Fall Renewal

I recognize this feeling. Of relief that the dog days of summer are gone. Of a cool breeze careening past you, leaves billowing and falling in the distance. There's a rawness to autumn, an oakiness like the inside of an acoustic guitar or the bite of a glass of cabernet sauvignon. That's why, without fail, each autumn my heart pines for music that reflects this:

Florence and the Machine, "Dog Days Are Over" and "Cosmic Love"
Chris Bathgate "Serpentine"
Mumford and Sons "Sigh No More" and "Dust Bowl Dance"
Guster "Well" and "This Could All Be Yours"
Martin Sexton "Alone" and "My Faith is Gone" and "So Long Suzanna"
Neko Case "Magpie to the Morning"
Cory Chisel "Home in the Woods"
Ryan Adams "The Shadowlands"
The Swell Season "Back Broke" and "Low Rising"
Phoenix "Love Like a Sunset Part II"

In autumn I yearn for the hairs upon my neck to stick up a bit, while the red, orange, and yellow leaves crunch underneath my feet. I brace for colder temperatures while holding onto the warm rays of the sun. It is a period that invites reflection and rumination; it is a time of spiritual renewal, preparing for a time of coldness and struggle as well as celebration and happiness.

I'm ready to embrace my fall renewal.