I never get the aux at parties, because apparently Dolly Parton isn’t kickback music, but now you are all going to listen as I finally showcase my taste in music. It’s a long running joke with every friend I’ve made since middle school, and some family members, that my music taste in quite eclectic and unorthodox.
The songs on this list I feel demonstrate that description very well and I encourage you to look up the songs you don’t know instead of scrolling past them. When choosing what songs should be on here, I kept in mind: blatant autumnal themes, spookiness of lyrics or music, and the sheer amount of times I had the song on repeat during other fall seasons.
I feel it’s important to mention that I compiled and wrote about this list in Uncommon Grounds on a chilly Monday night in the middle of October. I poured over my music library while devouring a plain bagel toasted with butter and wound up creating a list I’m quite proud of.
Bad Moon Rising by Credence Clearwater Revival
Spooky SeasonTM. Need I say more? In case I do, John Fogarty wrote this song in anticipation of an inevitable apocalypse AND every Halloween of my life, the sky has been clear and the moon very visible like the lyrics say. Needless to say, this song spooks me, but is also my number one fall song.
Time Warp
“It’s astounding, time is fleeting, madness takes its toll.” Iconic. Every aspect of Rocky Horror is, but none so much as this number. With built-in dance instructions, the music makes me want to get up and groove, even if the lyrics are a giant question mark of quirkiness.
Full Moon by The Black Ghosts
I know what you’re thinking, “Maddie, isn’t this the song that plays when Bella leaves Phoenix to move in with her dad in Forks, Washington in the iconic movie Twilight?” And yes, it is. I don’t know whether this song makes me feel fall vibes because every scene in that movies is rainy or because vampire and werewolves are classic Halloween costume choices. Either way this song will always earn its spot as number three on this playlist.when the party’s over by Billie Eilish
One of the quieter choices on the list, this song first came to mind because of the whispering and echoes that Billie does throughout. I can’t think of another word to describe it other than haunting. Listening to this song at 11 p.m. on the walk from the Lib to Kimball is a truly memorable experience and has me crying and wishing I had someone to call when the party (on the quiet floor) is over.
Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton
If you know me, you know Dolly Parton is my queen and I love her more than life. Regardless of the theme of any playlist I make, she is on there with at least one (more like five) songs. My friend Shayna made me promise to limit it to one Dolly song for this playlist so we don’t loose friends. Anyways, this song made the list because she sings about a fall in her childhood when she didn’t have a coat and her mom made her one out of rags because they were so poor. She was so proud of the coat and wore it to school and all the kids made fun of her and…cue my sobbing, as per usual.
Between the Bars by Elliott Smith
Okay, I first heard this song in a scene in the movie “Stuck in Love.” Two characters are sitting in a car when this plays on the radio and it’s pouring rain around them and they fall in love. Cute? Yes. Is that the reason I listen to this song an obscene amount of times in the fall? No. Nothing lives out my childhood fantasies of being in a music video like listening to this and staring out a window, watching the leaves fall and people walk by in the cold.
Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac
I can think of three Fleetwood Mac songs that would make this list because they all give me the chills, but Rhiannon simply hits different. First of all, the music at the very beginning makes me think of someone walking down the street on Halloween night while fog rolls in around them. Again, Spooky SeasonTM. I don’t know why, but to me, Rhiannon is a super cool witch and she’s just my mysterious idol. I love it.
Emmylou by First Aid Kit
This song starts off with, “The bitter winds are coming in and I’m already missing the summer.” If that’s not the fall mood, I don’t know what is. Don’t get me wrong, I love fall. Yes, this is my first true fall, but I’m a fan. However, First Aid Kit points out that since fall is cold, having someone to love/who loves you indeed makes it warmer and better.
California Dreamin by Freischwimmer
I honestly don’t think this song would make it on anyone else’s fall playlist because it’s the type of song that would play over a club dance sequence in a movie. So let me explain: I’m from LA and experiencing my first semester away from home. This song is all about the weather getting colder and dreaming about being in California which is me every time it rains. Not to mention, it’s super upbeat and might help combat seasonal depression.
The House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
The lyrics alone would get this song on this list. New Orleans, a warning about a house that ruins people, a ball and chain, and “sin and misery”? Everything you need to get the chills from a story. What’s better to back up this mysterious lyrical journey than a banger of an organ solo in the middle? When I finish listening to this song, I fully expect to be sitting in a haunted house.
Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day
Billie Joe’s purpose of this song was not for it become the anthem of a season, but it did. This song starts off soft and slow and never fails to surprise me when the rest of the band joins in midway through. Only Green Day can have me switch between tearing up and head banging and not be mad about it.
The Night We Met
I will concede that the reason this makes me think of the fall is because I played it on repeat from September to December of last year. Ever part of this song pulls at my heart strings and makes me want to curl up in a blanket and cry. But, like, in a good way? Fall is a good time for reflecting on the year, and this song is good at making you reflect on love lost — which is always a good idea and never bad a rabbit hole to go down.