There’s a chill in the air now in these English flatlands and a sense that Winter has finally arrived, albeit belatedly.
Much as I hate the shortness of the days, the frequent lack of light and all the practical inconveniences like scraping ice off the car windscreen and having to dry the washing indoors (freshly laundered socks and knickers are draped over the radiators as I type this) it is at least compensated by certain sights, sounds, smells, etc. which have an idiosyncratic charm. I find it in stark skies and crunchy leaves underfoot, welcoming lights behind window panes, a waft of woodsmoke and wrapping myself up in a thick woolly scarf: the responses to Winter which have remained unchanged since my childhood, when I didn’t have to worry about de-icing the car and drying the laundry.
I think music can also be seasonal. Some songs just sound better at certain times of year. My favourite Winter (and Autumn) tracks tend to be a bit on the wistful side, maybe a little melancholy. Thanks to the good man over at Anorak Thing blog I’ve just been introduced to one which captures the ambience perfectly and I can't seem to get enough of it at the moment. It’s like tired daylight fading behind skeletal trees, sharp air seizing your breath. And a north wind blowing south….
Philamore Lincoln: The North Wind Blew South
We don't have much of a winter where I live...I mean it's cold to me but, it's not really a winter. It does get soggy and grey though.
ReplyDeleteThings like My Bloody Valentine, Chrome, old Sonic Youth get a lot more playing time this time of year.
Ah, winter soundtracks - nice post. Two that are particular redolent for me are:
ReplyDelete'Snowflakes Are Dancing' by Tomita (needs little explanation I guess); and the soundtrack to 'The Thomas Crown Affair' for no other reason than that the first time I heard it was from the back of my family's car driving up to London on a snowy, icicley february morning...
I know this tune from somewhere I must have some Philamore Lincoln on my musical gadgetry. Have you checked Billy Nicholls Would You Believe album for similar riffing?
ReplyDeleteOr this for a winter mixture perhaps
Thanks all! Interesting, the association between music and seasons, I'll check out the various tracks/artists mentioned in your comments, many thanks. I agree about Thomas Crown Affair, A, and likewise Get Carter, Mondo (ta for link to your own winter mix, great stuff!) oh yeah and Sonic Youth, thanks efb. I would also add to mine a bit of early Massive Attack, Rod Stewart's 'Mandolin Wind' and, purely because I got it for Christmas(!) '77 and the memory of playing it incessantly that winter just sticks, most of Never Mind The Bollocks...
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