JUST CHILLIN’
With this winter now officially the coldest of all time ... on any planet in any galaxy ever (or so it seems), Jim Reyno explores some chilly recordings.
SIMON & GARFUNKEL Hazy Shade of Winter (1966)
Iconic duo captures the bleakness of winter underfoot and overhead: “But look around / Leaves are brown / And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.”
THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS California Dreamin’ (1966)
More brown leaves and grey skies. I’d be California dreamin’, too.
ROLLING STONES She’s So Cold (1980)
An underrated track from the Emotional Rescue album. So cold like an ice cream cone? My hand just froze? She was born in an Arctic zone? Yep, that covers cold. Mick Jagger even sings one “c-c-c-cold” with a shiver-stutter.
THE ICICLE WORKS
No particular song, but it’s a great band name for winter. The early ’80s group from Liverpool, England, hit No. 19 here in 1984 with the single Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream).
KATE BUSH Under Ice (1985)
As everyone remembers, I mentioned this song in the Halloween mash-up story. It’s both scary and cold: A chilling account of a skater on a lake falling through the ice.
VANILLA ICE Ice Ice Baby (1990)
Disqualified! Just because a song contains the word ice doesn’t mean it’s cold related. Miami’s on the scene ( just in case you didn’t know it).
JOE JACKSON Lullaby (1994)
It’s a song about writer’s block, but Jackson’s simile is dead of winter: “I watch my pen as though / My fingers could shatter like icicles / And before my eyes / Lie glittering and useless on a field of snow.”
MADONNA Frozen (1998)
She’s a long way from Holiday: “You’re frozen / When your heart’s not open.” Madonna’s trying to melt the subject’s heart, but I don’t know if he/she is having it. Dark, deliberately dreary video, too.
HANK WILLIAMS Cold Cold Heart (1951)
Another attempt to melt someone’s heart. Hank was a legend and it’s tough to beat the original version, but Norah Jones’ jazzy take from her debut full-length album Come Away with Me also resonates.
FOREIGNER Cold as Ice (1977)
“You’re as cold as ice / You’re willing to sacrifice our love.” Well, I guess that’s it, then. Man, there’s a lot of cold hearts on this list. Let’s change it up.
MUDDY WATERS Cold Weather Blues (1964)
A stone slow, mesmerizing acoustic track. For me, this song evokes the times I’ve had to rise early in the winter … and it’s cold and still dark outside. I’m going back to bed, and as Muddy says, “Let this winter pass on by.”
WHITE STRIPES In the Cold Cold Night (2003)
The minimal instrumentation sets the tone in this haunting song. Vocalist Meg White sounds like she’s just come into the studio after a long walk in the cold, cold night. The night is cold, but at least in this song someone’s getting warmed up.
TRAGICALLY HIP The Lonely End of the Rink (2006)
As a former hockey writer who covered many minor games over many winters in many small rinks, I can verify that it can get very cold indeed at the lonely end of the rink.