In a constant obsession to not wind up on the show “Hoarders” (we’ll discuss that later) I found myself digging through my boxes of things previously deemed ‘of great value’ a few weekends back and happened to find a dozen or so cassette tapes that I’ve held on to for at least fifteen and maybe even twenty years.  Most of them were quickly thrown away with the knowledge that I owned the cd or mp3s of that album and didn’t need the cassette anymore.  However, there were three tapes that were more than just the standard cd precursor but had once been a mixtape created at some time in my childhood.  Each in their own way no longer played whether the tape had been torn or stretched or content erased but that didn’t stop me from wondering what treasures each had once held.  Back before the Internet, Napster or even cds, musical life in a small town was not one of abundant options.  But for a while we did have a radio station that tried to play contemporary music and I remember always having a blank tape in the tape deck in case a song I liked and might want to hear again would come on.  And if the tape was really good… you’d share it with your friends or play it in the car.

With the awesomeness of those mixtapes lost in time, my brother provided his own slice of musical gifting in the form of mix cd when I was home for the Super Bowl.  Teary-eyed and not wanting to have to say good-bye and head back to ‘real life’, I graciously accepted the disc he handed me as I was leaving.  He’d previewed bits of it for us as we’d driven around throughout the weekend, but it wasn’t until I was in my office the next the day that I truly got to experience his collection of Winter songs. That was three weeks ago, and I’ve yet to stop listening to his mix since.  It’s now a playlist of each of my iPods (yeah, yeah I have more than one and less than six) and before I share any of the rest of the music I’ve been listening to this past year, you need to hear this modern day mixtape.  With sixteen different artists there’s no expectation that you’ve heard them all, but trust me, the rest of their stuff is as good as the songs in this post.  So if you’re itching for something new and don’t know what to buy, let this be my suggestion list.

P.S. – Thanks, Zac.  You truly are the best musical (and every thing else) brother ever!

Wilco – Jesus, Etc: Go buy Yankee Foxtrot Hotel and then every other album of theirs’ you can find.  Trust me.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Whiskeytown – Sit and Listen To The Rain: My Ryan Adams love knows no bounds especially when it comes to the old Whiskeytown stuff. “Sit around, dream away the place I’m from.  Used to feel so much, now I just feel numb” Yeah, that good.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

TV On The Radio – Wolf Like Me: More likely than not you first heard this song advertising the 2010 Winter Olympics and not from TVOTR’s 2006 Return to Cookie Mountain.  That doesn’t mean you should pick up the latter.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Sun Kil Moon – Carry Me Ohio: I’m pretty sure Zac gave me his beloved disc so that I’d finally listen to this song he’d recommended weeks before.  But somehow in the hubbub of life, I’d lost his recommendation and grown tired of googling to figure out that weirdly named some from that weirdly named band.  And of course, pride would not allow me to ask again.  Luckily, he acted with pity on me and provided this gem and highlight of the album.  My students may have grown tired of it after three weeks of constant play, but you should hear that stuff they force me to listed to.  ::shudders::

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Sufjan Stevens – Chicago: Just a few years ago and countless other albums later, Sufjan promised to write an album for each state in the union.  So far we’ve seen just Illinois and Michigan.  Both are phenomenal, so when you get around to listening to Michigan make sure to check out “For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti”.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Shins – New Slang: Garden State.  Need I say anything more.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals – Magnolia Mountain: If I had to describe the perfect way to get to know Mr. David Ryan Adams, you’d have to start in 2005 with 29,  Jacksonville, and Magnolia Mountain’s Cold Roses.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

My Morning Jacket – I’m Amazed: After many of my musical buddies had listed Z as one of the best albums of 2005, I knew I had to hear it.  However, these Southern didn’t memorable to me until seeing them on Austin City Limits.  It’s worth a watch if you catch it on reruns.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MGMT – Kids: Ok, I might just get myself in trouble… but the first time I heard this song was in a episode of Gossip Girl.   It’s just as good as the intermission of this winter mix as it was on my guilty TV pleasure.  Don’t judge.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Iron and Wine – Boy With A Coin: What a great band name for a single man.  Another Garden State alum who you recognize and love his songs before you realize they belong to him.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Fleet Foxes -  Mykonos: CSNY in 2008.  If you don’t get it or hear it, watch this youtube video and wait til just after the 3:10 mark. Brilliance.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Doves – Kingdom of Rust: This cd was my first taste of Doves’ music; it won’t be my last.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Death Cab For Cutie – Summer Skin: Ok, so Summer Skin may not be the most appropriate ‘winter’ song, but I’m game to listen to Ben Gibbard sing no matter what the weather outside is like. Plus, it gives me hope that warmth will be here soon, and our constant companion of snow will give way to a mountain of green.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Bon Iver – Blood Bank: What could be wintery than a band whose name translates to ‘good winter’. If you ignore all of my other pleas in this post, please go buy Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago and the Blood Bank EP and wait for the snow to start falling, a long drive, or that moment where haunting melodies are just the thing your soul longs for… Bon Iver is meant for these times.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Band of Horses – The Funeral: If you recognize this song, it’s probably been a part of an episode of your favorite television show.  Now if only I could remember where I heard it.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You: I can’t decide how I feel about this final band.  Part of me loves their unique creativity, and for a second in every one of their songs I feel like I’m being punked. Yet, this quirky ending feels fitting somehow.  I think.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.