DECEMBER 2025 PLAYLIST

I listened to Madhuri Vijay's story "Lara's Theme" on The New Yorker podcast and it was a good seed for this playlist. It's about a kid whose father is learning to play "Lara's Theme" from Doctor Zhivago on the saxophone (?) but can never quite get it right. That sort of lilting, blue, ornamental feeling is so winter, as are discordant notes, strange chords and odd pairings. Winter is full of discomfort. Holidays are pure pain. There is always a chill you can't escape, a conversation you can't enter, and yet we must try. We must shoehorn and cajole and coax and soothe because why not? What else are we going to do? Happy Winter.

APPLE MUSIC

SPOTIFY

1. "Lara’s Theme" - Roger Williams

2. "Meme Generator" - Dan Deacon

3. "What About Us?” - Brandy

4. "Will To Believe" - Clarence Clarity

5. "Satan Said Dance" - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

6. "Why Don’t You Love Me? (feat. Tori Amos)" - David Byrne & Fatboy Slim

7. "Why Don’t You Love Me" - Beyoncé

8. "Everybody’s Boppin’” - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross

9. "No More Rain (In This Cloud) [Wookie Main Mix]" - Angie Stone

10. "not_me_tho" - Jaboukie

11. "Freaking Out" - Juiceboxxx

12. "Juicebox" - The Strokes

13. "The Wedding” - Marianne Faithfull & Angelo Badalamenti

14. "Call My Name" - Cheryl

15. "Corporation" - Jack White

16. "Losing You" - Solange

17. "It’s Gonna Rain" - Ambitious Lovers

18. "Soul Vibrations" - Dorothy Ashby

19. "Somewhere My Love” - Connie Francis

20. "China In Your Hand" - T’Pau

21. "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" - Irma Thomas

22. "Tom the Model" - Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man

23. "Day Dreaming" - Aretha Franklin

24. "Piano in the Dark" - Brenda Russell

25. "Tin Man" - feeble little horse

26. "The Great American Picnic” - Being Dead

27. "Method Man" - Wu-Tang Clan

28. "Tried and True" - Ween

29. "A Woman a Man Walked By / the Crow Knows Where All the Little Children Go” - PJ Harvey & John Parish

30. "21st Century Schizoid Man (Radio Version)" - King Crimson

31. "Christmas Time" - Christina Aguilera

32. “A Christmas Number One (Alternate Version)” - Siobhan Fahey

33. "River" - Joni Mitchell

34. "My World Is Empty Without You" - Diamanda Galás

35. “No One’s Gonna Love You” - Band of Horses