As I walk outside, I ensure I encapsulate every feeling that the fall season brings through two earbuds shoved into my ears.  The falling colorful leaves that crunch under my every footstep or the cloudy, dreary days that are accompanied by hot tea are moments where music is a sole factor in experiences uniquely designed for the cold months.  Perhaps that is what makes the fall time so passionately liked by so many around the world; people now have an outlet to connect with lyrics and melodies booming through speakers in a car or family gatherings that follow the tradition of playing Bing Crosby records on a record player.  Music ties every emotion and thought together wholly, so why not share a few albums this fall that surely put me into a seasonal trance?

Nick Drake’s Pink Moon album is a sorrowful, folk masterpiece that emulates nostalgia and the bittersweet taste of life in itself.  Pink Moon shares eleven songs that all capture Drake’s loneliness in melodies and guitar tones.  From his acclaimed song “Pink Moon,” to his closing “From the Morning,” Drake proves that the simplicity of music equates to universal beauty that can be shared from just a man with his guitar.  Pink Moon is consistently heart-rending through every measure and lyric, whether it be “Horn,” a minute-long song of Drake ringing mawkish notes, or “Place to Be,” a poetic song that displays the loss of innocence and the ignorance of youth.  Pink Moon is an album that will forever leave a lasting impression on anyone who decides to experience and listen to Drake’s world.  

It is difficult to understand the essentiality of a piece of artwork in one’s life, whether it is a novel, music, or a painting that grasps all feeling and attention to the center point of meaning.  Personally, Stranger in the Alps by Phoebe Bridgers is the center point of that artwork; it is so inexcusably daring and vivid on the remarks of heartbreak and learning to discover yourself with such painful emotions.  Stranger in the Alps is merely a friend that one can rely on upon spells of mental exhaustion.  Bridgers’ eleven songs featured on Stranger in the Alps share different scenarios of grief that altered her perception of living, whether it periodically defines her experience with seasonal depression or sexual assault through her songs “Demi Moore” or her most popular song “Motion Sickness.”  This album is so articulately personal to all who listen as Bridgers uses her trauma to capture the essence of belonging into something that feels isolating: the feeling of unrequited love that is endlessly draining or feeling out of place in familiarity.  I recommend this album to anyone who needs a solid voice in their life, or perhaps if they want their heart crushed into a million pieces.  So please, don’t be a stranger, and listen to Bridgers’ Stranger in the Alps!  

Holiday sorrows and lonesome ballads that sing about heartbreak are all and more that are featured on Joni Mitchell’s acclaimed album Blue.  Joni Mitchell’s unquestionable flair for creating distinct acoustic melodies with elegiac lyrics makes her one of the most defining musicians of all time, and Blue does not shy away from proving her talents.  Mitchell’s Blue offers a sense of coziness in her lyricism.  “California,” a song that displays Mitchell’s vocal range and yearnings for traveling home, wraps its arms around all who are unbelievably homesick this holiday season.  However, Mitchell’s diverse sound allowed for “River,” a melodic piano ballad accompanied by Mitchell’s woeful voice singing about loneliness and Christmas heartbreak, to shine brightly on Blue.  Joni Mitchell’s Blue is an amazing album for all that is enduring desolation during the holiday season.  

The fall time is an insightful period to indulge in music and enjoy time with loved ones.  On top of the albums discussed, the Edmond Student Body has also been enjoying these fall albums:  Elliott Smith’s Either/Or; Bright Eyes’ I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning; Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago; and Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk.  Hopefully, these albums will provide solace for all this fall season!