(Jashodhara Jindal / Heights Editor)
Only three weeks into the semester, it seems fall is already upon us. As temperatures drop to the low 60s, students are already embracing sweater weather. Undoubtedly, shorts and T-shirts will soon be just a distant memory.
To welcome the change in season, our Arts editors have put together a playlist curated for the fall. As the leaves grow warmer and the days grow colder, get the most out of your New England fall by checking out our picks below.
Maddie
“Meet Me in the Woods” – Lord Huron
For me, Lord Huron epitomizes fall music. Many of the songs on the band’s second album, Strange Trails, have made it to my fall playlist, and “Meet Me in the Woods” became my favorite over the course of last year.
The song’s thoughtful, acoustic instrumentation and compelling lyrics form a complete story in just a three-minute song. The swell leading into the chorus hits the hardest when the temperatures dip below 70, and I envision the woods in the song as a New England forest.
“Follow me into the endless night / I can bring your fears to life / Show me yours and I’ll show you mine / Meet me in the woods tonight,” sings Ben Schneider.
“Maine” – Noah Kahan
Of all the Noah Kahan songs I could have picked, I decided to go with a throwback Kahan song that also happens to be my favorite. “Maine” is a track I play every day of the fall, and Kahan’s love for New England is more evident in this song than in even “Northern Attitude.”
With calm guitar strums and a more subdued Kahan to croon over them, “Maine” embodies the nostalgia and comfort of the fall season. Belting this song while actually driving to Maine is a top-tier experience. I would highly recommend making a trip up just to see the leaves changing.
“Into the Mystic” – Van Morrison
“Into the Mystic” was my song of the summer, but this song really belongs in the fall. Van Morrison’s rich and expressive voice shines through in his whole Moondance album, but “Into the Mystic” finds Morrison belting out lyrics in an awe-inspiring way.
Preceded by a slow, guitar-focused first verse, Morrison’s impassioned “I wanna hear it / I don’t have to fear it” before the chorus hits is one of the most passionate lyrics I’ve ever heard sung. The song’s gentle bass line and even gentler cymbals give the feeling of fall in all its coziness.
Bia
”The Only Living Boy in New York” — Simon & Garfunkel
Nothing screams fall family road trip quite like Simon & Garfunkel. “The Only Living Boy in New York” evokes nostalgia, an ache for childhood, when everything was easier and everyone seemed happier. It takes you right back to a time when your only troubles were choosing between pumpkin pie and apple cider donuts.
“Half of the time we’re gone / But we don’t know where / And we don’t know where.”
Whether you’re driving up the East Coast or reading in the Quad, the folky feel of “The Only Living Boy in New York” won’t fail to set the mood for the season to come.
“dime” – sombr
The recent release by the 20-year-old artist is an indie-rock, retro-esque suggestion for your September playlist. It’s the song you’ll play when walking to or back from class on those fall days when you want to feel something. The old-microphone vocals, joined by the teenage-band-sounding drums and guitar, will give you a taste of “late nights and young romance,” as the artist’s Spotify profile reads.
In fact, all of I Barely Know Her—sombr’s second studio album, released three weeks ago—feels built for a college fall semester, the kind you’d hear on a 2000s show soundtrack.
“K.” – Cigarettes After Sex
When it comes to a mellow fall, Cigarettes After Sex takes the lead. The heaven-sounding, soft-rock 40-second-long instrumental opening has an instant calming effect on the mind. The echoey whispering vocals, paired with a dimly-lit room, vanilla-oud candle, and tea in hand, make for the ideal night in.
“I remember when I first noticed that you liked me back / We were sitting down in the restaurant waiting for the check,” sings Greg Gonzalez, the lead vocalist.
“K.” is melancholically romantic, so if you’re not into the whole sappy love song soundtracks, this one’s for you. Real and raw, Cigarettes After Sex writes about love like no other.
Trust me on this one: speakers on full volume. Sad? Perhaps. Fantastic for fall? Absolutely.
Milo
“Rockin’ Chair” – The Band
I don’t think it would be controversial to say that almost everything by The Band would be appropriate for fall—this is certainly the case for their most prominent album, the eponymous The Band. Their live performance of “Rockin’ Chair” is no different.
The song opens with the subtle trill of a harmonica and is slow and soothing throughout. It’s a warming ode about friendship and returning home, as many of us will be during either October or Thanksgiving break this semester. Richard Manuel and Levon Helm sing:
“Oh, to be home again / Down in old Virginny / With my very best friend / They call him Ragtime Willie.”
So add it to your playlist now, and then play it on the train, plane, or in your car as you head back home, the leaves falling languidly all around you.
“Sally Cinnamon” – The Stone Roses
The coming of fall also means the return of cinnamon-and-pumpkin-spice mania at coffee shops and bakeries around the country. While cinnamon can feel like a sickly sweet commercial nightmare around this time of year, this late ’80s tune from The Stone Roses imparts a more positive interpretation of the spice—devoid of any mercantile nausea.
The Manchester band sings endearingly of a lover, Sally Cinnamon, who is made of “Sugar and spice / And all things nice.” While fall is often considered a mellow time, the upbeat tempo and iconic guitar riffs invoke the underappreciated energy and vibrance of the season.
“All Things Must Pass” – George Harrison
The titular song from George Harrison’s first solo album is an evident choice for a season marked by change. Whether you’re watching the colors of the trees transition or seeing them wither away entirely as winter begins, it remains undeniable that all things must pass.
Harrison describes both the reassuring and unnerving aspects of this truth in tandem. Listeners must confront the juxtaposition of “It’s not always gonna be this grey,” with “Sunset doesn’t last all evening.” In Boston College translation, midterms won’t last forever, but neither will football season. Regardless of how you choose to view the paradox, it remains absolutely fitting for the fall.