Winter 2023/24 Playlist: Annotated
I struggled with my winter playlist this year. Incorporating so many genres (arguably too many) made it difficult to find successful transitions between songs. But I managed it eventually. If you’re tired after last year—I certainly am—this playlist will speak to you.
1) “First Light” by Hozier - Figured I might as well kick this thing off with an epic. 2023 was a dramatic year.
2) “The Angel” by Avice Caro - This one popped up on my Discover Weekly playlist. I like how it evokes harp music without featuring a harp. It reminds me of fresh, glittering snow—though I have to say, this year’s playlist is less glittery than usual for the season.
3) “Attention” by Doja Cat - Scarlet is a hit-or-miss album for me, but this one is for sure a hit. Aggressive glitter? Is that a thing?
4) “namesake” by Noname - A song about one’s own complicity in horrific world events, even as one tries to maintain a life outside of and even fight against those horrific world events. Boy oh boy, do I feel that.
5) “Two Years” by Maple Glider - Here’s one of those rocky transition moments. I’m hoping the bass connects it to the previous song enough to work. Really enjoy the tempo changes here. Another Discover Weekly find.
6) “Safe in the Womb” by Angel Olsen - An achingly beautiful acoustic number. Over the past few years I haven’t enjoyed listening to acoustic/folk as much as I used to, but maybe I’m exhausted enough now to appreciate it again. Or my anger and frustration is diminishing? Who can say.
7) “I Am The Dog” by Sir Chloe - This song reminds me of how the wind gusts in winter: little eddies of air and then WHOOSH! (The title also reminds me of one of my favorite lines in When Harry Met Sally, but that’s neither here nor there.)
8) “As the World Falls Down” by Girl in a Coma - Bowie cover! The Labyrinth dance scene if it were set in a 1950s high school gym?
9) “Ceiling” by Issy Wood - This one gives Billie Eilish vibes, but a bit sunnier, perhaps? It reminds me of those particularly cold but sunny days.
10) “My Horror” by Santigold - Another cold-but-sunny song. A lot darker than its melody would suggest.
11) “Names of Stars” by Weyes Blood - An acoustic number for when you’re walking home on a dark winter night. Seeing Weyes Blood in concert was such a pleasure—I hope I get to do it again.
12) “Do I Wanna Stay” by Shannon & The Clams - What a voice! The gravel of it is harder to appreciate on their faster songs. This is where the playlist starts to take a turn toward the vaguely Western. Maybe this town ain’t big enough for the both of us? But it could be. We should find a measuring tape.
13) “Stand” by Via Mardot - More pseudo-Western vibes here courtesy of the Discover Weekly playlist.
14) “Shake It Out - The Weeknd Remix” by Florence + The Machine - I first heard this remix on a Peloton post-ride stretch. The original song is so celebratory, at least in its melody. This version makes the lyrics more about grit and persistence.
15) “One by One” by VOWWS - Welcome to the industrial/metal interlude! This song is like trudging through knee-high snow with the wind blowing in your face.
16) “One for Sorrow” by Green Lung - Green Lung’s This Heathen Land came out in November, and it immediately became one of my favorite albums of the year. I enjoy the band’s previous albums, too, but this one really evokes some pagan rites at Stonehenge. They’re brave enough to ask the question: What if Spinal Tap weren’t a parody? It’s so good! This particular song is a doomy, gloomy, heavy delight.
17) “Days of Oblivion” by Metric - I’m hoping this song is an effective offramp from the industrial/metal interlude. I’ve been listening to Metric since I was in high school, and I like their latest efforts.
18) “Found a Girl” by Shoes - At Christmas, my Aunt Patty gave me some of my dad’s old records, including one by a band called Shoes. She explained that my dad’s cousin, Skip Meyer, had been the drummer for this band, which was successful enough to appear on MTV in the 80s. Here’s the thing: they’re actually good. I’m as surprised as you are.
19) “Song for Sad Friends” by Feist - “If you’re sad, my friends / why would I take that away?” A song I very much need right now.
20) “The Dreamer” by The Tallest Man on Earth - I saw The Tallest Man on Earth in concert back in October, and it was such an intimate show, and he played this as an encore, and it was transcendent. I wish I could make you feel the same way.
21) “Something Was There” by Dark Dark Dark - Another Discover Weekly…discovery. A lovely but melancholy piano number. Winter is often both lovely and melancholy.
22) “The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-1934)” by Elton John - I have wanted to put this on a winter playlist for years and I finally did. So there.
23) “I Love Me After You” by Mitski - This is not the Mitski song I thought would end up on this playlist, but playlists don’t always go the way you think they will.
24) “Thoroughfare” by Ethel Cain - We’re bringing back the acoustic vibes, we’re bringing back the Western vibes, we’re bringing back the epic vibes, we’re tying it all together. Hopefully.
Need more winter music?