Winter Wonderland, or "How I Learned to Stop Freezing and Love The Frosty Hell of December in Washington, D.C., with the Help of These Songs"
Beseeched by The Eagle's music editor to write a list of songs regarding winter, I faced a predicament. I, being from South Florida, am used to winters that are 70 degrees and have only seen snow once ... in the 1970s. But with the falling of the first snowflake this past week, I can now say I know what all of the hubbub over "winter" is about. Sadly told that it actually lasts three months instead of the three weeks I optimistically thought it would, I created a mixtape (not actually) of songs that I had always attributed to a real winter.
"Snowstorm," Galaxie 500 - From an album that sounds like a recording of the last three people on Earth after an apocalypse, nothing captures the loneliness one can feel with the chill of winter.
"The Christmas Song," Alvin & The Chipmunks - To be fair, all I want is a hula hoop, as well, young Alvin.
"Weightless," Brian Eno - Winter makes the world seem like a barren planet or a new world, and Eno's soundtrack to a film about the Apollo moon landing is perfect in placing this feeling on wax. If you look out your dorm window while listening to this song, maybe you can make believe you are on a space adventure.
"Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonite)," The Ramones - To some, this may be just another "I wanna" Ramones song, but to the trained ear, this is a great holiday song. It speaks to the general theme for the holiday: trying to not kill your loved ones, and stress. Merry Christmas!
"Aujourd'hui C'est Toi," Francis Lai - Honestly, folks will probably be playing this at their holiday parties just because it is abundant in French language and piano that screams, "Hey, it's cold outside, stay inside with me." Or something slightly more poetic than that.
"Backdoor Santa," Clarence Carter - Though it's not clear exactly what this song's about, when a blind man sings about wanting to be your backdoor Santa, listen, learn and love.
"You," Windy & Carl - Shoegaze is probably the wintriest of all genres, but this song is the auditory equivalent of a snowstorm. Marvel, young man, marvel.
"Winter is Blue," Vashti Bunyan - How can a '60s woman folk singer sound like Old Man Winter? Little Vashti comes through with words that encompass everything great andlamentable about this blustery season.
"Christmas Song," Weezer - Yes. The ultimate lonely-on-Christmas song, but in a happy sort of way. OK, OK, so it's no "All I Want for Christmas." Rivers, Mariah you are not.
"All I Want For Christmas is You," Mariah Carey - Yes, you heard it at every worthless holiday party you had to go to with your parents. Yes, you secretly love this song. Bonus points if you replace "you" with "Drew".
