The Lolita Hazed Seasonal Playlist: Fall 2009

There is absolutely nothing like fall. The air gets crisper, the sleeves get longer, and it's so much easier to find excuses to cuddle. You'll also notice your playlist getting a little more serious, and Fleetwood Mac suddenly seems so much more fitting than The Fresh Prince. It's about to get colder, so dump out the Arnold Palmer (NO! Just hand it over, that way you won't waste any), start up the teapot, and put these songs on while you ease your way into a comfy season.

1. Clem Snide "Don't Be Afraid of Your Anger"

This song is breakfast with your best friend on a bright morning, where the freshly risen sun looks so much closer to the ground that it throws you off, if only for a second.

2. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals "Let it Ride"

As a native Oklahoman, I'm no stranger to vast country roads, and this is the kind of song I like to listen to during a road trip when we've all been in the car for a little too long, the day beginning its inch toward darkness.

3. The xx "Crystalised"

The xx's new album is absolutely perfect for fall (and worth your money), even if you'll probably make yourself a little depressed listening to it. Their stunning first single says so much with the simplest uses of sound, expertly used in all the right spots to punctuate the kind of longing that speech alone could never communicate.

4. Death in Vegas "Scorpio Rising"

I love Death in Vegas-- I used to consider this song my anthem, and no matter what you think of Liam Gallagher (okay, his voice is pretty cacophonous), this is sweeping, epic, the surefire start of something significant. I always feel the need to really belt it out when this comes on--which makes me feel good about myself, because I'm a way better singer than Liam Gallagher.

5. The Rapture "Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks"

This season marks my first semester in college, and I always kind of hoped that it would somewhat resemble the crazy party where this plays in The Rules of Attraction. Obviously, real college is nothing like Bret Easton Ellis's version of college, yet after a month, I'm a little frustrated (but not at all surprised) that there have still been no crazy Burning Man parties... that anyone has told me about. I am so not cool anymore.

6. The Duke Spirit "Cuts Across the Land"

Something about psychedelic guitars, like in this song's refrain, just totally bring fall to mind for me.

7. Architecture in Helsinki "Heart It Races"

There's never been anything to do in this damn town, so when I was in junior year of high school, my friends and I would search everyone for somewhere we could dance. Of course we'd never find anywhere, but the car worked just as fine. This was played during one of the better examples, all of us going crazy in our seats to the music whose gorgeous ambience demanded we roll the windows down.

8. Air "Dirty Trip"

I was obsessed with Air's score for The Virgin Suicides when I was in eighth grade. This was all I'd listen to on overcast mornings, which would really set the tone for the rest of the day. No wonder I was so sad all the time!

9. Soft "Higher"

Two years ago, I fell into an incredibly passionate relationship with a girl who quickly became one of my closest friends. We connected so deeply that we filled one another's falls with our presence, driving around town, laying on blankets in the park with pumpkin chai ("chumpkin"). It was a really happy time, and I see her face behind the driver's wheel every time I hear this song.

10. The Cure "In Between Days"

Something about this song just reminds me of fall-- riding the bus to school, stopping at your locker before class, re-arranging your route so you have a better chance of bumping into the boy you like. Though torture it was, John Hughes-y music like this just makes it feel all the better in retrospect.

11. Death in Vegas "All That Glitters"

I love Death in Vegas, and their softer stuff like this is fantastic for the colder half of the year. Something about this song makes me feel like I'm about to go to the movies, and maybe get a cup of coffee afterward.

12. The Marshall Tucker Band "Can't You See"

This such a famously sad song, yet I really can't listen to this without smiling at least a little. It reminds me of a cozy night, hot tubbing with my best friends in the world and marveling at how alright it felt to stand half-naked in cold weather. Oh, and pantomimed homoerotica. Long story.

13. Windsor for the Derby "The Melody of a Fallen Tree"

The Marie Antoinette soundtrack is a fall staple for me, and this song is so calm and upbeat that it's become a longtime favorite of mine for fall drives.

14. My Bloody Valentine "Never Say Goodbye"

There's something about shoegaze that's just downright equinoctial, its hollow soundscapes the perfect compliment to falling leaves and the ironically gloomy vibrance the trees take on as a result of it. Something about the motion of songs like these just make everything around you seem a little more poignant.

Enjoy the tunes and pour yourself some hot cider!

Y Lolita Hazed