It is that time of the year again when I put turtlenecks under my band shirts. 

Moving out of the warm weather can be tough, but fall remains my favorite season. When the sky turns gray and the leaves change, I get to put my Halloween decorations up, dress in warm layers, break out the Dr. Martens, watch horror movies and listen to my favorite decaying-in-melancholy hits. In case you’re not ready for the chilly weather, here are some song recommendations that can help with the transition and epitomize fall.  

Whenever the windy season comes, I can unapologetically draw my eyeliner on a little too dark and dress like I’m someone living in the 2000s who found a little too much inspiration from Pete Wentz. This comparison supports my first recommendation: “Grand Theft Autumn/Where is Your Boy” by Fall Out Boy. Not many songwriters can be as cynical as Wentz. I mean, come on, he wrote the lyric,

 “You need him, I could be him. I could be an accident, but I’m still trying. That’s more than I can say for him.” 

He’s a certified diva. Wentz writes music for those who dread the people with a fall hyperfixation on “Gilmore Girls” and swear that moving a hundred miles away from their family will fix all of their problems. 

Speaking of problems, how can you curl up and watch “Twilight” and listen to “Roslyn” by Bon Iver and St. Vincent, and NOT be Team Edward? Despite “Twilight” being one of the most over-the-top movies, the scene where Bella stares out of her window wondering when Edward will come back is extremely well shot. “Roslyn” perfectly draws out the feeling of being a dead leaf hitting the ground. 

However, fall is the perfect season to pick yourself up and reinvent yourself while reminiscing on the past. Tom Petty expressed this perfectly in his song, “Learning to Fly.” The late icon wrote, 

“I’m learning to fly again, but I ain’t got no wings. Coming back down is the hardest thing.” 

This perfectly sums up early college life at the University of Missouri. Autumn can be hard as a freshman. Students are fully away from their families for long periods and trying to use their new wings for the first time. Petty said it best: “What comes up, must come down.” 

Now, onto the band that knows how to bring everyone’s mood down: The Cure. Where do I begin with the beauty and mystery of this band? After being connected to goth and Halloween culture for decades, the band’s song, “Lullaby” is the gentle song of the season. With the creeping guitar and orchestra melody, the song has an overwhelming feeling of paranoia, but also comfort. People listen to The Cure for the same reason people watch horror movies for comfort. People often associate the songs “Lovesong,” “Friday I’m in Love” and “Just Like Heaven” with the gloom band, when in reality, “Lullaby” is the song that sums up The Cure’s discography: melancholic and lovesick. These two synonyms also capture the foreboding season of fall.   

For me, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains is the voice that best serenades the fall season. No, I’m not talking about the powerhouse songs “Man in the Box” or “Them Bones.” The emotionally gutting bassline done by Mike Inez on “Rotten Apple,” and the distressing lyric, “If I can’t be my own, I’d feel better dead,” on “Nutshell” proves that Alice in Chains has the ‘teary-eye nonchalant walk back to my dorm’ feeling down with their music. Sure, Staley is known for his wide vocal range, but when he was not jumping octaves and shocking listeners with his skill, he was stunning them with his lyrics. 

As the leaves continue to fall and the weather becomes colder, allow yourself to enjoy a variety of southern rock to post-punk songs to embrace the arrival of fall.

Edited by Ava McCluer | amccluer@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Chase Pray and Emma Short | eshort@themaneater.com

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com