Here at The Badger Herald office, we’re getting pretty excited about fall. The air is getting brisk, college football season is well underway and pumpkin spice lattes are back. Because we fucking love autumn so damn much, we decided to put together a playlist of fall music essentials. Listen to these juicy tunes as you sip that first cup of warm apple cider.

Fleet Foxes – “Ragged Wood”

I can’t listen to Fleet Foxes and not automatically think of everything associated with autumn. That probably has something to do with the fact that I saw them in concert with my brother in Ann Arbor on a brisk October night a few years back. The melodious singing and their signature echoey, hollow sounds go hand-in-hand with falling leaves, sweatshirt weather and pumpkin spice lattes. I love to throw on Fleet Foxes’ Helplessness Blues as I make my way to and from class in the fall, or as I’m doing some homework at the library. Sunny day, cloudy day, rainy day, doesn’t matter — Fleet Foxes are going to make you appreciate all the beauty surrounding us on campus as we transition seasons. –Cam Ariana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-CEfY9CDLw

Radical Face – “Always Gold”

There’s something about this song that feels incredibly nostalgic, and I think fall can be a time of nostalgia for a lot of people. It’s a time of the year people are never overly excited for, far too easily spending the first half coping with the death of summer. Perhaps it’s that idea of a season of nostalgia that has “Always Gold” reminding me of fall. Perhaps it’s simpler. Perhaps gold is simply the color the leaves turn to and I’m overanalyzing it. In any case, gold’s a pretty color and this song is pretty too. –Jack Finnegan

Luke Bryan – “Harvest Time”

If the name does not completely give it away, this autumn song describes the essence of a stereotypical setting on a crisp fall day in a small town. While not a particularly difficult song to interpret, it has a warm country rhythm that keeps it lighthearted. This song can be a reminder of home, whether the focus is high school football games, autumn foliage or maybe, for some, “tractor-trailers backed up down.” –Kyla Kaplan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZOuE2PT7tI

The White Stripes – “We’re Going To Be Friends”

This song provides an emotionally-vivid description of one of the staples of fall for youth: going back to school. Jack White uses his songwriting ability to tell the tale of the return to school and the making of a new friend. The song has an undeniable fall feel not only in the lyrics, but also in Jack White’s wispy guitar strumming. —Sam Cleveland

Mutual Benefit – “Auburn Epitaphs”

It sounds how a good hot chocolate with whipped cream from Michelangelo’s tastes. It is like how dreamy orange leaves on Lakeshore Path can be. It’ll take you away from yourself when the cold starts chilling your bones. In other words: It’ll keep you warm.​ –Lexy Brodt

Arcade Fire – “My Body is a Cage”

Something about the quivering clarity of Win Butler’s voice. Something about descending chord sequences. Something about the overwhelming hollow sound produced by an organ. Something about a tempo that just … does … not … pick … up … and leaves you stuck … in … every … note. Something about excessive wind gusts on the first overcast day at the end of summer. Something about being brought into a daunting space that seems inescapable before your soul bursts out of your insides and proclaims that no matter how hard the universe tries to kill it, it is not fucking going anywhere. —Miles Solstice

Two Door Cinema Club – “Changing of the Seasons”

“Changing of the Seasons” was released at the end of the summer last year and quickly became my song of the year. The title, while an easy choice for a song about the “season of change,” references the singer’s fading love for his ex. Mixing iconic Two Door Cinema Club guitar with the production styles of house artist Madeon, “Changing of the Seasons” offers the kind of track you could listen to over and over again while writing that big paper or, in my case, procrastinating on writing that big paper. –Evan Conley

The Mamas & The Papas – “California Dreamin'”

From the first line “All the leaves are brown” to the sense of longing for warmer climates and better times, I think the song captures the feeling of summer and attendant good times slipping away from us. Just as inevitable as the march of time, winter’s arrival is heralded by fall, and this song is infused with both a desire for warm weather and a sense of resignation to the approaching literal and metaphorical cold. —Nathaniel Scharping

Alexi Murdoch – “Blue Mind”

Murdoch is a British indie folk singer who has, to date, flown relatively under the radar in regards to American audiences. Some other songs such as “All of My Days” and “Ragged Sea” would do equally well in a fall playlist, but this pick’s more driving tempo contrasted with sleepy vocals reminds me of the last few weeks of good times spent outdoors before winter sets in. A good tune for a drive down a road covered in dry leaves, or for an evening bonfire. —Aaron Hathaway

Parachute – “She Is Love”

When the air starts to get chilly and the nights get cold, William Charles Anderson’s voice will warm you right up. Whether you’re walking to class, studying in the library or hanging out with friends, “She Is Love” by Parachute is the perfect soundtrack to any fall day. While the song is a throwback to 2009, the acoustic melody and charming lyrics of this simple love song will make you want to throw on your warmest sweater and slowly sip a cup of hot coffee. “She Is Love” won’t make you think twice about the days of 80-degree weather. —Laura Schmitt

Beirut – “Postcards from Italy”

This song reminds me of fall because last year on nice, cool nights in October I’d sit out on my balcony, curl up in a blanket and listen to music with my roommate. This Beirut song was always one of my favorites. –Andrea Burjeck

Mac Miller – “Senior Skip Day”

Because school starts in September, fall will always be associated with it in some way. That’s why fall is such a nostalgic season. It brings you back to that moment when you were younger. Whether your memories of fall are the Friday night lights of a football game or a ride home on the school bus, no album captures that school-like nostalgia better than Mac Miller’s K.I.D.S. Put on “Senior Skip Day” and go back to your high school years instantaneously. —Louis Johnson

The Head and the Heart – “Rivers and Roads”

Listening to “Rivers and Roads” will forever bring me back to the fall of my senior year of high school when I had to make a music video for a media production
class. We chose this song, and now every time I hear its haunting lyrics, I am brought back to rolling down hills with my friends, dipping our toes in freezing Lake Michigan and throwing autumn leaves in each other’s faces — enjoying one last carefree fall season together before we went our separate ways for college. —Monica Sather

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2J-0EtsCpo

Middle Brother – “Blue Eyes”

Every fall I go back to the folk-rock genre, regardless of what I filled my summers with. Maybe fall colors say “Americana” for me or maybe readings for school make me focus more on well-crafted lyrics. Either way, supergroup Middle Brother (comprised of musicians from Dawes, Deer Tick and Delta Spirit) is one of the bands I turn to when I’m crunching leaves on the way to class. —Mekea Larson

And, for your listening pleasure, a Spotify playlist of these songs (but only those that are available on Spotify).