So there’s me, in bed, still in that delightful state of being neither fully awake nor out cold, and the girlfriend’s leaping about and the curtains are open and it’s all “snow snow snow” and the radio newsreader’s telling me not to travel unless I really have to and I’m desperate to drift off again but before I know it the duvet’s off and I’m marched to the kitchen window to gaze at a garden smothered with six inches of the stuff.
Great. All that means to me is an extra 40 minutes journey time on the way in (and probably more on the way home), and cold feet since I’ve no suitable footwear for such weather (see picture – brrrr). A sensible man would stay home, playing Sensi, drinking tea and eating crumpets. But DiS folk are rarely sensible. Our brains are too beer-addled for such thought processes to reach their conclusions.
You, though, might’ve chosen wisely. Perhaps – hopefully – you’re at home, looking at sparkling flakes falling and turning the gas fire up another bar. There’s probably something educational on UKTV History, but three bets you’re watching CBBC. Good one. Although, good one for still finding the willpower to turn your Mac or PC on and clicking your way here. We’re lonely in our snowed-in basement, and are turning to comfort songs to get us through our eighth cup of something warm and brown; to songs for snowy days and nights, that glitter like a morning’s frost and crunch like freshly laid underfoot.
Below, we’ve assembled a playlist for the snowed-in and alone. Enjoy for a while, and then head out for a snowball fight with the primary school kids at lunchtime.
Au Revoir Simone
‘Fallen Snow’
From the album The Bird Of Music, forthcoming on Moshi Moshi
Listen to this song on their MySpace
Low
‘Last Snowstorm Of The Year’
From the album Trust, released on Rough Trade in 2002.
My Bloody Valentine
‘Soft As Snow (Warm Inside)’
From the album Isn’t Anything, released on Creation in 1988.
Regina Spektor
’20 Years Of Snow’
From the album Begin To Hope, released on WEA in 2006
Snow
‘Informer’
Released in 1993 – watch the video here.
Jeniferever
‘Winter Nights’
From the album Chose A Bright Morning, released on DiS in 2006.
Watch the snowy video to ‘Across The Sea’, from the very same LP, here.
JJ72
‘Snow’
From the album JJ72, released on Lakota in 2000.
Watch the video here.
Hood
‘Winter 72’
From the album Outside Closer, released on Domino in 2005.
The Russian Futurists
‘It’s Not Really Cold When It Snows’
From the album Me, Myself And Rye…, released on Memphis Industries in 2006.
90 Day Men
‘Silver And Snow’
From the album Panda Park, released on Southern in 2003.
Stapleton
‘Icy You’
From the Icy You EP, released on Gravity DIP in 2002.
Yo La Tengo
‘Winter A Go-Go’
From the album Summer Sun, released on Matador in 2003.
Super Furry Animals
‘Northern Lights’
From the album Guerrilla, released on Creation in 1999.
The Fiery Furnaces
‘Tropical-Iceland’
From the singles collection EP, released on Rough Trade in 2004.
Watch the video here.
And the songs that just SOUND like winter…
Björk
‘Joga’
From the album Homogenic, released on One Little Indian in 1997; of course, you could pick any song from this LP or its follow-up, Vespertine. They all sound as if they were recorded in the middle of a glacier.
Watch the Michel Gondry-directed video for ‘Joga’ here.
Under Byen
‘Af Samme Stof Som Stof’
From the album Samme Stof Som Stof, released on Paperbag Records.
Watch the video here.
And the songs for all the travel chaos…
Death Cab For Cutie
‘Gridlock Caravans’
From the special edition of the album The Photo Album, released on Fierce Panda in 2005.
Mogwai
‘Travel Is Dangerous’
From the album Mr Beast, released on Rock Action in 2006.
Watch the video here.
And because snow doesn’t half get boring after a while…
Cable
‘Honolulu’
From the album Sub-Lingual, released on Infectious in 1999; alternatively, of course, you could have ‘Freeze The Atlantic’, but that’s still wintry of title. So boo to that.
And we didn’t even have room for…
Sigur Rós
‘Untitled 1’
From the album ( ), released on Fat Cat in 2002.
Because it sound-tracked that photograph, up there; watch the video here.
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
‘Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow’
From the album No More Shall We Part, released on Mute in 2001.
Because it’s Nick Cave, end of; watch the video here.
DiScuss: What songs would you play to soundtrack a day spent either in the snow or watching it from the warmth of a fire-lit living room?

Mum - Don't Be Afraid, You Have Just Got Your Eyes Closed
Most Snowy Song ever.
Except maybe Frosti/Aurora by Bjork where Matmos actually PLAYS snow.
(Well, white pebbles designed to sound like snow anyway).
dat Frosti t'ing be true...
...squelch trudge crunch
That Mum sounds like, as I remarked once while totally fucked up on coffee (I know rock 'n' roll)
"A family of polar bears dancing and trying to catch snowflakes."
If it snows
Sigur Ros and Mum just about cover all angles I think.
Snow is never boring
Snowy in F#Minor - Tindersticks
Velvet Snow - Kings Of Leon
Snow and Lights - Explosions In The Sky
can someone pm me that death cab song?
i have never heard of it.
YES @ 'icy you' though
can you
pm me it when somebody pms it to you? :)
4389
Bearsuit - What, you've never seen snow before?
Homer Simpson - Mr Plow Song
Well, that's me done.
A Winter's Discord...
by Aereogramme, by the way
Anything by Whiteout
Actually scrub that, they were shit.
Vanilla Ice
Ice Ice Baby.
I saw some goons with acoustic guitars covering this on Monday night. They then segued it into Under Pressure. It sounded like an aneurysm.
Under Byen!
Nice one Mr Diver, a well deserved mention of a much unknown band.
The album that song is from is ace.
But they are not quite as good as compatriots Efterklang, who fit right into a wintery mood soundtrack....
I call for more
relatively-unknown-yet-amazing music being given props on DiS
whyyyyyy wont it snoooooow
That song sounds like a cat being strangled with a child's scarf. Jeniferever and snow is a good call though, especially when you're in sweden.
yes yes yes yes
under byen are well phittt
Pre-Made
Do you think the DiS editors had this article pre-done for days like this?
either way great playlist - Sigur Rós/Mogwai/DCFC & Super Furry Animals the main highlights for me.
I wish it was pre-made
Cos doing it this morning was a linkage headache!
Minus the Bear - Hooray
It's cold, and snow's finally on the ground of this no-snow town. Honestly, just because it doesn't have "snow" in the title.
This also made me think of the vastly different "Siberian Kiss", by Glassjaw, which of course has the famous lyric: I hate you you bastard bitch cunt whore whore whore slut.
mew
snow brigade. for when you want to shovel the snow away?
Autolux...
Sub-zero fun. oddly enough, this is now playing on my mp3 player...whilst on shuffle...just as i'm reading this thread!! Oooh Aaaahh
Actually, come to think about...
The Cure always make me think of snow. Especially Disintegration :)
anything
by often maligned neo grunge band Cold
4396
Give Up The Ghost - The Ice Age Is Coming
80s goodness
drivin like snow by sisters of mercy and cold by the cure, fantastic
Arcade Fire of course!
"and if the snow buries my neighbourhood, then i'll dig a tunnel, from my window to yours!"
Copperpot journals
Pilots is the best wintery album ever!
Snow Showers
by Trembling Blue Stars would be another choice cut for this one...
Ooooh...
Beat me to it with Copperpot Journals. Otherwise The Fox in the Snow by Belle and Sebastian and A Samba In The Snowy Rain by Guillemots would probably be on t'stereo if it was actually snowing here in Glasgow. Boo Glasgow!
4400
Test Icicles - Snowball
fuckin hell
this has just reminded me how much i REALLY hate/d jj72 + fiery furnaces
oh and PGMG - the getaway always reminds me of snow/snowing/xmas
errr
mew-snowbrigade anyone?
i put my earphones in
and put walked around listening to galaxie 500 (spec. listen the snow is falling) at about 6 this morning. rather nice.
Driver will you take me to
Honolulu!
No Snow Patrol
This pleases me.
Pull down me pants, look up me bottom.
Informer! YESSSSS!
JJ72
Snow? what about Oxegen, hurricane, water, rain, sunshine, and the rest of their weather related music
Dismemberment Plan
'Spider In The Snow'?
Eels - 'Flower' always reminds me of doing papers in the snow on my mum's street in the dark. Really nice memory for some reason, I'm sure it was shit at the time.