Baby it's cold outside goes the song, covered by John O'Regan (now of Diamond Rings) and Sylvia Smith (now of The Magic), but then as the duo Habitat. And it sure is cold out. Europe is in a wintry grip, a cruel joke by Mother Nature as the deep freeze comes on the heels of the Copenhagen Climate Conference on Global Warming.

The white stuff is no big deal for those residents of the Great White North. It's the stuff of song. And we even have a chap called Hank Snow to hum it for us. Another great was the late Grant MacLellan, who wrote Snowbird, synonymous with Anne Murray. Grant's daughter Catherine has a song, Snow Day, on her album Church Bell Blues. "Slow down, there's no need to rush, there's nothing but snow and slush on the streets." It's a mellow number and Catherine sounds not unlike Sarah Harmer. Harmer, of course, was originally in Weeping Tile, whose disc, Cold Snap, is a classic.

Should one, due to Heavy Snow (Julie Doiron) get Snowed In (Joel Plaskett) In The Bleak Mid-Winter (Sarah McLauchlan) one could pass The Winter Hours (The Deep Dark Woods) and avoid This Winter's Touch (The Great Outdoors) of Jack Frost (Kalle Mattson) by curling up with Song For A Winter's Night (Gordon Lightfoot).

Bruce Cockburn will help you through The Coldest Night Of The Year and Hot Panda has a cure for Cold Hands/ Chapped Lips.

Of course, as the Russian Futurists will remind you, It's Not Really Cold When It Snows. So one could still venture out. Ron Sexsmith has the track Snow Angel, and his pals in The Sadies have A Burning Snowman, which would be some trick. One could listen to The Sound Of Snowflakes Falling (Andy Swan) or the Snowsuit Sound (Sloan).

Locally, one should watch out for Black Ice (K-Os). The Micronite Filters have The North Wind and we know what happens when he starts to blow. The Small Sins thinks We Won't Last The Winter. Cuff The Duke thinks it's going to be A Long Winter. We'll see, I guess, but in the meantime, while away the dark hours with some of these tunes.

Wooden Arms

Patrick Watson

Secret City

OK, I know this has been out for some time but I got some gift certs off Santa so I've been getting in on the sales action at the OC. I met Patrick at Hillside and watched his band and Julie Doiron conduct a workshop in what is really a bit of a campsite. He was marvellous. What a talent. Later he (they) played the main stage just before Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) and as the dark clouds gathered, his blend of indie and classical plus an organic approach to percussion became the soundtrack to the oncoming storm. Couldn't have wished for a better gig.

I find his previous record, Close To Paradise, has a more immediate sense to it, like one gets it at first listen. This one is more complicated, no less for it, however. It's a dreamscape of emotions, feelings which, should one surrender to, will take you on a journey, perhaps akin to a jaunt through a rabbit hole or the back of a cupboard. In these grooves, fabulous groves await exploring.