Winter New Music Faves

Workout Jams

Favorite Ear Worm

Besties Making Badass Tunes

This winter I became one eighth of a Tahoe ski lease cabin, soon to be adventuring through California’s second snowiest season on record. The powder was deep, the highways often closed, and I was endlessly searching for a soundtrack to enjoy this snowboarding wonderland.

My 2018 standby, Triathalon Training Oh Yeah, had been an invaluable tool to completing my first sprint triathlon but these days it was insufferably dated and stale. The “Before Times Bangers” just weren’t slappin’ like they used to! Also in the past 5 years Spotify’s playlist curation had matured tremendously resulting in a steep decline in creating my own activity-specific playlists. Great finds like Golden Hour for a rooftop rendezvous, greenshaker//journey for whimsical roadtrips, Camping Playlist for s’mores night nostalgia, and Morning Pages for that tough to stick with, but oh so helpful, creative practice.

But through all my searching I couldn’t find the perfect workout playlist, a unique mix of joy and inspiration that uplifts while it inspires, delights while driving you harder. Alas this winter Shred, Flex, Shimmy Repeat was born, reflecting the quirky cocktail of activities that had kept me sane lately – snowboarding, yoga, and dance. It’s still evolving as I close out the season here in the beautiful Sierras, but it’s a solid start to a refreshed sporty soundtrack.

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On the winter new music playlist “Snow Bunny” you’ll find songs I’ve sung loudly along the I-80 corridor more times than I can count. In particular, the soaring multi-leveled 70s rock ballad Look At Us Now, by Daisy Jones & The Six. This album features Elvis’s granddaughter, Riley Keough and band/actor front man Sam Clafin on dynamite vocals. The whole album comes from an Amazon Prime show (and best-selling novel) based on the fictional rise and fall of the band Daisy Jones & The Six. I binged the whole series while recovering from Covid in March and that ballad became my healing anthem. Just try to listen and not fall in love with them, I dare you. Last but not certainly least, check out the hottest new Bay Area punk band, Furious Tits, founded by my friends and dear creative muses. Their queer activistic lyrics are raw, funky, and fresh.

Do you have a favorite workout playlist?

Or a favorite song to yell scream in the shower?

Lemme know. Music recommendations and writing feels always welcome.