Lockdown! at the Disco #19: The Autumn Episode

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Hiyaaa! Pop the kettle on, will ya? And have you got any cinnamon based snacks there, la? Yeah, lash them on plate for us. I’m gonna get under me blankie and get proper snug and crunchy and cosy…mmmm…I love this season…

TRACK ONE: “Autumn Almanac” – The Kinks

That was “Autumn Almanac” by The Kinks and it was requested by Tom and this is episode number 19 of Comics Youth Radio presents Lockdown! at the Disco  - with me, your dead leaf crunching pal and host Amy Roberts. As ever, this is our usual content warning for the episode that though we try our hardest to keep inappropriate language out of this show, occasionally bad words do end up slipping past us within songs. As a result, this show may not be suitable for some of our junior listeners and parental discretion is advised.

Now, as Summer is ending and Autumn is officially starting this week, we thought it was time to dedicate an entire episode to celebrating this beautiful season because, in this goth’s opinion, Autumn is the best season!

There’s just so much to love about it. In Autumn you get this crispy, fresh air and it gets a little bit cooler but no too cold and the nights draw in but the days aren’t too dark yet – you still get those bursts of sun with the chilliness which just makes the world sparkle.

And there’s something so special about that as the leaves drop from the trees and the world starts to end one cycle of life as it preps to bring in the next one. And I just absolutely love that. There’s a certain romance to Autumn that no other season has. It’s cosy and crunchy and a little bit moody – there’s an atmosphere to Autumn that feels both optimistic and full of light while also being a little bit on the darker side of things.

In that way, Autumn really serves up a boss reminder about balance: Summer can be obtrusively bright sometimes and Winter can be oppressively dark, but Autumn has the best of both. And just like this season, it’s important to carry the light alongside the dark.

Autumn reminds us all that though a brown leaf is significant of death, it’s also symbolic of the chance for rebirth. It reminds us all that it’s okay to embrace bad moods or even sadness so long as we accept those things alongside optimism and happiness and the chance to take something bright and worthwhile from those bad feelings.

All of life is about accepting the light with the dark, and the dark with the light. And as Autumn rolls in and we get nestle up inside our cosy homemade bedroom dens or inside our fave coats for crunchy walks in the park whereupon we can enjoy the season, remember to reflect on the light and the dark of the world, your life, and this beautiful season.

And now for some super crisp and cosy Autumnal tunes that really reflect that vibe. This is “Wasteland, Baby!” by Hozier and it was requested by Rosa who says that it makes her feel so cosy and like she could nap for a week…

TRACK TWO: “Wasteland, Baby!” – Hozier
TRACK THREE: “Bloom” – Paper Kites

That was “Bloom” by Paper Kites and it was requested by Lucas M who says that it’s basically in his top tier Autumnal tracks and it’s easy to see why. That’s a crispy dreamboat of a song. 

We’ve had a whole bunch of requests for today’s episode from the awesome gang who make up our Safe Spaces group here at Comics Youth. And as we’ve mentioned during previous episodes, one of our fave things to talk about during our safe spaces sessions is food. Inevitably, everything comes back to chatting scran.

And I feel like Autumn scran is some of the best scran. So, I’m gonna do a little roundup right here of some autumnal food faves.

Let’s get some of that food mood music on the go – hit it!

Let’s start first and foremost with CINNAMON. Just cinnamon in everything when it comes to Autumn. Cinnamon in my porridge. Cinnamon on biscuits. Cinnamon in my cereal. Sometimes I even like to grate and shake some cinnamon into my coffee or on top of some hot chocolate or just stirred in with some warm milk before bed.

And can we please take a moment to appreciate the spectacular flavourful delights of a good cinnamon bun. Oof! Me and my fella had some coffee and a cinnamon bun sat outside HOME in Manchester the other day and it was a vibe, let me tell ya. A bun so big that me fella had to stab a fork through it and eat it like a king chewing on a hunk of meat.

CINN-A-MON BUNS!!

Other Autumnal food vibes: It’s the start of soup season. But in Autumn, you start light – you save those chonky soups for the Winter. But in Autumn, you get those warm, thick blended flavourful soups. Tomato, pea and mint, onion, pumpkin, sweet potato and carrot – oooh baby! YES!

Throw some cream on top, get a colossal chunk of bread to dip in that beauty and GO TO SOUP TOWN, HONEY!

Teas!! Drink all of the teas! Spiced teas! Vanilla teas! Fruity teas! Roobois! Have em in a massive mug you can hug against yourself and warm up some cookies in the microwave for 20 – 30 seconds to enjoy with them. PERFECTION!!

And – this is the last reference we’ll make to Halloween until our spoopy October editions of Lockdown! at the Disco – but, Autumn is boss because all of the Halloween sweets are out in the shops and – I dunno what it is about snacks with ghosts or pumpkins or skulls or witches on the wrapping, but Halloween treats always taste the best.

And that’s our  essential Autumnal scran roundup. Have I not included one of your faves in that list? Get in touch to let me know and maybe I can address it in another episode – hmu via amy@comicsyouth.co.uk.

And now, this is another solid Autumnal request from Tom by the almighty Fiona Apple: This is “Pale September”…

TRACK FOUR: “Pale September” – Fiona Apple
TRACK FIVE: “Autumn Sweater” – Yo La Tengo

That was “Autumn Sweater” by the wonderful Yo La Tengo who make me smile all year round, to be honest! But they had to get an extra special shoutout for this seasonal edition of the show because damn, they’re putting the season in the song title!

And also, props to any song that celebrates the joy of Autumn clothing. Because that’s also something that I get excited about the second that September starts. Like, I’m not gonna lie – once the first of September hits, I’m there unpacking my fave biggest and thickest jumpers and – even when the sun is still blazing and the temperature is pretty high – I will sit there and I will sweat just so long as I can wear that sweater and be happy.

I dunno, it’s just better clothes when you get Autumn innit. It’s all about comfort. The majority of Summer fashion is uncomfortable because it’s an uncomfortable season in general. But Autumn, you get layer up a little – you don’t have to dress too warm. You can wear your Docs again without your little feet getting too sweaty and you can start not having to do your hair in the morning cos you can get away with wearing a hat indoors during the Autumn, honey.

Ooh, it’s a good’un. Got me Autumn rail and my favourite cardies and jumpers ready and waiting. Is that a bit naff? I don’t even care, I’m happy.

This is “Autumn Leaves” by Nat King Cole and it was requested by Raf.

TRACK SIX: “Autumn Leaves” – Nat King Cole
TRACK SEVEN: “Les Feuilles Mortes” – Iggy Pop

That was Iggy Pop covering “Les Feuilles Mortes” and I don’t know if you maybe you noticed or not, but that is actually the French version of the song you heard before it. “Les Feuilles Mortes” translates to The Dead Leaves and it’s one of those jazz standard tracks that has been covered by a huge variety of artists since the song was written in 1954.

The French version of the song has been covered by artists including April March, Andrea Bocelli, Grace Jones, and Francoise Hardy and the English version has been covered by just about every musician who has been known to dabble in jazz in some way including Bob Dylan, Eartha Kitt, Mark Lanengan, Frank Sinatra, and Miles Davis.

I really love Iggy Pop’s interpretation of it tho – and Grace Jones’ is absolutely wondeful too – because I think it shows how adaptable the song is. I find it interesting just how many different versions of that song there is and how so many of them sound different to one another – the same but altered.

The many, many, many different versions of Autumn Leaves and Les Feuilles Mortes remind me, quite aptly, of one of my favourite Autumn crafts which is leaf printing. You know, the foundations of the leaf – or the song, in this case – remain the same. You know, the shape and the pattern of the veins on the leaf much like the basics of a melody and the lyrics that sit on top of it – but then you can colour it differently for printing each time and you can use that leaf to create whole new patterns and shapes. One song can be many.

This is another Autumnal request from Raf – this is “Dark Skies” by Brick + Mortar.

TRACK EIGHT: “Dark Skies” – Brick + Mortar
TRACK NINE: “Obstacle 1” – Interpol

That was “Obstacle 1” by Interpol and though that song has no reference to Autumn in it whatsoever, I played it because that song and the album that it comes from  - 2002’s Turn On the Bright Lights - reminds me of Autumn so strongly. And I tend to return to that album again and again around this time of year because it just sinks me into this feeling of enjoyable angst and comfort. Like, I just wanna throw on my duster coat and brood around Liverpool in it while listening to it.

The only way I can really describe how this song and this album makes me feel is that they’re like a musical weighted blanket. I just feel so reassured whenever I hear them – almost at home, no matter where I am in the world when I’m listening to it. I couldn’t tell you why that’s the case but it is. It’s imprinted on me -  for life probably.

Do any of you have a song or album like that? If you do, let me know amy@comicsyouth.co.uk – because that’s something for us to explore sometime, you know? Music as comfort blanket. And in the Autumn, that’s just a little bit of what you need.

Speaking of Autumnal comfort blankets, we need to talk about a TV show that most of us here at Comics Youth are obsessed with and basically just keep on a rewatch loop for comfort – but especially so once we reach Autumn – and that show is Gilmore Girls which you can watch the entirety of on Netflix still. And I strongly urge that you do because it’s a wholesome, snuggly, easy-to-watch treat. And for whatever reason, it’s a total Autumn vibe! It just is.

For those of you who may not be familiar, the show is about a single mother from an affluent, privileged background raising her ridiculously smart and talented teenage daughter in a way that is a little less affluent and privileged.

They live in a quaint small New England town called Stars Hollow and it’s populated by the most wonderous mix of weirdos and outcasts and sweethearts you could every hope to call your neighbours.

It’s also strongly influenced by the screwball comedies of the 40s and 50s, so the dialogue is really quick and the wit is sharp and it’s genuinely just terrifically funny and full of great, well-written characters who you can’t help but love but you also see their flaws and you kind of hate them every now and then too. And it’s cool to do that – it’s one of those shows that’s so well written that it reminds you that there we all have our good and bad qualities.

I started my Gilmore Girls rewatch a little early this year because I basically gave up on Summer sometime around the end of July when my lockdown misery got the better of me and I was just like, Ah, to heck with it. Let’s just go to bed and watch Gilmore Girls again.

So, that’s what I’ve been doing. And let me tell ya, it absolutely helps make a bad day a little bit better. And this next track is the theme tune from Gilmore Girls. This is the iconic Carole King with “Where You Lead”

TRACK TEN: “Where You Lead” – Carole King
TRACK ELEVEN; “I’m Getting Cold” – The Microphones

That was The Microphones with “I’m Getting Cold” and I don’t explain that one to you do I? Autumn’s coming! The temperature’s dropping! We’re all getting a little chilly! So wrap up a bit when you go out, eh? Don’t get caught short – the evenings can be cold now, honey. Put a jumper on!

And that’s us done for another week! Next week’s episode is going to be our back to school special – because, I don’t know about you, but I get kind of excited this time of year about new school supplies and a fresh start to things! I haven’t been in school for a very long time, but I know that a lot of people who I love still use September as their official restart month – their version of a new year – based on that vibe of starting school again.

So, whether you’re returning to school, college, or university, let me know how you’re feeling about it all! Particularly during a pandemic- like, it’s okay to be nervous and a little anxious about things, and maybe that’s something we need to be talking about?

but also, please let me know if you’re excited about returning to school or college or uni, and why! Or maybe you’re starting or have just started uni and feel some boss vibes about that – tell us how you feel! Let us know your fave subjects or give shoutouts to the teachers who make learning fun!

And I also want to know your fave tracks about school or going back to school – so let me know any requests or shoutouts or ideas or comments you’d like share for our next episode via amy@comicsyouth.co.uk.

And that’s us done for another week! REMEMBER – Everything is not cool, but it can be! Stay safe, stay sassy, and my goodness – stay cosy. This is “October Song” by Amy Winehouse as requested by Shan and this is Amy Roberts, signing off – BYEEEEEEEEE….

TRACK TWELVE: “October Song” – Amy Winehouse