Winter In My Bones - On Warmer Music's Winter Mix

I've been waiting over a year to post this mix but, since early 2011's Snowtorious B.I.G., it seems that Chicago has been cursed with snowless, unseasonable warmth through out the period that used to be "winter." Unlike many Chicagoans who are all too happy to ditch their parkas and shovels, I've always loved the winter. As a child of the Midwest, I revel in the seasonal differences. Just like I revel in summer's warmth and sunshine, I need winter's grey and darkness. I like being forced to stay inside, I like having to brace myself to leave the house. I like the enforced humility that comes with a big Chicago storm or bitter chill, one that reminds us that we're all at the mercy of a larger universe.

On Warmer Music's Favorite Songs of 2012 [10-1]

Finally, we have arrived at my ten favorite jams from these past twelve months. And not only that, we've got all thirty songs available in one easy mix for your rocking pleasure, enjoy!

Download all 30 Songs As A .RAR
See Songs 30-21
See Songs 20-11

The Christmas Party - On Warmer Music's Christmas Mix 2012

Christmas music is easily my most uncritically sentimental music of that year and God bless it for that. Christmas is the one time of the year that I still let myself go all out and try to recreate my childhood (unlike the rest of my generation which seems hell bent on recreating every aspect of their childhood in a bubbling nostalgia bath as soon and as often as possible).

Of course at the same time, so much Christmas music is produced with such insufferably cheeriness that it's, well, insufferable. God knows the holidays are just as much about disappointment, an inability to recreate the past and the passage of time as about blithe celebration. Hopefully this mix will succeed in balancing that hope and alongside songs about the imperfect reality that is more often our lot.

On Warmer Music's Summer 2012 Mix

Now the thing about summer mixes is that no matter what you chose, you're guaranteed to have more good songs that you had to leave off than you could include. For someone like me, this can be vastly frustrating unless you can make yourself see it as ultimately liberating - no matter what you're gonna have to skip things so you might as well just pick what you like. It's an incredibly rich vein from which to mine pop culture as youth, America, writers and nostalgia all tend to trade strongly in summer images. Everyone loves either reliving their past glories or just reveling in the warm bounties of their present situation.

Within this mix you will hear: an "r" rolled for over five seconds, complaints about work, an ode to insects, more horns that you might expect, a great Irish song called "Dancing In The Moonlight" NOT by Van Morrison, a mind-blowing unreleased Mountain Goats song, Wilco get raunchy(ish) and probably some people expressing fondness for increased amounts of sunshine. Enjoy!