A quick explanation:
The idea here is to make a compilation album charting the course of a particular month—September, in this case. Part of the idea is having a good arc to it—this is why it’s an album and not a playlist; there’s a Side A and a Side B—and part of it is trying to capture the different emotions of a month in music. The biggest part, though, is that songs are a good jumping off place for writing about things that aren’t songs, at least for me. Consider this the on-site creative writing gym for The Barking Crow.
This month’s tracklist is as follows, and if you use Spotify, you can listen to it in playlist form here.
Side A
1. “Shotgun” – George Ezra
2. “Goodmorning” – Bleachers
3. “Fluorescent Adolescent” – Arctic Monkeys
4. “Sweet Pea” – Amos Lee
5. “Rain King” – Counting Crows
6. “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” – Bruce Springsteen
Side B
7. “All the Debts I Owe” – Caamp
8. “Lovers in Japan – Osaka Sun Mix” – Coldplay
9. “I Got You, Honey” – Ocie Elliott
10. “Tyson vs. Douglas” – The Killers
11. “Mt. Joy” – Mt. Joy
12. “Parachute” – Guster
Now. Track 9:
***
The air’s been cool in the morning this week for the first time in months. I can wear a bathrobe outside, and wear it comfortably. Fargo, let out to do her business upon awakening, swings her head around that little bit extra, taking even more of it in as she, bounding across the backyard, realizes something different is there.
Lately, on Fridays, the burnout’s been more evident. It’s been harder to sit down and write, and to sit down or get up and do all the other things that need doing. But as we continue this string of love songs, and as the air makes its turn, something about the easiness here makes that feel alright. It makes it all alright. It’s a balm of a song.
Happy fall. Happy Friday.
