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For Enjoying The Snow -- Before You Have To Shovel
Posted at 5:41 PM on November 30, 2007
by Steve Seel
(9 Comments)
So yes, somebody's gonna get a big pile of snow dumped on them this weekend, whether or not it's the Twin Cities metro or somewhere else close by (see what MPR Meteorologist Paul Huttner has to say about it on his Updraft blog). One way or another, winter will have arrived on Saturday. So what music comes to mind? Given that this is my favorite season, I thought I'd hog a bunch of blog real estate here and assemble some personal recommendations (in no particular order), which will be utterly, stupidly predictable for those who are familiar with my tastes (not to mention a bit precious, but here goes):
Sigur Ros, "Glossoli" -- Distant lights, vast horizons and perhaps an aurora in the sky to boot
Tom Waits, "Bend Down The Branches" -- It's that "Salvation Army Band out in the snow" sound, I think, that does it for me
David Sylvian, "Let The Happiness In" -- A beautifully chilly "pull your coat-collar up around your neck" song
Matt Pond PA, "New Hampshire" -- Images of going home, and with a hoverering kind of atmosphere
Daniel Lanois, "Ice" -- from his "Acadie" CD; it sounds like skating in slow motion, and if you make your ears squint a little, Lanois could even be Bono on the choruses
Low, "Laser Beam" -- How on earth do you settle on just one Low song for a winter list? You can't, but this is at least one possibility. Or you could just put on any one of their records and let it play from start to finish
Cocteau Twins, "Blue Bell Knoll" -- If you're going to go driving in a winter landscape, there are few better soundtracks than this tune
Red House Painters, "Have You Forgotten" -- A certain swear word (that would sound stupid edited) at the top prevents this one from being a radio hit, but that can't stop me from recommending it; just listen to how Mark Kozelek drops those references to Chrismas ornaments and snows, and just try to resist being hypnotized
The Innocence Mission, "Birds of My Neighborhood" (entire album) -- An incredible masterpiece of melancholy whose sheer wintry beauty will make your jaw drop, and it even has a song called simpy "Snow"
Richard Buckner, "On Travelling" -- I can't describe why it's winter music; just check it out
And the most obscure selection of all:
David Byrne, "Winter" from Music for The Knee Plays of Robert Wilson (vinyl only; never released on CD) -- A perfect title for a perfectly beautiful, desolate instrumental short that is nearly impossible to acquire but well worth the effort (as is the rest of the album); if you ever find it while used record shopping, buy it
I could go on (and I probably will at some point, since I can't resist) ... but maybe you have some ideas.
We'll come up with the "shovelling" list later (starting with Rogue Wave's "Endless Shovel?)
Comments (9)
I'll throw "Ice Cold Ice" by Husker Du in the mix. I tell ya, I'm not looking forward to my commute today!
Music for The Knee Plays was released this year on cd by Nonesuch, making it more available. Great album and track.
With all the great tunes you have suggested I guess having to wear a tuque isn’t so bad. May I suggest Aarktica's entire disc "No Solace in Sleep", it will have you shivering in no time.
Upon reading this posting, Songs just started pouring (sleeting?) into my head. So I went with the one that stuck there the longest.
"You'll Never Know" by the Dambuilders.
Not about winter or anything (most of the songs that came to mind weren't). But I think I first heard it while listening to a mixtape from a friend while on a wintry drive.. In my humble opinion, it is one of the most perfect pop songs ever penned.
That's what I'm talkin' about, Wells -- they don't actually have to be about winter in any way. It's all about atmostphere here.
Cool! and Steve's comment brings to mind one of the songs on my list... one of the best winter songs of all time: "Atmoshpere" by Joy Division.
i gotta agree - for some reason desolate music sounds wintry to me. add something from Interpol (Joy Div impersonators) to that soundtrack. another area to mine for wintry sounding stuff is the new folk/electronica stuff coming out of Scandanavia - like Vartinna (Finland) or Sorten Muld (Denmark).
on a less desolate, more seasonally cheery note, for some reason Coltrane's take on "My Favorite Things" always puts me in happy wintry mood. i think its McCoy Tyner's piano - it sounds like bells to me - tinitinnabulation.
nothing like Roger Eno's "Voices" to listen to on a quiet, Wintery Sunday morning for me.
"Snow Days" by Trip Shakespeare, Its coming down...
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