What does this fall season sound like, bookish besties?

For this fall season, I have a new and improved fall readers’ and writers’ playlist with a completely new list of songs. Last season, I built a playlist more on immersing yourself into the season in order to gain reading and writing inspiration. 

Towards the end of August, I found myself in a reading slump combined with a terrible writer’s block. Season changes definitely affect the progress that creatives make–no matter the art, not necessarily just because of weather but because of mood shifts that can follow.

This year’s playlist will focus on music that sounds like fall, but also has the power to uplift you out of any slump that you might be experiencing. After creating this playlist, my progress has begun to increase–slowly but surely. 

I’m an avid Pinterest board creator, and I’ve saved a plethora of fall playlists. However, there are always songs within these playlists that keep me from catching a vibe. I thought it would be great if I could create my own playlist by compiling songs from other fall-inspired playlists. 

I played multiple songs from the playlists while I wrote or read — to see if they helped — and there were songs that I could sit and listen to on repeat, while others were only helpful in aiding me in writing my thoughts onto paper. 

The pattern I noticed was that a lot of these songs were by indie artists. It might sound crazy, but I think all indie artists have at least one or two songs that have the “fall vibe.” The hardest part of choosing the songs for this playlist was creating a good mix of songs that are widely known to ones that are considered gate-kept songs.

When choosing the songs for this playlist, my main focus was on songs that have lyrical themes based on nostalgia, reflection, authentic storytelling, or bittersweet emotion. I sought out songs with melancholic harmonies because these usually evoke feelings of longing, darker and/or sadder moods, while still maintaining a wistful quality. Of course, there are a few songs that made it onto the playlist that are more upbeat in tune, but still fall into the lyrical themes I was after. 

With this playlist, I hope you fall–like the leaves–into deeper inspiration this fall season: 

1. Mon Rovîa – “crooked the road.”
2. Noah Kahan – “Maine”
3. Harry Styles – “Late Night Talking”
4. The Neighbourhood – “Cherry Flavoured”
5. Charli xcx ft. Caroline Polachek – “Everything is romantic”
6. The Neighbourhood – “Stargazing”
7. The Marias – “Run Your Mouth”
8. Steve Lacy – “Dark Red”
9. Lord Huron – “The Night We Met”
10. bôa – “Duvet”
11. Ed Sheeran – “Autumn Leaves”
12. Young the Giant – “Cough Syrup”
13. Clairo – “Amoeba”
14. Zleepyfred – “Last Leaves of Autumn”
15. The 1975 – “About You”
16. Sombr – “back to friends”
17. Gigi Perez – “Sometimes (Backwood)”
18. Malcolm Todd – “Sweet Boy”
19. Lewis Capaldi – “Forever”
20. Landon Pigg – “Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop”
21. James Arthur – “Falling Like The Stars”

The playlist can be accessed HERE. See you next time the literary radar goes off!