Just admit it, no matter what age you are, the chance of a potential snow day turns you into a five-year-old version of yourself. Of course, the older you get the more preparation you have to do when it comes to an impending blizzard. Either way, the crowded supermarkets and salted roads are a lot easier to deal with if you know you’re going home to watch Ellen and drink hot chocolate until it comes out of your ears. Snow days are one of, if not, the only main perk to living in the northern region of the U.S. And while they act as the best form of a mental health day, too many of them can cause you to get what they call cabin fever.
The wonderful worldwide web describes cabin fever as: irritability, listlessness, and similar symptoms resulting from long confinement or isolation indoors during the winter. But I’ve compiled a list of songs that are likely to help put you somewhere else mentally, even when your car is physically under so much snow, you’d break a shovel attempting to uncover it.
I’m definitely a sucker for sappy love songs, and Ed Sheeran has done a terrific job at turning out more of those than I can count on both hands. X was his latest album, released in June of 2014, and features a song on it entitled “Photograph.” Coming in with an extremely uplifting and acoustic-influenced instrumental, this song lends itself to the perfect curl-up-with-a-good-book-and-light-a-candle playlist. Describing the raw truths of love and what it does for us as human beings, you’ll find yourself feeling like you’re sitting next to an old friend who’s passing along life lessons learned.
“Make Me Say” is a track by Hawaiian artist, Kimié featuring Imua Garza. This one could go one of two ways for you: it could take you to an island with sand between your toes and make you forget about the ten plus inches of snow outside your window, or it could take you to that same island but make you mad that it was all just a dream after three minutes and fourteen seconds. If the latter of the two happens, I’m sorry, but I tend to be a glass full kind of person. This reggae-inspired track is sure to lift your spirits and provide you with a little imaginary vitamin D, which I’m sure you’re currently lacking.
After living in Nashville for a summer, there are certain songs that bring me right back to nights on Broadway surrounded by amazing music and happy people. Chris Stapleton is best known for his work as a songwriter, having some of his most well-known hits covered by artists such as Darius Rucker, George Strait and Kenny Chesney. Anticipating the release of his first debut album, however, Stapleton started his radio tour with a single called “What Are You Listening To?” This song has the power to simply make you think. With simplistic lyrics over a guitar-driven instrumental, if you close your eyes for too long, you just may be able to smell the stale beer of the corner bar and feel the peanuts crush beneath your feet on the floor.
As the day goes on, you want your music to reflect your mood. There is no better song to start winding down with than “Painter – Valentine” by Lapsley. Fittingly, I found this track on Spotify’s suggested “Evening Chill” playlist. The almost haunting vocals scatter themselves throughout the beat, and the chorus acts as an anchor for a song that will act as a lullaby while you finish your glass of sangria (or the beverage of your choice).
I’m ashamed to say that as a self-proclaimed music lover, I just recently discovered Ben Harper. “By My Side” is the perfect Harper track to dance around the kitchen to as you make a late night snack, preparing to hibernate for the rest of the storm-covered night. His relaxed vocals put you at ease, while the instrumental aids its warm qualities from the organ that underlines it.
If these songs were on a map, they would stretch from Hawaii to Maine (literally), but I have to believe that there are fellow storm-bravers out there who have the same eclectic taste in music. If you’re someone who prefers a certain genre specifically, then I hope at least one of these special songs can be a new discovery for you while the rest of the world is covered in white.