Even if all of our leaves are not exactly brown, we have, in fact, entered fall, with this past Saturday marking the autumn equinox. In South Florida, with the record-setting summer heat bleeding into fall, we’re not exactly pulling out the rakes and attending pumpkin patches just yet; we’ll settle for indulging in the occasional pumpkin beer and, perhaps, some mood music to conjure this phantom season.
To that end, I’ve trawled my voluminous music library for a few favorites to set an autumnal vibe. Some of these selections are obvious: It doesn’t get more literal than Yo La Tengo’s “Autumn Sweater” and the Kinks’ “Autumn Almanac.” Others evoke harvests in all of their bounty, and still others suggests a spirit of renewal and rejuvenation, which I believe autumn brings after the dog days of summer. Still others are completely subjective; when I think of fall, I think of a time for folksy, rustic, bucolic music ideally suited for porch swings and creaky floorboards. So that’s the mood that ultimately dominates.
And because no fall mix is complete without “Autumn Leaves,” I selected this wordless hard bop rendition from master saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, recording with Miles Davis, Hank Jones, Sam Jones and Art Blakey on his masterful 1958 set Somethin’ Else.
You can find a Spotify link at the bottom of this blog.
Simon & Garfunkel, “Scarborough Fair/Canticle”
Papa M, “Roses in the Snow”
Fleet Foxes, “Helplessness Blues”
Bill Callahan, “Writing”
Silver Jews, “Room Games and Diamond Rain”
Neil Young, “Harvest Moon”
The Mamas & the Papas, “California’ Dreamin’”
Big Thief, “Certainty”
The Mountain Goats, “Mobile”
Yo La Tengo, “Autumn Sweater”
Nick Drake, “River Man”
The Beatles, “Norwegian Wood”
Cannonball Adderley, “Autumn Leaves”
The Kinks, “Autumn Almanac”
Leonard Cohen, “Nightingale”
The Clientele, “Harvest Time”
Lambchop, “Autumn’s Vicar”
Laura Cantrell, “Mountain Fern”
Anais Mitchell, “Shepherd”
Iron & Wine, “Passing Afternoon”
Palace Music, “Ohio River Boat Song”
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