Here’s an incomplete, totally subjective playlist of music that reminds me of fall. Let me know in the comments what music reminds you of autumn.
“October” by Eric Whitacre. Played the orchestral version of this in high school, but the choral version is just as good and beautifully evocative of the season.
“Oh Shenandoah” folk song. Sang the choral version in high school, though really any version of it is bound to be good.
Keep It Together by Guster. Not really sure why as I don’t like any other Guster music, but this is the first of three indie-pop-rock albums I discovered in college that have clung to my consciousness in a specific seasonal way.
You Are My Sunshine by Copeland. Have a distinct memory of listening to this while walking through downtown Chicago at night in late November on my way back to my suburban college campus. “On the Safest Ledge” still gives me goosebumps. Eat, Sleep, Repeat is also a great autumnal album.
Everything In Transit by Jack’s Mannequin. Like Guster, I don’t listen to any of their other music, and again mostly the first half of the album resonates for some reason. Usually play this only once a year on a brisk overcast late November day, all the better if I’m in an emo mood.
“Adagio-Andante con moto” by George Gershwin. My friend Tim and I made a lot of live action and stop-motion movies together in middle school and high school. One (that was ultimately aborted) was a sort of impressionistic music video of our hometown, which at the time (and after) ranked among the Best Places to Live in America. We went to extreme lengths to try to align the footage with the music, including Tim sprinting through his house to turn out lights in time with the end notes of the song.
Meet Joe Black soundtrack by Thomas Newman. Tim had this on CD. We’d listen to it all the time and use it in our movies. I still have never seen Meet Joe Black and I’d like to keep it that way. (Runner-up Thomas Newman soundtrack: Little Women.)
Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Though appropriate for listening any time, this was another album (along with the Lord of the Rings soundtracks) Tim and I kept in heavy rotation when hanging out. Have you figured out yet that we weren’t cool in high school?
Comments
“The Unforgettable Fire” by U2 (1984) – I know it’s not the U2 song “October” – that’s too easy. Listen to this one with your eyes closed and picture yourself running at night down deserted city streets on a cool November evening. Leaves swirl in patterns as you reach each intersection under the streetlights clearing your head from the concerns of the day. That’s me in my teenage years in the fall.
“Autumn” the album by George Winston. Listen to the entire album at home on a fall day with a cup of tea while reading or doing silent chores. Open the curtains and let fall’s foliage be your muse.
Great tips! Will check them out. I’m sort of a lukewarm U2 fan but could endeavor to explore them more.
I should have specified – just the one song “The Unforgettable Fire” – not the whole album.