I knew it was officially fall this year when I changed out the group of CDs I bring to work with me for a new set. I usually do that when I reorganize my main CD collection (which is now numbering at around 360 official albums). Normally, though, I might leave a good portion of the previous set in my case, rather than swapping them all out. I guess it's just time for my leaves to change... or some other suitably purple phrase.
Not only did I simply change out my artists and albums, I switched genres completely. I went from the loud progressive rock music of late summer (like Rush, Frank Zappa, Dream Theater, and tool) to a more ethereal set of genres like post-rock, dreampop, shoegaze, and other things that make older people go "huh?"
The changing of the seasons has always influenced my choice of music. Or maybe the seasons influence my mood, which influence my music choices. I might feel a breeze and have a longing to hear a certain song, or I'll see the colour of a leaf, and think "the soundtrack to this leaf is this song."
So, here's a bit of an autumnal music swatch for you, as far as I see it - taken directly from my set of CDs that I brought to work with me today.
Radiohead - "In Rainbows"
This album is an autumnal album for me for a few reasons. It has a type of organic mesh between real instruments and electronics that is warm, but harsh. Many of the songs take a dreamy, ethereal tone which lends itself to the quality of light that one sees peeking through the branches of trees as the leaves change. Some songs might make you want to dance through piles of leaves while others are suited for walking in a stiff breeze, or sitting on a porch in the cooler air.
Here's a video for my favourite track from the album "House of Cards":
Air - "Talkie Walkie"
With a name like Air, you would naturally assume (and assume correctly) that the French duo produces music of a breezy, ephemeral, dreamlike quality. None of the tracks on the album are particularly uptempo, but many are certainly upbeat and lackadaisical. Likewise, many are melancholy. With more moving songs like 'Run' and whimsical tracks like 'Surfing on a Rocket' or the instrumental 'Alpha Beta Gaga" the group manages to capture the more enchanting qualities of autumn while underscoring its inherent link with death and loss in the end of summer and the coming of winter.
Here's one of my favourites from this album, "Cherry Blossom Girl":
M83 - "Saturdays = Youth"
Even the artwork on this album suggests autumn. The teens on the cover appear in a field sporting unusual attire like low-key halloween costumes, cast in tones of yellow, brown, green, and red. Likewise, many of the songs feature a halloween sort of theme without being overly campy. The album has a theme of youth and love, and the fascination with exploring death and its link with love - all of which are thematically linked with the season of autumn and halloween as well (and the equinox, I suppose). these themes pop up in songs like "Graveyard girl" and "Kim and Jessie".
Here's a video for "Kim and Jessie." It's not the official one, but it'll do:
Manitoba (Caribou) - "Up in Flames"
I forgot as I was typing out that bandname that the artist had to change it from Manitoba to Caribou a few years back due to some absolutely ridiculous litigation that I may discuss another time. Just like on the M83 album, the art on this album is full of fall colours. And similar to the Radiohead album, this album is a mess of organic sounds and electronic sounds fused together. The opening track "I've lived on a dirt road all my life" conjures images of my own childhood living in a town full of dirt roads, bordered by trees of changing colours. I say a 'mess' of organic sounds, because, to many, that's what it would sound like. There's a base of simple melodies and layers of folky guitar, but suddenly, and without warning, comes a drum beat that just makes you want to move. For me, the whole album acts like a sort of dancing celebration of the end of summer and the beginning of fall, how summer's heat is up in flames leaving time for the evening to come, and with it the cool of fall in the morning.
Here's the track "Kid, you'll Move Mountains," for your listening pleasure:
