5 songs that have been on my semester soundtrack
I’m a playlist girl. New month? New playlist. New pair of shoes? Playlist. Every year I take pride in curating the perfect walk-to-class mix to get into a fall mood. It doesn’t always go according to plan, finger slips happen, but there are certain songs I gravitate towards as the leaves start to fall and the air gets crisp. Here are mine for this year in no particular order.
1. “Wish That You Were Here” by Florence and the Machine
Imagine standing at the edge of a wide open field with your arms stretched wide. Heart beating, hands shaking, ready to run until you can’t move any farther. That is how “Wish That You Were Here” makes me feel during every listen. Florence belts a sad but admitting set of lyrics about hyper independence and acceptance of the fact that, although one is able to forge a journey on their own, they don’t always have to. Listen to this song when you don’t have somewhere to be—it’s best consumed while feeling at peace.
2. “Maroon” by Taylor Swift
I first listened to this song as a junior in high school, knee deep in finals at the end of my fall semester. I remember sitting in my best friend’s Prius in the school parking lot, four of us crammed in the small space and glued to the car speakers as the “Midnights” album played. Since that first listen, “Maroon” has remained my favorite track. It has a dark, musky sound that transports listeners to Taylor Swift’s West Village apartment, even if they’ve never set foot in the state of New York. It describes longing and the type of melancholy that accompanies late fall; the gravity of the year coming to a close, the desire to return to a point in time when things were slightly hazier and the prospects of the new beginning that January brings. Listen to this song at sunset.
3. “Miss You” by Louis Tomlinson
I am and always will be a One Directioner at heart. Though their days of releasing music together are over (RIP Liam Payne), I still make a point to listen to their solo music. I have always gravitated towards Louis Tomlinson’s voice, as it is a bit grittier and warmer than others. This song in particular has a great beat and the chorus is stripped to sound a bit hazier. The lyrics are a discussion of feeling like you have everything in the world at one moment, to realizing that when the distractions are gone, you miss either a person or a feeling you’ve been attempting to distract yourself from. Again, akin to the feeling of a new school year and the end of fall. Louis sounds very British in this song—because he is! Turn this song on when studying; it gets the blood pumping.
4. “First Train Home” by Imogen Heap
This song has an electronic underscoring that is unlike anything I’ve heard before. As Imogen’s first single release in 2009, she wrote and produced the song completely by herself. The lyrics touch on a feeling of homesickness that accompanies being surrounded by people you don’t know and the strong pull to return to home or a similarly familiar place, hence, the title that is often repeated in the song, “first train home.” The song reminds me of going home for the holidays and I often find myself listening to it leading up to Thanksgiving break, hence its placement on this list. Listen to this song while walking—it always makes me feel like I’m in a music video from the early 2000s.
5. “About You” by The 1975
This is a very special song to me. The soft pick of the guitar and the gradual build of accompanying instruments in the first ten seconds of the song feel truly magical. My favorite element is the saxophone that plays a low and melodic tune, woven into the background. Matty Healy’s voice is sleepy and slow, wrapped in reverb that makes it sound like a train ride to see close friends after a long time apart. The lyrics carry a quiet accusation—“did you think I had forgotten about you?”—hinting at lingering emotion and miscommunication. The song itself sounds like autumn: nostalgic, reflective and tinged with a level of self-awareness. It feels like a call out towards goals and promises we plan in the beginning of the year, when time seems endless, only to be forgotten in the summer and briefly remembered as fall fades to winter. Listen to this song on any form of public transportation while staring out the window.
Again, I believe even the smallest of events deserves a playlist because the most insignificant occurrences still produce emotion that deserves to be basked in just the same as anything else. These five songs have been my soundtrack for the past few weeks, though music, just as life, is ever-changing. Make a playlist—share it or don’t—and let music carry you through fall.