Kansas City Playlist: Awful Autumn Customs

Tonight we're merely sharing a quick missive for our traditional Fall selection of music.

The topic . . .

We're noticing traditional patterns emerge for Autumn and here are a few of our least favorite: 

- Pot Luck Dinners: We thought COVID killed off this horrible practice but it seems to have resurfaced amongst communities of strangers who desperately want to have something in common with one another . . . Starting with the runs. 

- Coffee Shop Workstations: Wifi & the 90s begat this fake/work pose and the cozy Autumn weather brings us back to original gig workers and FAILED screenwriters who pioneered places like Starbucks but never made them pay. 

- Women Dressed Like Han Solo: Sometimes a big dumb hat might try to disguise this look but it's just a trick and Autumn still brings out this look amongst the local middle-class ladies who think all of those mainstream "live, laugh, love" jokes are talking about their moms.

However . . .

There are just our pet peeves . . . We'd like to open the conversation to www.TonysKansasCity.com readers who likely have some kind of election or DEI gripe to share in lieu of any meaningful interaction with family members ahead of holiday season obligations. 

And all of this inspires our Autumn 2024 playlist . . .

In our opinion "Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground" was the last of the Gen X ballads and a turning point for both The White Stripes the last generation before the Internet.

One of the top songs of the 90s . . . Fade Into You by Mazzy Star is a love song/break-up tune with all of the appropriate echoes of hopelessness that accompany state college grads looking at tens of thousands in future student loan payments.

Yebba singing October Sky is a more recent melody that might speak to Gen Z autumn misery and offers yet another coffee house track for "all of the feels" of the season.

We play this one every year but for some reason we didn't realize that Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" was released in 1992 and reminds us that many of "The Boomers" are still going strong and influencing not only the election but also American culture year after year.

Finally, "Autumn Leaves" is the signature track of the season and there are so many worthwhile versions. Tonight we share a rendition from Chet Baker & Paul Desmond that might go unnoticed but certainly makes the start of HalloThanksMas just a bit more enjoyable.

As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe & fun Saturday night.