A crisp chill is in the air, snow glides on the breeze, and the hills are white with a fresh fall.
Hmmmmmm, it's winter again.
That's a good "Hmmmmmm", by the way. Like you've just settled down for a long winter's nap.
I have a special Top 5 for my blog tonight.
Adam's Top 5 Winter Wonderland (Non-Christmas) Albums
These are the albums that go best with driving in the cold weather, relaxing by a warm fire, or making a nice and comfortable winter meal.
Perhaps even playing a board game or two. Or a piecing together a puzzle.
I don't know what you do with your time.
But I know what you should do with your ears.
You should pop these in and listen.
1. "Wish You Were Here" - Pink Floyd
Probably my favorite Pink Floyd album (Only probably; Dark Side is so good!), this one is a winter album if only for the laid back tempo, icy keyboards, and melodic bluesy guitar. There are only 5 songs on this album, and two of them aren't necessarily wintery. "Welcome to the Machine" and "Have a Cigar" are both extraordinary, but they don't scream "lows in the 20's" like the others. The title track is more or less applicable to any season, with a certain timeless, albeit contemplative, quality. What really makes this album a winter wonderland is the 25 minutes of bread that sandwiches the other three songs. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" makes visions of sugarplums dance in your head. It may be a song about Syd Barrett losing his mind, but perhaps you can imagine that the words "crazy diamond" refer to snowflakes. Shine on.
2. The Royal Tenenbaums Soundtrack
I'm not going to go into the specifics of each and every song on this album, but I will say that Mark Mothersbaugh's original compositions for this film's score are some of the best short tunes to play while relaxing by a cozy fire with a good book in your hands and a mug of hot cocoa at your side. There are a few oddball songs that mix up the mood a little bit ("Police and Thieves", "Me and Julio", and "Jackie is a Punk"), but they're all classically great and the rest of the album acts as a sort of tonal spine. This is also a great walking in the snow, listening to my iPod album, or a driving to the folks' house, admiring the mountains and snowy trees collection. It's royal. See what I did there?
3. "For Emma, Forever Ago" - Bon Iver
I've been told I resemble Justin Vernon. I don't know. He's a little chubby. This album was recorded in a cabin. That's wintery right there. But it is the finely pitched singing and harmonics that give this album a truly snowy feeling. You feel like you're right there in the cabin with him as he strums on his guitar. All of a sudden three spirits show up (kind of like "A Christmas Carol") and they sing the background harmonies. You're just sitting there, wide-eyed, with a wondrous look on your face, taking it all in. And you live happily ever after.
4. "Pet Sounds" - The Beach Boys
Okay. Really strange choice. They're the "Beach Boys", after all. Beach? Winter? I know, I know. But this isn't a beach album. This is a life album. The songs on this album are about love, loss, growing up, trusting one another, friendship, not feeling normal, etc. Okay, that's all well and good, but how is it wintery? That's a good question. I don't really know how to explain it. It could be the melodies or the harmonies or the musical textures or the ambient sounds or the thoughtfulness (which, to me, is kind of a wintery thing; in the summer I'm more preoccupied with having fun than thinking). Just give it a good listen while enjoying the snow and maybe you'll see what I mean.
5. "Preemptive Strike" - Dj Shadow
I had to throw in a hip-hop flavor. DJ Shadow has built his career on creating stories through his entirely sample driven music. At his best, he creates soundtracks for the soul, at his worst, he makes a funky beat. While this album may not be as groundbreaking as "Endtroducing" or as experimental as "The Private Press", it is short, cold, minimal, and a good introduction to Shadow's sound. The entire album is without lyrics, but it has hints of people's voices, dashes of dialogue, and a strange feeling of connection to people, while also being completely alone. It's odd. Maybe you'll get what I'm saying when you listen to this:
Welp, I'm not sure if this was super successful (successful: yes; super: hm?), but it was at the very least a hastily thrown together look at some fine music.
And that's all that really matters.
