In these colder months with shorter days, the WAMH DJs are back to present you with our favorite wintry songs! Look out for updates to this playlist throughout the next couple of months and an update on the blog in early February. For now, we hope these tunes keep you warm and cozy.
Lucas Bernstein, Sound Salvation: “Needle In The Hay” by Elliott Smith & “Nowhere Near” by Yo La Tengo
“Needle In The Hay”—This song will either feel warm and cozy or send chills down your spine, depending on whether you’ve seen The Royal Tenenbaums. Either way, throw it on and sit by the fire (crying optional).
“Nowhere Near”—There are plenty of Yo La Tengo songs that are perfect for winter, but something about this one feels like the perfect soundtrack to looking out your window at night as the snow gently falls onto the ground below.
Naviya, Crying in the Science Center: “Pretty Girl at the Airport” by the Avett Brothers & “Sit” by Japanese Breakfast
I listened to Pretty Girl at the Airport every time I was at the airport flying home for Thanksgiving/Christmas… It sounds really nostalgic like returning to your hometown 🙂 Sit is a good song for winter because it makes me feel cold for some reason idk lol!
Helen Feibes, And She Was: “New Estate” by Giant Rooks & “New Year” by Beach House
Winter is about newness to me: a new year, plants that die so new seeds can grow in the spring, and so on. These two songs feel fresh to me – like cold air and bright snow – and, of course, they literally have the word “new” in their titles.
Nii-Ayi Aryeetey, The Car Wash: “Aloysius” by Cocteau Twins
During the winter of 2020, I was in New York driving home when this song came on while listening to my playlist on shuffle. I immediately thought it fit the mood of winter, which is helped by the fact that it begins with sleigh bells. The song is atmospheric, sparse, and a little lonely, which is how I view winter.
Matthew Ezersky, The EZ Hour: “Freddie’s Dead” by Curtis Mayfield
Quinn Nelson, Of Note: “Night Still Comes” by Neko Case, “Clay Pigeons” by John Prine, & “The Sound of Someone You Love Who’s Going Away and It Doesn’t Matter” by Penguin Cafe Orchestra
All of these songs remind me of winter because they’re not all the way sad, just very melancholy. People often associate winter with death and cold, but there’s something beautiful about it too.
Maya Ledesma, Chew on This!: “Feels Like” by Gracie Abrams
This falling-in-love song always feels like a warm hug to me! As she sings about a cold train ride through Connecticut, I can envision it so perfectly… A good song for romanticizing dreary days.
Nichole Fernandez, Grrrls to the Front: “Futile Devices” by Sufjan Stevens
Nothing feels more like winter than lying on the couch under a warm blanket.
