There is only one day remaining in this year, and a million more days to enjoy Medison’s 2013 Winter Mixtape. Released five days ago, Buffalo’s DJ Medison shows exemplary talent and fun in this new mix available to stream on his SoundCloud page.

The opening guitar riff puts a chuckle in the belly so you know its going to be amusing. Then after warming the Hip-Hop vibe, around the 9 minute mark Medison drops into this crazy Jersey Club and Juke combo with a DJ Irresistible edit of Trinidad James' “All Gold Everything.” My favorite part of the mix is at the 23:28 mark when we hear the Baaze remix of Yheti's “Crack the Window.” That song is nutty, like exhaling smoke and watching it dissipate out of a cracked car window with that unique and breathy synth line that totally trips you out! 

Medsion then transitions perfectly to Thrizzo's “Hotter Than Hot” and follows that up with SwaggleRock edit of the Baauer x RL Grime x Nelly's “Infinite Flaps” mashup. That part of the mix is so fun and so weird that it makes Blake Anderson momentarily enter your soul to dance in a bear suit! If you’re searching for something to listen to for that pre-game New Year’s Eve Party, this is an upbeat power hour. Of course if you like this, do NOT forget to check out WaxMusemRadio where you can hear DJ Medison every Thursday from 5-6 pm.

I'm not saying anything new in this post. Most of us were raised here or have lived here long enough to know that the cold, bleak, grey, (insert adjective), wind-and-snow heavy winters are soul crushing. Come winter we all need a little novocaine for the soul.

It's at these times I reach for a Sigur Ros LP or perhaps some Stone Roses. Other times, I'm downright pissed off and only metal or something aggressively aggressive will suffice. Why it is that winter seems to encompass all of those dark emotions like depression, anxiety, a longing for a time long since past, melancholy and anger? I don't have the answer. Seasonal Affective Disorder? The fact that we're blanketed by grey skies and constantly feel sick and shitty? Do I listen to pop music because I am miserable or am I miserable because I listened to pop music? You get the idea.

Sometimes I think I should just listen to ska or something. As preposterous as it is to listen to this kind of music during winter I can't help but smile every time I hear it. Now, I'm not the biggest ska fan in the world. I would never admit to that. My credibility would be shot (well, I guess it has been since I covered an ICP show). But you have to admit, as stupid as that music can be, you feel better when you listen to it. I could psychoanalyze why for day's, but I don't really feel like it.

Winter's not all bad. I welcome it after long, hot summers and cool falls. I just wish it would end after Christmas. Give me a white Xmas then move on.

What do you listen to during your hibernation months  What gets you through the days? Do you wallow in your own insignificance or have you figured out a way to traverse the intolerable 6-month a year landscape. Do you have a ska CD I can borrow?

(Listen to some DIIV while you think that over)