The Best Ski Playlist, According to Me
Editor's Note: This article is the second installment of Chairlift Chatter, a column written by Izzy Lidsky. Stay tuned for more columns right here at powder.com.
Skiing with or without music is a somewhat polarizing topic, depending on who you ask.
However, in most cases, I fall firmly in the camp of skiing with tunes. I grew up watching ski movies, and the imagery of watching my favorite skiers shred lines with an amazing song in the background is something that never left my psyche. It's no secret that the music in a ski film can make or break it, and sometimes it is the thing that makes a segment iconic. While I'm not shredding like Sammy C (whose films often have the sickest soundtracks), listening to a song that hypes me up or has a beat that's perfect for smashing moguls gives me an extra boost.
I generally alternate between playlists or Spotify radios, depending on conditions and the energy of my day. Still, I put together a little playlist of some of my favorite ski tunes, just for you, POWDER readers.
Before we get started, a few rules of thumb for skiing with music.
First off, don't be a backpack speaker guy. No one likes the backpack speaker guy. Just because you want to hear AWOLNATION all day, every day while skiing, doesn't mean anyone else wants to. Use headphones.
That being said, I prefer to use one earbud at a time and keep the volume low. It's also important to be aware of your surroundings so you don't become a whirling dervish of danger on the mountain. The goal is not to completely tune out the world around you, but rather to enhance it.
Lastly, unless I'm riding alone, I like to pause my music on the lift. The chairlift is time to hang with the homies, so unless you can pay attention to the conversation and keep the tunes going, press pause.
So, without further ado, here's the Spotify playlist. Enjoy and use responsibly.
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Izzy's Best Ski Playlist (Spotify)
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I'm not going to justify every song I put on here because, well, some of them don't need justification, but I would like to call out a few that are near and dear to my heart.
1. Scenario - Pop Smoke
The aforementioned King of Bangers, Sammy Carlson, put this in an editor's cut of his film KAMASE earlier this year. I'd completely forgotten about this song until he sent it to me and it's been on regular rotation in the gym and on skis since.
2. Blame Brett - The Beaches
This song was already undeniably a banger, but then, TGR dropped it in self-proclaimed 'Daddy' Madison Rose Ostergren's film segment this year, launching it to ski banger status. Whether or not there's any chance you'll see your ex while skiing (and if there is, we feel for you), it's a hype song through and through.
3. This Way- Dilated Peoples & Kanye West
Another contribution from a Mr. Carlson segment, albeit a much older one. This song is featured in Matchstick Productions' 2007 flick, Seven Sunny Days in Sammy C's park segment. The song, film, and segment are all instant classics, and it's been on my ski playlist since the beginning of time.
4. Lofticries- Purity Ring
While this song might not have the same prowess as the LCD Soundsystem feature in the same film, it no doubt goes down as one of my favorite ski segments of all time because of the song. The 2011 Sherpas Cinema film, All.I.Can, uses one of Purity Ring's best songs in a Pep Fujas and Callum Petit pillow segment that lives in my dreams. The next company to use Purity Ring in a film gets my eternal admiration.
5. Nobody But Me - The Human Beinz
If cognitive dissonance or too much ganja has somehow allowed you to forget the incredible naked ski scene from Valhalla, for the love of Pete, go watch that sh*t again. It's one of the best pieces of cinema to ever grace our sport and this is the song in it. Valhalla has always been a favorite film of mine, but it was made that much better when I got to see BTS content from that day from none other than Johan Jonssan, whose buns are most certainly featured in that segment.
6. Paper Planes - M.I.A
This one doesn't really feel like it needs much justification, but just in case, this song is in Riley Leboe, Sean Petit, and Richard Permin's Japan segment from MSP's 2012 Superheroes of Stoke. This segment is also home to one of the best ski quotes I've ever heard and some 10/10 pillow skiing. "You know when the snow just keeps getting deeper, and your feelings just keep getting deeper? Yeah, that's what skiing powder is like."
Editor's Note: This article is the second installment of Chairlift Chatter, a column written by Izzy Lidsky. Stay tuned for more columns right here at powder.com.