I'm a '70s bloke so a few of these artists were unfamiliar to me. I made a point of listening to it all in real time though as I went through , anticipating which would make the list. I guessed River would be right up there, but that was all I got right! Northern Sky came to mind though, so I nearly got that one, sort of :)
I believe Nico had a bit of a short-lived thing with Jackson Browne when he was a quite young man as well. Lucky him, but I think he had no shortage of ladies. He sort of implies this liaison in a documentary I saw a while back .That is a wonderful version of "These Days" which I hadn't heard, so thank you for the introduction! My favourite songwriter, I would have picked his non-album track "The Rebel Jesus" as a contender, and I don't think it actually mentions Christmas, only obliquely with words like "season" and "this day" though I might be wrong there without checking.
I don't know if you are a Steely Dan fan, but their album Pretzel Logic has a very sparse and Wintry lyrics and production on tracks like "Night by Night" and "Charlie Freak" especially: "Poor kid, he overdid, embraced the spreading haze; and as he sighed, his body died in fifteen ways." Bleak indeed but brilliant.
Yes, there are a few Simon and Garfunkel tracks that come to mind as well, as you say.
I love these musical lists, as it's all about opinion, no right or wrong. I have done a few on my 'stack, which I enjoyed putting together and refining and agonising over, even though I know it doesn't matter at all !
I must have a look at your Summer list when I get the chance as well. Great way to spend an hour anyway. Thanks!
Some great choices there Nick, especially The Handsome Family, Nico, Drake, Cohen, Waits and Cale.
I'll give the Joni Mitchell one a try, though I've never really got on with her. I always remember the sage advice that the music journalist Andrew Mueller once gave - "If you go back to a woman's place and she has more than two Joni Mitchell albums, climb out of the nearest window and run for your life".
In the cases of Alanis Morrisette, Skunk Anansie and Fiona Apple, the same applies if a woman owns any albums by any one of them.
Thanks. In my experience two Joni albums is fine. But now Joni would be relatively wholesome, I think. I would also allow Alanis Jagged Little Pill as it is very good and some of the tracks are sweet eg hand in pocket, you learn, head over feet.
Obviously hypothetical as these days all women are bad news.
Must admit hadn`t heard of most of the artists or songs because of my fairly limited musical taste, Motown and Swing stuff. However, I had forgotten what a beautiful voice Joni Mitchell has. And I did enjoy a few of them, clearly expanding my musical horizons Nick!
Ace, loved the summer list Nick, several of those songs now remind me of last summer in Cornwall. And this list will probably remind me of being stuck in a standstill on the M40 (where I am now)
A very welcome listen for me as my son and I build a scale replica of the temple of Portunis. ( imagine having so many gods you can spare one for doors)
I’ve listened to the whole thing and it flows quite well, even though that wasn’t the intention. Some dark ones in there but usually followed by a lighter one.
I'm a huge Cohen and Jackson Browne fan and Mitchell's "River" is definitely a Christmas song so enjoyed this list. Not really au fait with any of the others but they sound intriguing. Thanks, Nick.
P.s. Isn't Famous Blue Raincoat kind of wintery? But admittedly doesn't have "Winter" in the title.
Hey, Nick. This is the last email from you I've had in my inbox. Have checked my junk mail and nothing there either. I know you've done at least one other DixonCox since then but no sign of it. My last payment to you came off my bank account on November 7th. Can you advise? Thanks.
It’s best to ask Substack support as there’s nothing I can do. But I can say when that happened to me it was my settings in the app and I had to change them back to receive email.
But you’ve only missed one email so maybe wait for tomorrow to see if you get the next one.
When I was working in the Newcastle Waterstone's in the mid-90s we had a tape called something like Cool Christmas that we used to play in the shop at this time of year. I can't remember everything that was on it but two favourites were Aztec Camera's Walk Out to Winter and Tori Amos's Winter.
How about a toxic masculinity themed song list? I watched Rocknrolla the other day and it has two contenders from the sound track (The Clash - Bankrobber and Black Strobe - I’m a man). Incidentally, the London portrayed in that film seems to be from a vastly different epoch despite only being 16 years ago.
I'm a '70s bloke so a few of these artists were unfamiliar to me. I made a point of listening to it all in real time though as I went through , anticipating which would make the list. I guessed River would be right up there, but that was all I got right! Northern Sky came to mind though, so I nearly got that one, sort of :)
I believe Nico had a bit of a short-lived thing with Jackson Browne when he was a quite young man as well. Lucky him, but I think he had no shortage of ladies. He sort of implies this liaison in a documentary I saw a while back .That is a wonderful version of "These Days" which I hadn't heard, so thank you for the introduction! My favourite songwriter, I would have picked his non-album track "The Rebel Jesus" as a contender, and I don't think it actually mentions Christmas, only obliquely with words like "season" and "this day" though I might be wrong there without checking.
I don't know if you are a Steely Dan fan, but their album Pretzel Logic has a very sparse and Wintry lyrics and production on tracks like "Night by Night" and "Charlie Freak" especially: "Poor kid, he overdid, embraced the spreading haze; and as he sighed, his body died in fifteen ways." Bleak indeed but brilliant.
Yes, there are a few Simon and Garfunkel tracks that come to mind as well, as you say.
I love these musical lists, as it's all about opinion, no right or wrong. I have done a few on my 'stack, which I enjoyed putting together and refining and agonising over, even though I know it doesn't matter at all !
I must have a look at your Summer list when I get the chance as well. Great way to spend an hour anyway. Thanks!
Thanks!
Some great choices there Nick, especially The Handsome Family, Nico, Drake, Cohen, Waits and Cale.
I'll give the Joni Mitchell one a try, though I've never really got on with her. I always remember the sage advice that the music journalist Andrew Mueller once gave - "If you go back to a woman's place and she has more than two Joni Mitchell albums, climb out of the nearest window and run for your life".
In the cases of Alanis Morrisette, Skunk Anansie and Fiona Apple, the same applies if a woman owns any albums by any one of them.
Thanks. In my experience two Joni albums is fine. But now Joni would be relatively wholesome, I think. I would also allow Alanis Jagged Little Pill as it is very good and some of the tracks are sweet eg hand in pocket, you learn, head over feet.
Obviously hypothetical as these days all women are bad news.
Must admit hadn`t heard of most of the artists or songs because of my fairly limited musical taste, Motown and Swing stuff. However, I had forgotten what a beautiful voice Joni Mitchell has. And I did enjoy a few of them, clearly expanding my musical horizons Nick!
Ace, loved the summer list Nick, several of those songs now remind me of last summer in Cornwall. And this list will probably remind me of being stuck in a standstill on the M40 (where I am now)
A very welcome listen for me as my son and I build a scale replica of the temple of Portunis. ( imagine having so many gods you can spare one for doors)
Some very moving songs on this.
Thanks Nick, I'm looking forward to listening to these. I put together a Spotify playlist in case that is useful for anyone else.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Myk7vK9diktfmFV0NLhOl?si=juIK5frqRTmmu_pZpewbnQ&pi=kvucZfWUS7W1i
I’ve listened to the whole thing and it flows quite well, even though that wasn’t the intention. Some dark ones in there but usually followed by a lighter one.
I should have put ‘The Boxer’ in there!
Thanks!
I'm a huge Cohen and Jackson Browne fan and Mitchell's "River" is definitely a Christmas song so enjoyed this list. Not really au fait with any of the others but they sound intriguing. Thanks, Nick.
P.s. Isn't Famous Blue Raincoat kind of wintery? But admittedly doesn't have "Winter" in the title.
Yes because it mentions December and the cold.
Famous Blue Raincoat is a great call. One of Cohen's perfect songs.
No mention of winter songs is complete without the worst song about winter ever written, "Winter Song" by Angel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb94sdt7xVw
Great outfits though!!!
Winter Winds……Mumford and sons maybe!!!
Hey, Nick. This is the last email from you I've had in my inbox. Have checked my junk mail and nothing there either. I know you've done at least one other DixonCox since then but no sign of it. My last payment to you came off my bank account on November 7th. Can you advise? Thanks.
It’s best to ask Substack support as there’s nothing I can do. But I can say when that happened to me it was my settings in the app and I had to change them back to receive email.
But you’ve only missed one email so maybe wait for tomorrow to see if you get the next one.
Thanks.
Out of interest, which venue did you see the Handsome Family at Nick, the Cluny perhaps?
Yes I believe it was. That’s the one with the steps and the grassy bit just above it right? AI says they haven’t played there but that’s bollocks.
When I was working in the Newcastle Waterstone's in the mid-90s we had a tape called something like Cool Christmas that we used to play in the shop at this time of year. I can't remember everything that was on it but two favourites were Aztec Camera's Walk Out to Winter and Tori Amos's Winter.
How about a toxic masculinity themed song list? I watched Rocknrolla the other day and it has two contenders from the sound track (The Clash - Bankrobber and Black Strobe - I’m a man). Incidentally, the London portrayed in that film seems to be from a vastly different epoch despite only being 16 years ago.
My number one would have been Under Ice by Kate Bush pure poetry a production of the Gods. Number two would be Elvis Costello Shipbuilding.
I like shipbuilding but didn’t think of it as winter.
A new winter coat and shoes for the wife…
I want to add Witcita lineman’s Glen Campbell, it’s slightly twee but it’s winter and he’s easy on the ears.
One of the most moving performances I've ever heard. Such a great song.
No mention of Stay by East 17. Sorry, showing my proletarian upbringing there.
I think that counts as a Christmas song.
good songs but in that list no 1 should have been river at number 3