Winter makes walking to school more solitary than ever—it’s tough to make conversation when you’re choking on your muffler and sliding involuntarily down the sidewalk past your fellow students. Perhaps it’s best just to keep your head down and your ears stuffed with something nice to listen to. And speaking of Midwestern winters, why not make a week of treacherous local weather into a week of local music exploration? Day by day, here are some sounds to warm you up:
      
Mondays are especially painful. The biting wind, coupled with the dread of a long week, requires something bright. And maybe danceable? Try The Battle Royale (“Racecar” maybe, off of Wake up, Thunderbabe) on your way to school.  Their songs consistently inspire energy without sacrificing melody, and since they’ve already put out two albums on Afternoon Records, there’s a lot to stock up on for the rest of winter. 
      
By Tuesday, perhaps you’re swamped. There are papers to write, meetings to attend, and curses to be thrown into the unforgiving arctic wind. Time for a little Sleeping in the Aviary. Sounding a bit as if Connor Oberst were swallowed by The Velvet Underground, this Madison-based band is perfect for the most uneventful day of the week. In fact, “Write On” (off of their new album Expensive Vomit in a Cheap Motel) is a solid guitar-driven tune that might have you singing “I just wanna write you outta my heart” for the rest of sorry little Tuesday. Poor thing.
      
For many of us, Wednesdays are about survival.  The week is halfway through and it’s time to try something new and relaxing to take your mind off of the rest of it. If you’re into Andrew Bird and a strolling drum beat, you might choose tracks by Total Babe.  Of course, listening to Total Babe in transit would require you to bust out the walkman, as their first release (in March) will be a chunky cassette tape called Heatwave!, made with the help of Room Tapes (myspace.com/roomtapes). I guess Wednesdays are also for nostalgia.
      
Thursday has us looking up. After all, Friday is just a sleep away and you might be in the mood for premature celebration. Put on Unicorn Dream Attack, a party of 8-bit noises that make for very cheerful melodies. Stefen Keen (the man behind the Gameboy) has just released an album called Love Bits and one of his most infectious songs is called “4l0n3.”
      
And finally comes heavenly Friday, which you can usher in with Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles (“With You,” on Orange Peels and Rattlesnakes) if you wish.  Having spent all of Thursday preparing for the weekend, Friday deserves quieter – but no less mirthful – music.  Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles provide that, with clear and jaunty sounds you might want to listen to on a back porch somewhere. Regardless of the chill, the Velvet Lapelles and other Midwestern artists can stream us spring for at least a little while.