosen customer. Bay Area Newsgroup. “They’re just natural birds, flying around and doing what they do.”
Thank you for reading. I’ll be back on Monday. Nice weekend. — Soumya
PS Here it is today’s mini crossword.