Here we are again … the calendar has flipped over to September, the days are noticeably shorter, students are back in school, the weather office is issuing frost warnings for the first time in months, and even though there’s still a couple weeks before the official start of fall, we’re still in some sort of pseudo state-of-disbelief, telling ourselves “I CAN’T BELIEVE SUMMER’S ALREADY OVER!”
So now what?
Instead of wallowing in the end-of-summertime blues, or stressing out over the fact that winter is a clear and present threat to our days of flowers and sunshine, as opposed to a frozen frustration shrinking in our rear view mirror you can embrace the changing of the seasons by throwing a huge “Summer’s Over” party! You could invite all your friends, have tons of food and drink and decorations and neighbourly complaints, but there’s really no need to go through all that hassle when Halloween is only weeks away and there’s always some sucker who’s more than willing to do the heaps of work for the minimal payoff. You don’t have to clean up afterwards either. Or you could just get the hell out of here and buy a plane ticket to the tropics to extend your summer. Or if you like things way easier and cheaper, you could make your own personal playlist that celebrates fall because music after all, should be able to cure what ails you, usually.
I’ve already done some research and found a bunch of songs perfect for this time of year. Whether they’re about a saucy 60-day romance, or seasonal celestial occurrences, or bearing down and getting back to business, or reigniting friendships after a carefree break, these songs can set a foundation for your Autumn equinox listening pleasure. Or displeasure, if you can’t stand the thought of the leaves falling from the trees.
Let’s start with “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground” by The White Stripes … I’ve been on a bit of a Jack White kick lately, and this track from the 2001 album, “White Blood Cells,” is just one of many where White reflects on relationships gone wrong. It was also included in the guitar movie “It Might Get Loud,” featuring Jimmy Page (of Led Zeppelin) and The Edge (from U2) playing the ditty with White. If you really dig guitar, check the flick out. It’s incredible; just like White.
Next up is “November Rain,” the biggest ballad ever from hard rockers, Guns N’ Roses. The song itself is epic … originally 25 minutes long, it was whittled down to nine minutes, and despite its length, became the longest ever song to break the Billboard Top 10. The video was uber-expensive and over the top, but well worth it for GnR. Slash said in a 2004 interview with Q Magazine, “We got into doing these huge production videos and by ‘November Rain’ it was too much, just too involved. At the end of the day it was a great video but that’s when I started realizing that it was getting out of hand.” Indeed.
Another suitable song for the season is Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” from their 2004 masterpiece, “American Idiot.” Even though the album was a socio-political statement, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong included it because years earlier he wasn’t emotionally ready to record the track, which was about his father dying of cancer (on Sept. 1).
Other notables: “Autumn Shade” by The Vines, “Boys Of Summer” by Don Henley, “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young, “Last Days Of Summer” by The Cure, “Ramble On” by Led Zeppelin, “Seasons Of Wither” by Aerosmith, “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire, and “Summer’s End” by Foo Fighters.
There’s a start for your backyard late summer/early fall fires, share your playlist with me via email: ParkWardenVoice@gmail.com and let’s enhance the season.
Cheers, and keep rockin’
Park Warden is the Jack of all trades/utility player at 105.3 Rock. You’ll hear him weekends 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Wednesday-Friday evenings and filling in all over.
