Winter music profiles: Which winterer are you?

My thousands of liked songs on Spotify have brought me to where I am today. I firmly believe looking into a person’s music history reveals whatever you want to know about them. Music serves a varying purpose for all of its beholders. 

Given that my most beloved music picks are scattered across an ever-changing board, my listening habits follow a similar pattern. I go with what a moment is telling me, and the wintertime tends to oscillate the moment drastically. Sometimes I wish it didn’t take numerous shuffles to know what I want to hear, but the frustration is what makes the right picks so gratifying.

Surviving the Boston winter has taught me more about myself as a chronic music listener than ever before. With that, I give you my musical picks for each winterer I have been at some point each season and what might help get you through the arctic blast.  

The emotional winterer

The emotional winterer basks in the cold, in all its frigid glory. Their only way of surviving the winter is by glamorizing it, letting themselves be an emotional wreck now and then (or every other day), and holding close artists who do the same. The average emotional winterer will probably indulge in Phoebe Bridgers’ “Punisher” album or deep dive into a Sufjan Stevens discography. The winter months bring a stagnancy that makes it an onerous time, especially when readjusting to a collegiate schedule. Certain songs have become obsessive soundboards for my emotions this season.

My saccharine winter choices: 

“White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes

“Death with Dignity” by Sufjan Stevens

“Like Real People Do” by Hozier

“Cinnamon Girl” by Lana Del Rey

“Garden Song” by Phoebe Bridgers

“Winter” by Joshua Radin

Any Gracie Abrams song ever — especially off “This Is What It Feels Like”

Nostalgic winterer

The nostalgic winter-goer will look to their childhood for a taste of warmth. The music I grew up listening to with my dad is what I turn to. Music helped me embrace the impermanence of weekends. As a young kid, I dreaded the coming school weeks. My dad would remind me that my mindset is everything, and that I should fall into what I love to survive the harshest of times. For that reason, I hold certain songs very close to my heart.

My top nostalgic picks:

“Either Way” by Wilco

“Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” by Jeff Buckley

“Soul Meets Body” by Death Cab for Cutie

“Landslide” (The Live at Warner Bros. version) by Fleetwood Mac

“Quiet, The Winter Harbor” by Mazzy Star

“Ends of the Earth” by Lord Huron

The summer isn’t over winterer/the anti-winter

Some songs remind me of summers back home. The anti-winterer reminisces about summers before entering college or the first weeks when dorm-goers have to crouch around a fan to stay somewhat cool. This sentiment will continue to stand, even in the brutal winter months. 

My summer attachment picks: 

“Eternal Summer” by The Strokes

“Come a Little Closer” by Cage the Elephant

“Chanel” by Frank Ocean

“Grapejuice” by Harry Styles

“SWEET/I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE” by Tyler, the Creator

“Harvest Moon” performed by Lord Huron (originally by Neil Young) 

The in-love winterer

The in-love winterers embrace the hallmark romanticism of the winter months, even after the holidays end. The static of January brings out the lovers of February or perpetuates the avid haters of the romance month. Taking the romanticization of winter in a more literal sense is another way to survive the blistering cold. 

My self-proclaimed love songs:

“Snow On the Beach” by Taylor Swift ft. Lana Del Rey

“When We Are Together” by The 1975

“Always Forever” by Cults

“Valentine” by Orion Sun

“Lovesong” by beabadoobee

“Strawberry Wine” by Noah Kahan

“Love in the Time of Socialism” by Yellow House

The please, let this be over winterer

This one is fairly straightforward and hits most people around the end of January or throughout March. These picks attempt to encapsulate the frustration that comes during the winter months — when the weather is stuck in a perennial gray area.

My restless transitional picks:

“Come Back to Earth” by Mac Miller (or anything from his posthumous album, “Circles”)

“then i met her” by EKKSTACY

“Discipline” by Inner Wave

“Hey You” by Pink Floyd

“I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You)” by John Mayer

“Instant Crush” by Daft Punk ft. Julian Casablancas

The most beautiful aspect of creating musical profiles is their ability to overlap with one another and build up complex listeners. At its core, music is humanistic and has a formative power. With the right playlist, your packed 8 a.m. ride on the T might bearable this season.