10 Alternative Rock Hits to Get Into The Autumn Mood
All the leaves are (almost) brown and the sky is (often) grey. That’s right! It's autumn once more! The weather has transformed into the typical Irish moodiness. People stock up on pumpkin spice candles, coffees and soaps. Soups are on the menus, and somehow the Christmas selection boxes have mysteriously appeared on store shelves. Yeah… It’s definitely autumn… for all the wrong reasons. If you’re like me, sick and tired of it all before we even hit October, you’re in luck! I have just the cure for you: a finely curated playlist of alternative tracks to help you settle into the new season! 10 songs from the ‘70s all the way to the 2010s. If you like Slowdive, The Eagles or R.E.M., you’re going to have a tremendous time!
10. Ventura Highway - America
My first choice is a track which, for me, encapsulates the feeling of autumn. Ventura Highway is an incredible '70s rock hit, for all the right reasons. There’s something about the lyricism and harmonising guitars which just carries this song. It’s poetic in the way it creates such a beautiful and vibrant image in your mind. A lot of rock music from this time wears its country and bluesy personality on its sleeve. I placed it on this autumnal-themed playlist because to me, this song feels like watching a vibrant sunset in the middle of the autumn season. The coldness in the air has seeped in, and the trees have turned magnificent shades of fiery hues. There’s a bitter sweetness in the lyrics, which I feel is often associated with the change from summer into autumn.
9. So Central Rain – R.E.M.
This next pick is from one of my favourite albums and one of my favourite bands. All the way from Athens, Georgia: R.E.M.! R.E.M. are a very special band to me. I definitely struggled to pick an R.E.M. song that encapsulates autumn, but landed on So Central Rain for a number of reasons. R.E.M.’s early discography from their original record label, IRS, is incredible. While I enjoy all their albums, the IRS ones are particularly special to me. They are excellent pieces of alternative rock and jangle pop. You cannot go wrong with a single album from the band to listen to at any given moment. The best way I could describe it is cosy. If I had to specify one album to get cosy with, it would be their second album, Reckoning, and the track I feel is synonymous with this album is So Central Rain. It is a rather moody track and definitely an excellent one to pick during the upcoming autumnal days.
8. Autumn Soon – The Church
Next, we have a track from an often overlooked yet amazing band, The Church. They are a brilliant Goth band that rarely comes up in conversation. Often, conversations about Gothic bands focus on British bands from the ‘70s and ‘80s. If you think of The Cure and The Smiths, then you know the kind of bands that are talked to death about. The Church never made as big a splash as other Goth bands, which is incredibly unfortunate. Because they are such an unknown yet amazing band, I decided to pick one of their early albums, Seance, which I recommend to any newcomers. If you enjoy listening to Goth music on the more whimsical or dream pop side, there is a lot to like on this record. The easy choice for this playlist was Autumn Soon. It’s an absolutely gorgeous song and is the album closer. It’s a wonderful one to get you into the Halloween mood.
7. Rhinoceros – The Smashing Pumpkins
Another one of my favourite bands is featured on this curated list, The Smashing Pumpkins. The Smashing Pumpkins are one of those perfect bands for this particular season (they even have pumpkins in the title, the quintessential autumnal vegetable!). The Smashing Pumpkins are an alternative rock juggernaut with their music riding the wave between grunge and shoegaze. The band’s earlier music from around the time of Gish and Siamese Dream is definitely more on the shoegaze side, as they drew inspiration from My Bloody Valentine. It has a very noisy sound that is somehow beautiful to listen to. I don’t know about anyone else, but this time of year is when I notice myself getting drawn back into shoegaze. Because of this, there was only one song I could pick, which is Rhinoceros. This, to me, is probably the best showpiece off the album, and there’s just something so moody yet passionate about the track.
6. C’mere – Interpol
Next up, we have Interpol. For me, Interpol are the quintessential alternative rock band from the early 2000s. While I do enjoy The Strokes a lot, I have to pick Interpol if given the choice, as there really is no band quite like them. While they were part of the same music scene as The Strokes, they are a lot darker, moodier and expressive. They fit right in with darkwave and Gothic bands, such as Siouxsie and The Banshees or Joy Division. However, since it is early in the season and not yet Halloween, I picked one of their lighter songs: C’mere, from their second album, Antics. This is not just a really good Interpol song; it is also a fantastic 2000 alternative rock track.
5. Sunday Morning – The Velvet Underground
I don’t think I could have an alternative rock list without featuring The Velvet Underground. It’s impossible to state how much of an impact the band had on modern-day alternative rock. It's fascinating to go back and listen to their music and remember that it was released in the late 1960s, yet we can still hear their influence in any and all rock bands. Many of their songs fit the term “cosy”, as they are a rather lo-fi-sounding band to me. Some of you might find this particular song exaggerated and possibly overplayed, but I have chosen Sunday Morning. There’s just something about it that really fits the bill for the emotions I was going for when making this playlist, and I couldn’t award another song this spot.
4. Going to California – Led Zeppelin
Featured in this slot is one of the more mellow tracks on the list, and that is Going To California, by the British rock legends Led Zeppelin. While Led Zeppelin IV has been spoken to death about, and I do feel slightly silly adding a track from such a well-known and well-discussed album (which felt overplayed even two decades ago), I do really enjoy it. This is probably featured in my favourite albums of the 70s and feels like my guilty pleasure. I picked Going to California as it’s a very mellow and downbeat song from the album. If you want to hear a Led Zeppelin song that will make you reminisce over the summer in the upcoming colder months, definitely pick this track.
3. Fingertips – The Brian Jonestown Massacre
While the last track is from an arguably overrated album and band, this track is from a band I feel is the complete opposite: the psychedelic alternative rock band The Brian Jonestown Massacre. The Brian Jonestown Massacre are an amazing band that I rarely hear discussed, and it’s incredibly disappointing. For a band that played Glastonbury over the summer, they really deserve a lot more attention. For this list, I chose the song Fingertips which was released in 2016 and is absolutely amazing. For a band that has been making incredible music for decades, I have no idea how they still seem to fly under the radar in discussions about alternative rock. This track is quite “shoegazey” and is perfect for the upcoming autumnal season.
2. Take It Easy – The Eagles
Taking the second-to-last spot is a track from the country rock powerhouse, The Eagles. If there were two genres I thought of when making this autumnal rock list, they were shoegaze and country rock. Both genres are perfect at bringing across the ideas and feelings the autumn season brings. Shoegaze for me is a more mellow and almost colder feeling genre, which is great for the colder, more autumnal mornings. Country rock is a warmer genre and reminds me of the sunny autumnal evenings where the sun seems stuck in a sunset. The latter of these genres and the general feelings I get with the season are evident in The Eagles' song Take It Easy. It’s a very feel-good track from a band which have so many great hits. I’m very happy to include this song in the number two spot of this list of tracks.
1. Alison – Slowdive
The final track I have chosen for this list is probably the song of autumn for me, which is Alison by the legendary shoegaze powerhouse Slowdive. While I did mention The Smashing Pumpkins earlier as being my chosen shoegaze representation, I felt I needed to put a band on this list who were primarily a shoegaze band. This particular Slowdive song always makes me think of autumn. I really don’t know why, but this song has just the right vibes to remind me of the season. The best way I would describe this song is feeling like the autumn sun on a late September day. It’s probably also my favourite Slowdive song.
So there’s my list of 10 alternative rock songs that get me into the mood for the autumnal season. Stay tuned for more music, as I have many plans for the upcoming months and would be delighted to share them with you.
