A Winter Playlist for Walks/Fires/Reading on the Sofa
Last night, my friend Claire and I went to play trivia at a local bar. Are you good at trivia? I never know things like who was president when, but I was able to identify what fairy tale had a villain known simply as the Evil Queen and name all five Great Lakes. “I self-identify as smart,” my friend Rob told me yesterday. “But I’m truly terrible at trivia.” Made me laugh. Are you the same?
Anyway, the third round was all about music. The host played 30 seconds of each song, and you had to name the artist or band. One was Ella Fitzgerald, another was UB40; and the exercise got me in the mood to make a playlist. So, my loves, here’s a winter playlist for you, if you’d like something to listen to while taking a shower, making dinner, or reading in bed.
Three more Cup of Jo playlists, if you’re in the mood:
* Fall walks
* Great covers
* Make-out songs
What do you think? I’d love to hear what you’re listening to these days. xoxo
(Photo by Petr Slováček/Unsplash.)
Tags: music
Comments
106 commentsThanks for the playlist! I love new-to-me music. I’m listening to it now at work while I attempt to get through my to do list.
My high school self would be over the moon that I have a weekly trivia night with a group of mom friends. She would love to know there is a stage in life past trying to be cool, or staying out late, or going to parties she never wanted to go to. Grown up trivia night is the stuff my teenage dreams are made of.
I could relate to this comment so much! I was a self-identified trivia geek as a kid and the parties were never my scene. I would have loved to have known I would fit in somewhere in the future
Most fun pub trivia was with a bunch of 50 something friends: 5 PhDs among us, but it was my college age son that got us to 2nd place with his knowledge of current music! Great way to spend multigenerational time.
Just a little reminder to maybe look over the track list before you’re in the car on a frosty, gloomy day accidentally listening to your and your ex’s song and unexpectedly having a swell of “time going by” type feelings!! The Gambler, for those wondering, and he sent it mid breakup (as a plea to not breakup which was already incredibly hard but necessary to go through with) and it basically destroyed me and continues to do so despite the fact that I am happily married to someone else! Music is so powerful. Also this is not a complaint, it was kind of nice in a weird sad way, but boy did it get me today.
Not to be a downer but: Spotify has previously run ads for ICE, Many artists have complained of very low compensation, they have been accused of copying artists using AI software so they don’t have to compensate the artist all, including those that are deceased and, invested heavily in Helsing, a company developing AI for weapon systems. Just some food for thought.
Could you suggest an alternative, please, instead of just complaining? It’s not as if this site is pro-ICE or something, and corporations not somehow entangled with all that’s wrong in America right now are starting to seem like slim pickings.
Qobuz is an excellent alternative!
I looove shared playlists and new music recommendations, and I’m so appreciative of this kind of community exchange, but can we all please please please pledge to get off Spotify? Between underpaying artists, funding military drones, and running ICE recruitment ads… it’s just not worth the convenience or the fun of sharing a mixtape.
Hi- I was going to mention Spotify too- just can’t stomach listening to this lovely list without verification that they are not doing harm in the world. Said as an exhausted Minnesotan.
Yes but what’s a good alternative?
My reply is to Sani’s question (and to anyone looking for a Spotify alternative) – I recently deleted Spotify and switched over to Qobuz, and it’s been pretty good so far! There have been a few times when they don’t have an obscure song that I’m looking for, but there are a lot of nice features, including the ability to port over Spotify playlists. And as far as I know, they aren’t running ads for ICE, at least. Recommended!
Re: the Coldplay song All My Love. Have you seen the video? It’s Dick Van Dyke dancing, and it is so heartwarming and charming. Chris Martin and Dick Van Dyke also went on Jimmy Kimmel to talk about making the video, and Chris Martin shared the sweetest anecdote about Van Dyke’s very grown son (74!) asking his dad if it was ok to turn on the water slide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elZHLU4Zx_8 More proof, I guess, that I like a story better than a song (see below comments from people who do not “love” music.)
Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal” is a single winter scene – just one beautiful image – that reminds me of the season’s beauty and helps me get through it. I’ve listened to it on repeat every winter and it feels uplifting every time.
Kayla, will you explain the image of “White Winter Hymnal” to me? I LOVE this song but feel guilty for playing it for my toddler because I’ve always found the lyrics violent. Maybe I’m misunderstanding how the snow turns red? Would love to hear your take on it. And no worries if you’re busy or would rather not. I was just excited to read your comment!
Hi!! Such a good question! When I first started listening to it years ago, I imagined a “pack” of foxhounds leading a group of horseback riders through the snowy woods. I think that only occurred to me because of the band’s name and because I’m an equestrian, ha. The “white snow red as strawberries in summertime” always invoked the image of a hound or rider wearing a red vest (not blood) left behind as the others continue on. I have googled the “true” meaning several times, and I think it’s supposed to be a metaphor for the loss of childhood friendships. I don’t know that it really has anything to do with fox hunting!
My 12 year old son gave me bombastic side eye this morning when he came down from breakfast and heard that I was playing Snowman by Sia which is classed as a Christmas song and therefore restricted to December in our house! lol
Years ago I would meet up with friends for a regular trivia night at a local pub. Every week, without fail, there would be a question along the lines of “Which countries border [insert country name here]?” and every week – WITHOUT FAIL – precisely zero of our team would know the correct answer lol! We were all self-identified very smart people but none of us were great with geography, and I think what was even worse was that none of us ever improved week after week! *face palm* I blame the drinks that accompany pub trivia, but all of that’s the fun of trivia isn’t it? :)
There’s a very fun insta account my husband follows that asks fun geography questions. The only one I can remember right now is – in what region of what country, are there the most people who speak Welsh? Oh, and what is the only country in the world that is a woman’s name? (I remember these two because I got them both lol)
A few years ago I was visiting friends in Exeter and they took me with them to the local pub for trivia night. I’m pleased to say that I carried our team out of last place by knowing who wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang {my teammates, all born and raised in England, had no idea} and by supplying the middle initial of Harry Truman’s name. {Before we started I asked my friend if the questions were going to be along the lines of “Who is buried in Grant’s tomb?” and our other team mate, their next door neighbor who was the headmistress at a girls’ school, indignantly informed me that the questions were not going to be geared towards Americans.} I’m wondering if the anyone else is struggling to write a comment because the ads keeps taking over the screen? It’s very annoying.
I am the opposite of your friend Rob; I don’t think I’m smart, but I sure do know a lot fo trivia :)
Just coming to recommend the “board” game Hitster to anyone who loves music-style trivia. We played this with a multigeneratioal group of friends and family (ranging from ages 6 to age 80) over Christmas and New Years and everyone had so much fun! You get to hear around 20 second of a song and then have to order it on a timeline (e.g. did this song come out BEFORE or AFTER this other song). There are bonus points for knowing the artist and song name. The teens in our group were so proud that they recognized trendy new songs that none of the adults knew – and suitably impressed with the grannies who smashed the 50s and 60s samples (many of which the younger generation had never heard before). With a group of 8 or more, we loved playing in teams, especially with one older and one younger player in a team. We played the classic version, but you can also find more genre specific ones (“Rock”, “Movies songs”, etc.). Note that there’s a different version for each country – I’m German so we played the German one, which worked well for almost everyone except for my poor French husband (who was unfairly penalized by German Schlager classics like “17 Jahr, Blondes Haar” and “Marmor, Stein und Eisen Bricht”).
Yes!!! We had SO much fun playing this game with a group of friends on New Years Eve.
I introduced Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington to my middle school students during Black History month a few years back, and they were enthralled! Personally, I love new agey snowy and foresty themed music…and getting ready for Mardi Gras, traditional New Orleans jazz! And being a child of the 70’s, I dig the 70’s Sirius channel…Glen Campbell, Carole King, Queen! Bring it!
I just heard this song ‘Speak Your Mind’ by Brandi Carlile and have been listening to it on repeat. (I don’t think it’s that well known because it seems to have been written for a Netflix series, haha) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kGbp5eBgGsY
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWVnnLLPsf7sZ?si=51a7x7kuS9KZ6JdB-pJ9Og&pi=B747WbonRwS1b The soundtrack is avail on Spotify. Good stuff :)
Oh my gosh, I’m laughing so hard at your friend Rob’s comment. SAME! And thank you for the playlist, Joanna! Can’t wait to listen.
I love the playlist, thank you! The song, Eternal Flame now always makes me think of Maya Rudolph’s hilarious performance in the amazing movie Wine Country. Have you seen it? SO GOOD.
Your fall walks playlist remains a favorite-it is fantastic! Look forward to listening to this winter one – thanks for sharing!
Joanna, thank you for this and also for your covers playlist. I have had an emotional day, felt very low, and taking absolute joy in the various unexpected covers and singing along really lifted me up. Also took a walk down college memory lane. Thank you :)
I fell in love with someone getting to know him one trivia question at a time. I always marvel whenever anyone knows the answer to a question. I find it extraordinary and wildly attractive and just absolutely amazing! Trivia is a great reminder of just how capable and amazing people are!
Jade me too!! It is a huge weird turn-on for me every time my husband gets a question right. Which is fairly often and I’m just like wow all these things in your brain, I love you.
I made a YouTube Music version of this, if anyone else wants it! Thanks Jo! https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6vx1DO4uEV-H5IMr8zU-8tbfbZ8zDS-j&si=JCcpZetzbnOPXgMs
thank you, tovah!!
https://open.spotify.com/album/1C6ZhZjeYzIE7pPoRGABXJ?si=6M0jL8fNRyCf806ldbxyEA Beck’s latest recording has the winter feels. But I adore Beck at every stage.
OMG I have been listening to this on repeat all weekend! Swooning over his cover of “I only have eyes for you”… And Ramona is a close second…
Tracey, me too! Beck can interpret a song like mad! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyO5MRTbL2s
@ hillary, wow, what an amazing show that was!
Ha this is making me laugh because my friends and family tease me how I’m not into music, the universally beloved language of everything that words fall short of. I can appreciate music as ambiance and even have some songs I like, but I don’t think to listen to it – I much prefer podcasts! Or, to everyone’s horror, driving in silence 😂 any other music ambivalent monsters out there? I feel like my brain is broken.
Me! I love driving in silence and would prefer to listen to an audiobook or, again, silence, while doing chores. It drives my husband batty. Meanwhile, his absolute inability to do a task or ride in a car or exist as a human in any setting without music at the exactly preferred volume, drives me up a wall. lol, match made in heaven.
You’re not alone! There is one moment I LOVE music which is driving home from dinner and putting on some 90s r&b but beyond that – I find music so overwhelming! As someone who struggles with organization (hello Adhd!) I just find music to be one more thing I have to keep track of, sort into playlists, and then try to track down new music I actually like for a dose of novelty! A podcast or audio book provides hours of entertainment without any of the work.
Me too! But I don’t like podcasts, I tend to space out and then I don’t know what I just heard for the last 15 minutes. With music, it really bothers me when tunes are stuck and replayed over and over in my head. I love a lot of songs, but often if there’s music on I want it to be stuff I don’t recognize so it can’t get stuck in my brain. And honestly silence is just so nice. I can think better. I have always thought I have a strong ability to just entertain myself in my head, so maybe that explains why I don’t need or want music so much. So, no, you are not broken, just different :)
It’s growing on me, but I’d say that I do not like music—certainly not the way the other people like music. I discovered NPR as a teenager because my car radio tuner got swampy one humid summer and wouldn’t go higher than 92–at the low end of the dial, NPR was all I could get. It blew my mind!! I still remember the first thing I heard. It was Terry Gross interviewing Stan Lee (who I didn’t care about at all). I also remember trying to explain to a librarian this snippet of Sarah Vowell that I heard. I needed to know what it was! I’ve never felt that way about music.
I am 100% the same. My partner and kids make fun of me. I just want silence 99% if the time. Recently though I’ve started listening to playlists my teen makes for me.
I’m the same with the exception of Christmas music. Years ago when I’d applied for my last job, my hiring boss asked my favorite type of music (as he was very into it). I said Christmas music! He said in all the interviews he’d done, no one ever said that. I said well, I couldn’t try to be cool and say jazz or the blues and then cough up any favorite artists. Got the job and that was a running joke for eons. He always let me know when a good music album was released and I usual checked it out. I do enjoy true crime podcasts when cooking/cleaning or, to my husband’s horror, disco on occasion. But silence is golden except when I’m in my head with worries.
I was a professional musician for 30 years, then taught, and now I find that silence is my favorite thing. It’s as if I’ve just had too much input for 50 years. Also though, I can’t hear music as background; it’s never just “there” for me. There’s always a part of my brain paying attention, analyzing, wondering……
I’m grateful for this group of comments. I thought it was just me and that I was weird! There’s so much new music that I hear people talk about and that I feel like I should know but honestly, I just want it quiet most of the time.
It’s funny, I am a lifelong singer and musician, I was even a music major in college, I am married to a music educator…. and I kinda get what you’re saying here. I just don’t think to put music on the way that my husband constantly does. And driving in silence is delightful haha. I will say, I’ve also felt very overwhelmed by music since we’ve gotten away from just a boombox and a collection of CDs. But I recently started making folders in Spotify to organize my music, and I am really digging that. You can’t do it on the app – just on Spotify desktop – but I have folders like: New music to check out, Old music to check out, Focus and Classical, Friends’ Playlists (Cup of Jo playlists go in there!)
Kasia-I’m with you about the annoyance of songs getting stuck in my head, which seems to be a recent issue for me, so I’m loving my instrumental jazz playlists!
Hahaha yes to Christmas music!!! Okay, that would definitely be my answer too. My favorite genre by a mile. Maybe it’s like some people are foodies and some people just eat what they need to to not die? Haha, maybe a bad analogy…
@Kaff, this? https://www.npr.org/2008/10/07/95469284/sarah-vowell-finds-humor-in-puritan-history And while a day without some type of music would undue all the good its done in my life, I have quiet rooms and silent meditation that also serves me well.
Joanna and others: do you have strong feelings on whether you shuffle a playlist (or album), or listen to it in order? And whether you start at the very beginning every time, or on with the last song you remember stopping on, or maybe just with your favorite track, or conversely, your least favorite because maybe it just needs more plays to grow on you? I’m an avid shuffler, and have had both friends and my husband tell me heatedly that for albums, that is NOT how the artist intended the songs to be heard. Not sure if that also holds for playlist-makers?
I use the Sort option more than Shuffle usually. Currently sorting my alpha name which creates a shuffle I set vs Spotify.
Strong feelings here! As a Gen Xer who listened to physical recordings and who made mixed tapes for friends, I have to listen to albums in track order. My mixed tapes, then CDs, definitely were pieces of art- just like in the film High Fidelity LOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzQwbRdh5Ts “You’ve got to kick it off with a killer to grab attention, then you got to take it up a notch, but you don’t want to blow your wad. So then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules.” Be still my heart seeing John Cusack in that film again..mmmmm.
Anna, that’s exactly what my husband and friends say too! I just like the surprise of knowing that anything could come next, and not being like, “oh, of course it’s this.” Plus, the reality of sometimes only having time to listen to part of an album or playlist, and I don’t like the idea of not getting around to the later tracks as much as the first ones.
Oo interesting! I almost always listen on shuffle, and am so fascinated by people who compile playlists in a specific order so the vibes ebb and flow in a particular way. I would get so in my head about what the ‘best’ order was that I’d never make another playlist in my life! So shuffle it is. And I like the surprise and delight when the next song starts :) My exception for shuffle is when an album has a clear narrative, like Lemonade. Then I’ll listen start to finish!
Eternal Flame, YES! Forgot about this gem!
I have had two hard years. Just taken possession of keys to my new flat. Once the movers have finished, I have promised myself a cocktail as I lie on the sofa and listen to Miles Davis
Annie..this was me two years ago as I landed in my new home. Miles Davis Round Midnight is one of my absolute favorites. Sending love to you!
Oh Annie I’m late to this, but sending you great vibes for a good weekend in your new flat. I hope it can bring you some peace and comfort as you make it yours. 💕
This sounds perfect, Annie. Hope you’re having a truly wonderful first weekend in your new flat. Let yourself feel cozy and safe and at peace….
I’ve been revisiting the angry music of my youth. It soothes my soul and makes me feel less alone. I have these giant headphones I wear around the house. I can really listen loud and it doesn’t annoy my husband and smallish children. Once I was listening to some Radiohead (my fav) and my very young daughter asked me what the song was about. I was stumped. How do I explain this? So I asked my wise best friend who had many children. She said to tell her the song is about truth. The music is about truth. I highly recommend listening to some angry punk/metal music on some big headphones while wandering the house and garden and world.
Hah! This sounds just like me, and I’m a diehard Radiohead fan too!
I remember reading a fascinating article once about why we’re particularly attached to music from adolescence above all other periods of life. I think many people have a real soft spot for what was meaningful to them at that time!
I’m the opposite: I know EVERYTHING and I don’t know why I do. And it’s mostly all useless trivia; I seem to just suck it up from the universe. Go figure. You want me on your trivia team. Except for sports, except I know about Pep Guardiola bc his name is so divine. Say it a few times over and over…..;)
I want you on our team!!!
Thank you! My son and I were just listening to your fall walk playlist last night and we both hoped another was coming soon. You read our minds! As an experienced playlist maker at 8-years old (but seriously his playlists are legit!) he gave you a big thumbs up for your playlist skills. (Is there any bigger compliment?) Can’t wait to share this one with him tonight.
oh my gosh, that means SO MUCH TO ME, no cap!!!
Listening to everything from the Grammys. Olivia Dean has been all over the Peloton app exercise classes lately and I’m excited to hear more.
Sometimes I put headphones in while I cook, do dishes, or pack lunches–my three small kids are LOUD at 5:30 p.m! But lately that has turned into lots of news (audio-doomscrolling, honestly) so last night I grabbed the bluetooth speaker and played the music MY mom played around our house in the 90s (a lot of Amy Grant, Faith Hill, and The Corrs, lol). It was like a hug. Sort of a “Once More to the Lake” moment that turned me into my mom and my kids into me in my consciousness–and it made the crush of unpacking backpacks and signing papers and packing lunches and making dinner feel less like overwhelm and more like home.
love this!!!
What a picture Steph. I’m going to go listen to all of this.
Steph, my heart. I so get this.
A perfect chance to call out the “You’re a Single Mom in the 90s Cleaning Her House” Spotify list!
LOVE. Been doing this with Carole King and James Taylor. Gonna add yours to the list!
I love this casual Once More to the Lake reference! I teach this essay in my English class, and my students always enjoy it. That last line!
Ooh, I love this, can’t wait to listen! I recently started listening to Orville Peck, and it’s been great winter walking music, especially on a moody cloudy day. I like his album “Pony.” I’m not a country music fan at all, but I really love his genre of super queer, openly gay country
I love your playlists! Thanks for making another one!
Love the playlist! Thank you! I am GREAT on a trivia team, but a terrible individual player. I always know the obscure answer…but totally stumped on the “easy” questions everyone else knows.
Where was the picture taken?
Hamnoy in Norway!
When I was 14, I spent a summer in Norway as an exchange student with a family in Bodo (above the artic circle). We stayed at fishing houses like these in Hamnoy. They were much more rustic back them, and I didn’t appreciate the experience nearly enough
wow that’s amazing, MB!
Oooo yay! Can’t wait to listen. Thanks for taking the mental burden of making the playlist. I love having them but can’t even think about taking the time to make one. You’re out there doing the hard work for us all and I’m here for it.
Amazing! Can’t wait to listen! Thanks Jo!
HOMES, baby! Of course Michigan kids know them all :)
Came here to say HOMES. California kid still knows those Great Lakes, baby.
bahahaha as a Minnesota kid, it was Super Man Helps Every One!
omg amazing, Elizabeth!
You know you are in dire need of a good body lotion , when the lovely photo of these pretty mountains remind you of your dry elbows :( Is that TMI? request for all gentle COJ readers! Good clean body lotion for Winter dryness that’s not a pump bottle? I get unreasonably annoyed with the amount of wasted lotion I can’t reach through those damn pump bottles . Bonus points for GIANT sized options..XOXO
Those round tubs of Cerave, Cetaphil, or Nivea thick lotion are good! Easy and satisfying to get every last bit out.
The best I’ve found is the not-at-all sexy giant tub of unscented Vanicream. Not the one with the pump. Cheap, big, and gets the job done.
I love the Necessaire body lotion. It is hard to get to the last bit and I have to use a spatula thing I got for just this purpose. Lately, I’ve been loving this salve! It’s doing wonders for my cracked fingertips and heels. Bonus: it comes in a jar, no pump required. https://laurensallpurpose.com/products/laurens-all-purpose-salve-big-jar
I hear you about the pump bottles, at the same time I get annoyed with how yucky the open tubs get after I’ve been repeatedly sticking my fingers in them. Guess I need to use some sort of little spatula… what do you’all tub users do?
I love Cetaphil moisturizing cream for my body. It’s fragrance-free, less sticky compared to the lotion (pump bottle) and it comes in giant tubs. If you happen to be a Costco member, they sell 2-pack (16oz plus 20oz) for $19.99 :)
I love Nivea cocoa butter body cream, comes in a tub. I use it everywhere including my face, under homemade beeswax balm to lock it in baby. I live in a super dry, winter climate and I’m not at all dry if I use this.
Weleda Skin Food My sisters agree and they Olympic level skincare gurus
Massive tub of E45- the gloopy good stuff.
Might I suggest making your own? There are tons of easy recipes online with ingredients easy to procure. I do shea butter/cocoa butter or mango butter/jojoba oil. (You can scent it, too, if you’d like with essential oils). You melt, cool, and then whip into the consistency of your choosing and I just put it in old Bonne Maman Jam jars. It has saved my generally lizard skin and my partner’s itchy winter legs.
Yes to the TUB…all the brands mentioned would be good, and here’s my vote for Palmer’s Cocoa Butter in the tub.
Weleda Skin Food Body Butter in a tub!
I combine edible rosewater and vegetable glycerin in a spray bottle and spritz myself all over after my morning shower while I’m still a little damp. I started doing that years ago when I read that the skin absorbs lotions. For dry hands and elbows in the winter I use Palmer’s Cocoa Butter. I also love and use Weleda Skin Food, which I first read about here. I gave a tube to a client who is a doctor and suffers from extreme dry skin and chilblains in the winter and she was very grateful. For my face, I am very happy with Vanicream, which is dirt cheap. I was devoted to Lancome for years, but got tired of paying a hundred dollars for a six ounce jar and a hundred dollars for a tiny bottle of whatever it was that they told you to put on first, plus the under eye cream and the special lip protection serum, and I can honestly say I can’t really tell the difference in my skin or in how I’m aging. How I wish I had invested that money instead!
One of my favorite local nonprofits – Vintage Thrift Shop on 23rd and 3rd in Manhattan, if you’re local, get it – is always serving the most impeccable music; I told their staffers it always makes me want to run for office and go roller skating at the same time. The other day they played the *outstanding* 7″ version of New Order’s “Temptation,” which sent me down a New Order/ Joy Division rabbit hole and inspired me to text an ex who’s now a friend. He said that years ago when he told me he was finally getting into New Order I replied, “You ARE New Order.” In turn, though we never spoke of her when we were together, he texted me out of the blue once to announce he had gotten into Kate Bush. I am immensely pleased to have that natural association in his head. Anyway, have been playing this on repeat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnIlM79JNj8 I’m also very into Marina P & the Cooperators’ Load of Laundry, which is most 2026 song I’ve heard so far. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbx0L4FSd44&list=RDbbx0L4FSd44&start_radio=1
Lauren O you’re speaking my language…the Temptation scene in Trainspotting was a formative moment for 16-year-old me and has led to a lifelong obsession with New Wave!
My sexual orientation is Trainspotting needle drops, SCinNYC, and forget solar or wind power; you could replace coal once and for all with the way I felt about Jonny Lee Miller in the mid-to-late ’90s.
Thank yoouuuuu