Text and photos inspired by rain and general malaise. All done by Dorothy-June Fraser

Playlists I am compiling for the week.

A: anything by Godspeed You Black Emperor/Almagamated Sons of Rest, Songs:Ohia. Long, slow buildup to magestic ocean deaths.
The point of this is obvious: wallow in the rain, gray skies and the looming presence of winter: it's coming. Uhuh. The dread of soaking wet socks is upon the city, long pants and sweater sets are quivering with certain anticipation in the closet, relieved to be back in circulation. The long summer is at an end and the perfect compliment is obviously the dark, moody, sometimes over-the-top rolling orchestra of GSYBE. The wailing sea chanties of ASOR slowly coat my skin like Labrador salt spray display the history, sadness and the hungry heritage of the coastline itself. Not only does it make the gloom seem slightly more like you’re in some form of independant cinema, it really inspires one to BE the season. This is around the same time that I start to read a lot of Sylvia Plath. Coincidence? Of course. I’m not oblivious to my own shortcomings/patterns/behavioural “disorders”. I have a team of health professionals who would really be unhappy with my progress if I didn’t see the "signs". Foreboding and creepily formal, old-fashioned poetry aside, I really do like this in-between seasonal purgatory we have on our hands. Vancouver posesses a special kind of autumn. We call it ‘wet’. Or other such words that describe the same visceral emotion that permeates our climate from the end of september onward: the winter rains. The gray notes of GSYBE and ASOR match it.
“I opened up my wallet, and it was full of blood.”
That’s all I need to say, isn’t it?
Secondably:
“Lay Lady Lay” by Bob Dylan over and over again,
following Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan together on
“Girl From the North Country”. Mournful Notes and Thoughtful Pauses.
Anything that is as sad as country music deserves to be put into the perfect list. It has become a part of my computer-diagnosed OCD. I try to make the ultimate playlist for virtually every activity. I know it sounds bad, but it isn’t. At least I’m not outside in the rain trying to get to some event so I have something to post besides my own personal thoughts on the fothcoming sogginess. Now that would be obsessive. No, its a sunday evening and my brain is hardly functioning as it is, and time marches on with every sentence I type.
So, besides that ridiculous tangent I just went on: the perfect sorrow to follow tragedy after twangy tragedy. The heartbreaking melodies and cigarette metaphors are too much for me to resist. The winter draws them out, along with...
3:
Blonde Redhead, The Pixies, The Breeders mix. Heavy to Light to Heavy Jam Factor.
Not and never necessarily in that order. I currently have “Into the White “ by the Pixies stuck along with a cover of “Happiness is a Warm Gun” by the Breeders. It is currently absorbing me. Blonde Redhead anytime.
Winter is coming.
And here we are, in our lovely little corner of the world. The Easterners have cold winds and snow, we have 6-8 months of rain. Ahhhh. well, we had a good run, didn’t we?
I am not talking about running.


It’s time to break out the big guns: TOM WAITS, DEVANDRA BANHART, MOLASSES.

I do not have an iPod. I wish, I wish, I wish.
But I can continue on my mission to bring the perfect musical accompaniment for all aspects of my scheduled life. Spontaneous events not included in this equation.

So, let’s all switch our warbrobes and get out the fuzzy knee socks. Also, change the vinyl around and brush off the dusty sad that makes winter mud outside our windows, the companion to steam on bus windows and the full seasonal effect of our green/gray city.