The Sounds of Fall

I'm just going to start out by saying this: I am not cutting edge. I didn't get an iPod until the end of my junior year in high school, I still have one of those silver razr phones (you know, the free one), and even though both my roommates are going crazy over sweatshirt hoodie dresses, I have not followed suit. The same thing goes for music. Listening to music is one of my great loves, but it takes me awhile to get into the latest albums. If I ever do buy a CD right when its released, I never like it right away. In fact, it usually takes several months for me to remember that I even own the CD - take for example Coldplay's latest Viva La Vida, which I bought this summer and have only now really started to enjoy. But the great thing about music is that, unlike trends and fads, its truly timeless. What's more important about a song is not when it came out, but how it spoke to you in the time and situation when you heard it.

No other season is as directly linked with music as fall is for me. For some reason, fall is always a time when I rediscover music. Each October I get hooked on certain artists whose music defines that stage of my life - not necessarily the latest thing, but whatever happens to find me. A few nights ago, I was reminiscing about some of the songs that became such a part of me during past autumns.

Fall, Senior year of high school - Led Zeppelin
I was in love with a boy who was in love with classic rock. We listened to "That's the Way," "Ramble On," and "Misty Mountain Hop" in the car with the windows rolled down and the leaves blowing by.

Fall, Freshman year of college - Matt Pond PA, Death Cab for Cutie
The memory of crossing the river as I walked to class from Hillcrest will forever be captured by "The Butcher," "KC," and "Summer" by Matt Pond PA and Death Cab's "Marching Bands of Manhattan," "Title and Registration," and "We Looked Like Giants."

Fall, Sophomore year of college - "15 Step," "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi," and "Reckoner" from Radiohead's album In Rainbows (one that I was able to get into right away).

Fall, Junior year of college - Still to be determined...but it's looking like it will be The Shins, specifically the songs "Kissing the Lipless," "So Says I," "Pink Bullets," and "Those To Come."

There's no denying that music really is a powerful thing - an art that not only gets us through the day, but shapes who we are and the memories that we cherish.

-Claire