Autumn is by far the most anticipated season. It comes as a long-awaited break from the heat after yet another grueling summer. Jeans and jumpers can be worn without experiencing heat-stroke and leaving the window open in your apartment is finally nice again.
The nights are getting colder and arriving earlier than usual. Halloween is coming up. And Christmas is only a few weekends away. Instead of going out at night, staying in and listening to the rain come down seems like a much better idea. Which is why NYGal’s second playlist is a relaxing acoustic/mellow collection, for days or nights when staying inside and reading a book is all you want to do.
Julie Bergan & Astrid Smeplass – Undressed (Kim Cesarion Cover)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoSXTMwV0sA[/embedyt]
I’d never even heard of the original when I first found this song and I already knew I preferred it to Kim Cesarion’s song (sorry). This music video has ambiance. The backdrop is a sunset, by a riverbank, in Norway, with two angel-voiced artists. Although I could fall asleep to this song, it’s also incredibly catchy and I find myself humming to it all the time.
Soccer Mommy- Your Dog
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouem6cFXJvA[/embedyt]
If you haven’t already heard of Soccer Mommy, let this be your introduction. From Tennessee, the 20-year-old’s recent album, Clean, was named Best New Music on Pitchfork and scored an 8.4. Her music is known as bedroom pop, mostly because she wrote and produced most of it on her own, in her bedroom. Soccer Mommy’s Bandcamp bio reads “chill but kinda sad.” Which is why her music is so alluring and perfect for a rainy day. Her music is hazy and the transparency of her low-key recording process is enough to make you feel as if you’re listening to it live.
Alice Boman- Waiting
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KQdMgLW-K0[/embedyt]
This song is heartbreaking. Although there is nothing specific about what Alice is waiting for, she wonders out loud if the person is coming back from wherever they might be. “Haven’t had a dream in a long time Haven’t been able to sleep. Are you coming back? Are you coming back? I’m waiting… I’m waiting…” The black and white music video features a faceless person, moving at a somewhat slow motion speed to this slow track, by the beach. It’s enough to make you want to close your eyes and completely let go of anything you might be holding on to. And it might make you cry.
SZA- 20 Something
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azqv46WFxZE[/embedyt]
Autumn evenings can make you want to listen to sad music to match your feelings about the dying of the trees and the rain. What could be better than dwelling on your quarter-life crisis with SZA? “How could it be? 20 something/All alone still, not a thing in my name/Ain’t got nothin’, runnin’ from love/Only know fear/That’s me, Ms. 20 Something.”
Childish Gambino – The Night Me and Your Mama Met ft. Gary Clark Jr.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT4MgAtBbJA[/embedyt]
No lyrics or even a video. Still, this song doesn’t need it. It’s a love song from Donald Glover about his girlfriend but was made for their son. It is almost psychedelic at parts, as most of us are used to lyrics to fill in the gaps of songs and without it, there are moments when this music becomes ethereal and slightly trippy (the good kind).
Beach Bunny- Boys
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQeSoiRCvJ0[/embedyt]
To keep the playlist from turning in to a collection of lullaby-like songs, here’s a Chicago based “surfer vibes” band. I serendipitously stumbled across Beach Bunny on a shuffle playlist online and I’m so glad I did. The song “Boys” is part of the album Cry Baby, which is a mix of sad, acoustic yet surprisingly upbeat enough tracks to transport you to a beach somewhere. In this song, Beach Bunny laments over a breakup, bravely admitting that she can’t do anything but sob. She sings, “All I do is think of you and cry” over and over.
RY X- Berlin
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFXN20bpWtY[/embedyt]
For the entire music video, RY X lays on his back on a wood floor, later to be joined by the apparent lover that he has stopped waiting by the phone for. Not only is this a perfect dreamy song, but it’s also incredibly well-made and beautiful in its production and vocals. And it’s only 2:50. After listening to it once, you’ll wish the “oooOoooOoooOh’s” lasted a bit longer.
Anna Of The North- Lovers
She first came to most people’s knowledge after appearing on Tyler the Creator’s Flower Boy album and since then she has released music of her own. Her album named after this song is an assemblage of the genre dream pop. But, it’s good and won’t make you roll your eyes at the pretentiously named genre. It isn’t really acoustic but it isn’t really pop either, yet it is something that would be perfectly suited to be included in this playlist.
Side note: If you haven’t watched the Netflix original, “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before”: First of all, go and do that now. Secondly, watch out for the scene where this song is played. I’ll even admit, it’s pretty dream-poppy.
Maisie Peters- Place We Were Made
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSmLUv9rZ-c[/embedyt]
Not only does she have a great name (albeit spelled wrong), this song is the perfect amount of nostalgia for being young, just before leaving your hometown, without realizing how much you’d ever miss it. I never get homesick for the place I’m from that makes me want to move home, instead, I get homesick for a time when my friends and I still lived there and we were so desperate to get out of there and start out lives. I think about how much we grew together and how we all have an indescribable bond that I’ve never been able to find elsewhere. This is a celebration of those years. And you can’t reach 100% sad without a little reminiscing.
Lana Del Rey- Brooklyn Baby
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5xcnjAG8pE[/embedyt]
A playlist like this one would be missing something if it didn’t include the queen of sad, mellow songs that is Lana Del Rey. Choosing from the endless songs that would be a perfect fit here was surprisingly difficult. However, “Brooklyn Baby” has a sweet, catchy melody that makes the playlist end on an almost happy note, and it’s about OUR city! Okay, so a borough in the city, which you might live in or visit a lot.
