Friday, September 28, 2007

iPod Autumn

Ear buds are our new best friend. Everywhere I turn I see them, especially at the park. No one seems to go anywhere without them, iPods strapped to arms or tucked into waistbands and one woman I saw jogging actually fastened her mp3 player to her Yellow Lab.

I don't take my iPod with me on walks. Not when I can listen to the loons and mourning doves and the crickets. I can't make any promises about what I'll do this winter, but for now I'm content to listen to the familiar plodding steps of my boy ahead of me.

But what are these people listening to? I imagine most of the runners have got some upbeat music playing that matches or drives their pace, which makes sense because our music tends to match our moods. I'm in an Autumn frame of mind currently and so I made myself an Autumn playlist. It hasn't made it on our walks, but it gets a lot of play at work.

If you're interested, here's a list of songs and artists that are either about Autumn or have an Autumn feel. I'd also be interested to hear your suggestions. Feel free to click the comment button and let me know what songs or pieces sound like Autumn to you.

"Boys of Summer" (Don Henley)
"Vineyard" (Jackopierce)
"Wake Me Up When September Ends" (Green Day--yes it's a cliche and way overplayed, but I can't help like it)
"California Dreamin'" (The Mamas and the Papas)
"Autumn Tactics" (Chicane)
"Wild is the Wind" (Nina Simone)
"Autumn Leaves" (Paula Cole– This one has been covered a million times, and the Chet Baker version is amazing as well, but Paula Cole's is I chose for this playlist)
"No Regrets" (Tom Rush)
"The Late September Dogs" (Melissa Etheridge)
"Blood and Fire" (Indigo Girls)
"Quiet" (Paul Simon– This one reminds me of the October afternoon of my grandfather's funeral, when I went to park named after him and listened to this over and over)
"Living in Twilight" (The Weepies)
"When October Goes" (Barry Manilow)
"I'll Be Seeing You" (Carmen McRae–again, it's been covered by everyone, but I think Carmen's version is one of the most poignant I've ever heard!)

1 comment:

Kelly Medina said...

I am listening to Arcadia while I catch up on blogs this morning. When I read yours - the song Missing was playing - I was thinking THIS (So Red the Rose) album really reminds me of Autumn. But I wasn't sure if it was just the melancholy music that did it or maybe it was actually released in Autumn, so quick google search, yep released in November 1985. In my reading I found something that made me laugh: One famous review described So Red the Rose as "the most pretentious album ever made", while All Music Guide called it "the best album Duran Duran never made". But I think it is both, the melancholy and that I was probably playing the cassette over and over in 1985 - it is burned in me!

I love it and believe I will be listening to it a bit more for the coming months.

(sorry for any typos - this comment window is sooo small you can't do a great job proofing a long comment.)