The air is getting crisp, filled with the scent of pumpkin and nutmeg. Leaves change colors before laminating themselves to yards, sidewalks, and driveways. Spooky decor arrives to mirror the vibes of the movies shown on our favorite streaming services. It could only mean one thing:
Autumn has arrived!
In addition to aesthetics and cooler temperatures, this season often acts as sort of a temporal landmark. As kids, we were conditioned to correlate the fall with school, new faces, and the year’s final checkpoint before winter. However, once we grew up, those same landmarks became more about easing back into schedules, even though they can also morph into a generic holding pattern before the stress of the holidays appears.
Regardless of where you stand on the calendar, autumn is a season of change. It’s rampant with stress, dwindling daylight, and the creeping onset of winter. What better way to ring in the season than with an expansive soundtrack of comforting tracks from various genres?
The staff of Bearded Gentlemen Music has shared their favorite songs that remind them of fall.
Bask in the nostalgia of classic rock, the camp of horror punk. Lounge in the somber brood of goth, the self-reflection of Americana. It’s a playlist as diverse and spontaneous as the writers themselves! Some of these tracks are on the nose with Halloween themes or lyrics about the season. Others have personal significance that showcase what autumn means to their lives.
Throw on some headphones, sip on some spiced apple cider, and enjoy our Autumn Playlist for 2024!
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, the fall was the best time of the year! October meant my birthday, countless horror movies, and of course, Halloween. When I got a little older, it always felt like a transition period. Be it with work or relationships, everything important seemed to happen during this time of the year. It wasn’t until I became an adult that my perspective evolved from celebrating my youth to growing older. After losing several important people during the fall, I started taking a closer look at my own personal mortality.
Essentially, autumn is the last days of the year’s life before moving into its final stages.
As dark as that sounds, the songs on this autumn playlist reflect that for me. There’s some electronica, goth, garage, and even a few obvious classic rock tracks. Simulated macabre fun, wistful hopefulness, and of course, that subtle all-knowing acceptance that things change, and none of us are promised tomorrow. – Coop
- The Chemical Brothers – “Where Do I Begin?”
- Led Zeppelin – “Ramble On”
- The Black Angels – “Nine Years”
- The Dollyrocker Movement – “Sunday Mourning”
- Death In Vegas – “Dirge”
- Tess Parks – “This Time Next Year”
- Radiohead – “Motion Picture Soundtrack”
- Danzig – “Anything”
- The Black Ryder – “Burn and Fade”
- Ministry – “Everyday Is Halloween”
Fall is the strangest season of the year, and that’s before you factor in Halloween! It feels like Mother Nature saying, “Last call on outdoor fun and appropriate hours of sunshine.” Concert season in Chicago is insane during the fall, so I see as many shows as possible and try to enjoy the final bits of sunshine before the sun starts setting at 5 pm. There’s still a sliver of hope to enjoy myself before the dreadful winter takes over. As life slows down and the days get chillier, my music follows suit.
Far from the bright bangers of the summer, my autumn playlist gets a little more gothic and spooky.
With so many things changing, there is an air of anxiety though. Inexplicably, during this time of year, I find my love life getting attention in both good and bad ways. Overall, autumn is equal parts hopeful, dreadful, gloomy, exciting, romantic, and heartbreaking. These songs remind me of what fall feels like, from its somber aesthetic to the celebrations. – Oscar
- Amigo The Devil – “Hell and You”
- The Cure – “A Letter to Elise”
- Darkthrone – “Tranzilvanian Hunger”
- HIM – “When Love and Death Embrace”
- Mazzy Star – “Fade Into You”
- Natalia Lafourcade – ‘La Llorona/Version Acustica”
- Neil Young – “Harvest Moon”
- Tracy Chapman – “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution”
- Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
- Type O Negative – “Cinnamon Girl”
I like fall. A lot. But since I live in Houston, TX, I don’t get a lot of what one might call “traditional” fall. So, I like the idea of fall – the leaves changing color, the cooler weather, the crisp breezes, and wearing a nice jacket or sweater.
When I step away from associating fall with a certain type of weather or aesthetic, I think of the season and its role in the biological circle of life.
Autumn is a time when leaves fall off trees, animals start preparing for hibernation, and nature prepares for the coming winter. Hence, the songs I picked for this autumn playlist reflect those feelings: introverted second-wave emo, mournful indie-folk, and country reminiscent of long stares across the open prairie. It’s music for quiet moments and big feelings. Enjoy. – Adam
- American Football – “The Summer Ends”
- empire! empire! (i was a lonely estate) – “What Safe Means”
- Pedro The Lion – “Big Trucks”
- Neko Case – “Deep Red Bells”
- Rilo Kiley – “More Adventurous”
- Patty Griffin – “Long Ride Home”
- Townes Van Zandt – “None but the Rain”
- Sufjan Stevens – “Casimir Pulaski Day”
- R.E.M. – “E-Boy The Letter”
- Bright Eyes – “Old Soul Song (for the New World Order)”
My autumn playlist is based on my love of football and a magical fall when I met a girl who shaped my taste in music forever. I’ve featured two tracks that are forever associated with football in my mind. Rudy is a fantastic underdog story. “Back On The Field” gets you hyped for a frosty morning and the clash of pads. “Eye of the Tiger” was my favorite warm-up song that blasted over the PA at my high school when I played football. The other pop-punk and emo tracks included here were shared by a girl I met after a terrible breakup my freshman year of college.
That autumn, she mended my wounded heart and even attended a Journey concert with me that I had originally planned to go to with my girlfriend.
The relationship only lasted a season, so “The Party’s Over” felt like a fitting track. Lastly, I’ve included some of my moody favorites. I’m The Lyric Shrink and I have to remind you to take care of your mental health during the fall and winter months. So starting in October, don’t forget to take your meds and get as much sunshine as you can. – Ryan
- Jerry Goldsmith – “Back On The Field”
- New Found Glory – “My Friends Over You”
- Evanescence – “Lithium”
- Blue October – “18th Floor Balcony (live)”
- O.A.R. – “Heard The World”
- Survivor – “Eye Of The Tiger”
- MxPx – “Punk Rawk Show”
- The All-American Rejects – “Swing Swing”
- Kacey Musgraves – “Golden Hour”
- Journey – “The Party’s Over (Hopelessly In Love)”
When someone asks me my favorite season of the year, without hesitation, I say fall. So many of my favorite things happen in the fall: the return of football season, trips to apple orchards and cider mills, and the joys of getting lost in a corn maze. While nature starts to wind things down, there’s an opportunity for fun experiences. There’s nothing better than watching all the leaves change colors on the trees in the Midwest. It’s just magical. Plus, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and everything associated with both holidays fills my bucket to the top every single year.
Still, there’s no avoiding how lonely autumn can get.
It gets dark earlier each day. Once the leaves have fallen, you’re left with bare trees and muddy ground. The orchards shut, giving the bees and yellow jackets free reign at the decaying apples until it’s time for them to wrap things up for the season themselves. Whenever we hit this part of fall, my mood shifts. My wife sarcastically reminds me that if I’m going to love fall so much, I have to love the entire season, even the parts that do tend to be more lonely and depressing. I guess it’s time to be truthful with myself. I really only like the idealized version of the perfect fall that lives in my head. – Dane
- AFI – “Fall Children”
- The Killers – “Mr. Brightside”
- Earth Wind & Fire – “September”
- Death Cab For Cutie – “Autumn Love”
- Matt and Kim – “Hoodie On”
- The White Stripes – “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”
- Harley Poe – “Gorehound”
- Murder By Death – “Solitary One”
- The Homeless Gospel Choir – “Depression”
- Tim Barry – “This November”
The BGM Autumn Playlist is also available as a playlist on YouTube.