Every Fall I make a mix CD for my friends and family. Usually, it consists of songs with a melancholy wistfulness. So far this years' mix is going to Feature Karen Dalton, Built To Spill, and Loudon Wainwright III. That's all I have so far. I think I also tend to gravitate towards the darker sounds. (It took me forever to crawl out of the Radiohead cave.) I always look forward to the rain, so I don't feel guilty about listening to all this moody music. That's why Fall is my favorite season. Good post!

Sent by Melvillain | 11:03 AM ET | 10-01-2008

Some good fall/winter bands:

The Acorn
Fleet Foxes
Grizzly Bear
Deerhunter
A Hawk and a Hacksaw
Beirut
Great Lake Swimmers
Sufjan
Atlas Sound
Joanna Newsom

Sent by Bryan | 11:15 AM ET | 10-01-2008

Nick Drake, M Ward, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis.

Sent by Amy | 11:44 AM ET | 10-01-2008

My friends and I recently had a discussion about the appropriate season for Tom Petty's Wildflowers. I always think of it as a spring album, mostly because I listened to it most and saw him tour behind it in the spring of 1995 when I was finishing up high school. The title track has an airy, spring feel to it.

But they point out that, for Petty, the tone of the music and many of the lyrics--like "Time to Move On"--feel like a transition from Petty's earlier rockin' summer music to something that is both more laid back and tenuous.

I'm one who thinks that much music essentially belongs to a season, but a listener may forever brand an album based on the time that you first hear it and play it repeatedly.

Sent by JWZ | 12:21 PM ET | 10-01-2008

David Bromberg has the brightness backed with melancholy that mark fall for me. Morphine works too. Man I love October!

Sent by Zebbart | 12:35 PM ET | 10-01-2008

-Early Clientele, especially "suburban light" and "Violet hour"
-Nick Drake
-Go-betweens:16 lovers lane
-Pet Shop Boys: "behaviour"
-Fleet Foxes
-Bon Iver
-Marty Wilson Piper: Hanging out in heaven
Red Garland
Boards of Canada
Galaxy 500
Simon & garfunkel
Badly Drawn Boy: Hour of the bewilderbeest

Sent by Omar Choudhury | 1:16 PM ET | 10-01-2008

I have to agree with A Ghost is Born for the winter months. That's definitely a good album for when the sun sets at 4:30 and it's 20-below outside. I'm fond of the Silver Jews' Tanglewood Numbers and the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot demos for fall.

Sent by ljc | 1:34 PM ET | 10-01-2008

gotta say I'm diggin Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago", Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut, and TV On The Radio's "Dear Science" as far as fall/winter albums go.

:)

Sent by hmd1987 | 2:58 PM ET | 10-01-2008

for downbeat, lately for me it's been iron & wine, some acoustic neil young bootlegs from the '70s i just got [the bernstein tapes is one], beirut [though beirut i feel like is realy neither up- or downbeat], and bon iver.

for upbeat, it's been the new my morning jacket record, death cab for cutie, built to spill, and, of course, 'the woods' by sleater- kinney.

the perfect fall record ever? for me, 'into the wild' by eddie vedder, 'automatic' by r.e.m., and, again, 'the woods' by sleater- kinney.

the best winter? 'grace' by jeff buckley, 'yankee hotel foxtrot' by wilco, 'in the aeroplane over the sea' by neutral milk hotel, 'nebraska' by bruce springsteen, and 'boxer' by the national all spring to mind.

sorry, that's a lot.

~lee.

Sent by lee henderson | 3:23 PM ET | 10-01-2008

it's interesting ~ i've never really considered music by season - though always by mood. i'll listen to the ramones whenever i want to feel good. it's impossible to be unhappy while listening to the ramones (just my opinion). since i've left seattle - my mood is less influenced by season. a beautiful, clear, freezing cold, sunny bright day in the winter here on the east coast is just as likely to inspire some upbeat music as a hot and humid unbearably sunny summer day is likely to inspire something more morose. thanks for the thought provoking post, i'll have to ponder it more and see if i can determine any rhyme or reason with regard to season and my music listening habits.

Sent by xina | 3:28 PM ET | 10-01-2008

The Weakerthans are probably at the top of my list on Fall bands. The National's "Aligator" is very Fallish/Winterish as well for as well.

I prefer to listen to "Blacklisted" during Spring mainly just because the first two tracks are so upbeat and get me in the feel.

Sent by Oli Baba | 3:42 PM ET | 10-01-2008

Just discovered the best fall song ever - Arlo Guthrie's "I'm Going Home" (off of "Alice's Restaurant"). I regret not putting it on my early-fall mix that I sent to my friends (including commenter JWZ).

Sent by dunford | 4:04 PM ET | 10-01-2008

You said it: Blacklisted.

Nina Nastasia's albums The Blackened Air and On Leaving are excellent autumnal gloaming slow-burners.

After taking one of those Myers Briggs tests and being labeled INTP, I read that INTPs *match* music to season and weather and time of day, where other (clearly inferior) people use music to set the mood.

Sent by Brendan | 4:18 PM ET | 10-01-2008

I have good memories of driving late on a freezing night to "Seven Swans."

Anything by Brightblack Morning Light will conjure images of an autumn sunset in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Sent by Nick L. | 5:12 PM ET | 10-01-2008

Imogen Heap is my color this fall.
A mix tape of songs from The Hollies, The Grass Roots, and Tommy James is never far away.

Sent by Brent Kelly | 5:15 PM ET | 10-01-2008

I specifically remember walking the streets of Corvallis one rainy late fall night with Viva Last Blues by Palace on my headphones, and it was spookily perfect. John Fahey music is also good this time of year.

Sent by DK | 5:38 PM ET | 10-01-2008

Eric's Trip
Blonde Redhead
The Swirlies
Sunny Day Real Estate
and maybe Thom Yorke's solo album

Sent by ryan | 6:56 PM ET | 10-01-2008

It's 101 degrees in Los Angeles on October 1. I have no idea what to listen to.

Sent by erik | 7:29 PM ET | 10-01-2008

"After The Gold Rush" in fall
"Live at Massey Hall" in winter

All Uncle Tupelo records are good for the fall. "March 16-20 1992" could work for winter as well.

Some other fall records:
"Nebraska" Bruce Springsteen
"Fakebook" and "I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One" Yo La Tengo

Some other winter records:
"Let It Be" The Replacments (maybe fall too)
"The Velvet Underground" The Velvet Underground
"The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" Bob Dylan (another fall/winter straddler)

Sent by Joey | 7:43 PM ET | 10-01-2008

I really like fall. The temperature is just right, and up north you have this odd paradox of bold colors foreshadowing death or at least deep sleep of much in nature. Leaves going out in a blaze of glory as it were.

Eels "Blinking Lights and Other Revalations" and "Souljacker" are more frequently in rotation.

Calexico's "Feast of Wire" and I think "Carried to Dust" will also play a lot.

Billy Bragg's "Life's a Riot with Spy vs. Spy" is a fall album for me. A whole album with just an electric guitar gives it a solitary feel that I can appreciate this time of year.

The La's are a good transition from summer to fall and as we get closer to winter, Morphine cds will infiltrate the coveted seat next to me in my car.

Sent by Mac | 7:58 PM ET | 10-01-2008

Neko Case, particularly Blacklisted for October.

The Weakerthans' early albums for November.

Nico for December, when the snow is still a novelty and pretty.

The Shins' Oh, Inverted World for post-holiday blizzard walking.

And the only cure for January in Montreal is Funky Kingston by Toots and the Maytals- nothing else will do.

Sent by Doubledutchess | 8:11 PM ET | 10-01-2008

Shostakovich, yo

Sent by joe | 8:48 PM ET | 10-01-2008

Quarterflash a band for all Portland seasons.

Hip-hop is seasonally versatile.

Sent by jack | 10:49 PM ET | 10-01-2008

Bob Dylan's "Time Out of Mind"

Sent by Jeff | 12:18 AM ET | 10-02-2008

my ultimate autumnal soundtrack is elliott smith. every year i look forward to walking around with headphones and hot apple cider, kicking leaves and listening to elliott. even figure 8. it's beautiful.

Sent by allison | 1:40 AM ET | 10-02-2008

Where I live in England the grey skies and rain at this time of year always make me want to listen to some Screaming Trees.

Sent by Jon | 3:35 AM ET | 10-02-2008

Amen to that. Umm Camera Obscura... and for some reason Mars Volta's first 2 albums// its good for Halloween lol

Sent by Marissa D. | 3:51 AM ET | 10-02-2008

My iPod instructed me to play Elliot Smith for the first time in months and months. It just doesn't feel like Panda Bear weather anymore.

Sent by Eric in Alaska | 5:26 AM ET | 10-02-2008

I can't stop listening to Fleetwood Mac, Tusk and in the summer it was Rumors... Frightened Rabbit, The National and the new Walkmen record are all complimenting the lingering fall quite nicely.

For winter I can't think of a better record then The Knife, Silent Shout.

Sent by KM | 8:58 AM ET | 10-02-2008

Joni Mitchell's "Blue" has been my most reliable October album since I fell in love with it in college in 1991 and wondered how it was that I hadn't been singing along to "All I Want" my whole life.

Like many of the other commenters, I tend to gravitate toward folkier, mellower, acoustic-based music when the weather begins to get crisp: pretty much anything by the Avett Brothers, Richard Buckner's "Bloomed", Damien Jurado's "And Now That I'm in Your Shadow," Jeffrey Foucault's "Ghost Repeater," and the like.

In the dead of winter, I often need some serious bursts of funk and soul to brush off the accumulated melancholy.

In the early spring, it's often again Joni; whose "Court and Spark" captures that transition into more light. Late spring is infectious bubblegum pop - the promise and hope of a new season, like the hopes and highs of adolescence.

Summer is Bill Monroe, Joe Cuba, the most uptempo Lucero, and The Staple Singers, as loud as possible.

Sent by Kelley | 9:21 AM ET | 10-02-2008

I could not agree with this post more. Even though winter is downright brutal in both Omaha and Boston, that has never stopped me from always looking forward to the death of each year. The best (and by best I mean most thoughtful and deep) movies tend to come out at this time, I begin reading more, school is in session for a lot of people, and the clothes become heavier and somehow more interesting.

To accompany this change, I usually do my best to find some deep, dark, beautiful music to get immersed in as the weather grows colder. In the past few years, these months have brought me Rufus Wainwright, TV on the Radio, The Magnetic Fields, Elliott Smith, The Shins, and new Radiohead albums.

So, I was wondering...does anyone have any personal suggestions? Anything from new releases to older stuff is just fine.
Note: Some of these, such as M. Ward (I've been meaning to pick up "Post-War" ever since I saw She and Him) and Neko Case are already on my list and won't need suggesting.

Sent by Ryan | 9:25 AM ET | 10-02-2008

I pull out the trip-hop during the cold darker months.
Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky, and more.

Sent by CBlair | 11:07 AM ET | 10-02-2008

One of my favorite topics!

Grim Reapers & Haunted Melancholy: Music of Autumn
http://www.fastnbulbous.com/autumn.htm

Sent by Fastnbulbous | 12:07 PM ET | 10-02-2008

Somehow autumn suits Tom Waits' "Bone Machine" for me. I think it's some odd Pavlovian thing from listening to it a lot on my Walkman in the autumn of 1993 on my long commute to work in the London suburbs while the air turned crisp and the conkers fell. As soon as I feel that nip in the air I need to hear percussion that sounds like bones being knocked together.

Sent by Julia | 1:27 PM ET | 10-02-2008

bjork vespertine

Sent by anon | 1:35 PM ET | 10-02-2008

When it starts to become cold and desolate nothing beats Joy Division.

Sent by Peter | 2:17 PM ET | 10-02-2008

Good call on Shostakovich.

Quick browse through library yields:
Beck - "Sea Change"
Elbow
Grandaddy
Gutter Twins
Heartless Bastards
Interpol
Jesse Sykes
The Like
Mark Lanegan
Matt Pond PA
My Bloody Valentine
Raveonettes
Secret Machines
Silversun Pickups
Smiths
Tears for Fears
Walkmen

Sent by Brian A. | 2:57 PM ET | 10-02-2008

Here is my current fall gloom and doom playlist:

The Grouch - Artsy
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Here After - Birds Over Water
Fugazi - Long Division
Jubilee's Rebel - Fuzz Are Down
Doves - M62 Song
BORIS - Smile
Lisa Germano - From a Shell
Spiritualized - Sway

Sent by guadalupe | 5:20 PM ET | 10-02-2008

Um, Arab Strap has a song called "Autumnal" on the Elephant Shoe album. They were made for grey skies.

Sent by mlb | 10:10 PM ET | 10-02-2008

i love a lot of songs, but i'd say about 90% of them would be classified as winter songs. sadly, i live in texas so i only get to experience these songs/bands in their natural environment for a few days a year.

sleater-kinney - "slow song"
amiina
grizzly bear
califone - "bottles & bones"
takka takka - "lion in the waves"
t. rex - "cosmic dancer"
what made milwaukee famous - "hopelist"
margot and the nuclear so and so's - "a light on a hill"
new order - "ceremony"
bon iver
elliott smith

and, only because i've been watching a lot of skins (uk tv show) lately, "wild world" by cat stevens

Sent by Lauren | 11:17 PM ET | 10-02-2008

I started summer with the Faint and ended it with Port O'Brien. I can't go back...must move forward.

Sent by Gene | 12:37 AM ET | 10-03-2008

mount eerie
elliot smith
modest mouse (this is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about & sad sappy sucker)
beirut
notwist
john maus
built to spill
high places, grouper, and stereolab (all coming to portland quite soon... hooray)

if i'm in desperate need of an exciting sing along, the new pornographers always work. the reoccurring dog metaphors from the weakerthans prove to be good sing alongs to combat grey doom, as well.

Sent by a.e.h. | 2:01 AM ET | 10-03-2008

the ONE song that epidomizes fall to me, more than anything else in the universe...

sigur ros - Svefn-g-Englar

almost without fail, sigur ros albums get played on repeat for me once fall comes around.

Sent by Renae | 8:59 AM ET | 10-03-2008

laura gibson is great...and local.

Sent by paulb | 10:31 AM ET | 10-03-2008

i just finished my winter mix:
rain check: sleeping states

staying in: ray rumours and the no eyed deer

all my rowdy friends have settled down: elliot smith

sidewalk girls: the lisps

a song by daniel johnston

peg: saturday looks good to me

the weight of lies: the avett brothers

neon lights: hakan jorming

starry stairs: okkervil river

djuna!: frida hyvonen

Your light is spent: final fantasy

september, maybe: sleeping states

on parade: electralane

kapser my computer friend: rough bunnies

one half laughing: the aislers set

theme song: happy supply

what a mess: yoko ono

the small things: dirty mittens

silly dream: first floor power

how many: tender forever

si me das a eligir: ray rumours and the no eyed deer.

Sent by jonny | 12:55 PM ET | 10-03-2008

The new Walkmen Album "You & Me" has been perfect for the chilly mornings in Cincinnati this past week.

Sent by Kate | 1:29 PM ET | 10-03-2008

changing leaves, a walk with headphones, and K.C. Accidental... warm, instrumental autumn moods that hold strong against chilly breezes.

Sent by paul halupka | 1:39 PM ET | 10-03-2008

For late fall/winter, Flying Saucer Attack goes especially well with cold crisp air.

Sent by ksh | 3:26 PM ET | 10-03-2008

I think part of what affects my mood generally and my listening specifically is where I'm living and the climate of that place. I've moved a lot over the years between the East and West Coasts, and the window for summer music is definitely different there (in the Northeast) than it is here (in Northern California). And I do think that affects not only what I listen to in each place, but also what's produced there... there's a harder edge in music that's made where you're straggling through six inches of snow, often with an instrument, to get to the studio, not to mention that you have to actually live in those conditions generally. I'm sure someone will eventually do a rather unnecessary thesis or dissertation (in the larger scheme of things)that will explain how that differentiates the character of the output of, say, Galaxie 500 or Mission of Burma - that entire attitude and sense of place that are, well, everything to music - from that of Pavement or Primus. But there'll be a real germ of truth in the whole project.

What I like to hear in fall/winter? Well, you get the usual suspects - what seems bleak and holds hope, like Fairport Convention or early Emmylou Harris - and, I think, anything that essentially reflects the struggle to survive and move on, that tells us that bleakness doesn't have to last. I know that the things I don't listen to as often in the summer months as I do in the colder ones are simply more playful, and seem more trivial, less suited to seasons that require big coats and an even bigger will to just get through until you get that next seemingly "endless summer."

And I want to add that there is nothing thematic, necessarily, about my choices... Love's "Forever Changes," which is to me the eternal album of summer, is also filled with danger and despair. It's a matter of sound - of how brassy your instruments sound and how chatty or restrained they seem to be; bitching (as in the best punk) strikes me as a quality of winter; gentle complacence is for me a summer place.

Thanks for yet another thought-provoking post. :)

Sent by Darren Shupe | 7:34 PM ET | 10-03-2008

My fall/winter mix:

Velvet Underground- Loaded
Tom Waits- Alice
Joanna Newsom-Milk Eyed Mender
Radiohead-Any album post 2000
The Smiths/Morrissey-Any Album
Sonic Youth-Washing Machine

Sent by Chase Martin | 7:56 PM ET | 10-03-2008

a friend always said that fall was when she'd listen to toad the wet sprocket. she wouldn't put them on during any other season at all.

Sent by Drew | 8:45 AM ET | 10-04-2008

I love the way the seasons appear in Matt Pond PA songs. Little taoist poems wrapped in perfect pop songs.

Sent by Vortex | 1:08 PM ET | 10-05-2008

celebration's "the modern tribe" has been my main album to transition from summer to fall. i had to brush the dust off of smashing pumpkins' "gish" for the final days of summer because it sounded -so- good.

Sent by riley | 5:16 PM ET | 10-05-2008

Classic period Guided By Voices always goes with the autumn quickening, the buzzing sound of psych-pop open field rushing. Alien Lanes, Bee Thousand.

Sent by schlep | 6:33 PM ET | 10-05-2008

Driving home on the beltway, winter sunset in d.c.: the Flaming Lips- Soft Bulletin. Best of all time.

Sent by maddie | 12:59 PM ET | 10-06-2008

I just want to add that October is Unwound month at my house.

Sent by guadalupe | 4:45 PM ET | 10-06-2008