“Damn, is it the fall? Time for me to revisit the past…” – Drake, HYFR lyrics
This entire post is going to be a different kind of post than most of my blog posts. First off, I’m starting off with Drake lyrics. I wouldn’t consider Drake to be one of my influences – my own music is about as far away from hip hop & rap as you can get, but I do from time to time listen to his music. I truly appreciate ALL music. It just depends on what I’m in the mood for.
Secondly, this post is going to be more philosophical than most of my posts. What I want to talk about today is, as the Drake quote suggests, fall & winter and the feelings they bring with them.
I don’t know what it is about fall and winter; but I get extremely sentimental this time of year. Sentimental for not only old places and old friends, but old versions of myself. Sometimes I seek the “me” from middle school, where fall meant Halloween costumes, decorating our yard as a graveyard (my mom had the most epic Halloween decorations). Sometimes I seek the “me” from college. College is this magical period of time where you learn who you are, gain independence from your parents, AND somehow avoid (for the most part) the whole bill-paying thing that really makes being an adult a bummer.
As mentioned, I also miss people from my past during this time of year. I have an awful habit of losing touch with most people. It’s something I really need to get better about. But as I move from place to place, I find I cultivate new friends. I’m always drawn to people to intrigue me, that are a little off beat, rather than the people it would be easiest for me to get along with that I have a lot in common with. I like finding what makes people tick, and those off beat people (which by the way, I also count myself in this category, proudly) usually have different stories, different takes on the universe that fascinate and captivate me. As a songwriter, this is a great way for me to expand what I can write about. You will find you are very limited as a songwriter if you write only from personal experience. If you surround yourself with interesting, unique people, you will have so many more things to write about.
I also get very nostalgic for time periods I haven’t even been alive for during the fall and winter. I love history; I am a history nerd. Sometimes I yearn for the artistic freedom and creativity of the 60s, sometimes I imagine what it would have been like in Elizabethan England or during the Italian Renaissance. On a very random note – I think this is why I like the sound of a harpsichord so much. I have yet to find a place in my music where a harpsichord will fit, but one day I will. I think it has such a beautiful, unearthly sound.
What does this season bring to your mind?