One for Summer, One for Fall

I was in Boston over the weekend, and it was a quintessential New England summer day on Saturday: mid-80s, clear sky, slight breeze, (what felt like) several hundred thousand people walking Newbury St. It was perfect. I certainly don't feel much like Boston is home anymore (it hasn't really been for over 3 years, and that stint was only 8 months), but - much like Chicago - it's tough to beat a perfect summer day there. Obviously Los Angeles has infinitely better weather year round, but that makes it tough to really, fully appreciate those individual days that scatter themselves - more and more rarely, these days - throughout the summer in typically cold weather cities. I ran along the river in the morning and walked Back Bay during the afternoon trying to soak it all in.

There are few times better suited for happy music than such days, and everyone has stockpiles of songs that they associate with these moments of weather-related perfection. While I have hundreds, I have been listening to the following quite a bit recently. It's not going to win any awards for originality, but it's flat out nasty and guaranteed to put you in a good mood. Plus, it's getting me even more excited to see Phish here in Chicago next week (they cover it with some regularity).

The Rolling Stones - Loving Cup

And then a strange thing happened. On my flight back to Chicago, I had this odd nostalgia for fall. Somewhat amazingly, Chicago has a comparable autumn to New England (minus the intense foliage), about which I will absolutely take more time to write when the weather calls for it. I can't believe I could be looking forward to fall, considering it's been the coldest summer here in decades, but you can't help it sometime, right? Right.

The band Fruit Bats remind me of fall. Their music is folky, with earthy themes and mellow tunes. My favorite tune of theirs, "When U Love Somebody," has been featured in the theatrical trailer for the movie Adam coming out soon, so I'll offer something different here today, off their album Mouthfuls. Their new album, The Ruminant Band, just came out on Sub Pop. I'll check it out and post a review.

Fruit Bats - Union Blanket