No matter what year contains it, October always seems to move quickly as the days grow noticeably shorter and the weather transitions from warm to cold, and the trees change colors from the unity of green through the wondrous variety of autumn to the unity of brown at the end of the season.

1977: Rose Royce, “Do Your Dance (Part 1)”

“Do Your Dance” is way too cool for me to have heard it when it was first released, or indeed at any time where I was living in rural southern Michigan. That said, there is something about the song, particularly the double-clap in the intro, which brings up a faint memory of shag carpet and cigarette smoke, so I probably heard it at my cool aunt’s house, or maybe while visiting friends whose sense of musical adventure went far beyond e.g. James Taylor.

1982: Diana Ross, “Muscles”

I don’t think I have heard this song before putting together this post. It is cool and smooth and Diana Ross performs it beautifully.

1987: Squeeze, “Hourglass”

I LOVE this song, and I am sad to say that I don’t think I had heard “Hourglass” before putting together this post. It is joyful and bouncy and wow, what a great video. I am familiar with Squeeze, mostly due to their more well-known songs “Black Coffee in Bed” and “Cool for Cats.” Then again, there is something familiar about “Hourglass,” so maybe I caught it in passing on MTV. Again, this would have been during my first semester at Grand Valley State University, which was for me a sustained state of sensory overload.

1992: Billy Ray Cyrus, “Achy Breaky Heart”

I had to listen to this song over and Over and OVER while working at Jose Babushka’s on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. I hate it with the fire of a thousand suns.

1997: Mack 10, “Backyard Boogie”

This is a repeat from earlier in the year, so enjoy another listen!