Ryan Getz runs Tuned Up, a music blog living in Columbus. While they also review major commercial releases, I appreciate Tuned Up because they do a good job nudging the spotlight away from popular acts, choosing instead to shift focus just offstage to find great local music and bands on small- to medium-sized labels in the fringe. It's a good resource for new music.
Ryan has supplied us with a great list to get into fall. The Pomegrantes say "fall." The War on Drugs is a great track to sip some hot tea as you briskly walk home to watch a Stanley Kubrick, or Rushmore. And could any playlist truly be called pensive without a Mount Eerie song?
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. When was the last time you thought, "Fuck. This time last year was a year ago. I wish I could go back and grasp that life with a steadier grip." So immerse yourself now. Move with confidence. Speak with style. Be the person who portions out too many "I love yous" and affection that's too warm to the people in your life. There's still time before winter to make something of fall.
We're proud to be buds with the Tuned Up blog, and highly recommend a read. Also, we're both proud alums to the Tuned Up review game (Austin's review here, and Nate's here), so read our humble writing while you're there.
This week's art is by Peter Cowen
Growing up, I was like most kids in America, holding summer in high regard. So much so that I sought in vain to recreate that feeling of being carefree for years on end. I still do it, at 28 years old.
I'm also catching up to the rest of the world who seems to hold autumn in regard as their favorite time of year. The more I think about it, I think it matches my pensive personality. I'm a sensitive guy, who generally tends to look for the good but also feels things really deeply and sometimes laments over the passage of time. The transition of the foliage is stark reminder of life passing me by, in spite of their beauty. But I look forward to their beauty all the same.
Mount Eerie's "The Place I Live," a song on this playlist of pensive songs for autumn, begins with these words:
If I look
or if I don't look
clouds are always passing over
the place I live.
The place I live
passing under
my feet while my mind wanders
in a sea of fog.
My mind is often in that foggy place, and life goes on whether or not I give it heed. Some of these songs are reminders to make the most of what we have, some are just beautiful, and some carry an underlying melancholy that echoes my lower moments. All the songs carry a sense of layered contemplation that I really appreciate. Behind all the traditional reasons for liking this time of year I think I enjoy this season the best because of how multifaceted it is.
Enjoy these songs: https://open.spotify.com/user/ryangetterz/playlist/5QVYPZYsva1IW60GaNKmak
