I wanted to make a fall playlist.
But I didn't want to make the usual fall playlist.
I wanted to get a little outside the box — to wander beyond the familiar artists and songs and, hopefully, discover a few things along the way.
So I gave myself a few rules: 20 songs total, five from my own catalogue, 15 from other artists, and no outside artist repeated. My songs are scattered throughout rather than grouped together.
Most importantly, I wanted to avoid the obvious choices.
I wanted some 60–70% guesses — songs where there was a good reason I might connect with them because of their atmosphere, production, melody, electronic textures, or just something that caught my ear.
And I wanted to be surprised myself.
That's the fun of it. If I already know I'm going to like every song, what's the point of exploring?
So here's where the road took me:
Fall, Off the Beaten Path
David Husted — Glide
Lanterns on the Lake — Elodie
The Blue Nile — The Downtown Lights
David Husted — Moonbeam Blue
Wild Nothing — Nocturne
The Clientele — Reflections After Jane
David Husted — Heartbeat Drops
Efterklang — Modern Drift
The Radio Dept. — Heaven's on Fire
The Apartments — All the Birthdays
David Husted — Dungarees
Real Estate — It's Real
The Go-Betweens — Clouds
The Innocence Mission — On Your Side
David Husted — Wanderer
Destroyer — Kaputt
TOPS — Way to Be Loved
Andy Shauf — The Magician
The Sea and Cake — Autumn
Julia Jacklin — Don't Know How to Keep Loving You
Spotify: Fall, Off the Beaten Path
Apple Music: Fall, Off the Beaten Path
The mood I'm after isn't necessarily “songs about fall.” It's more that feeling of shorter days, changing light, cooler air, evening walks, and the world getting just a little quieter.
Some of these artists are familiar to me. Some are not. Some choices are safer bets than others.
That's intentional.
I'm curious to see which songs end up becoming favorites — including my own. And if I stumble across something here that I wouldn't have found otherwise, even better.
So take the playlist for a walk.
You might know where you're going.
I don't.
I plan to create a Halloween playlist in a few weeks.
[Spotify]: Fall, Off the Beaten Path
[Apple Music]: Fall, Off the Beaten Path
