Did you know that estrogen literally makes your body colder? It’s true: the body dissipates heat faster and slows blood flow to the hands, making phalanges freeze up faster than they used to. Having only started hormone replacement therapy last June, this has made dealing with the already brutal Chicago winters even harder. My poor dry hands!
To compensate, I’ve made a habit out of bundling up under an absurd amount of blankets in the evening, trying to escape the chilling air of my garden-level apartment. While doing so, I like to listen to music that warms my soul. Here are just a few of my favorites to help me brave the sub-zero temperatures.
Staying warm DeJamz
“How To Pretend” by Lucy Bedroque
Walking through downtown Chicago in the middle of a snowstorm while listening to this track made me feel magical. Despite the song being about someone watching their friend get into a mutually unhealthy relationship which makes their self-worth plummet, the production looks at the story with rose-colored glasses. Twinkling chimes and energetic steelpan drums cover up wistful pleas to get someone to snap out of their stupid situationship. When you’re losing your sense of identity in a codependent relationship, the terror of being unable to form a personality outside of someone else is dulled by the pure euphoria of having a connection with another human being. But, if you want to ignore the troubling ramifications of the lyrics, the music still sounds nice, and always reminds me of a gentle snow landing upon the city on a quiet morning.
“god’s chariots” by Oklou
Ethereal. Hugo Diaz’s excellent production allows Marylou Mayniel’s vocals to reverberate throughout your headset as a haunting whisper. Oklou (oh-kay-lou) always makes me feel like I’m floating; her pop stylings are filtered through inspirations from Wu Lyf to SZA , a rich palette of musical history informing already concrete songwriting skills. Over winter break, I listened to this song as I drove across the roaming hills of Des Moines late at night. With my headlights being the only indication of life for miles, shining across endless acres of snow-covered fields, it isolated me in a sonic chamber where the only voices were my own and Mayniel’s. It was horribly lonely yet soothing all at once.
“gay nightcore” by trndytrndy
One of my favorite memories from the past year was back in November. I was staying at a friend’s house and awoke to discover that my class for that morning had been cancelled. Regardless, I began to get out of bed to leave (I avoid overstaying my welcome at someone’s abode to sidestep any awkward requests to leave), only for my friend to lay me back down, kiss my forehead, and tuck me back in before they went to work. They smelled like Marlboro Reds and day-old coffee. I couldn’t stop smiling as I buried my face in their sheets. That feeling is perfectly embodied by this track, which I feel is best described using the :3 emoticon. A time capsule of the hyper digital trends that dominated 2020, this cutesy breakcore nonsense is messy as all hell and reminds me of how elating even a small act of affection can be.
“Famous girl” by Venturing
By contrast, facing that harsh morning air is occasionally liberating. I had never really explored the Illinois Medical District until I spent the night at a friend of a friend’s house a few weeks ago. I had to go to class early, and this time I was the one kissing them on the forehead and tucking them back in as I went off to further my education. Carrying an elation from the screamo indie band we’d seen the night before as the dawn crested over the horizon, the sweeping winds woke me and energized me to sprint through the streets of somewhere entirely new. Venturing, a side project of my favorite artist Jane Remover, is exciting because it synthesizes her penchant for an insanely fast tempo and her adoration of 90s-era rock pop into something familiar yet unmistakably modern. Listening while dancing/running through a college town I had never seen before was truly special.
“Contact” by Kelela
A dreamy bop by one of the most underrated artists currently working in the R&B space, “Contact” acts as a welcome mirage of warmth in the dead of winter. The kickdrums ground this track in reality, the light touches on the piano give the sense of something greater, all the while Kelela invites the listener to a sensual game of cat and mouse as a release from the tedium of a hard life. She's mother. No one is doing it like her. Go watch the music video, NOW. It's GOOD. “Raven” as a whole is one of the most exciting records released this decade and it’s a shame she isn’t headlining festivals across the nation. If she’s not on your radar yet, you’re not listening to music enough.
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