Right then, here's my entry, and it's smaller than I thought, fitting into just one upload. The front cover is a negative of a night photo I took at the War Memorial Park in Coventry UK, that's been fucked with slightly on a photo editor.
WMA version:
http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?edgyennmazmmp3 version:
http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?jxnmmy2jcqg1. American Steel - "Shrapnel"There's something about this song that always makes me think of being in a tiny Irish-style pub around Christmas time, drinking with mates while there's a blizzard going on outside. I dunno, it just sounds wintry to me somehow.
2. AFI - "A Winter's Tale"Yeah, mostly because of the name. And that it follows on nicely from the previous track.
3. Alice in Chains - "Heaven Beside You"Mellowing out a bit after the first coupla tracks, the whole "coldest winter chill" line, along with the fact that this is a really great and underrated AiC song, made me want to include it.
4. 65daysofstatic - "I Swallowed Hard, Like I Understood"For the most part, I've tried to stay away from post-rock based stuff (as pretty much any vaguely depressing sounding post-rock instrumental sounds kinda wintry...), but I figured this one HAD to be included, as it's fucking relentlessly bleak...
5. Braid - "A Dozen Roses"Following on from the sorta downbeat-ness of the previous track, for some reason the sorta icy riffs in this remind me of winter.
6. The Lawrence Arms - "Faintly Falling Ashes"Possibly the shortest Christmas song ever written, and still really good. And I thought this was a nice contrast to the last couple of tracks, and leads well into...
7. Hot Water Music - "Seein' Diamonds"I figured the song's title could refer to seeing ice and frost sparkling in the winter sun. It's all about the imagery y'all...
8. Bridge and Tunnel - "Night Owls"Another one that just sounds kinda wintry to me.
9. Banner Pilot - "Overwinter"The title pretty much sums it up, and just listening to the lyrics, you're there on the street, steam rising every time you breathe out.
10. Amusement Parks on Fire - "Blackout"Kinda shoegazy, sorta reminds me of driving on winter nights.
11. Faith No More - "Stripsearch"If there was some kind of dictionary that had songs instead of definitions, this song would be next to the word "icy."
12. The Blueprint - "Broadcast"Similarly, there's some real fucking cold about the riffs and the production (huge sounding drums and vocals) makes it sound it's being played in a giant ice-cave. Probably the heaviest song on here, and I think the dark ending to "Stripsearch" leads nicely into this.
13. Devin Townsend - "Storm"Continuing the slightly metal slant of the previous track, I felt this was appropriate because, what's Winter without a kickass snowstorm, eh? And it's got some nice icy synths in the background.
14. Cave In - "Down the Drain"Something of a comedown after the metal section before it, this has got the same kind of huge guitars and kinda icy synth parts, but used in a more mellow way.
15. Idlewild - "Idea Track"Again, just one that I threw in because it's a great song (and underrated, among the band's back catalog), and it just seems kinda wintry to me.
16. Planes Mistaken for Stars - "Penitence"This is fucking BLEAK. Sounds like the last words of some guy dying in a snowdrift somewhere. And the spooky multitracked vocals where he sings "Be not afraid" remind me of whistling winds...
17. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "The Ship Song"
18. The Dresden Dolls - "Backstabber"
19. Ginger - "Holiday"There's something these kinda piano-led songs that reminds me of Christmas, regardless of subject matter. Although the Ginger track is about flying abroad for the holiday period, so it's kinda extra relevant.
20. Mad Caddies - "Drinking for 11"Like the American Steel track at the start of this mix, this is one of those tracks that reminds me of drinking in a pub during winter. Except this one's a bit more depressing. Like when you're the last one in the bar, drowning your sorrows. What?! There's gotta be something on here for those guys who don't have a family to go see at Christmas! Also, I figured it's pretty amazing that a ska/reggae song could remind me of a season other than Summer!
21. Attack in Black - "Chimes and Church Bells"Again, just a really wintry kinda song. Listen to it, I defy you not to think of a winter's morning when you hear it.
22. The Replacements - "Answering Machine"Because everyone knows what it feels like to be missing someone, and that especially sucks at Christmas. Also, this is the closer on one of the greatest albums of all time, so I figured it'd be pretty good end to the mix.
