Just as a heads up, I’ve decided to make posting a weekly thing. The end of the semester is way too busy for me to write a regular, bi-weekly, tri-weekly, etc. post. Of course, if I get some news that is just way too exciting to wait until the next Monday to share, I will make an exception to the rule. Other than that, I’ll be posting here every Monday. Now on to this week’s topic!

I’ve recently noticed something about my musical preferences: they tend to change with the season. And I’m not just talking about listening to Christmas music in between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. For some reason, certain genres seem to mesh better with certain types of weather. Or perhaps these genres are actually meshing with certain moods which are caused by changes in the weather. I have always turned to music to express the thoughts of my heart and mind, so this tendency to change music with the seasons doesn’t surprise me.

Whatever the reason, whenever the chilling bite of winter begins to soften and blossoms begin to sprout on all the trees and plants around me, I find myself listening more frequently to bluegrass music. Nickel Creek has long been my favorite band in this genre, and if they were ever to get back together, I would be overjoyed. Fortunately, thanks to Pandora, I’ve been discovering similar bands for when my supply of Nickel Creek music runs out. Like The Wailin Jennys. Their rendition of “Longtime Traveler” is pure gold.

As the weather becomes warmer and gentle spring sunshine turns into blazing summer heat, my hankering for bluegrass morphs into an urge to jam out to country music. Brad Paisley’s “Water” and Kenny Chesney’s “Summertime” are, in my opinion, the perfect summer anthems. The heat of summer is bolder and harsher than the warm spring sunshine. It’s only fitting that the soundtrack of my life shifts from softer, quainter Appalachian music to the brassy twang of modern country.

When the air begins to cool, my musical taste changes along with the leaves outside. Autumn is beautiful, hauntingly beautiful. It’s the final burst of vivid color before all of summer’s loveliness fades into dreary winter. My autumn genre is acoustic/soft/alternative rock, like Coldplay or Mat Kearney. I’ve always found Coldplay’s music to have a rather mournful undertone, which seems fitting for a season that is essentially mourning the loss of summer sunshine.

And now that I come to the end of this post, I can’t really think of a genre that fits winter time. The most obvious choice is Christmas music, but the actual season of winter lasts long past the holidays. Hard as I try, I can’t think of one particular genre that I listen to the most frequently in January and February. Perhaps you, dear readers, can suggest a good one? And I’m curious to know if any of you have noticed a similar trend in your iTunes playlists. What do you tend to listen to the most in each season?