Scene Selections: Fall Picks

Ah, yes, fall — or autumn if you're a snob — a season filled with crisp air, all things pumpkin, spooky feats, sweet treats and sick beats. A time when walking across campus doesn't feel like a punishment best suited for one of Dante's many rings of the inferno, but rather a treat. A season fit for both the fashionistas and the horror movie lovers. So break out your scarves, keep on sipping that pumpkin spice latte and let Scene help you get in an autumnal  — yes, we are snobs here at Scene — state of mind.

“Monster Mash” — Bobby “Boris” Pickett

By Ryan Israel, Scene Writer 

Wake me up when September ends, because that means it’s October and the official beginning of spooky season. Spooky season, which stretches the entire month of October and culminates on Halloween, is the most underrated of all seasons. The leaves, the costumes, the decorations — there’s nothing like it. Tailgate season, darty season and Christmas season all get plenty of praise and have a plethora of tunes that accompany them, but there is only one song made for spooky season: “Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett.

You could call Bobby Pickett a one hit wonder, and you’d be right, but that shouldn’t detract from the man’s talent. On “Monster Mash,” Pickett croons over a delightfully upbeat arrangement laid down by his well-named band The Crypt-Kickers. Pickett shouts out all the spooky season staples, name dropping zombies, Wolf Man, Dracula and many more. The scene that Pickett paints of a party full of monsters all performing a choreographed dance is the epitome of spooky season. So this fall, as Oct. 31 comes closer and closer, I implore you to throw “Monster Mash” on the aux and lose yourself in the joy of the season.

 

“The Only Living Boy in New York”  — Simon & Garfunkel

By Sarah Kikel, Scene Writer

Nothing in the lyrics specifically describes fall, but the atmosphere created by Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Only Living Boy in New York” is as autumnal as you can get. The light guitar strums evoke soft leaves falling and the vocals in the middle of the bridge sound like wind rattling trees and blowing through open windows. The song as a whole describes the acceptance of letting go, in this case of Tom (aka Art Garfunkel, as the duo began to split up), but also of trees silently parting with their leaves, peacefully accepting their solitude. And the grounding, underlying assertion of “here I am” reminds us of our presence amidst all the change, as we part with summer and innocence and weather warm enough to allow studying outside on the quad. “The Only Living Boy in New York” is your perfect song to hum while walking around God Quad in fall. And if you still need more convincing of its fall relevance, Paul Simon is wearing a plaid flannel scarf on the album cover.

 

“Twitches”

By Margaret McGreevy, Scene Writer 

Grab your flannel, pumpkin caramel corn crunch (preferably South Bend Chocolate company brand) and turn on “Twitches” — the perfect fall movie for the faint of heart. “Twitches,” the 2005 Disney Channel Original movie starring Tia and Tamera Mowry is the nostalgic fall movie. It will transport you back to the early 2000s, when you actually used to trick or treat. Skip the gory, jump-scare Halloween flicks and immerse yourself in the wholesome world of Alex and Cam, twin sisters who discover their magical powers and ban together to save the world. It has everything for the season: twin sisters born on Halloween, charmed necklaces, classic 2000s outfits, an evil entity known as “the darkness” and a main message of trust and love This movie is goofy, spooky and chock full of fall imagery — all the costumes and spells you could want. In one of the movie’s last scenes, where the black cloud named “the darkness” snakes through the room, Cam and Alex finally bond together to combat the threat. Alex then realizes, “The opposite of darkness isn't light.” Alex and Cam then both proclaim, “It's love.”