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Shred to a Soundtrack
Where are you spending your ski and snowboard season this year? Whether you brave the cold, icy groomers of the East Coast or float through world-class powder in Japan, the right music can elevate your day on the mountain even higher. And if you never leave the bunny hill? We have a soundtrack that’ll make you feel like a pro. Here’s five albums for you to blast in your headphones as you hone your winter skills.
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Any Live Grateful Dead Album: Beginner Skiers & Snowboarders
If there’s one way to get on a ski/snowboard bum’s good side it is knowing your Grateful Dead. Jam out to their live recordings while you lap the learning lift or magic carpet. Jam-style songs like “Althea” invite listeners to enter a flow state with smooth guitar riffs and psychedelic lyrics. Simultaneously, 10 minute songs offer the forgiveness to tune out while receiving instruction, making lift friends, and being aware of your surroundings on the mountain.
Painful by Yo La Tengo: Perfect for Groomers
at the frozen moguls tells you it is going to be a groomer day. Yo La Tengo’s 1993 album, Painful, starts soft and slow on the lift ride up, easing you as it builds toward the instrumental jam “I Heard You Looking.” As you carve through the corduroy you find a rhythm just angsty enough for you to let loose, let it flow, let it go. The sound of the wind in your ears is mixed with earth-shattering electric guitar, and you are alive.
Ten Days by Fred again..: Bouncy, Floaty Powder
Many could argue that skiing and boarding powder is the one of the happiest feelings in the world. Fred again..’s Ten Days complements this with its sunshine-soaked sounds. Songs like “Backseat” will nurture the stoke and help you maintain speed on those 4-foot deep powder days.
Sour Soul by BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah: Great For Tree Terrain
Even if you thread every keyhole gap, trees have a natural way of slowing you down. They force you to turn and they usually have a fair amount of powder. This collaboration embodies the slow, jazzy flow balanced with the punch of Ghostface Killah’s signature sound. Once the sounds of “Six Degrees” flow through your headphones, you will instantly feel like you belong in a music video. Disclaimer: consider only using one headphone to maintain communication with your partner in case of emergency.
The Score by The Fugees: Perfect for Skinning
Whether you skin up your local resort after hours or take a snowed-in seasonal road into the backcountry, you’ll want a soundtrack as you earn your turns. Vibe out to Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel’s timeless rhymes on your skin up to the top. One of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, songs like “The Score” will have you dancing as you cruise through the climb.
Music can change the entire mood of a day on the slopes. From jam bands to Fred again, there is a time and a place for everything. Choose wisely and ride responsibly.
