Autumn 2021 | Season’s Wrap Up.
As the season change it is time once again to do the quarterly music wrap up this time for Autumn 2021. Of course I travelled back to Florida during the middle of this, and the season felt rather messy. It was almost winter flying out of Stockholm, but definitely summer when I landed. So there was a bit of bouncing around with the seasonal playlists.
I was really looking forward to autumn this year. Summer wasn’t bad, but simply not what I expected. Where I live in Sweden we really get the vibrant hues of autumn in all its glory for about two weeks; then the winds whisk the leaves away so quickly, they are but a faint memory until next year. All we have left are the long shadows from the bare branches cast from the waning light of a low hanging sun.
When I started adding songs on this playlist during the summer a lovely pattern emerged: the album covers were all in black and white. It was rather apropos considering the name I had decided on for the playlist: Songs in shadows.
It started off probably my favorite artist: Dermot Kennedy. His song The Corner set the tone for autumn. The song is the perfect description of recognizing how important the people around you are when bad things happen; and no matter how much you wish things wouldn’t occur, winter will come regardless. It was such an impactful song for me this past season. This theme was reflected in songs like The Lakes, Darling, War of Hearts, Vienna, Autumn’s Song, and Broken Together just to name a few. While listening back to this playlist there is a hint of forlorn melancholic undertones in most of the songs this season. Not all that surprising all things considered.
A playful upbeat tone was woven throughout this playlist, reminding me of hope, joy, and laughter that the fall brings in all its wonder. Molly Kate Kestner’s song My Way Up highlights this beautifully. Roo Panes, Cattle & Cane, and Tom Walker had songs that played with this as well. Oh and of course Ryan Mcmullan. And Allison Russell. Oh definitely Kip Moore too! Okay I’ll stop.
Frankly, some songs on here are completely random, added because they were great and I simply wanted like listening to them (ahem, Wildest Dreams Taylor’s Version). I was able to discover several new artists! Maddie Medley and JOKIA were two that really stood out to me, and I look forward to hearing more from them in the future.
There was a return to an artist I haven’t listen to for years: Paolo Nutini. Funny story about this artist. I was hanging out with my ex and he was playing Bon Iver’s song 33 “GOD” when I heard a bit of Nutini’s Iron Sky in the background. After a bit of back and forth with my ex, and queuing the song up for him to hear he agreed. Anyway, back to Nutini, brilliant voice, fantastic music, and I need to listen to him way more.
This playlist did run long, and there are countless other fantastic artist I haven’t covered. Click on the picture and give it a listen, and let me know what you think of the convoluted mess that was the soundtrack to my autumn of 2021.
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