Forecasts predict a wintry mix…

Posted by Sara in Entertainment and Pop Culture Music.

As I wrote those words on top of the CD with my beloved Sharpie, my husband rolled his eyes.

I don’t care– that’s exactly what this CD is: a lyrical, musical mix of the things that make me think of snow and darkness and twinkling lights. Some of the songs’ association with this season are fairly overt; some just happen to capture the feeling for me. But I’ve found that making mixes like this are wonderful memory keepers, much like journal entries or photographs… I can look back on old playlists, listen, and remember how I felt exactly when I made them.

Here’s what winter 2008 sounds like for me:

1. Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)- Peter Sarstedt

I was first introduced to this bittersweet ballad in Wes Anderson’s short Hotel Chevalier, the prologue for The Darjeeling Limited. In this context, it was the backdrop for two estranged lovers saying their final, awkward goodbye. From the lyrics of the song itself, Sarstedt’s actual intention might not be too far off. It was more than a year since I heard it again and I got that same knock-the-wind-out-of-my-gut sensation, and for whatever reason, the cold, slow feeling of winter time just seems to magnify these feelings of longing and loss for me.

2. Winters Love- Animal Collective

I think this song exemplifies what Animal Collective does so well: by taking shards of melodies, simple, but poignant lyrics, sometimes indistinguishable vocals, and displaced instrumentals, they create songs that are magical. This song personifies the euphoric feeling that comes from finally entering my warm, safe apartment after spending too much time in the bitter cold.

3. Superfreaky Memories- Luna

To me, this is the ultimate coming-of-age song. This song exemplifies the time spent looking back on all the things that make up a certain period in your life through the haze of nostalgia (and, in the context of the song, drug use). Blame it on the new beginnings we rely on with the New Year, but it seems the winter is perfect for this:

Now the gears are rolling by and you don’t get any wiser
And the years are rolling on but you’re going round and round
And these superfreaky memories have put me in my place
But my superfreaky memories are gone without a trace

4. Fjarskanistan- Amina

This group has gained much notoriety for backing up Sigur Ros. Their solo work proves they are just as ethereal on their own. If icicles had theme music, this totally would be it.

5. Cold White Christmas- Casiotone For The Painfully Alone

If you’ve recently graduated college, and have attempted to live on your own, or remember what this experience was like, this one’s for you…

6. A Long December- Counting Crows

Before I even officially created Winter Mixes, before iTunes ever existed, this song embodied the wintertime for me. Even if the year had been a good one, there’s always something about the way it winds down. Maybe it’s just the fact that we’re almost forced to recollect not only on our year, but our lives and the people who have come and gone, the things we wished would have ended differently, and the things we wish hadn’t ended at all:

I can’t remember all the times I tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they passed.

7. Fairytale of New York- The Pogues (featuring Kirsty MacColl)

pre- or post-Christmas, I love listening to this song! The first time I heard this was exactly 4 years ago on Christmas day. Knowing nothing about the song, I was immediately drawn to the initial sweet sentiments of the song, the seemingly hopeful melody and its obvious Irish flare. Suddenly, about three verses in, however, the song takes an unexpected turn, and the listener realizes that Christmas can’t even inspire these once-passionate lovers. After hearing nothing but dreams of White Christmas, and declarations of all wanting nothing for Christmas but you, it’s nice to have a little Christmas Song satire.

8. Animals- Cocorosie

Cocorosie was one of those groups that I kept hearing so much positive feedback about, downloaded onto the computer, and then promptly forgot all about until the iTunes randomizer played “Animals.” I was drawn to the singer’s unique voice, the way the samples and keyboard worked together, and the almost stream-of-consciousness lyrics. I keep a “Songs I Like” playlist specifically for when a song in our library strikes my fancy, and once I heard this, I threw it on there, only to forget all about it again.

Then I caught it drifting into my head and found myself craving to hear it again. After seeking it out and listening to it, I listened to it again. And again. Then I searched for the lyrics and attempted to sing along. It was about that point in my obsessive behavior that I realized this would become a song I would associate with this point of my life. So on the wintry mix it went…

9. Panic-Stricken- Leona Naess

I’m not the biggest Leona Naess fan, but this is a beautiful song–the music starts out slow and builds as the singer’s story unfolds. She explains a very familiar and common childhood experience (unexpectedly becoming physically separated from one’s mother in a crowded mall) and turns it into a very emotional metaphor (expectedly becoming emotionally separated from one’s lover).

10. Quiet- This Will Destroy You

This Will Destroy You was a band that I got into after Mogwai and co-pilot (see below for songs I chose from them!). Although they seem to share similar stylings, each group has their own unique strengths. I like this song because it is the antithesis of quiet– not even 5 minutes long and it is able to go from soothing, with each instrument working together, but separately to help create the ambience (first the keyboard, then the guitar is introduced, followed by the drum beat) to almost overpowering, with all the elements finally melding together and the sound of distortion almost an overpowering white noise. Maybe this title is meant to be ironic, or it’s a statement on how deafening silence can become.

11. Heart- Stars

I’ve been listening to this one a couple times, trying to figure out why it specifically made my winter soundtrack. This all boils down to a memory: seeing Stars perform at the Starlight Ballroom in Philadelphia mid-winter a couple of years ago. We had left our coats in the car, thinking that we’d walk right in to the venue, since we had gotten there late. Because of technical difficulties and running behind the set-up schedule, we ended up having to wait outside in line for about an hour in the freezing cold. The night seemed like it could potentially be a bust, but when Stars began to perform, all those feelings melted away, especially when they played this song. It still remains one of my all-time favorites.

12. Red and Green- Tungg

Tungg was a band we started to listen to on recommendation from our friend, Judah, and then who we promptly began recommending to other friends. This UK band combines music genres that might not seem complements: electronica and folk music, and they make it work. Red and Green almost sounds like medieval chamber music to me, mixed with more contemporary elements.

13. Christmas Song- Mogwai

Mogwai was not a band that I initially liked– in fact, I hated them. I often mocked my husband for his love of wordless melodies that lasted anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes. Then one rainy day, I decided they would the perfect background music for my dreary workday. And just like that, they clicked for me. Mogwai is able to capture the emotions of a moment, the feeling of a particular experience by the way they play. “Christmas Song” makes me think about the moments after the all the festivities are over, or even right before they’re about to begin– either late Christmas Eve night, after parting from all the family and friends, or after everyone’s opened all the presents, dinner has been eaten and the dishes done, and there is that peaceful, full,  and satisfying silence that follows.

14. Sister Winter- Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens’ drive as an artist totally impresses me. Where most artists–whether they be writers, musicians, painters, etc.–must toil and struggle to create a solid work that they feel confident in, it seemed for awhile that Stevens was able to produce ambitious albums and projects in a short period of time without having to forfeit quality. Although I’ve heard that he’s recently abandoned his original plans to create an album for every U.S. state, his Illinois album (and then the full-length follow up of tracks that didn’t make the album) was well done.

Last year we picked up his 5-CD collection, Songs For Christmas!, which included covers of classics (e.g., Amazing Grace, O Holy Night, Joy to the World), and original songs, including Sister Winter. This, along with many of his other original tracks, have been great new additions to our Christmas repertoire.

15. low earth orbit - co-pilot

Co-pilot is another band who has championed the sounds of aerial music: delicate compositions of guitar, drums, and bass, that mix together and explode, creating a powerful experience for the listener. During the winter time, everything feels heavy, weighted down, and pulls us closer to the ground, so I think “low earth orbit” fits perfectly for this time of year.

16. How It Ends- DeVotchKa

I know I’ve already written about this band in an earlier post, specifically about this song, but it’s what I put on my mix and so it’s being brought up again. Seriously, check then out. It’s worth it!

Entertainment and Pop Culture, Music |