winter playlist

It's time for something new.

cosmic love-florence + the machine. I cannot stop listening to this song. Yes, it's a bit quirky and alternative, what with the strumming harp and the slightly discernible sound of fireworks popping at the end, but the anthemic, passionate crescendo it builds up to is irresistible. Not surprisingly, Florence is a British import. I'm drawn like a moth to a flame to all things British. I'm an Anglophile.

i'd rather go blind-beyonce. Something deep down in my soul said, "cry girl..." SO soulful, so good. I actually haven't watched the Etta James biopic, or really listened to the original version of the song. I'm simply stuck basking in Beyonce's version.

roslyn-bon iver (feat. st. vincent). I admit, I'm including the song that accompanies the most PAINFUL moment in New Moon, the Edward and Bella break up, which inevitably always leaves me with a nauseous pit in my stomach. The song is delicate and beautiful, however, trademark Bon Iver.

why do you let me stay here?-she and him. In case you didn't know, I feel an intense adoration for Zooey Deschanel. I find her absolutely delightful. Both musically and theatrically.

molly's chambers-kings of leon. I debated quite some time about the KOL songs that I wanted to include on my winter list. I'm obviously incapable of making a playlist without them these days. It was only after watching my concert DVD for the fifth or sixth time that I was able to settle on "molly's chambers", the perfect vehicle for Caleb Followill's raspy, yet lush vocal stylings.

eet-regina spektor. Regina Spektor is the very epitome of quirky. I caught her set at Austin City Limits a few years ago and found myself completely captivated, though I worried that her wide grin and slightly goofy laughter might be drug-induced. (Yes, I know, a bit judgmental of me)

kids-MGMT. Already popular, and already used in various bits of foreign advertising. Still delicious.

destiny-mary j. blige. I think we've already established that I'm a sucker for a well-selected soundtrack or accompaniment to a movie trailer or television scene. This tune isn't new, but provides the background to the original Precious trailer, and every time I hear it, I feel uplifted and hopeful. Bonus points to the song for belonging to the same album as "Family Affair", one of my FAVORITE songs of all time.

seven nation army-white stripes. Pretty Cheap Dress will be proud when she sees this. I was inspired after reading her "Best Music of the Decade" post.

dominoes-the big pink. My beloved sister-in-law turned us on to The Big Pink, and my SH played it constantly for the first few days after our revelation. She obviously has good taste-they'll be featured in this year's Coachella lineup. By the way, they're British. Of course.

duet-rachael yamagata. A sweet, simple love song. Makes my heart break a little.

cure for this-golden smog. I was perusing ITunes one day when I stumbled upon this little gem...OK I ADMIT IT! It's what plays in the opening credits of Sunshine Cleaning! Clearly, I am easily manipulated by music and the movies!

D.O.A. (death of auto-tune)-jay-z. I had been listening to "Empire State of Mind" for quite some time, fully intending to add it to my winter playlist, when our best friend Jakob (otherwise known as our future Joey, with an apartment built over our garage), pointed me in this direction instead.

crawl-kings of leon. I realized that I have never mentioned a track from the album that has made the Kings famous, so I thought I'd add this totally rockin' one, which is one of my faves. I can't help but wish that they were still a carefully guarded secret, not the kind of HUGELY successful juggernaut that means tickets are sold out practically, and unreasonably, before concerts are announced. (I'm talking about you, Live Nation, my NEMESIS!)

no one's gonna love you-band of horses. This song may single-handedly bring me to a devotion of Band of Horses.

you only live once-the strokes. Yet another song that's not new, AT ALL, but is simply new to me. We (the song and me) were introduced via a mix lovingly gifted to me by our beloved, dear family friend Naomi.

teardrop-jose gonzalez. Haunting, melodic, and addictive. It should come with this: WARNING: Listener may find herself lost in a reverie of musings about life. May not be safe for driving.

things I don't understand-coldplay. Here's a thing I don't understand: How, as an utterly faithful, dare I say DIEHARD fan, did I not know about this B-side until approximately one month ago, YEARS after the release of Speed of Sound? It's shameful. SHAMEFUL!

follow through-hotel lights. I like this one a whole lot-it feels like a good "starting anew" song. Perfect for right now.

all these things that I've done-the killers. Don't worry. This isn't another example of being "late to the party," despite the relative age of the song. I just happened to hear it whilst listening to Pandora recently, and my appreciation was reignited. The first time my best friend (who you all now know as Pretty Cheap Dress) told me about The Killers it was in reference to this song. She, as is her charming trademark, told me about loudly singing the lines "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" so I was quick to recognize this song when I heard it. At the time, I was lounging in the backseat of my brother-in-law's car, either going to or coming from the "shore", as the beach was affectionately known in Jersey (now, due to the insane popularity of the reality show, EVERYONE knows the Jersey Shore). Such a nice, fond memory.

BONUS TRACKS:

halo/walking on sunshine and it's my life/confessions-glee cast.
I finally gave into the Glee craze one very late night as I was burning the proverbial midnight oil, toiling away at a research paper about Daniel Defoe. I was initially distracted by a single youtube video, which then turned into a night of watching Hulu clips and then a marathon of episodes. These two songs, from the Mashup episode, are my favorites from the series so far.