As we returned to the freezing wasteland that is Evanston, we were greeted not only by the usual prospects of trudging through mounds of snow and consuming our body weight in hot beverages, but also a super-blizzard, or  POLAR VORTEX. If the latter seems too dramatic a term to refer to a mere snowstorm, keep in mind it was also named after one of the greatest Disney heroes of all time: Hercules (what do you MEAN they adapted it from a Greek myth?). The 2013-2014 winter has already seen several unprecedented phenomena, including the ousting of Queen Beyonce from her throne at the top of the iTunes charts by none other than Queen Elsa of Arendelle. The temperature also fell so low that it did not matter whether we used Celsius or Fahrenheit. Coincidentally, minus 40 degrees is the point at which Celsius and Fahrenheit coincide.

To be honest, nothing  compliments sub-zero temperatures more than indie folk and hard rock, with the occasional ’80s pop hit thrown in. And as always, it is my pleasure to present to you, my fine freezing friends, a playlist that accurately reflects the weeks that we just survived … and the weeks to come. Here’s a non-Christmassy winter playlist that’ll hopefully keep you feeling warm enough to combat the omnipresent risk of your extremities falling off.

1. “White Winter Hymnal” – Fleet Foxes 
   
2. “Informer” – Snow 
   
3. “Black Ice” – AC/DC 
   
4. “Cold Hard Bitch” – Jet
   
5. “Big Freeze” – Muse
   
6. “Bodies In The Winter” – Paper Lions
   
7. “For Now I Am Winter” – Olafur Arnalds Feat. Arnor Dan
   
8. “Ice Ice Baby” – Vanilla Ice
   
9. “Hazy Shade Of Winter” – Simon & Garfunkel
   
10. “Winter Pockets” – Wild Child
11. “Snow (Hey Oh)” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
    
12. “Faded From The Winter” – Iron & Wine
    
13. “The Ice Is Getting Thinner” – Death Cab For Cutie 
    
14. “Let It Go” – Idina Menzel
    
15. “Zero To Hero” – Hercules Soundtrack