Time to Waste
Marti Wong ’26
November embodies fall to its fullest. The sun sets early in the afternoon, the trees shed their last green leaves, and New York City’s squirrels start lining their burrows with acorns. Summer’s warmth is present only in the yellow foliage that scatters the street.
Google tells me that November is the month of remembrance: its holidays include the Day of the Dead, Veterans Day, and All Saint’s Day, among other days dedicated to honoring ancestors. This month is about moving forward — moving into new beginnings — while also looking back.
I’ve tried to capture this bittersweetness by incorporating old, familiar songs as well as brand-new Apple Music library additions into my November Playlist. This mix delivers a healthy kick of nostalgia, but it should also help motivate you to make the most of the new month. So, without further ado, here’s this month’s playlist:
Time to Waste: a Mix for October’s Aftertaste
“Les Temps De L’amour,” Françoise Hardy
“Spooky,” Dusty Springfield
“Wake Me Up To Drive,” Big Thief
“Bea’s Song,” Cowboy Junkies
“Little Sister,” Concrete Blonde
“Lola,” The Raincoats
“Most Of The Time,” Bob Dylan
“Only When I’m Dreaming,” Minnie Riperton
“Seven Wonders,” Fleetwood Mac
“Will She Just Fall Down,” ‘Til Tuesday
“Sweet Thing,” Van Morrison
“Free Man In Paris,” Joni Mitchell
“Seekers Who Are Lovers,” Cocteau Twins
“Sisters of the Moon,” Fleetwood Mac
“River Song,” Birdy
“Do I Ever Cross Your Mind,” Sombr
“Someday?” Concrete Blonde
The Highlights:
“Les Temps De L’amour,” Françoise Hardy
This song is perfect for walking under street lamps at night, drinking coffee by a window, or studying in an empty cafe. Its jazzy rhythm and plucky guitar, overlaid with Hardy’s crooning voice, give it a spooky, dark vibrancy, making it sound like a soundtrack for an old noir film.
“Spooky,” Dusty Springfield
As its title implies, this song is perfect for spooky season. Not far from Hardy’s jazz-influenced rock classic in terms of its sound, this song also gives an example of a perfect November night — “in the cool of the evening / when everything is getting kind of groovy,” why not go out to see a movie?
“Bea’s Song,” Cowboy Junkies, “Little Sister,” Concrete Blonde
I usually listen to these songs when the days get cold and windy. Their lyrics cut to the core: the Junkies’ Margo Timmins whispers “I’m sittin’ here burnin’ daylight, thinkin’ about the past / and that distance out there where the earth meets the sky,” while Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano murmurs “Look into a younger face that used to be my own / Years apart they make it harder to be near you.” These songs are perfect for those nights when you get home at 4 o’clock and the sun has already set — nights when you’re left asking yourself: where does all the time go?
“Only When I’m Dreaming,” Minnie Riperton
This song is aligned with the previous two in terms of its lyrics (“empty hourglass; running out of time / Yesterday is here / Now will never pass”), but not in terms of its composition. Its string crescendos, paired with Riperton’s celestial voice that hovers above the clouds in a range accessible only to angels, birds, and (maybe) opera singers, make you feel like you’re floating.
“Sisters of the Moon,” Fleetwood Mac, “Seekers Who Are Lovers,” Cocteau Twins
Spooky and spookier.
“River Song,” Birdy; “Someday?” Concrete Blonde
These songs perfectly capture the ambivalence that comes with entering a new season. Napolitano weighs her options (“some say easy come / some say easy go / some say time flies by too fast / Some say it drags on all too slow”), asking over and over: “is it easy, is it, babe?” Birdy wonders, “is the future like the past? / do we shine a temporary glow, or are we built to last?,” before asking her listener: “Do you ever feel, at times, like it's all too fast?”
To answer Napolitano’s question: moving into a new month is never easy. If you’re someone who gets the summer scaries, you know that the seasons move all too fast. But good music, I’ve found, makes it all a little easier — a little less spooky.