The dark and cold of these frosty months tends to provide the perfect backdrop for indulging in a good, winter wallow when it comes to music. Next up in our series of winter survival tips, we chat to Academy Records Annex’s manager Cory Feierman about his recommendations for some solid hibernation music. Check out our previous interviews here, here and here.
MUSIC: ACADEMY RECORDS | 85 Oak Street
Cory Feierman, Manager
Greenpointers: What music would you recommend to people to feel more uplifted this winter?
Cory Feierman: I think that music is always directed to how you’re feeling and how the world is treating you and that includes the weather. What I find uplifting in the winter time are the classic power pop records like the first two Big Star records, Todd Rundgren Something/Anything? or maybe the second Carole King record. Something that is lyrically a little heart-breaking, but still sounds sweet and driving and moving.
GP: Do people gravitate towards buying different types of music in the colder months?
CF: I think I’ll sell a hundred Charlie Brown Christmas records in November and December. I think that maybe in the summer, dance music and disco sales are up and I think that in the winter, it’s more about folk and rock records.
GP: Do you think there is such a thing as a high quality holiday record?
CF: Oh yeah, I think that the Phil Spector holiday record is one of the best records of all time. It’s unbelievable. I love the Elvis Christmas record and the John Fahey Christmas record is great.
GP: If you want to go into a dark place this winter on your couch, under a blanket, with a whiskey, what would be your music pairing for that scenario?
CF: The first day it snowed I put on Gene Clark’s White Light and I think it was pretty fitting. It’s kind of sad, pretty bare and really good and deep. If you really want to go dark – and I did this last month when it started to get cold and I think it ruined a week – is the third Big Star record. The first two make you feel really good and then the third one is just devastating and sad and dreary in a way that Nico records sound dreary. It’s just sad, cold music.
GP: What’s your favorite thing to do in Greenpoint in the winter?
CF: I like going to Diamond Bar [43 Franklin St] and Ramona [113 Franklin St]. I also like to go to Five Leaves [18 Bedford Ave] in the afternoon to see a friend who works there. I like walking down Oak where it turns into Guernsey because I think that it’s the most beautiful block. It’s really cool and really special, especially right when it snows.