If it’s December at You Ain’t No Picasso then it’s time for Mixmas. Every year I use the holiday season as an excuse to get some of my favorite musicians to contribute a mix centered around a theme of their choosing. They share some of their favorites and we get a little peak into their playlist and their brain.

MP3: Deerhoof – Hitch Hike (LiLiPUT cover)

Deerhoof is one of my favorite bands — on record and on the stage. This was the first year I’ve been able to catch them live and it was one of the year’s bright spots. But I’m pleased to have them contribute to Mixmas for the second year in a row.

“Snowy Music” by John Dieterich of Deerhoof

I grew up in Wisconsin, where winters always were accompanied by a very tangible shift in my state of mind. I always tended to be introverted, but winter almost necessitated solitude — It’s just too cold to speak to anybody — and the acoustic insulation that the snow provided often made speaking feel futile, anyway. It just started snowing where I live, so it brought up a lot of snowy music in my mind. Happy listening!

MP3: Nuno Canavarro – Wask
I discovered Nuno Canavarro during a particularly weird winter in Minnesota. I remember we had several days off because it warmed up to around 40 degrees, we got a torrential downpour, and then the temperature proceeded to plummet to 10 below zero. Ice covered everything, and the sound of the city changed overnight. No cars were on the roads, and the soft snow sound was replaced by a strangely echoey crystalline one. We walked around in the streets all day long. All the smaller trees were covered with ice, and they were hanging at strange angles. I think a lot of them had to be cut down later.

MP3: Latin Playboys – Crayon Sun
One of my favorite bands ever, and I’m one of the lucky few that got to see them on their one tour. This may be one of the first bands that Ed Rodriguez and I agreed on. We both listened to this album over and over and over. And this song always felt like the winter one for me. . . .

MP3: Woom – Sister
Deerhoof got to tour with Woom when they did their first tour a couple of years ago. The first time I heard this song, I was utterly crushed by it. They recorded this album way out in the woods by themselves with no outside contact several winters ago, and I really hear that snowy isolation in the music.

MP3: Caetano Veloso – Tonada de Luna Llena
I’ve been a huge fan of Caetano Veloso’s music ever since Chris Cohen introduced me to it years ago. I discovered this song much more recently, and I just can’t stop listening to it, and the lyrics by Simon Diaz are incredibly beautiful. The title means “Full Moon Tune”.

Pat Metheny & Ornette Coleman – “Katherine Gray”
One of my favorite melodies. I believe they only recorded this song just this once, but I could be wrong. I used to make compilations for my family ever winter, and I would always put this song on there, no matter how many times I’d already given it to them.