As New York delves into darkness (hello, 4:30 p.m. sunsets, I see you fast approaching), it can be difficult to avoid resenting autumn and winter weather. Personally, I find that one of the best ways to cope with what I perceive as a negative situation is to focus as much as possible on the things that are exciting about them — even if those things are based heavily in idealism and fantasy. These 10 songs offer a wide variety of ~vibes~ but I associate them all with positive aspects of the cold months (also, in my opinion, they are all bops).
- “Hugging You – Acoustic” by Tom Rosenthal, Billie Marten
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This song features flawless harmonies, touching lyrics, and a gorgeous, understated piano accompaniment. It also has an amazing music video that will make you cry. I added this song because it makes me feel the cozy, lovey dovey-ness often associated with cold weather and the holidays. I would highly recommend any and all of Tom Rosenthal’s music to anyone who needs to feel like there is goodness, purity, and raw talent in the world.
- “Gravity” by John Mayer
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Obviously, this song is a classic and probably nothing new to most readers, but I promise I have a good reason to include it. The simple instrumentals in this slow, swaying melody put the spotlight on Mayer’s lyricism and smooth, crooning vocals. This song makes me want to slow dance in the kitchen with fuzzy socks on, or put on my chunkiest sweater and traipse alone through Riverside Park on a breezy Saturday morning. Jiving with the season, it is both melancholy and optimistic.
- “Days Like This” by Van Morrison
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This throwback never fails to make me smile. It can be difficult to find sweet songs about happiness that don’t involve romance, but this certainly fits the bill. Rather than saying something like, “Times are tough, but they’ll get better,” this song says, “This is a good day.” If you’re looking for sunshine in song form (with great horns, might I add), you’ve found it.
- “Dark Red” by Steve Lacy
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I can’t really explain why, but this song just gives me sort of witchy romance vibes. Like, it’s about a girl, but I feel like that girl wears maroon lipstick and has a pentagram necklace under her sweater. It also feels like a song you listen to while drinking red wine. Call me weird, but that’s what it makes me think of and that’s how it ended up on this list (spooky season, but make it ~sexy~).
- “Coming Home” by Leon Bridges
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If you’ve never listened to Leon Bridges, do yourself a favor and change that immediately. I think it might be impossible to listen to this song and not AT LEAST bob your head to the rhythm, if not break out in dance. It swings sweetly and effortlessly, as every Bridges song does. If the song were a color, it would be the kind of red that a maple leaf turns (maybe this is a song review, maybe it is just me realizing I have synesthesia).
- “We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow” by Soko
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It’s slow, soft, and incredibly poignant. Its power is in its simplicity and candor, and even though it’s about embracing a romantic love, I find it generally motivational and inspirational. On particularly dark and cold days when I don’t want to do anything productive, if I hear this song, it can help pull me out of it because I think to myself, wow, I could be on my way to doing some important and cool things in my life if I did literally anything except lay in bed.
- “Weekend” by the Smith Westerns
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This song exudes youth and fun. Think: running around the city with friends, halloween parties, crazy nighttime shenanigans. It almost gives you a sense of FOMO, which, while usually thought of negatively, can be a helpful encouragement to get out into the world when you’re feeling stuck in a dark bedroom. Also, I think a decent judge of the vibe of a song is whether or not it would be strange to jump to while dancing. This is a good song to jump to.
- “Love” by Lana Del Ray
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This could definitely be a false and unfounded theory, but I think that a lot of the joys associated with fall and winter have to do with nostalgia and replicating the past, while the spring and summer are motivated by a desire to have new experiences, go to new places, so on and so forth. This is all to say that this song has very strong nostalgic overtones and somehow makes me wistful for experiences I have not even had (i.e. observing young lovers from the perspective of someone far removed from that part of life). Also, it’s just a gorgeous song.
- “Welcome to Your Life” by Grouplove
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This seems like a good song to conclude with because it is all about change and new experiences. There is a particular lyric that resonates with me in the context of coping with the seasonal shift: “Welcome to your world, my girl / let it be your fantasy.” I love this because it encourages you to embrace what you have and what you’re experiencing, but also to allow make it into what will make you happy.
You don’t have to pretend that it isn’t cold and dark by staying inside under fluorescent lights. You can, but that will likely result in regret and sadness. If, instead, you do what you can to re-frame the cold and the darkness (i.e., I get to wear big sweaters and go to Halloween parties and wear uncharacteristically dark lipstick and walk on crunchy leaves), you might find yourself enjoying it. I find that music paired with daydreaming helps set a positive tone for this time of year, and I hope this playlist can serve that purpose for someone.