Twelve Months of Music, Part 9: A September Mix
Sep 01 '06
The Bottom Line Back from vacation and back to school - September is here once again, and we have a new mix of music to welcome it back.
Amber waves of grain. Sweeping fields of wheat. Large tracts of fully grown, subsidized agricultural products. Glorified weeds ready to be scarfed down by the masses.
If there's anything that this list of increasingly unpoetic images should bring to mind, it's "harvest time," that time between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn when the excitement of summer's reckless abandon has worn off and the calm, serene sense of responsibility that follows starts to bubble up to the surface. Farmers shining in the spotlight. Homeowners gearing up for the colder months. Students hitting the books once more. These elements of September may not be glitzy and glamorous, but they don't have to be. September is all about the simple bliss of safe, warm, familiar feelings. It's the comfort food of months. We don't look forward to September for surprising twists and turns, but rather for its security blanket qualities.
And the music for September? Just like the month itself, it's all warm and comforting, simple and soothing. There's a hint of jangle in the music to match with the month's occasional surprises, but overall it's nothing more than pure heartland charm.
So as the month starts to unfold, here's a mix of twelve songs as comforting as a hearty bowl of soup served with a grilled cheese sandwich, all waiting to set the perfect mood.
Pink Houses by John Mellencamp
For such a fondly regarded song, Pink Houses is actually pretty depressing. Sit down and listen to the lyrics sometime - poverty, disillusionment, lost hope, dead-end jobs, self-medication - they're all over the song. Nevertheless, the combination of simple, heartwarming guitar arrangements and images of American heartland life have turned the song into a unforgettable slice of small town pride. It's a song with all the folksy charm of a Norman Rockwell painting, perfect to keep us grounded as September brings us back to our senses.
♬ there's a young man in a t-shirt
listening to a rock and roll station
he's got greasy hair and a greasy smile
he says, lord, this must be my destination ♬
Life Less Ordinary by Carbon Leaf
There's a sharp, sweeping excitement to the song that brings it alive with a snap and a sizzle, but it's an energy achieved with little more than mandolin, upright bass, and violins, granting the tune an organic elegance and a down-home charm. It's as rich as the smell of an orchard full of ripe apples and as bright as a golden sunset over a freshly-mown hay field. The song's lyrics make a plea for love that can feel a little desperate at times, but they never leave the simple, warm, down-to-earth sensibility that give September its understated charm.
♬ the night you came into my life
well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me
you blew away my storm and strife
and shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me
by the way, I do know why you stayed away
I will keep tongue-tied next time ♬
Selah by Lauryn Hill
Henry David Thoreau preached his philosophy of "simplify, simplify," and Ms. Hill must have had Walden on her mind when she recorded Selah. There's nothing here but a lone acoustic guitar oozing tremolo and Hill's own vocals steeped in soul tradition. Hill takes the subtle intricacies of folk, gospel, and soul, and blends them together into something that simmers away quietly in the background, sneaking its excitement into your ears unconsciously. Like September, it's not bright and flashy, but its allure simply cannot be denied.
♬ how beautiful is fruit still in denial of its roots?
my guilty heart behaved so foolishly
this treason from within, that reasons with my sin
won't be happy 'til it sees the death of me ♬
Precious Time by Van Morrison
The dueling saxophone lines and shimmery organ riffs that help Van Morrison's Back on Top stand out from the unwashed masses give it a playful effervescence that may not match all too well with the stereotypical serene heartland charm of September, but you have to remember that we're dealing with a transitional month. The days are getting shorter and the weather is growing cooler, but there are still one or two random days at the end of the month where the temperature soars up to mid summer levels, offering us one last chance to get outside to play. With its "in-the-moment" lyrics, Morrison's song stirs us up, ensuring that we don't settle down too solidly during September.
♬ well this world is cruel with its twists and its turns
but the fire's still in me and the passion burns
I love a medley 'til the day I die
'til hell freezes over and the rivers run dry ♬
For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield
There are only a handful of songs instantly recognizable to everyone from only it's opening guitar chord. For What It's Worth, with its lone opening note, tentatively wafting out through its vibrato, takes top honors on that list. The song never leaps out into flashy extravagance nor ventures into solid anthem territory, but that hasn't stopped it from becoming a part of our collective consciousness. The lyrical themes and musical style remain firmly rooted in the sixties, but everything about the song still drips with that calm, serene folksiness that mirrors September's rootsy, down-home simplicity.
♬ there's something happening here
what it is ain't exactly clear
there's a man with a gun over there
tellin' me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
everybody look what's goin' down ♬
Free Fallin' by Tom Petty
Songs with a September vibe, those that capture a slice of aimless Americana, tend to get lumped into a cute, smile-inducing category, but sometimes there can be a downright sinister vibe hiding below the surface. Petty's Free Fallin' has all of calm, serene earmarks on the surface – insistent acoustic guitar licks, a clam and steady bass line to draw us in, a solid vocal hook for the chorus - but it's also one of those songs that people never listen to all that closely. That line about vampires may just be Petty singing in metaphor (but then again, maybe it's not), but everything else about the song is a very real portrayal of the masses of men leading lives of quiet desperation.
♬ it's a long day livin' in Reseda
there's a freeway runnin' through the yard
I'm a bad boy, 'cause I don’t even miss her
I'm a bad boy, for breakin' her heart ♬
California Stars by Billy Bragg and Wilco
Woodie Guthrie is among those classic figures of Americana that come to mind when we think about September's classic, homespun atmosphere. His poetic worldview has survived well past his death, as evidenced by Billy Bragg and Wilco's interpretations of his "lost" songs, including California Stars. Blending languid acoustic and slide guitar arrangements, languid honky-tonk piano noodling, and pensive, dreamy vocals, the song hearkens back to the heyday of American folk music from the thirties and forties. As the year starts to slow down, California Stars offers a fine backdrop for us to shift to a quieter, more pensive mood.
♬ I'd love to feel
your hand touching mine
and tell me why
I must keep working on
yes I'd give my life
to lay my head tonight
on a bed of California stars ♬
September by Earth, Wind, and Fire
September may be a quiet, reserved, relaxed month, but that doesn't mean that we can't make a little excitement ourselves to spice things up. When it comes time to infuse a little energy into our lives, the funk guitar licks and brazen horn riffs that Earth, Wind, and Fire provide are more than enough to get the party started. Add in the soaring falsetto of the chorus and that infectious "bah do dah bah do dah vocal line and we have a perfect little single serving party to celebrate one last hurrah for as summer sneaks away from us.
♬ our hearts were ringing
in the key that our souls were singing
as we danced in the night
remember how the stars stole the night away ♬
Better After All by Jonatha Brooke
Like a fall breeze blowing in across the fields, there's a rolling piano line that runs through Better After All, soft but steady, with enough of a hint of lingering warmth the draw us in. It's a song that unfolds and unwinds subtly, almost imperceptibly, helping to ease the transition to something more quiet and reserved, much like September helps us move on from summer and slide smoothly into fall. There's a melancholy story of love grown cold in the lyrics, but it all comes across in a cool detachment to match with the song's relaxed tone and its sentiment of end-of-summer unwinding.
♬ you are going to break my heart
I can see it in your eyes
and I can feel it when the rain starts
falling with my heart ♬
America by Simon and Garfunkel
It's a little bit folk rock and a little bit beat poetry free verse, and its every bit Americana charm. Simon and Garfunkel's cross-country starts out with a sense of wide-eyed innocence and optimism, but gradually switches into something much more wizened and world-weary as the sweeping strings and English horn lines wind their way into the arrangement. The song's sentiments of venturing off into the world and the unexpected experiences that follow play themselves out year after year each September as countless students head off to college for the first time, leaping into a world ready to offer them a world much more profound than they may have expected.
♬ Kathy, I said as I boarded a greyhound in Pittsburgh
Michigan seems like a dream to me now
it took me four day to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America ♬
Grey Gardens by Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright's Grey Gardens opens with the spoken line "it's very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present." Such a feeling of transition and uncertainty arises as a common feeling when September comes around. Summer is winding down, kids are returning to school, and adults are starting to gear up for the eventual return of winter. Backing up the September vibe is the sweeping arrangements to the son, heavy on the organ and the acoustic guitar. Sure, Wainwright's diction leaves something to be desired, and the verses can be a bit tough to decipher, but ask any high school student - September is a tough time to try to express one's self to begin with.
♬ in between tonight and my tomorrows
Tadzio where have you been?
in between tonight I know it's Tadzio
Tadzio don't you fight ♬
Our House by Crosby Stills Nash and Young
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young managed to cover an amazing spectrum of musical themes within the relatively small body of work that they created as a true foursome, and Our House represents the most innocent, Pollyanna-esque side of that spectrum. At any other time of the year, it would be easy to write of the overly simple tune with it's naively innocent lyrics of pastoral love and sweetly sticky harmonies as an ironic statement dripping with hidden sarcasm, but something about the way life settles down during September keeps the song grounded as the epitome of pure and wholesome music, with nary a hint of pretension to be found.
♬ come to me now
and rest your head for just five minutes
everything is done
such a cozy room
the windows are illuminated
by the evening sunshine through them
fiery gems for you, only for you ♬
And there we have September. Summer's giddy energy has drawn to a close, and it's time to let life wind down. Nevertheless, there are still more than a few moments of excitement waiting to be seized, ready to spice up the simple, down home life that we return to as autumn sneaks up on us. It takes a little while to settle down into September's calm serenity, but the music here will certainly get us pointed in the right direction.
Why stop here? Be sure to also have a look at:
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
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