Music As Reading: Mixtape XVIII, White Whindie Hymnals
We went home to her place
and cooked up some chilli
Warmed us from the inside
'cause the outside was chilly
A simple proposition this week, as it’s Christmas Eve. The vast majority of guitar music can be split down the middle, based on whether it’s innately wintery or summery. This tape proves this fact via its simultaneous breadth and coherence – alongside some more subtle proofs that you’ll probably need the accompanying essay what I wrote to understand. They’re that subtle. This tape’s particular literary resonance? Well frankly, it’s not exactly glaring – mainly we just wanted to get these songs up on the site before Christmas Day. But there is something, which I’ll quote from the last paragraph of the aforementioned essay:
It makes me wonder whether it reflects badly on (guitar) music that it can be so tied to seasonal extremes, rather than the more sophisticated liminalities that so much literature and visual art seems to get its kicks out of.
Whatevs, they’re (almost) all wonderful songs for this time of year. Have a wonderful Christmas Eve everyone. Oh, and yes, the fact there are 24 tracks is deliberate, we’re going to rehash this list in December 2011 as a MUSICAL ADVENT CALENDAR. Won’t that be awesome?
1. For Emma – Bon Iver
2. White Winter Hymnal – Fleet Foxes
3. Sister Winter – Sufjan Stevens
4. The Cold Swedish Winter – Jens Lekman
5. Winter Dies – Midlake
6. Colorado – Grizzly Bear
7. White Tooth Man – Iron & Wine
8. She Came Home For Christmas – Mew
9. Hello To Nils – Peter Broderick
10. Mr Peterson – Perfume Genius
11. Silent City – Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Brian Harnetty
12. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – The Ronettes
13. While I Shovel The Snow – The Walkmen
14. The Christmas Song – The Raveonettes
15. Mid-winter Songs: No. 5. Intercession In Late October – Morten Lauridsen
16. Magnum Mysterium – Morten Lauridsen
17. Helplessly Hoping – Crosby, Stills & Nash
18. Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside) – My Bloody Valentine
19. Halfway Home – TV On The Radio
20. Cover Me (Slowly) – Deerhunter
21. We Three Kings Of Orient Are – The Beach Boys
22. Girls In Their Summer Clothes (Winter Mix) – Bruce Springsteen
23. Summer Babe (Winter Version) – Pavement
24. Wait For The Wintertime – Yeasayer