Kaleidoscope: Cozy November Edition
They say that scent is most strongly associated with memories out of any of the other senses. In my own experience, I can definitely agree with that sentiment whenever I’m minding my own business and some sort of inexplicable smell wafts by that reminds me of my grandma’s house.
The same can be said for music, but rather than just making you nostalgic, music can also be strongly associated with specific seasons or months out of the year. So I decided to ask the people of J Miller, “what does fall & winter sound like to you?”
The Theme
Another month means another edition of Kaleidoscope! The theme for this month is the perfect fall/winter playlist. Maybe I could have asked everyone to give me songs with some variation of “thank” in the title or songs about food in honor of Thanksgiving, but honestly? Those are really hard themes! I didn’t create Kaleidoscope to be too limiting or restrictive, rather I want embrace the perspective of each of my coworkers, so the theme became songs that you listen to around fall & wintertime or songs that simply make you think of those seasons. Also, I just started a fall/winter playlist of my own, so it was kind of top of mind when I started brainstorming ideas.
Stats & Tracklist
I usually associate fall & winter with more melancholic & ethereal music; basically, if it reminds me of the sound of falling snow, then I strongly associate it with fall & winter. I found that a lot of my coworkers felt the same way, but that doesn’t mean there are a few outliers to shake things up. November’s playlist is also an exercise in the question “how soon can I start listening to Christmas music after Halloween?” as a few songs make an appearance this month; perhaps hinting at next month’s playlist? Who knows!
Similar to August’s playlist, we didn’t have too much overlap in song selections this month, but The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather” takes the top spot in the most popular song category. Three people chose it as a song that evokes the theme of fall & winter, but outside of that, we did not have any more duplicate songs, which should be expected when you pick a theme as broad and as open to interpretation as fall & winter.
Despite that, there were quite a few song picks from the same artist. John Denver makes 2 appearances on the playlist along with the Vince Guaraldi Trio, Norah Jones, Porter Robinson, and Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper as Ally & Jackson Maine from the soundtrack to A Star Is Born. But the most popular selection by far was Bon Iver, a band forged in the deep freeze of Eau Claire winters, with 4 songs in total. It’s also worth mentioning that a cover of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” by the singer/songwriter Birdy was included in the playlist as well.
And with that, we come to the track listing! Be sure to throw this playlist on after you’ve settled in by the fire (or radiator, in my case) on a cold November night:
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January Wedding” by The Avett Brothers – Lindsay
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver – Kera
“Linus and Lucy” by Vince Guaraldi Trio – Jennifer S.
“Sweet Disposition” by The Temper Trap – Lauren
“L Y F” by WU LYF – Nick
“Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin – Mike
“1979” by Smashing Pumpkins – Lauren
“Wake Me Up When September Ends” from American Idiot – Jenn K.
“Sound & Color” by Alabama Shakes – Sheri
“Skinny Love” by Bon Iver – Danielle
“This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)” by The Lumineers – Betsy
“Shallow” by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper from A Star Is Born – Laura
“Issues - Acoustic” by Julia Michaels – Andrea
“Remind Me to Forget” by Kygo feat. Miguel – Andrea
“When the Dust Settles” by STS9 – Lauren
“Lights Down Low” by MAX – Andrea
“Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood – Andrea, Kellie, & Danielle
“Watch You Burn” by Anchor & Braille – Sarah
“Natural” by Imagine Dragons – Sarah
“You’ll Think of Me - Live” by Keith Urban – Kylee
“The Reason” by Brett Eldredge – Emily W.
“Tin Man” by Miranda Lambert – Kylee
“Banana Pancakes” by Jack Johnson – Emily F.
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings” by Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan – Jennifer S.
“Great Pumpkin Waltz” by Vince Guaraldi Trio – Betsy
“Holocene” by Bon Iver – Emily F.
“A Hazy Shade of Winter” by Simon & Garfunkel – Mike
“home” by morgxn feat. WALK THE MOON – Sarah
“Shelter” by Porter Robinson & Madeon – Rhy
“Falling Slowly” from Once: A New Musical – Jenn K.
“Home” by Michael Bublé – Emily W.
“Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones – Emily W.
“Twenty” by Dehd – Nick
“Here’s to Us” by Halestorm – Steve
“Better Off Gone (Acoustic Sessions)” by Logan Mize – Kylee
“Once Upon a December” from the Anastasia – Jenn K.
“Simple X” by Andrew Bird – Tessa
“Reflection” by V.K. – Rhy
“Wild Horses - Acoustic” by Bishop Briggs – Danielle
“Anyone Else But You” by Michael Cera & Ellen Paige from Juno – Morgan
“I’ll Never Love Again” by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper from A Star Is Born – Laura
“Come Away With Me” by Norah Jones – Betsy
“Poison & Wine” by The Civil Wars – Morgan
“Rivers and Roads” by The Head and the Heart – Brooke
“Heartbeats” by José González – Tessa
“Michicant” by Bon Iver – Emily F.
“Falling In Love at a Coffee Shop” by Landon Pigg – Brooke
“November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses – Steve
“Somebody to Love” by Queen – Laura
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Seth MacFarlane & Sara Bareilles – Lindsay
“The Thanksgiving Song” by Adam Sandler – Mike
“My Bologna” by “Weird Al” Yankovic – Cody
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver – Cody
“I Love a Rainy Night” by Eddie Rabbitt – Kera
“Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton – Sheri
“Sea of Voices” by Porter Robinson – Rhy
“Otherside” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Fences – Morgan
“Beautiful With You - Live from Chicago” by Halestorm – Morgan
“Always” by blink-182 – Morgan
“It’s a Good Day” by Kay Starr – Lindsay
“Mele Kalikimaka” by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters – Kellie
“Joy” by George Winston – Jennifer S.
“The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No.4 in F Minor, RV 297 ‘Winter’: I. Allegro non molto” by Dmitry Sinkovsky – Steve
“Skinny Love” by Birdy – Brooke
“Woods” by Bon Iver – Tessa
“Harvest Moon” by Neil Young – Sheri
“Tibetan Pop Stars” by Hop Along – Nick
