What did you do on New Year’s Eve?  Did you go out partying?  Did you dance the night away in a pub or club?  Or maybe you gathered together with family and friends for a house party.  The really fancy ones amongst you may have done something extravagant, and gone away for a short break.  Perhaps somewhere with it’s own bar and hot tub.

Chez Platinum Al, we stayed in and rocked.  Drinks, food and music – that’s how we roll at the Virtual Hot Tub.  Staying in has been the new going out for a good few years for us.  No queues at the bar; no being crammed in like cattle; no paying for tickets when you’re VIPs at your own party.

Instead, Mrs Platinum Al and I sipped some fine drinks and played a music playlist game.  Here are the rules:

1. One person starts, and chooses a band/artist beginning with a letter of the alphabet.  Start with the letter A.
2. Pick one song by that artist and play it.
3. The next person picks a song by an artist beginning with the same letter and plays that.
4. Then you move on to the next letter in the alphabet, and pick one more song by a band/artist beginning with that letter.
5. Continue in this fashion.  You can be as obvious or as random as you like in your choices.

Here’s how we got on:

• Al: AC/DC – “Big Gun”
• Ness: ABBA – “Happy New Year”
• Al: Boney M – “Daddy Cool”
• Ness: Belinda Carlisle – “Heaven is a Place on Earth”
• Al: Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Born on the Bayou”
• Ness: The Cure – “In Between Days”
• Al: Donovan – “Season of the Witch”
• Ness: Destiny’s Child – “Independent Women Part 1”
• Al: Eagles of Death Metal – “Anything ‘Cept the Truth”
• Ness: EMF – “Unbelievable”
• Al: Fun Lovin’ Criminals – “Too Hot”
• Ness: Foo Fighters – “Monkey Wrench”
• Al: Garbage – “Queer”
• Ness: Green Day – “Basket Case”
• Al: Hard-Ons – “Don’t Wanna See You Cry”
• Ness: Heart – “Alone”
• Al: Iggy Pop – “Beside You”
• Ness: INXS – “Never Tear Us Apart”
• Al: Johnny Cash – “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”
• Ness: Jane’s Addiction – “Been Caught Stealing”
• Al: Kool & the Gang – “Jungle Boogie”
• Ness: Kylie Minogue – “In Your Eyes”
• Al: Led Zeppelin – “Whole Lotta Love”
• Ness: Lenny Kravitz – “Stand By My Woman”
• Al: Motorhead – “Killed By Death”
• Ness: Madness – “One Step Beyond”

That was as far as we got before it was time for sleep.  We aim to complete the other half of the alphabet soon.

This is a fun game that can reveal a lot about your mood, or just your taste in music.

All selections were provided by Platinum Al’s monster iPod, Ipodicus.