Dear God.
It’s cold out. Really cold. I’ve been sat here all day with a coat and hat on, the heat has been on too, but it hasn’t made a difference to the chill in my bones.
I ended up on Spotify while I was working on something and it was promoting songs in the key of winter. They weren’t much good. In fact, they were a bit naff. I figured if Spotify can do it then why the hell can’t I?
I’ve lashed a few of these together, I think it’s an alright list, have a wander through, tell me what you think and sing along a song. Bring a blanket.
It’s cold.
(As an addendum, I have no idea why some of these videos are displaying at different sizes, I’ve rattled through the HTML til my hands ached and still can’t answer it. 🤷
Tom Waits – Cold Water
Recorded in 1999 this is Tom Waits at his noisy, dirty smoky backroom bar self. It also probably describes a lot of peoples mornings what with burst pipes and what not. It’s a song about struggling through the day and finding a little time for woodbines and wine.
I just ADORE this verse…
I look forty-seven but I’m twenty-four
Well, they shooed me away from here the time before
Turned their backs and they locked their doors
I’m watchin’ TV in the window of a furniture store
Belle and Sebastian – The Fox in the Snow
This is a mid 90’s Belle & Sebastian meander through the snow, lost foxes, lost souls, and lost hope. Typical B&S fare you might say but its still a lovely thing to behold.
Fleetwood Mac – Cold Black Night
Fleetwood Macs’ 1968 tale of heartbreak is a bluesy, twangy glorious thing, more heartbreak, which seems to be common in wintery songs, more lost love and while it is light on lyrics its heavy in feedback.
Get your ears around this one.
Nick Cave – Fifteen feet of pure white snow
This seems to be a song about going slowly mad in the middle of the midwest, people come and go amid what appears to be a fairly significant snow drift. Certainly more than the two inches we managed here during the week at any rate. This is a beauty, it ebbs and flows, well, like a snowstorm, it’s gentle and relentless. Glorious. This video is pretty good too, it’s a little Overlook Hotel…
Doctor, Doctor
I’m going mad
This is the worst day
I’ve ever had
I can’t remember
Ever feeling this bad
Under fifteen feet of pure white snow
Kate Bush – Under Ice
Released in 1985 on the Hounds of Love album this gem is a slice of bittersweet darkness from Kate Bush and it’s wonderfully wintery. This track and Kate Bush in general really doesn’t need any further input from me.
Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal
This song was the first that anyone had really heard of Fleet Foxes, released between Seattle’s Sub Pop and Bella Union it managed to make it to No4 on the Indie Chart but at the time it seemed like it was on every third song on the radio. It might be a bit hipster, a bit naff but it is very wintry and a little catchy. Crack up, their 2017 album scraped it to No9 on the album charts but none of the singles even bothered the charts. I’m assuming they’d take a bit more White Winter Hymnal if they could get it.
The White Stripes – In the cold cold night
In the Cold night came off the White Stripes 4th album in a career that was meteoric and for many short lived. This is a wintry song if ever there was one. One would guess that winters in Detroit aren’t the most precious things in the world. Chilly at any rate.
Muddy Waters – Cold Weather Blues
Taken from Waters 4th studio Album, FOlk SInger, released in 1964 it saw a slew of new musicians into Water fold and it is considered as one of the greatest albums ever recorded by many, it ranks highly in the top 500 from Rolling Stone magazine. It needs no introduction from me, turn everything else off and take a few minutes with this.
Simon & Garfunkel – A Hazy Shade Of Winter
My guess is that if you were to consider a list of winter based songs and not include this your name would forever be placed on some kind of black list, where the world decides that you are never to be trusted again. I mean, just listen to this. Seriously.
Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby
You tell me, when you think of icy streets and this doesn’t come into your head, there’s something wrong right, there has to be?
I went out to a couple of shows the other night, one in Handymans Pub and one in the Craft Taproom, just a few minutes from our house. Crawford Avenue is one of the roads that most people use to cross from Smithdown to Penny Lane, the ice that was laid at the Smithdown Road end was unlike anything I’ve seen in years, there I am, heading to the gigs and scraping across it with a camera, associated lenses and a laptop in a bag ill-suited for the walk, all I have in my head? Ice Ice baby.
The whole way, as I contemplated slipping and ending up under a No 86 going just that little bit too quick under the bridge. Ice Ice baby indeed.
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