In the cold Colorado weather it can be easy to get a little gloomy when stuck inside watching an endless wall of white fall for days on end.
Unfortunately, there are still a few more months of this weary weather, but that doesn’t have to mean months of misery. Embrace the melancholy with this playlist of mellow winter songs selected by CU Independent Staff Writer Jenny Gumbert.
“Skinny Love” by Bon Iver
What better way to start off a list of gloom-tunes than a song from Bon Iver’s 2008 album “For Emma, Forever Ago”? Bon Iver is a play on French for “good winter,” and the musician behind the band, Justin Vernon, creates perfect songs for a cold and snowy day, having spent the majority of his writing process locked away in a remote cabin in the Wisconsin woods. Heartbreak is never as pronounced as it is on a day of harsh and chilled winds, so stay at home and ache with Vernon as he wonders if, “Now all your love is wasted?/ Then who the hell was I?” with nothing but a guitar to keep him company.
“Kettering” by The Antlers
It’s hard not to have dark thoughts on a shadowy, stormy day, and thoughts don’t get much darker than the ones floating around The Antlers’ album “Hospice.” A concept album revolving around cancer, guilt and death, it’s hard not to feel intense pain as singer/guitarist Peter Silberman delicately sings, “ I didn’t believe them when they told me that there was no saving you,” as just a simple piano explodes into ambient noise full of anguish and anger.
“The Dress” by Blonde Redhead
The opening twinkling synth and swirling textures of “The Dress” are gentle and disarming, giving no clue to the storm that lies ahead. Vocalist Kazu Mikano sounds so sweet and assuring as the song begins, but her true intentions soon become present as she sings a line as cold as the weather outside: “I love you less now that I know you.” As Mikano confesses her indifference, it’s hard not to still be captivated by the beauty of the song as an explosion of drums and guitars billow behind the harsh words. The song is ethereal in its beauty, but frigid in its message.
“Keep The Streets Empty For Me” By Fever Ray
Swedish singer Fever Ray, real name Karin Dreijer Andersson, is known for creating dark and mysterious songs full of strange vocals and intriguing thoughts. This song, off of her self-titled debut, may be the most simple on the album, but is also the most beautiful. With a beat as steady as the snowfall outside and vocals as bleak as the leafless winter trees, this is the perfect track to cuddle up with a blanket and reflect on a cold day.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jenny Gumbert at Jenny.gumbert@colorado.edu.
