Monthly Mix - The Gold Rush of Autumn Kisses
An autumn / fall playlist curated for all your golden days.
My Dear Friend,
Do you feel the magic in music? The way a song can take you back to a place or time, pull back the memories of a moment, make it as vivid as if it happened only yesterday even though years, sometimes decades even have passed? The extra depth and feeling that you can find in a happening when you hear the perfect lyrics or sounds syncing up to make a filmic scene, right there and then.
My teenage self had a boyfriend once who, mid argument, cruelly said that “life is not like it is in the movies”. She was horrified. And fiercely furious, beyond words.
As someone who spent most of her time romanticising the everyday and shaping it (or at least attempting to) into something special whenever she could, it was about the most spiteful thing that anyone could ever speak out loud to her at that time in her life (probably even still). It was also one of the most inspiring things that anyone could ever say, because she (and now I) will absolutely rise to a challenge, especially when there’s an extra payoff of proving people wrong.
That chance encounter has stayed with me for many years (certainly far longer than the boyfriend) and is one of the reasons that, every month (well, most of them anyway) I bring to you a playlist. A soundtrack to the changing seasons and themes of the year. Something to act as background music to your own endeavours and adventures, or even to inspire them into being.
“I spent hours putting that cassette together. To me, making a tape is like writing a letter - there's a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again, and I wanted it to be a good one. . . A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do. You've got to kick off with a corker, to hold the attention, and then you've got to up it a notch, or cool it a notch. . .”
Nick Hornby, High Fidelity
I pour heart and soul into creating the perfect music mix in hopes that I can bring some movie magic moments into your everyday. And I’m glad it's a digital process in some ways, because I think my never ending editing would cause loss of sound quality and quite possibly cause the tape to snap otherwise.
This month’s playlist “The Gold Rush of Autumn Kisses” is here and is created with all the soul nourishing things you can think of in mind. Nights out on heated terraces with good music. Walks through the park / woods / city (delete as appropriate), the golden rush of fallen leaves bustling by kissing our souls to welcome Fall*. A Sunday spent cooking in the kitchen, jamming the remainder of the summer’s fruit or cooking up a Sunday roast, cooking just feels better with a soundtrack. An evening settling down to quiet conversation, candles scenting the air and their glow warming the mood. Time spent with a hot chocolate in hand thinking of getting the woollens out of storage (mine are never really away, northern weather being what it is). Cinnamon spicing everything because it smells and tastes so good and brings the essence of warmer climates.
It’s probably transiently Spring appropriate too for friends “down south”. I hope you like it.
*I prefer very few Americanisms over their Brit counterparts but can’t resist the drama and romance of Fall over Autumn in general conversation - certainly Autumn feels more traditional and is probably more apt in writing, but I feel like this is a whole discussion that could go on for pages.
One of my favourite filmic music memories is of driving through the mountains in the south of France on a very rare foreign holiday, the only time we’ve taken the children overseas. The whole week was super special, but a standout moment was that drive back to the city from a friend’s wedding celebrations. Roof down on the small and sporty hire car, fresh midnight mountain air after a stifling hot day, Sébastien Tellier (La ritournelle) on the stereo, it was more perfect than the most aspirational car ad (because they always feature that sort of smuggery don’t they) or film moment that anyone has ever seen. Tell me, dear friend, about one of your standout filmic music moments.
I’d love it if you shared this post and started a mix tape conversation over on Notes… I still haven’t managed to post a track by track break down - as my son would say, my brain isn’t braining right now as it should be, let’s hope for more capacity soon.
With love,
V.V
P.S If you love a list or don’t have Spotify, the playlist is below.
Burning - The Whitest Boy Alive
amelia - Seb Wildblood, mauv
Rosyln - Bon Iver, St. Vincent
Moon Song - Phoebe Bridgers
Take Care - Beach House
Canyon Moon - Harry Styles
Dover Beach - Baby Queen
Home To Another One - Madison Beer
My Love - Florence + The Machine
gold rush - Taylor Swift
Dumb Love - NEIL FRANCES
The Fall - Rhye
Kingdom - Maribou State, North Downs
I'm a Kid - Jadu Heart
Cherry - Jungle
Painting Silhouettes - Quantic
Home - Edith Whiskers
Anchor - Novo Amor
True Love Waits - Radiohead
Lullaby - Martina Topley-Bird
Youth - Daughter
The Only Exception - Paramore
September Song - Bonus Track - Agnes Obel
You can find more playlist joy right here. To make sure you don’t miss the next one…
If you want to bring a friend to the party / kitchen table / lounge floor / train carriage / daily walk or wherever you’ve enjoyed this playlist, share it using the handy button below.
This month’s mix. Love it? Hate it? Recommendations? I’m here for all of it, please do share your thoughts in the comments below.
19, 20 and 21 … bliss … anything by Daughter, always. Lovely post.