Seasonal Music Associations

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

Does anyone else here find that they enjoy certain music more at certain times of the year for stylistic or sentimental reasons? This is something that crossed my mind yesterday morning, when I was out shoveling my driveway and listening to Funeral while doing so, and I realized what great winter music it is. The combination of the lyrical content, sleigh bells, the time of my personal discovery of the album, and some other bunch of intangibles all contribute to that. Radiohead is mostly winter music for me. Camper Van Beethoven is spring on the nice days; My Bloody Valentine for the overcast. There's nothing necessarily wintry about Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin, but since I really got into them around January/February 2002, I make that association. I guess it's further evidence of what a creature of habit I am, if I decide that January is Zeppelin Month because January was Zeppelin Month five years ago. Thus, their stuff also makes me think of my sophomore year of high school, one of my better years, but then we're getting into Soundtrack Of Your Life, which is slightly different.

[C Dubya 04 0]

Well, some bands I like to listen to at all times, but there are definitely bands/songs that I enjoy during certain seasons. Jimmy Buffet is summertime music and this is the only time that I can stand him. Also, Ben Harper has always been solely summer music for me.

 

I find that I enjoy most of Ryan Adams' stuff better in the wintertime for some reason.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

With the exception of Loaded (because it's loaded with shit hits), which I don't even listen to much anyway, The Velvet Underground is a winter band for me, I've found. Unrelenting muddy dissonance isn't good summer music at all.

 

This thread is much harder to participate in if you're from Miami or something, isn't it?

[C Dubya 04 0]

With the exception of Loaded (because it's loaded with shit hits), which I don't even listen to much anyway, The Velvet Underground is a winter band for me, I've found. Unrelenting muddy dissonance isn't good summer music at all.

 

This thread is much harder to participate in if you're from Miami or something, isn't it?

 

Actually, one of my good friends moved to San Diego awhile ago (from the seasons of the Northeast) and noted just that. She said that she really has no desire to listen to a lot of her introspective/moody music out there as it is almost always "summer". She also loses track of what month/year it is because of the no seasons thing.

[snuffbox 0]

Porno for Pyros' 'Pets' reminds me of Summertime even when it's witch's tit cold.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

Yeah, since I tend to be one of those people with headphones on outside waaaaaay too much, I often take my outdoor surroundings into account when I'm listening to stuff, and by trial and error, I've kind of found what works when. Oddly enough, the Smiths, which should really be for dismal and soggy overcast days, is stuff I've found works best when it's warm and sunny: late May, early June, thereabouts. It's a cognitive dissonance thing, I guess: sad lyrics is being juxtaposed with jangly bright guitar work, and I guess adding weather to the music makes it even more glaring?

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

With the exception of Loaded (because it's loaded with shit hits), which I don't even listen to much anyway, The Velvet Underground is a winter band for me, I've found. Unrelenting muddy dissonance isn't good summer music at all.

 

This thread is much harder to participate in if you're from Miami or something, isn't it?

I listened to VU & Nico a ton during the summer. "Sunday Morning" and "Waiting for the Man" trick me every time. I also listen to Exile on Main St. mostly in the summer, I think. That's an album that just stays in the CD player in my car for a month or two at a time.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Ryan Adams is May-September for me. It's great for just chillin' on days when it gets so damn hot you don't want to do ANYTHING.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Love's Forever Changes rarely leaves my car's deck during the summer months. I listen to Big Star a lot in the winter, mainly for the winter season being the first time I heard/fell in love with them rather than any associations the tone of the music itself makes.

[snuffbox 0]

I don't think one can have their headphones on outside too much. All music can do is add to the surroundings and vice versa while opening up new or forgotten thoughts. What, really, is their to miss? In the large city the buzz and drone is drowned out by song, in the small town the boredom can be eclipsed. If a familiar voice calls 'hello' it will be heard unless one has said headphones on at dangerous levels. I do alot of hiking, rock climbing, and such and always listen to music...so as not to miss anything crazy like several whitetail deer jumping out of a bush and coming within fet of trampling me I just keep the music quiet.

 

For me, certain songs and bands become synonymous with the outdoors & others fit better eminating from a car dash or on a Greyhound ride. Nick Drake is perfect for nighttime busrides no matter what the weather...while walking outside his music seems to fit winter the best.

 

I equate Pavement to sunny weather. Winter or summer doesn't matter as long as the sun has shown up that day.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Yeah, since I tend to be one of those people with headphones on...waaaaaay too much

 

Yep.

[snuffbox 0]

Do people actually wear the big cartoonish studio headphones out in public?

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

Well come on, I'm not going to get good sound quality from earbuds, and besides, they hurt my ears to have them in there.

 

Nick Drake is perfect for nighttime busrides

Especially when you've just tried to kill yourself.

[Murmuring Beast 0]

I've been listening to The Byrds a lot lately, but I'm not sure whether that's seasonal.

[Gary Floyd 0]

My Bloody Valentine is great winter music for me. Also, I've been listening to a lot of weird Italian movie music lately.

[Slayer 0]

Unsurprisingly, I've found that fall/winter is much better for listening to doom and black metal, where power, thrash and death metal are much more suited for the spring/summertime.

 

I've also come to associate some CDs with the time of year that I purchased them. I purchased Zappa's You Can't Do that On Stage Anymore #1 in the early summertime and associate the songs with that, but I bought #2 in the winter and associate it with the cold (the fact that was recorded in Helsinki doesn't hurt either)

[Annabelle 0]

off the wall in the summer

 

thriller in the winter

[AboveAverage484 0]

I like listening to the Replacements "Here Comes a Regular" on cold, overcast days, with maybe a flurry of snow or two in the air.

[Henry Spencer 0]

Vincent Gallo's When is well suited for grey, cold winter mornings.

[Guest Legalise Drugs and Murder]

Unsurprisingly, I've found that fall/winter is much better for listening to doom and black metal, where power, thrash and death metal are much more suited for the spring/summertime.

 

I've also come to associate some CDs with the time of year that I purchased them. I purchased Zappa's You Can't Do that On Stage Anymore #1 in the early summertime and associate the songs with that, but I bought #2 in the winter and associate it with the cold (the fact that was recorded in Helsinki doesn't hurt either)

 

Vol 2. is summer music to me. All those happy vibes on the second disk, jumpy keys and ripping guitar work on the first.

 

I listen to Neurosis much more often when it gets cold.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

I can only listen to Sublime in the summer. I find myself wanting to listen to more Wednesday 13 and other horrorpunk/horror rock acts around Halloween. X-Mas time is all about Trans-Siberian Orchestra and other great melodic metal. I find January to be my month of "creepy" music. And, of course, year-round I'm all about thrash and death metal.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

I've been trying to listen to more summery music lately to stave off the ol' seasonal depression. So far, it's helped a little.

[Youth N Asia 0]

The White Album is more of a CHristmas time listen for me, and I don't know why

[AboveAverage484 0]

"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side," for spring. Just a wonderful, beautiful, surprisingly optimistic (for Morrissey), song.

[Guest Oedipus Rex]

I agree. The Smiths are a very vernal band, like I said earlier, 'cept for the stuff like "Asleep," where there's a cold wind overdubbed into the song, ferchrissakes.

 

I've been trying to listen to more summery music lately to stave off the ol' seasonal depression. So far, it's helped a little.

Not enough. I can listen to the Ben Folds Five s/t every waking hour of every day (once I nearly did!), still doesn't change the fact that it snows every other day and hovers around -5 to 15 like every day. I let this shit get me down way more than other people do, and that's a problem. It was never a bother in my high school years, oddly enough. I also had an immune system back then.

[Red Baron 0]

Summertime, a lot of it is country music, mainly Kenny Chesney.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

I was thinking the same thing. The warm weather has me busting out Uncle Tupelo a lot.

 

Today's a good day for Key Lime Pie, unless it gets cloudy.

[AboveAverage484 0]

Summer time's almost here, so for me it's lots of Springsteen, Eagles, Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Bob Seger, Jackson Browne, etc. Good road trip music.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Eagles aren't good music for any occasion. I do recommend "Life's Been Good" by Joe Walsh for shirtless driving, though.

[Annabelle 0]

summer is time for tons of rap music. and 80's mindless pop songs.