Sloan - Take It Upon Yourself
I like this song. It's a light, lo-fi pop song by Sloan, the Canadian Oasis. Seriously, they're huge up North. Even bigger than Barenaked Ladies. Which, as we all well know, is a huge deal. I really liked their 2006 single "Who Taught You To Live Like That?" and the album it comes from Never Hear The End of It was very ELO-esque. But this song is nothing like that; it's like a throwback to the 90's when they were throwingback to the 60's. Woh.
Playlist: The Music of Fall
Football is dominating my weekends; I start to sweat less waiting for the subway; my favorite dive bars and restaurants are busier with NYU undergrads; new TV shows capture my nights; and I begin to terribly underpack when I go out to CT or up to Boston. It's that time of year. And with it, a few songs that just feel like Fall. Some sound like tailgating with a cold beer in iced-through hands, others remind me of that punch-to-the-gut dread when you know you forgot to do your homework. Still others convey the reds, browns and oranges of this time of year. But mostly, they are just songs that I first got into, or first meant something to me, around this time of year in my past. Will they mean the same to you? Maybe not, but each does have a undeniably "Autumn" tone. Enjoy.Grateful Dead - Box Of Rain
For me, this is the single most exemplary Fall song. Obvious rain comparisons aside, it sounds of those autumn colors, it's at a tempo of calmness, and bleeds that self-reflection that comes from watching leaves fall and walking with your hands stuffed in your coat for the first time.
Steely Dan - My Old School
The title and lyrics of this one bring this one to the list. But the music, from the marching-band horns (especially with syncopation in the breakdown middle-eight and outro), to the crunchy guitar that sounds like it's being played by a guy wearing a turtleneck, and the simple piano driving some kind of narrative flashback, firmly plant it in September for me.
Ben Folds Five - Barrytown
BF5 are one of my favorite bands, and got me through a lot during college. I know this is a Steely Dan cover, and trust me, there are plenty of Ben's songs that could fit here, but "Barrytown" is a snapshot of the trio as they were breaking up, and being their last recording together, it sounds somber and very settled. It's sad, but confident. It's like watching nature slowly die off and hibernate for the impending winter.
Ryan Adams - Goodnight Rose
New York City Autumns are a whole different beast compared to those in New England, where I grew up and went to college. Here, it gets very blustery and cold almost overnight, and since you don't have the turning trees to show the transition, one can assume it's Winter before Fall even begins. But you have to enjoy Fall, let go of Summer, and prepare for the Winter. This song is off Ryan's 2007 album Easy Tiger and reminds me of that.
Bright Eyes - Four Winds
A roots-rock abstract-narrative full of fiddles, mandolins, organs, dobros, banjos, harmonicas, washboards and acoustic guitars. It sounds like a barn. A party in a barn. Catchy as hell, and fits a drive through the countryside when the leaves are at their peak.
Counting Crows - Rain King
Bringing it way back. This reminds me of high school. Actually, I'm pretty sure all Counting Crows songs remind me of the fall, or at most the winter. But this one feels like a Saturday afternoon when it's still warm enough to relax outside, but you're not sweating, and you're wearing you've got your brand new Football or Rugby sweatshirt on.
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Another high school song, with no apparent correlation to Fall other than it's the song I always wanted to play in my band, and we usually started practicing again more once school started. Also, fall of sophomore year was when I set up my parents HiFi for the first time, and Changes was the album of choice.
Oasis - She's Electric
One last throwback to HS. What white teenage male from the suburbs didn't worship Oasis in the late 90's? Like the Counting Crows, I could have put any song by the Gallagher brothers on here. But "She's Electric," because of the Harrison-esque guitar playing, makes it on the list. Which is a perfect segue into...
George Harrison - Wah-Wah
I've always been a Paul fan, and have had undeniable John love too. But not until I was well into my 20's did I get deep into Paul or John's solo material. George, however, I knew right away. To the uninitiated, All Things Must Pass is George's first solo record, released less than a year after The Beatles broke up. It's an opus, chock full of amazing songs that he had been storing up for years; ones Lennon/McCartney wouldn't let him put on the albums. Why does it remind me of Fall? Mostly because of the album art. But because of that, the music followed suit.
Steve Earle - City Of Immigrants
Here's the one song on this list I will probably introduce you too. Steve's a country singer who's had his share of problems with the needle, the law, and women (married 7 times). You may know him as Waylon from The Wire. Here's a song about his adopted home of New York City, with a perfect world-music feel to fit his roots sensibility. I got into this song in the fall of '07 and didn't stop listening to it until the Giants won the Super Bowl...
KISS - Back In the New York Groove
...because then I had to listen to this song. This is the New York Football Giant's touchdown song. So if you're playing along at home, it's Autumn, so football, so the Giants, so KISS. I know, it all makes perfect sense.
Kings of Leon - Revelry
This is my personal favorite song by the Followills off Only By The Night. It's spacey in a late night, cold, Fall in the City kind of way. You know what I'm talking about: the night when you're walking home alone from the bar at 3AM, maybe not quite as drunk as your friends were, but content. You huddle into your coat collar, walk tight and a little quicker than usual, and smile devilishly knowing that despite everything else that may be tough, you're young and having the time of your life. Or something like that.
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