Playlist: Fall into Sad Girl Autumn

Fall is here. Hot Girl Summer transitions into Sad Girl Autumn, and so arrives the annual rewatch of Gilmore Girls and a craving for the gloomy instrumentals and gothic libraries of the “dark academia” aesthetic. Amble down Speedway to the tunes of Ethel Cain and Mazzy Star as the leaves change.

Written by Anjali Krishna

Illustrated by Caroline Pastrano

In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is shot dead as he lays on a pool mattress on the first day of fall. He makes a ridiculous scene as leaves from his tree sit strewn around him in the pool. He’s left swimming, a typical summer’s past-time that suddenly becomes inappropriate: Autumn arrives and renders him idiotic. Fall is a symbol of change in Gatsby, but the season’s meaning transcends the novel: it’s a time of endings, and new beginnings.

It’s the time of realizations (Julia Jacklin’s “You Were Right”), fading (Lana del Rey’s “How to disappear”), and regret (Sloppy Jane’s “Party Anthem”). Autumn is the last cry of optimism before winter’s desolation; the weather is warm and beautiful like the reds and oranges the world turns into. As the season changes, we fall into a new rhythm apparent in Mazzy Star’s “Halah” and Clairo’s “Amoeba.” Melancholy lyrics are delivered behind consistent rhythms, masking their gloom. Beware: this playlist gets a little spooky, too, with Fleetwood Mac’s “Sisters of the Moon.”

Move through this playlist as you would an autumn wood: slowly, and with care. It’s time to embrace the changing seasons, so put in your headphones and sink in.