Crucial Track for September 5, 2025

"Loner" by Ekoostik Hookah

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Today is a perfect autumn day in the UK. It's dry and sunny with a temperature hovering around 10-15 degrees C. I love this time of year. It's all about change and new chapters and getting into the zone after being too hot to do anything useful during the summer. [La Rentrée](https://creativefuel.substack.com/p/the-return-to-everyday-life) is here. A song I strongly associate with Autumn is Loner. I wouldn't necessarily describe myself as a loner nor do I partake in smoking of weed. I'm happily married and as straight-cut (read: boring) as they come. The song resonates on a thematic level. The protagonist's experience of going out into the world and traveling, returning home forever changed is very on-theme. I discovered this song when I found myself listening to a playlist based on 90s jam-bands about 10 years ago driving home from a family staycation in Cornwall back to my new job at IBM and a couple of weeks after travelling to New York to kick off my PhD. It has strong associations with big changes in my life.