Alex's Weekly Blog - 17th October

A gentle reminder that British Summer Time ends at 2am on Sunday 27th October, and the clocks 'fall back'. There's a survey for everything, and in 2019, a YouGov poll found that 59% of Brits would prefer to remain permanently in BST.

This would sacrifice light in the morning in the winter, in exchange for more daylight on summer evenings.I'm not so sure. As someone who gets up at 5am, I find it a real struggle at this time of year, knowing the sun isn't going to rise for a good two and a half hours. It's a good job I have two coffee machines.

My mum still refers to 'new time' and 'old time' when it comes to the clock change, and I must admit it leaves me a little befuddled. When it comes to our music choices, it turns out that can also be affected by the changing seasons. A poster on Reddit wrote: "On the long, dark days of winter, I'm more likely to listen to heavier music than I am once the weather warms up and the days get longer, when I'm more likely to start listening to upbeat and chill stuff". Many replied to say they agreed that the colder nights inspired a different pattern of listening. So what is the reason?

A study snappily titled "Music for the Seasons: Seasonal Music Preferences in College Students" in 2010 looked at music preferences in autumn, spring, winter and summer, and found that clocks going back can lead to emotional changes, including feelings of depression or seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The lower amount of natural light can create a sense of 'threat', apparently, which makes us reach for different music choices.

Harsher seasons could lead to slower, more comforting music, helping us cope with the colder temperatures and extreme weather. There is a lot of science behind the music played in shops as we do our Christmas shopping, for example, and cheery festive tunes will start to be heard in a matter of weeks. I don't know about you, but I love hearing Mariah for the first time each year!

Having said that, a lot of Christmas songs are thoroughly miserable. I'd happily never hear Mud's Lonely This Christmas or Frankie Goes To Hollywood's The Power Of Love again. Dreary, bleak, and they certainly don't get me in the mood for mince pies and mulled wine.

Blues, jazz, classical and folk all apparently benefit from the chillier seasons, whilst dance, hip hop and soul'/funk do better on streaming services in spring and summer.

I'd love to see the full science behind this stuff, and if you have a think about the music you reach for, does that change with the seasons? I also really enjoy a good music debate, as I programme the music for most shows on Tameside Radio. We have a nice little feature on the website where you can give songs a thumbs up or a thumbs down, so I'd encourage you to use this, as I do look at the ratings when deciding which songs to play more or less on the radio station.

It won't be long before we start to see the usual festive chestnuts populate the Official Singles Chart. It's very tricky for newer artists to make a splash with their newer Christmas offerings, as Wham, Shaky and Wizzard quickly occupy the best seats in the house every year without fail. Some rule changes have been brought in to try and redress the balance (think of them as being a bit like a golf handicap), but nothing seems to diminish our love for Slade, Mariah and co every year.

Aside from seasonal listening trends, the way in which we consume music all year round has had some big changes on the chart, with some songs seeming to hang around forever, as they are streaming evergreens. A good example of this is Kilers' 2004 earworm Mr Brightside. Originally just about scraping into the Top 10, it has now spent an eye-popping 431 weeks in the Official Chart (over eight years), and shows no sign of disappearing any time soon. Another curious trend is the inclusion of YouTube views, which certainly did Baby Shark by Pinkfong no harm for a good while.

Let me know...do you listen to different music depending on the season? And remember to rate the music we play, and make suggestions for stuff you'd like to hear more. I love a music discussion, whatever the season!