10 indie songs for your fall listening pleasure
From the early days of when I had my first boombox, I would wait for the radio to play my favorite song. It would come on and I’d rush to press the record and play button at the same time to record it on the tape. As many of us did in those days, I created mixtapes of my favorite songs.
From mixtapes then came the burning of CDs from our computers. And then came the advent of putting your songs on a device called an iPod, and on that device, you could create a playlist. Now playlists on Spotify are the way people create favorite collections of music.
And while perhaps the forefathers of music didn’t intend for such things to exist, it allows listeners to create their own perfect experience with music attuned to not just their own tastes, but for different experiences.
Each autumn, I take a solo trip up the North Shore of Lake Superior, meandering my way around the mountains, hiking under canopies of orange and yellow — and the perfect playlist is a necessity. For me, the perfect playlist in autumn is more folksy. Here are 10 of the more unknown songs that made my autumn drives and hikes playlist this year.
“Golden Age” – Future Historians
A plucky happy tune with a driving drumbeat, this song is a good one to get you amped.
“Either Way” – Beta Radio
Nothing feels quite like autumn like a drum, a guitar, and a folksy sound. With minimal lyrics, this is a song about slowing down.
“Stubborn Love” – The Lumineers
This is a song that became popular on the radio when it first debuted, but it’s a good tune that should stick around for future years to come.
“Troubles Will Be Gone” – The Tallest Man on Earth
Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson picks his guitar away on this song about love lost.
“For You” – Peter Bradley Adams
A slow refreshing song with nothing more than a guitar, a voice, and an egg shaker offering a bit of light and hope.
“Look Up, Look Out” – Amy Seeley
A beautiful piano lick opens this song up with minimal but sweet powerful lyrics on love.
“Reflecting Light” – Sam Phillips
There may be a few “Gilmore Girls” fans who recognize this song, but it’s a sweet guitar waltz meant for a hike.
More pop than folk, this song about heartbreak is one that will give you “the feels” amidst an autumn walk.
“World Spins Madly On” – The Weepies
Again with the nostalgia, this song — a duet with a few synths and a guitar as background — is a quiet, sad song about love lost.
“Tumbleweed” – Lorie Line
All of my songs thus far have been more folksy, but there’s something to be said about a simple piano solo, slow and meandering. Minnesota pianist Lorie Line’s simplistic elegance in this song is perfect for a drive amidst the trees.
