Legit country music in the summer- My experiences with popular country these days is pretty much limited to Taylor Swift and Big & Rich, and I'm not talking about either of those assholes. I mean classic country music like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Sr. Hell, even newer bands done in a similar fashion, like The Builders and the Butchers or Old Crow Medicine Show. This kind of music isn't always my cup of tea (except the Builders and the Butchers, who always make fantastic tea), but there's something about a hot, summer day that just makes me want to kick my feet up, listen to some twangy guitars/banjos and sweat my living face/off. Since I managed to remain aggressively ignorant during the seven years I spent in my middle school/high school string orchestra, I don't really know shit all about music theory. None the less, there's something about the lazy, almost swing-style tempo of this music that fits so perfectly with warm weather that it almost seems criminal to listen to anything else. As tomorrow is Labor Day and the weather will instantaneously drop down to -500 degrees, we might not have many more chances to experience this, but I challenge anyone to go driving with all the windows down and "New Virginia Creeper" by Old Crow Medicine Show cranked up and tell me it doesn't send shivers down your spine. For those violently opposed to country, I also recommend trying it to "Jimmy Jazz" by The Clash, but take five points away from yourself for being such a sissy.But I'm not crazy about...
Seasonal Music Withdrawal Syndrome- For lack of a better term, I made that one up. I've talked to several people with this and most of them seem to agree: we all have certain music we listen to in the warmer months and certain music that fits better with the cold. Living in a part of the country that has four distinct seasons, there is a fairly definite cut-off time when I stop listening to country and psychedelic rock, put on a sweatshirt, and dig out my Arcade Fire and Radiohead CDs. Sure, I could try to stretch summer music into the winter, desperately screaming along to Jefferson Airplane as the first snowflakes begin to fall, but it just doesn't feel right. Part of me suspects this is a good thing. Taking a break from certain styles of music keeps me from getting burnt out on them, making them all the more special when that first day in the mid-60s hits and I can bust them out again. But another part of me just really fucking misses all my summer music when seasonal depression hits in the winter. Still, it's inevitable that in a few weeks I'll be forgetting about Mr. Cash and Mr. Williams. There's already a small chill starting in the air when the sun's not out in full force. I guess, at the very least, there's also a new Arcade Fire album that I haven't given a serious listen to yet.
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