October truly is the best time of the year.
"a man who is pure of heart & says his prayers by night,
may become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright"
[aside] My logic being, if all those fools can start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving, then I have every right to start celebrating Halloween before Labor Day. Yeah, I'm a total grinch who dislikes Christmas .. you'll see that miserable side come out when I hear the first song at work. woof.
The Equinox came with a powerful transition this year. Something about the leaves dying, the earth becoming dormant, the shift to warm beverages, Baileys in my morning coffee, smoking outside in the chilly wind, jackets, scarves, boots, seeing people all noir. It's wonderful.
I have a playlist for this time of year. I'll give you a hint as to its sound: dark. (I know, right? haha. Damnit, that was a terrible hint, more of a give a way.) Aside from my dark electro music, there is something about Fleetwood Mac that resonates. Several of my favorite songs include (click to listen)
Dreams
The Chain,
Rhiannon,
and Gold Dust Woman
All are totally noir. While perfect songs all year round, there is something beautifully eery about them that gets released this time of year. I urge you to drive late at night outside of the city, the windows down, the waxing moon above, and a coffee on hand (I say on hand, because .. well, I hope you are driving a stick shift). You'll feel that spirit whispering in your ear. Feeling that gypsy being freed.
Fleetwood Mac
"Apollo, everytime I hear Fleetwood Mac, I think of you .. and I turn it up just a little bit more because of that."
It makes me laugh a little when I hear that from multiple sources. [insert chuckle here and a roll of the eyes] More so, I always think of my mum when I hear Fleetwood, particularly, Gypsy. I'm close with her, because we've been though a lot together. I was a lot like her when I was younger. Hell, I'm still a lot like her now. She grew up in a city where the mountains overlooked her youth and the city was a glance away. It's a beautiful place. She's a mountain girl at heart. She has always had an edge, but a good edge, a noir edge. I think, if it wasn't for her and the freedom she gave me as kid, I wouldn't be much of who I am today. I'm definitely her child: looks, hair, stubborn, and that gypsy blood...
my little Spanish mother
When I was 18, I traveled to South America before graduation. There I met a women, Angenie, she was a cook and played in a steel drum band. She and I became close over the two week period. She saw something in me and told me something in secret, something I hear all too often about myself. But this is the funny part.
Over a year passes, and we never kept in touch after I came back home. Then over a year later, Angenie comes to The City of Fountains and come in contact with my mother while walking through my old school. Having never met my mother, seen her, nor seen me in a year, goes up to her and says, "You look familiar, do you have a son named Apollo?" My mother was taken aback. She rings me to tell me what just happened. Apparently, not only do I look like her, but have some of the same mannerisms.
Now, earlier in my youth, I fondly remember seeing the gypsy in her come out. One night while driving late at night from The City of Fountains, back to her roots in the mountains, the moon was bright, the music was right, and she spontaneously just pulled the car over. Middle of nowhere. We just breathed in that October air, walked along side of the road, went into a field, and simply looked up.
That memory will forever be dearly noir.
- Apollo
ps. okay, okay .. I couldn't resist. Here is a Fleetwood Mac remix by Cut Copy. The electro in me couldn't stay away. Enjoy.
Fleetwood Mac (Cut Copy Lifelike Remix)