In the dead of winter, with temperatures consistently falling below zero and a campus-wide snow day in the books, there is but one reason a person could possibly be compelled to leave their home for amusement — to hit the slopes. Be it on skis or a snowboard, to conquer hills of icy frost in such conditions is no small feat. What better way to brave the pistes of the East than with sweet melodies blasting beneath one’s helmet? This week, I bring you a playlist of songs I personally enjoy skiing to, along with others pulled from ski videos and movies.
1. Freelance — Toro y Moi (2019)
While my playlists are usually unranked, I must admit there is a reason why “Freelance” takes the cake. Off “Outer Peace,” one of Toro y Moi’s funkiest albums, this track merges chillwave — a genre he’s often credited with pioneering — with a groove that makes skiing feel like dancing on snow.
2. Dur Dur d’être bébé! — Jordy (1992)
Released when Jordy Lemoine was just four and a half years old, “Dur Dur d’être bébé!” not only stole hearts worldwide but also earned him a Guinness World Record as the youngest artist to ever top the French singles charts. It’s not the silly lyrics detailing the injustices of babyhood that resonate with listeners so much as the bouncy Eurodance beat that accompanies them. It makes the song oddly suited to high-energy skiing — especially moguls.
3. Serenade — Travis Scott (2017/18)
Originally scrapped from Travis Scott’s 2016 album “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight,” “Serenade” is a characteristically melodic, lyrical cut. It was circulated for years as a leak, finding its way into the legendary ON3P 3 in-house ski video filmed on Mt. Hood, until it finally received the semi-official release it deserved in 2024 as part of the “Days Before Rodeo” Full Vault Deluxe edition.
4. ADN — Nonst0pp (prod. hyperlinkkkk) (2021)
If you are a skier of the night, “ADN” is for you. Alongside Nonst0pp’s layered vocals, hyperlinkkkk’s beat is crisp, mellow and satisfying — made for nights spent cruising the mountain and taking aesthetic lift rides.
5. Lovenote — Bladee (2016)
For readers who don’t quite understand the appeal of listening to music while skiing, “Lovenote” offers a useful case study. At face value, it’s a fairly mediocre Bladee track — cloud rap riffraff, if you ask me — but a certain je ne sais quoi emerges when heard on the slopes. See for yourself in the YouTube video titled: “bladee – lovenote (SKIING REACTION⛷️).”
6. Girl Like You — Toro y Moi (2017)
In a long history of 13 Beats articles, I’ve found no artist worthy of a repeat appearance — until now. More pop and synth-forward than “Freelance,” “Girl Like You” remains a jam at all times, day or night, on the slope or on the lift, first run or last. While he has never said it outright, I’m convinced Toro y Moi makes music with the slopes in mind.
7. easy going down — lil hero (2023)
Fort Worth native, lil hero is a hyper/dance pop artist whose tracks are effortless, sugary and addictive, much like encountering a waffle shack mid run. One listener likens her music to “a toy princess wand” that, once shaken, “makes a magical sparkly upbeat whoosh.”
8. The Light – Kero Kero Bonito Remix — Metronomy, Kero Kero Bonito (2020)
With all due respect to Mentronomy — indie electronica legends in their own right — Kero Kero Bonito’s “nocturnal club-pop re-fix” of “The Light” is the only version I find worth listening to. It’s catchy, atmospheric and built for fast skiing and dancing like a robot.
9. Saviers Road — Anderson .Paak (2018)
I discovered this underrated Anderson .Paak track through “MAGMA,” a masterpiece of a ski movie made with “no sponsors, no funding, just purely for the love of skiing.” A mix of hip hop, funk and soul, this song is effortlessly cool on its own, but even more so backing the film’s insane tricks and shots of Mt. Hood [5:09-6:12]. The comment section also speaks for itself: “That was the best 12 minutes of my life.” It could be yours too.
10. On the Low — Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions (2001)
While Hope Sandoval’s slow, droning indie sound in “On the Low” doesn’t exactly scream ski edit, its placement in the Vishnu Freeski team video, “THE DEEP END” changed my perspective on what constitutes a worthy backtrack — anything can work if you own it.
11. Rill Rill — Sleigh Bells (2010)
One of many bangers in “THE JETSKIS MOVIE,” “Rill Rill” stands out to me for its catchy vocals that are paired with an oddly abrasive, holiday-esque sound. That is Sleigh Bell’s speciality, after all, and feels fitting for a five-years-in-the-making edit that has been generating much noise in the street skiing community since its release last month.
12. Monique The Freak — Ween (2005)
Featured on the exclusively Ween soundtrack of “G.N.A.R.” (Gaffney’s Numerical Assessment of Radness), this track backs a ski film celebrating Squaw Valley legend Shane McConkey and the gloriously unserious game he helped invent. The laid-back, funkadelic sound of “Monique The Freak” pairs naturally with the ethos of G.N.A.R.: skiing, at its best, doesn’t take itself too seriously.
13. You Get What You Give — New Radicals (1998)
In a final spurt of inspiration (one that this song always seems to bring out in me), I shall close with this: the beauty of skiing isn’t in the music or the optics (tricks, form or speed). Like most good things in life, it’s all about attitude and community. It’s about getting excited when you score the golden chairlift, or joining in the collective cheer that erupts when someone below sticks a backflip. That simple joy, just having fun and emitting awesomeness, is what skiing (slash snowboarding) is all about. That is what this song feels like to me. “You Get What You Give.” Stay safe out there!
