The latest installment of the podcast comes courtesy of San Diego musician Joel P. West. Check the review of Joel’s new album, Dust Jacket. ENJOY!

i started making this list by trying to collect all the songs that have influenced me the most but immediately realized that it was going to have to be a super-deluxe box set and gave up. i noticed that all the songs that move me the most have a wintry feel to them and started thinking about why i am drawn to quiet and delicate music with bells and strings and choirs. i find it fascinating that these songs do not fit my current setting at all; the measly hints of winter that we get in san diego are few and far between and the seasons have to be forced with decorations and special menus. i get overwhelmed with emotions whenever i get a weekend somewhere crisp and cold and always do a lot of pondering and reflecting. i think we often use the novel to hold memories and emotions; we need sacred places to keep our deepest thoughts. i have come to venerate true winter moments as a san diegan and i think it is evident in both the art i appreciate and the art i make. here are some songs to accompany the leaf-less parts of the year.

the photograph is of crowley lake at night (up by mammoth) where a lot of these nostalgic memories are kept. i was walking around at night listening to icelandic music and thinking it looked a lot like iceland (i hadn’t been there yet).

Joel P West
http://joelpwest.com
http://otherrivers.com

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

1. The Fall – Peter and The Wolf
2. Hemipode – Amiina
3. Unravel – Björk
4. The Piano In The Bathtub – Department Of Eagles
5. Ashes of American Flags – Wilco
6. Only Skin – Joanna Newsom
7. The Partisan – Leonard Cohen
8. Finally We Are No One – Múm
9. I Think It’s Going to Rain Today – Randy Newman
10. Symphony No. 3: II. Lento e largo – Tranquillissimo – Gorecki