Now that a chill has set over the hill and you’re imagining the brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange you’re going to see around campus within the next few weeks, you’re probably thinking to yourself: “Man, I just wish I had some great music to listen to that would perfectly capture this autumnal vibe”. Fear not fall lovers, I have just the music recommendations to satiate your cozy cravings.
I remember fall of my junior year of high school, three years ago now (woof), I began making a playlist that would soon become the pinnacle of my spotify library. The playlist is called “My Babysitter’s a Vampire”. In all honesty I have no memory as to why I named it that. I think it might have had something to do with my associations with the old Disney Channel show and autumn? But I digress. I wanted music that would capture the richness of fall with also this weird nostalgic feeling that seems to come over me whenever the leaves begin to change. I will now share some of what I feel are the songs you must have on any future playlists for the season.
“There She Goes” – The La’s
Appropriately, this is the first song on this list and one of the first songs of the playlist. If you’re a Gilmore Girls lover like me, you’ll immediately recognize the first few chords of this song as the opening notes of the beloved television show. There may only be a total of six words repeated throughout this entire song, but boy does it just exude warm cups of coffee and crisp morning breezes.
“Weather With You” – Crowded House
A song about creating your own weather and environment obviously works perfectly for our purposes here. With guitar riffs that sound like wind blowing and lyrics that speak of stormy atmospheres, this song belongs to fall.
“Campus” – Vampire Weekend
This song had a bout of Tik Tok fame a few years back, but we can’t let ourselves forget about its good vibes and catchy melody. With this playing in your ears you’ll practically be skipping around the hill.
“Like Real People Do” – Hozier
In my opinion this is one of the most beautiful songs to ever exist. The background vocals of this Hozier classic truly just transport you to a different place entirely. While pretty much all Hozier songs work for a fall vibe, this one takes the cake.
“White Winter Hymnal” – Fleet Foxes
If there is any musical group that just screams fall, it has to be Fleet Foxes. While this song might have the word “Winter” in the title, it will always just remind me of leaves crunching beneath my feet and golden autumn sunsets. There are so many good songs of theirs to pick from, and many of them do appear on my playlist, but if we’re picking must-haves here then of course there is no other option.
“Linger” – The Cranberries
Also one of my favorite songs of all time, nothing else reminds me of fall more than the opening “ooo’s” of this beautiful Irish tune. A song about longing and loving, it reminds me why I’m such a fool for fall, and why I always want to let it linger.
These are only a few of my favorite songs from my rather large autumn playlist. If you like what you see here I will shamelessly plug my Spotify– @Fionasmith102– but I also hope after reading this article you feel inspired to go out and make your own fall magic. Happy listening!