Christmas is kind of Sufjan’s thing. At least to me. Ever since my first listen of Stevens’ album Songs for Christmas, I’ve listened to it in full at least once a year. This track is definitely my favorite off that record.

I am almost never not listening to Elliott Smith, he is always on my mind. This song is so stripped down and beautiful, it’s one of his best ever.

Winter Lady is about a temporary love affair– if you would even call it that. It’s kind of like a mystical-feeling one-night-stand type of thing. It’s not as dark as some of Cohen’s other songs, but it is still sensual. Like almost everything he’s ever written. Leonard Cohen has that kind of reputation (a la. Suzanne, Hallelujah, etc..).

This one is the instrumental theme to the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Jon Brion has made some other music for movies including A24’s Lady Bird. Eternal Sunshine… is my absolute favorite movie of all time–set in winter–of course. I recommend it if you are in the mood for something a little bit soul-crushing, but proceed with caution.

Phoebe Bridgers had the tradition of releasing a yearly Christmas song each year. Usually a cover. The last time she released one of these was to cover Sinéad O’Connor’s The Parting Glass alongside her boygenius bandmates. After that she sort of went into hiding. Then released Lost Weekend. All that to say, Bridgers makes the absolute best Christmas covers ever. She is experienced. I can listen to her sing about anything all day no matter what

I feel like a lot of people know Daniel Johnston but they don’t know Daniel Johnston. He was one of the most talented artists and musicians alive. He doesn’t get enough credit. This one is a little sad but also silly. Mostly sad in my eyes. I like it a lot.

Okay– if you haven’t listened to I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day, you need to. It’s Julie Doiron’s third record, featuring this song, and it is an indie-rock must-listen-to album.

Phoebe Bridgers actually did a cover of this song as well. They are both amazing and fantastic, but the original is completely worth mentioning. It’s a bit of a tragic story set on Christmas Day, paired with some folky guitars. What more could you want?

Blue Christmas is obviously an Elvis Presley cover (Bright Eyes did it better, sorry). This song is off  Bright Eye’s fifth album titled A Christmas Album. It’s a collection of Christmas songs, with all of the proceeds of the record going to the Nebraska AIDS Project. It’s very special to me.

This song is very simple and straight to the point about the seasons changing. Not much to say, just nice.

I do not want to open the can of worms that is Bob Dylan, but I do like this song. The title says it all– it’s a wintery, waltzy, interlude.

Can’t really go wrong with Cameron Winter. This is track two of Winter’s two-single solo debut (before he got indie-famous for Geese and Heavy Metal). “If you ever get the ache some cold December / To knock again upon your old front door / If you’re aching to come home / Remember / It’s not here anymore” is probably one of the most harrowing verses he’s ever written. (Also– please no Bob Dylan comparisons.)

This is a song that’s not really explicitly a “winter” or Christmas-type of song, but it still reminds me of that time. I have a lot of songs like that. Most of them are folk inspired like this one.

Just a cute little winter love song. Who doesn’t love Belle and Sebastian?

This is the opening track to Death Cab’s famous Transatlanticism album. Every boy ever likes this album, but I love it more. Ben Gibbard is awesome.