Let’s face it: although we’d all love to be driving down that two lane mountain road, navigating our CC through exciting twists and turns while sucking in the “natural” sounds that such an activity entails, the vast majority of our driving time is spent going to work or running errands. Therefore, we turn to music for entertainment while we cruise down the roads we’ve traveled thousands of times. Since we live in an era where we can bring literally every song we own into our vehicles, I thought it would be prudent to share some of the sounds I enjoy with the rest of you.
Being primarily interested in the rock genre, some of my most favorite bands are fresh acts that channel their predecessors in a new way. Haim is one such group, three sisters that have distilled a very Fleetwood Mac vibe into a modern indie-rock package.
This next group, Arcade Fire, have been on ipod playlists for over a decade now, but it wasn’t their 2010 album The Suburbs that they found mainstream recognition. “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” is the apotheosis of their ruminations on modern society. Its not at all ironic that they have a picture of a car in front of what looks to be some sort of tropical getaway on the album cover. Its not total isolation from everything they want, just a place they can go without the trappings of everyday life. This song asks one of the most pressing questions of contemporary times: can we really ever get away from it all?
Aside from being one of the best songs to play while highway driving at night, its also a surprise justification for Yoko Ono’s style of singing. Listen to “We’re All Water” from Sometime in New York City to see what I mean. Band member Regine Chassagne really does a fantastic job here at channeling what made Ono’s work good while creating her own sound.
I’ll finish off this post by sharing a favorite classic of mine. Weezer’s debut album was seminal in the development of my musical tastes. It was the first time I understood the concept of an album as more than just a collection of songs, and it enlightened me as to how broad the rock genre could be. Most of all, it was just a really good album that blew me away upon listening to it for the first time. “In the Garage” drew me to its celebration of geekiness; Rivers Cuomo wasn’t lashing out at bullies or meekly saying he liked being nerdy, but instead confidently declaring his love for the lifestyle he lives without pretension.
I imagine I’ll share more of the music I like in the future, and I hope other contributors do too, since music listening and driving enhance both activities. Is there a particular song, album, or artist that tickles your fancy when you’re behind the wheel? Feel free to divulge below, or to declare that you only listen to NPR while driving.
Lately? The soundtrack to Animal House and Simon and Garfunkel…
Haim, Arcade Fire and Weezer are all excellent choices!
I’ve been listening to LCD Soundsystem, Cro, Jem, Mono, Portishead, deadmau5, Hot Chip, The Decemberists, and Parquet Courts.
When my little ones are in the car, I make them listen to classics to educate them. Classic country, classical music and they know all about disco and r/b. It is easy to give them a variety of old music from the 1950s-1980s knowing there is no profanity or vulgarities in it.
Hate pop classic rock though. Heard it all my life and I refuse to listen to it anymore. Overdone!
“When my little ones are in the car, I make them listen to classics to educate them.”
I did the same with classic jazz with my kids. They have all grown to have an incredibly inclusive musical palate. There is really so much quality music from so many decades of so many genres out there, it is silly to limit yourself to the same little sample of what was playing on the radio when you were age 10 until you graduate from school.
Right now my kids have been listening to Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado. I’m a singer and in Mikado rehearsals. Little Einsteins have given them an incredible education of Classical music. They seem to actually know more classical music composers than I do now – they stump me and two of them are in first grade.
We are also covering 1960s Nashville-Politian and Bluegrass.
I have really tried to like jazz. I even made it to Greenwich Village and spent a night at the Blue Note with a group of jazz loving friends a few times. Jazz just bores the crap out of me and I’ve completely given up with it. When I hear it now I imagine being stuck listening to NPR and I hate NPR.
I also listen to new German rock bands, Chinese hip hop Leehom Wang, Iceland’s Bjork – naturally, and France’s Air. So we try to keep up on world music today, and be exposed to other languages.
They also like today’s crap on the radio. I won’t deny them that, and besides that is what their mother likes to play in the car – so they get plenty of exposure. The problem has been the filth and the sexual innuendoes, as well as the complete unoriginality. But it is what their peers know and I don’t want them to be the only kids in class who don’t know the latest Pitbull song.
So much jazz from the 1950s on is an acquired taste. I would suggest that you start at the other end – some 1930s Count Basie stuff like Topsy or Doggin’ Around are listenable and fun, yet have so much packed into them that you can keep coming back. The other benefit of the old stuff is that most of it was recorded on 78 rpm records that had a maximum play time of a bit over 3 minutes. By the time the LP became popular in the 50s, the old timers did fine with the medium, but IMHO, many of the younger players never developed the discipline to simultaneously say something relevant and to make it attractive to the listener. I’m sure others disagree. Both of my sons (in their early 20s) have some early Basie stuff on their ipods.
My favourite driving album? Easy one…Back in Black – AC/DC…Favourite driving song? Another easy one…Radar Love – Golden Earring…
I logged many a mile listening to Back in Black when I first started driving and the album was relatively new. Radar Love is one of the greatest driving songs there are, along with Highway Star and Red Barchetta.
Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. I once listened to Queen’s “Another one Bites the Dust” on repeat for three hours on the way to South Bend. Most of the time, though, it’s history podcasts that I listen to while driving.
History podcasts? I generally listen to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, which is fantastic. Are there any others that match his quality?
Hardcore History is definitely one of them. The History of China by Laszlo Montgomery (from sunny Clermont California), Revolutions by Mike Duncan (of History of Rome fame), Topics in Korean History by Alex Hawkins (starts a bit slow, but his latest episodes are killer), and the History of the Papacy by Stephen Guerra are all pretty good history podcasts that I would highly recommend.
I pay for SiriusXM for both of my cars. channels 25 or 26..ELO, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Crosby Stills and Nash and ZZtop. From 1965 to about 1995 , I don’t like country,though they do have some fine looking ladies. I don’t like “punk” or “rap”.
In my car, I like to listen to what I like. I got a lot on my plate these days. When I get in my car to run a few errands, I turn the SiriusXM on, and many of my troubles seem to fade away.
I’m with Mikey. Same channels. We’ve got XM in our DD, but I haven’t been able to afford putting a complete new system in the ’81 Bonneville Safari yet. Every once in a while my 2 mid 20’s daughters have me listen to something (younger one likes Arcade Fire I know), but most of it to me sounds like poor musicianship. (Have you watched/listened to some of the groups Letterman has on?)
I defiantly agree on satellite radio. Its probably the best way to listen to anything without having to make your own playlist. My sub just lapsed and if I get a few extra minutes I’ll be getting on with renewing it as I defiantly miss it.
Mike Oldfield, Edward Elgar or the BBC radio 4.
No need for much else really….;-)
Top selection Roger.
BBC R4 or Classic FM for me, such is the state of UK radio. Great if you like contemporary chart music, not so good if you like late 60’s to early 90’s rock/metal. Even Classic FM plays the same compositions on repeat.
On the iPod for recent long journeys has been Motley Crue, Mr Big, Ratt, Dokken, and Def Leppard. Unfortunately I don’t have the big hair to match the tunes!
Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn” & Jerry Reed’s “Eastbound & Down.”
Oh yeah! Eastbound and Down is great! Puts me in mind of Trans Ams and flying police cars…
And Gary Numan’s “Cars”.
Arcade Fire’s Reflektor, Arctic Monkeys,Gesaffelstein are all on high rotation in my truck at the moment, plus a bit of Aussie Hip Hop like Urthboy. Also Aimee Mann and Royksopp. I listen to a lot of Tripple J radio too.
Pre-1980 ZZ Top, Canned Heat, R.L. Burnside, 16 Horsepower, The White Stripes, Fred McDowell,
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Claw Boys Claw, Peter Pan Speedrock.
That’s about the range, all depends on the mood. No (c)rap, dance, pop, disco, Top 100. The artist doesn’t really matter, the best music often comes from the completely unknown. The obscure guys are the best, the underdog, the winos. And that music can be (more than) 80 years old, no problem.
This Peter Pan Speedrock trip has it all. Booze, American cars, some sort of Elvis, a very nervous police officer, white spirit, a monster truck, country line dancing, and rock ‘n roll. I must have forgotten a few….
I usually listen to the engine in my car. V8 is enough for me, for now. I only turn on the audio system in my car once a year or so to verify that it still works.
But the last time i did listen to anything was while driving a Citroen with a 2.0 tied to a sluggish automatic some 7 years ago. And Lustmord’s “Metavoid” was about the only thing that helped me retain my sanity after a few hours of driving in the dark in heavy snowfall at a constant 50mph.
There is no better song for driving down an empty highway at 1am than The National’s “Fake Empire”. Also, I will forever associate my brief period of Fiero ownership with the Van Halen album “1984”. I didn’t even especially like that album, I just played it because it felt right. You might have given your car a name, but does it have a theme song? PANAMA!
Ah yes, “Fake Empire” is an amazing song. Its a tad depressing though, so I don’t generally play it often, but you’re spot on about listening to it at night; The National is just that type of band.
Every seen the music video for “Lemon World”? Just driving on a rainy night, lol!
Well, yes it has a theme song. Wilson Pickett’s Mustang Sally.
Right now the CD in my car’s player is the new Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
Oh man, you opened a total can of worms! My iPod has something like 4500 songs and that’s just a sampling of whats on my computer. Id say 98% of that is classic rock, hard rock and heavy metal.
Weezer is a great choice! Only thing about them is the Blue Album is by far their best work, everything else has been soft compared to that record.
AC/DC is a staple of my road tunes. Same with the Scorpions. I find that Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Metallica, Pantera, Queens of the Stone Age, Wolfmother, Queens of the Stone Age and Social Distortion are all blue chip choices for drivetime rockin. Everyone knows those, but I tend to like a lot of obscure hard rock also:
Ive brought up Clutch on CC many times. Theyre music is laced with gearhead references and theyre mostly fast paced no nonsense rock. ‘Passive Restraints’ is a total gearhead wankfest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PkWTVMY0Vs
Fu Manchu is another that is perfect driving music. I have 9 albums and pretty much every song revolves around muscle cars, skateboarding, booze, women, drugs, aliens, hotrods, and vans: Or in this case, beards:
*if you only buy one Fu Manchu album, ‘King of the Road’ should be it!*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-BwvG24N-w
Rose Tattoo is fronted by Angry Anderson–you know, Ironbar from Beyond Thunderdome. KiwiBryce and NZ Skyliner among others may be familiar since theyre popular in Australia and NZ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q273JtRh5_w
Ok one more…
Amon Amarth is for whoever likes to REALLY rock. They’ve been called ‘Viking metal’ since theyre tunes are based on Norse mythology, sea battles, splitting skulls with battle axes, etc. Sounds best loud. I mean LOUD:
Very good sir !
Speaking of Norway, I like Fargo’s main theme very, very much. And that is fully based on the Norwegian folk song “Den Bortkomne Sauen” (The Lost Sheep).
If you like metal AND Scandanavian folk music, then Im sure you’ve heard of Finntroll. Good stuff for sure, and Ive caught that act live here in Portland. A little oom pa pa combined with death metal riffs shredded out by a guy who looks like he wrestles 13 foot squids for fun…good times!
I had a “wind up” playlist for driving to work. It went perfectly with those two tumblers of coffee I would drink. I was rarely in the mood for music after work.
When I got the iPod I made several playlists thinking I would get tired of the first but after a while found myself only listening to that one. It was eclectic enough that anyone would like it and no slow songs. That’s why I didn’t listen to albums, there would be one up song then a bunch of downers.
Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight, Tom Petty Won’t Back Down, Cure Friday I’m in Love are some examples. The last one would give me goose bumps every morning even though I heard it a millions times!
Don’t forget Free Falling, Running Down a Dream and Yer So Bad. Full Moon Fever is a great Tom Petty CD!
I’m not american. But I’ve liked american cars since I’ve been the age of 6.
It mostly came from movies and TV.
As a result, cars, driving and music are tightly associated with US movies and TV shows in my mind.
So it’s no surprise that I mostly listen to soundtracks while I’m driving.
As example, I used to listen to “Woke up this morning” from Alabama 3 (which is the opening theme from “The Soprano’s”) while smoking a cigarette (don’t like cigars…) any time I was driving on a city highway in some forsaken suburbs.
Well, I don’t anymore ’cause I quit smoking so it’s less enjoyable.
The highlights of my current listening list on my iPod are :
– “Far from any Road” by “The Handsome Family, which is the opening them of “True Detective”. I like it ’cause it makes my daily driving to work looks like I’m lost somewhere in deep Louisiana (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxXRkqXfhYM) ;
– “California Soul (Lincoln lawyer remix)” because 1. I’m a lawyer and 2. Even if I don’t drive a Town Car, I thinks my daily driver is still cool enough (1979 Caprice)…
And the whole soundtrack from the Blue Brothers has always been one of my favourite albums.
Guess someday I will try to hit 120 mph downtown with the radio blaring “Sweet Home Chicago”… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0zyuc_2UVg
Favorite detail of the Sopranos’ intro; Tony pays his toll in cash. Because an EZPass is an RFID transponder, and he’s paranoid about being tracked (by the authorities or otherwise)
While I don’t doubt that Tony would have continued to pay his tolls in cash, EZPass was not yet available on the NJ Turnpike when the show premiered. They never changed the opening sequence except to edit the shot of the WTC.
For driving to do errands, I pretty much leave Sirius XM on, flipping among channels 27,28, and 33. As far as albums go, I enjoy Arcade Fire “Reflektor”, Gang of Four “Entertainment!”, and Green Day “American Idiot”.
Wow that does sound influenced by Stevie Nicks Stand Back as well as Fleetwood Mac sound..
I listen To Pink greatist hits, Taylor Swift, Prince, the Pet Shop boys, Lady Gaga Monster…and KEARTH 101, KBIG and Coast 103.5
I have Sirius XM in my daily driver and I really enjoy it, but my Curbside Classics are all about old tech! In the 1979 Accord with its 1-speaker radio, it can be a bit of a challenge, but I enjoy hearing stations like KROQ and KLOS radio here in L.A. In my 1976 Monte Carlo, it’s 8-tracks, of course! I have quite a collection ranging from The Cars to the 2001:A Space Odyssey Soundtrack, to the Chevy demonstration 8-track with its fake EZ-listening versions of ’70s hits. And in my recently acquired 1986 Prelude, I’ve been having fun getting cassettes, from the ’80s, naturally — I already have about 15 of them (never had many back then and only saved a couple). Information Society, Human League, Don Henley, Paul Simon, the Go-Gos, Erasure, to name a few. For me this really enhances the experience of driving the cars.
https://flic.kr/p/dRp4RF
KROQ in the 80s was really something. Loved Human League or as Richard Blade used to pronounce it Human Leg. (Keep Feeling) Fascination was my favorite of theirs. New Order, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and so many other great bands. What a cool, quirky time now everything sounds like Beyonce.
If you think all modern music sounds the same, you’re listening to the wrong modern music.
I agree. As I said above, a lot of what Im into these days is WAY under the radar. In the heavy metal scene, some of the best music since the late 60s is happening right now. Many are drawing on the groove-heavy 70s style and making it their own. Exciting times to be a music fan, maybe even better than the early 90s.
You are right of course. I should have been more clear and said that Top 40 music, the upbeat stuff I like to listen to when driving to work, has less variation now than it used to or so it seems to me.
For modern music some of my favorite artists are Thievery Corporation and Daft Punk. In the states DP didn’t seem to breakout until the Pharrell hit last year. One More Time (2001) would have been a huge hit in the 80s.
Top 40 of almost any era has almost invariably encouraged catchiness and commercial viability over resonance and substance. What was the #1 single of 1969? Something by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, early Zeppelin? Not even close–“Sugar Sugar” by The Archies, a fake band made for a cartoon.
I’m glad that we have creative talents like Daft Punk who prove that commercial success need not come at the expense of artistic compromise. RAM is the first album I’ve heard in a long time in which most every track was equally good. Honestly, I try to appreciate any music where it’s clear that more than the minimum amount of effort has gone into writing the song. I could never be a songwriter, so I appreciate those that can.
Fake band or not, Sugar Sugar is still a great song!
How does KLOS compare to the way it was in the 80’s and 90’s? I’ve been in Oregon since ’09 so I’ve missed it. Oregon rock radio sucks…….
— Shecky – GET THE JET!
KLOS fired everyone and now many of them are over at KSWD 100.3.
Def Leppard’s “Photograph” is one of my favorite driving songs.
Pink Floyd, Paul Kelly and the Coloured girls ZZ Top Bob dylan Dire straits Mark Knoffler The Travelling Willberries my car CD collection is quite varied and the type of road dictates different music going north from Napier always puts you on a lovely mountainous twisty road its a great start to any road trip going south its flat straight and boring,unless you take HWY50 which doesnt suit passengers, going west is over a mountain range on switchbacks but now its been surfaced so becoming boring but also doesnt suit passengers.
Echos, The Best of Pink Floyd is great and I listened to it while driving from Central New York to McClellan, CA. Grateful Dead is also very good.
No CD player in my current vehicle so I listen to Pandora a lot since many of Portland’s radio stations stink. Punk, Bluegrass, Motion Picture Soundtracks, Country, and Daft Punk-like music.
Aint that the truth! I miss KUFO. Now, The Brew is about all there is for rock in the PDX area. Theyre ok, I guess…NOT a fan of Nikki Sixx…although the Crue and Alice Cooper did put on a good show just recently…
The Brew is overly repetitive especially if you work 40 hours a week while listening to it and they only play one Deep Purple song. 92.3 is ok and 106.7 is better as is the 80s weekend on 97.1.
Although I graduated from high school in 1966 and college in 1970 I don’t consider myself old or even think that way. However, you guys are making me feel a little Geezerish. I have never heard of half of those songs or artists that you mention. Of course I haven’t really listened to much popular music since the late ’80’s. I don’t have an iPod but I do have a Sirius radio in my daily driver that also has a 6 disc changer, so I do listen to a lot of music when I drive. For very early morning long drives I like Radar Love and Blackfoot’s Highway Song. For general driving out on the road I like Born to Run, Driver’s Seat, Old 55 (the Eagles), Running Down a Dream,Mustang Sally, Route 66 Theme ( tv show theme by Nelson Riddle) and the great, but largely unknown street racing ballad Rev On The Redline, by Foreigner. Oh, yeah, I also like their Head Knocker also. There are many others I just can’t recall right now. If I drove a Firebird I am sure I would want to listen to the Rockford Files theme.
When driving in snowy weather or where there is a lot of natural beauty I go real offbeat and listen to “Jill’s Theme” from Once Upon a Time in the West.
I burn something new every week. This week – New Orleans is Burning, Cult of Personality, Folsom Prison Blues, Too Much Seconal, Cruisin’, Hot Water, Man in the Box, Spoonman, Black Days, Straight Brother, Kick Out the Jams, TakeFive, Industrial-Military Complex Blues. That’s the wake-up. To ease off – all of side two of Dire Straits first. Something about a “Six Blade Knife”. I’m leaning to Miles Davis next week.
Hmmm. In city driving, not very much music. Too many distracted drivers are on the road, and I have to watch out for them. Sometimes, though, I get an earworm that needs to be dealt with, especially if I have a lot of driving to do, even in town. Could be “The Rite of Spring”; could be some organ music that I’m working on; could be a Beethoven symphony.
On the road, it could be Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. It could be Handel organ concertos. It could be Linda Ronstadt. One time we were driving from Tucson to Prescott, and while we made our way through Phoenix (about 40 minutes right there) “Also sprach Zarathustra” and “Ein Heldenleben” playing. We’re both rabid classical music aficionados….
Yes, King Crimson and other “dad” progressive rock, mostly because the trip seems shorter if the songs are longer. Now, if only I could put the the bass interlude from “Heart of the Sunrise” on infinite loop…
And I especially love when I find “new” stuff from artists I already thought I knew, or when I start digging into solo efforts. Mark Knopfler’s “Speedway at Nazereth” has got to be one of the best driving songs I’ve ever found.
Doesn’t it just make you want to put the pedal to the floor on a deserted two-lane county highway at 11 at night, no lights but the full moon?
CC effect, music style! I first heard “Heart of the Sunrise” in the movie ‘Buffalo 66″…just recently tracked down the soundtrack on ebay, just for that song. Had no idea it was Yes all along.
What is this, a shifter car?! I don’t drive these kinda cars! My cars, they shift themselves! Yeah, Cadillac, you ever heard of that?!
I’m not particularly into prog rock but Yes is awesome and Buffalo 66 was a great movie!
If you enjoy Yes you will like NightWish
Nightwish fan here
If I’m in the car, I want to keep it upbeat. Many memories have been made with friends in the car, so it’s only natural I tend to stick to those good times, even if the music isn’t modern anymore. My car means lots of pop, dance, rap ( yes people, it is music ) and other things you can move your body and gear lever with authority to. Some of my favorite car purchases have coincided with Kylie Minogue albums, so she will forever have a special place in my stereo. I also enjoy the Scissor Sisters if it’s a longer drive, as most of their albums are very good from beginning to end. All that said, I challenge any one of you to not drive aggressively while listening to Don Henely’s “The Boys of Summer”.
I plucked 3 or 4 of the best Sisters for my playlist. I used to love that line about it’s so hard to see streets on a country road when your glasses in the garage and your Continental’s just been towed. “Lights” is a great driving song too, one of the very best.
According to my iPod’s “most played” list: Underworld, Bloc Party, Whiskeytown and Ryan Adams’ solo stuff, Stars, Arcade Fire, the Twilight Singers, the Church. I went to college in the first half of the ’80s and I have a lot of stuff from that era as well.
For me, Feist, Arcade Fire (Suburbs), Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seeger. But usually I’ll just listen to top-40 radio until that “happy” song comes on…
Right now, Credence Clearwater Revival is in my CD player and Led Zepplin’ s greatest hits is on standby. Yonder Mountain Boys make some good night driving music -perfect for zipping through the country with the windows/moonroof open.
From least to most obscure:
Who’s Next (Won’t Get Fooled Again has the best scream in rock n roll, and I have blue eyes)
Older Rush – Signals and earlier, especially Hemispheres.
REM – Automatic for the People,, especially Drive.
Grateful Dead – Workingman’s or American Beauty
A variety of metal-leaning instrumental rock eg Hellecasters, Satriani, Los Stratjackets
The Beat Farmers – Pursuit of Happiness or Van Go. The original cowpunk band with great driving songs like Blue Chevrolet, Wheels, Make It Last.
Good to know I’m not the only dead head 😉 The sirius xm Grateful Dead channel is what gets the most play in my car, and how I love it!
Kudos for the Beat Farmers. I’ve long been a fan of them, Mojo Nixon, The Blasters, and a smattering of other bands of that era that all embraced a bit of punkabilly/cowpunk.
Depends on what I’m driving! In the 1974 Matador, I crank up Molly Hatchet’s Greatest Hits, on 8-Track no less. In the 1968 Galaxie XL, it’s something from the Blues Brothers on cassette. In my daily hack Caprice Classic, I tune into an all 1980s station that leans heavily on hair metal. In my Ranger it’s Johnny Cash at San Quentin. Best overall song? Green Onions by Booker T and the MG’s.
Chuck Berry is all I need when I’m riding around in my automobile.
Lately?
Mott the Hoople, T Rex’s “Tanx,” Humble Pie’s “Smokin,'” Faces’ “Ooh La La,” and other ’70s British stuff.
I especially like Brazilian Bossa Nova and Tropicalia, my favorite being Gilberto Gil.
I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger? Ooh la la
Lately its been the reissue of Get Yer Ya Yas Out.
Way back in 1978 I drove my Chevy Blazer from Seattle to Los Angeles non stop. (Except for the occasional road side rest stop nap.) The car was equipped with an 8 track player, and I only had one 8 track tape. Roxy Music. I must have listened to that tape a dozen times or more just out of sheer boredom.
Once I got to LA I immediately threw that tape away. It took me years to be able to listen to Roxy Music again.
I might be the only one but I love me some good old country music. Listening to things like Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde (Travis Tritt)
Or for those days you want to be a thousand miles from nowhere.
If he was a thousand miles “from nowhere”, wouldn’t he be “somewhere”? In other words, it seems like it would take another thousand miles to get to nowhere from where he is, so he’s probably in a very populated area, but that doesn’t seem to be the case from the other lyrics… unless there’s actually a town called Nowhere somewhere in America.
You arent the only one. Especially when I am on road trips up the Central Valley of California, it has to be the Bakersfield sound. Merle, Buck and Dwight are in the mobile CD collection. I dont own a ipod and the ’05 Tundra doesnt have an aux input anyway.
Hi guys, greetings from Indonesia. I have been an avid reader of this website. I usually don’t comment due to impulse for quicky jumping to the next article, because this site has a lot of great material. However, I cant help but comment here since the topic is about my second favourite thing to do in car which is listening to music (the first is driving the car of course). Some of my favourite music is from Japan artists such as Perfume, Ken Hirai, and many more. Give a listen for Polyrythm from Perfume, you wont regret it.
Nice to meet you guys, always happy to spend my time here
In past days, when I drove a Mustang GT convertible, I decided it was a very Springsteen kind of car. When I had a Jaguar X-Type I enjoyed blasting CCR “Fortunate Son” while I was driving through Bloomfield Hills. I figured that was appropriately hip and ironic in that situation.
I haven’t listened to any Detroit rock radio for probably 25 years. It’s all an endless loop of Journey and Foreigner. 89X from Windsor is okay though.
[hipster]
Journey was sooo much better before they brought Steve Perry aboard; when every other song was a jazz-fusion instrumental in 5/8 time.
And Chicago, for that matter! Eveything on CTA and II, pretentious though it my be, is infinitely more listenable than the generic sugar-pop on the next dozen albums, to say nothing of the soulless corporate pop-rock on everything since then.
But what do I know, I actually enjoyed Neil Young’s Trans and the album with Billy Joel playing psychedelic organ…
[/hipster]
Greg Rolie is an unsung vet. From the vocals on “Black Magic Woman” to all the early Journey. His twirling Leslie was counterpoint to the bottom. Good call.
I don’t like that Journey’s involved in a popular resurgence…I don’t like it at all. When VH1 ranked them in the top 100 artists of all time a few years ago, I knew the world had changed and there was no chance I would ever fit in again. 🙂
It changes regularly, but probably the most reliable longterm favourite is Royksopp’s ‘Junior’. ‘Happy Up Here’ lends itself really well to car horn accompaniment on twisting 2 lane blacktop.
All sorts really,Deep Purple’s Highway Star
Judas Priest hellbent for leather
Nightwish Last ride of the day
Hanoi Rocks Teenangels Outsiders
Just a few of what’s been on recently though I’ll also listen to Jazz,Blues,punk,ska and classical.Music,art and cars are my 3 main interests
Almost any pop/rock from the 50s to the 70s. Mostly 60s though. Yardbirds, Moody Blues, Beach Boys. The Beatles.
My tastes are diverse- the burnt CD in the Buick ATM has Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, next to Sergei Prokopiev’s Romeo & Juliet. Followed by various Bond themes.
Can’t abide rap, hip hop, or corny country. Anything from AC/DC, Micheal Bolton Michael Jackson or Celine Dion had me stapping the “next’ button on the tuner.
And as always, I come back to the band from Liverpool. There’s a good reason they’re still the biggest selling act in recording. Their imortal music.
The Music Machine, The Doors and The Stones are big in my car ( as I have control of the radio…mostly).
Of new stuff, Angus Stone, Temples, Tame Impala.
Currently cued up in the Isuzu- Big Star’s #1 Record / Radio City.
Absolutely! Both great records that not enough people have heard!
“I never travel far / Without a little Big Star”
The Replacements “Alex Chilton”
Hank Willliams. Timeless.
(Jr can go to hell; don’t know about III)
Freestyle. (Reminds me of the good old days, cruising around San Jose, listening to KMEL or Hot 97.7.)
the Doors first album.
INXS’s Don’t Change, which coincidentally is also used in Eric Bana’s documentary “Love the Beast.” When he stages for the road rally and I heard the initial notes of Don’t Change, I yelled out “YES!” because it’s such a great road driving song.
Mojo Nixon and Jello Biafra’s version of Plastic Jesus is always good when just cruising around, as well as any number of George Thorogood tracks.
My ipod will as likely be playing Rammstein as Chuck Berry, OMD as Led Zeppelin, or KC and the Sunshine band vs Robert Johnson.
I can recall a particular late night drive from a girlfriend’s house back home in 1988 that required speeds substantially above the limits in order to make it back prior to “parents are going to flip out over how late I am” results and I was stuck driving an ’85 Chevy Celebrity with the craptastic 2.8L V6. Luckily, Pink Floyd’s Time came on and I can personally attest that on a flat straight road one can achieve triple digits in the most wretched of automobiles.
Depends on what I’m driving or what I’m doing. I usually like one of three things, uppity classical music (usually w/ harpsichord) or songs of various genres that I think are good driving jams (The Walker by Fitz and the Tantrums for a recent example, Divine Thing by the Soup Dragons for an older example), and finally alt and grunge rock from the 90s.
Don’t know about other road songs, but whenever I hear Lindsey Buckingham’s “Trouble” It’s coming from the Jensen speakers in my ’78 Scirocco on I-89 just east of South Royalton, Vermont (in that sweeping “S” curve), early in a November evening in 1981.
I have somewhere north of 20,000 tracks on my iPod, and about a year ago, I started listening to the songs in alpha order. Obviously, I skip stuff I’m not in the mood for (and random classical movements etc rarely work well outside their parent work), but right now I’m somewhere in the middle of the ‘Cs’, and my quirky personal radio station is working out fine – Carla Thomas to Pink Floyd to Jefferson Airplane to Roy Orbison to Anne Shelton (!) to Pulp to Divine Comedy to the Clash to Eddie Cochran to the Rolling Stones to the Supremes to Ron Goodwin… Works for my commute when I can take no more John Humphreys (BBC arguer)!
Late to the post, but that’s because I did about ten hours in the car today. Don’t have XM and gave up CDs years ago (gave up eight tracks years before that!). About 1/3 of the time, the radio is off and I just listen to my thoughts.
Today, however, the iPhone playlist included:
The Quebe Sisters Band (Western Swing and some traditional Western)
The Purple Hulls (Bluegrass Gospel, a bit of Country)
The Epleys (Gospel)
The B-52s
Bach – Bradenberg Concerti
The Andrews Sisters
Big Band mix
My current favorite “driving song” is Ten Thousand Exits as performed by The Purple Hulls.
I haven’t found anything to top these three oldies when I’m driving on a sunny day with the windows down and the sunroof open:
3. Who’s Behind the Door, Zebra
2. Stay With Me, Faces/Rod Stewart
1. Mr. Blue Sky, Electric Light Orchestra
Turned up to 11, of course.
This is the one thing I’m actually more interested in than cars, but I’m really drawing a blank as to one song in particular that I really associate with driving. These days, I’m stuck listening to the radio anyway – no iPod or CD player, and only a broken cassette deck in the car. Usually I listen to WFUV, which is good, but I do miss having my own soundtrack.
When I drive into work and I get out late at night, I like to listen to jazz while I weave through the city up to the 59th Street Bridge. Especially in the winter when everything’s lit up and the traffic’s a little easier. I’m not really a jazz connoisseur, but I know a little and I love this shit out of this album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARGPAkIcw4
I think old surf rock generally makes for good driving songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARGPAkIcw4
And I used to have this as the first song on an awesome road trip CD. Wish I still had it, I can’t really remember what the other songs were – but they were good! Rod Stewart was great with Faces and his first few solo albums are awesome, too. Not sure what happened later on:
Messed up and can’t seem to edit… second one was supposed to be this:
In my ’74 Peugeot 504 I’m trying to stay period correct so its all albums from ’71-’74 which is not hard- Stones “Exile on Main Street” and “Sticky Fingers”, Jackson Brown debut, Springsteen “Greetings from Asbury Park” and “The Wild, the innocent…”, Gram Parsons.
Other days in the Xb I let it fly – Weezer’s “Pinkerton”, Old 97s “Train Songs”, The Hold Steady’s “Separation Sunday” , early Son Volt, and the new one from John Fullbright have all been stuck in the CD player from time to time.
Totally agree with Rod Stewart who was an absolute ass kicker with Faces and “Every Picture Tells a Story” then just pathetic until the present day.
The song “Across the Sea” on Pinkerton makes me think not of driving, but of older Japanese cars – the lyric “they don’t make stationary like this where I’m from / so fragile, so refined”. Like the kitty kat key in the Nissan Micra article from yesterday, there was a time when Japanese automakers were concerned with some very, VERY different things than the western makes. They were delicate, and somewhat fragile since they rusted so badly, but very refined!
Springsteen almost goes without saying, but I don’t think anyone else mentioned him yet. So many good car songs. Thunder Road and Born to Run are cliched as hell I’m sure, but two of my alltime favorites. I like the earlier albums a lot too!
Straggling in late, it is fun to see the wide variety, and an awful lot of it sounds appealing.
Am I the only jazz fan at CC? My solo road time over the weekend (getting a kid moved back to school) was heavy with Lester Young, which morphed me over to Billie Holiday.
The stretch of road with my middle son had us enjoying some Lake Street Dive, a modern group I like quite a lot.
I dabble in older jazz a bit, too. I have an album of Hoagy tunes performed by the Jim Cullum Jazz Band that makes for excellent driving music as well.
Sounds fun. It is a little known fact that Hoagy Carmichael spent a short time practicing law at an Indianapolis law firm before he decided that he was better at writing music.
Nope. Big fan of classic jazz, with Miles Davis being at the top, along with a few others.
Stephanie is a Dead Head, and I’ve come to appreciate them, especially some of their jazzier improvisations. When they’re really on, it’s right up there.
On Saturday morning, when we drive out into the country for dog obedience school, I like to listen to old-time and classic country. I learned to love that living in Iowa in the early 70s. Bluegrass too.
I grew up with classical music, and played the violin for a few years. And I kept listening for a long time, but eventually I got satiated, and classic jazz took its place. But I still have a soft spot for it, due to all the early exposure.
I like jazz too…Art Blakey’s one of my heroes! I also like Horace Silver, Stan Getz (especially the bossa nova stuff), and Mingus.
Of course, I have to be in the right mood. It’s like listening to Dylan; I’m not always in the right frame of mind.
Good call on Stan Getz–Getz/Gilberto is a masterpiece. Personally I’m very partial to Dave Brubeck also.
Brubeck is good, as is his partner in crime Paul Desmond…
I actually like Getz’s “Jazz Samba” with Charlie Byrd a little more than “Getz/Gilberto,” although they’re both great!
I like to throw Tom Jobim into the mix…”Wave” is some of the coolest elevator music you’ll ever hear! 🙂
You join a list of others who remind me that I need to seek out more bluegrass and classic country.
Try Western Swing – it’s essentially Western Jazz. For example (don’t know if the preview will include it, but the end of the song – performed by three fiddles, an archtop guitar and a bass fiddle – sounds just like a jazz band in the finish with everyone taking their own line): “It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie” – https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/its-a-sin-to-tell-a-lie/id789455737?i=789455749
Ooh ooh…Bob Wills!
How about a little Tom T. Hall or Townes Van Zandt if we’re in a country mood?
“Remember the year that Clayton Delaney died?”
Am I the only jazz fan at CC?
I posted a Bill Evans song two comments up from this! But it didn’t come out embedded.
Always liked jazz but never knew anything about it and I’m only now really getting into specific artists and whatever. On my big jazz playlist on Spotify I’ve got Coltrane, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery, Brubeck, Joe Pass, Gerry Mulligan, Paul Desmond, McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson, a few Duke Ellington songs and Vince Guaraldi of Peanuts fame. Always looking for more – I usually just go through other people’s playlists and pick out whatever I like.
I had a long post ready (in my mind anyway) for this thread but then got busy over the weekend and just didn’t have time to deal with it. I have SiriusXM in my car and change among channels 26, 27, 32, a couple of the jazz channels and channel 60, which is Outlaw Country. Actually they play more than just country, they play a lot of Americana music and even quite a bit of Southern rock. I do make mix CD’s to use in my wife’s car as that is the one we use for vacation trips and it does not have Sirius. If I had to pick just one song that sums up driving on the open road it would be Bob Seger’s “Get Out of Denver”. Any time I hear that song in the car I have to make a conscious effort not to go 90 MPH.
My top #1 driving song would have to be Foo Fighters’ “Everlong”. Something about that track’s main riff and just makes me want to put the pedal down and GO. But beyond that, my tastes are varied. My primary taste is modern rock/indie rock, but I have favorites from jazz to country to even a little hip-hop. If it sounds good to me I listen to it.
Most of FM radio is terrible currently, so that’s pretty much useless (except for the occasions I’m in the mood for country). We have XM in one car, I usually stay on channels 36, 35, and 34 (Alt Nation, XMU, Lithium). In the other it’s music stored on my phone. Today on the way in on shuffle, heard Interpol, Sleeper Agent, and RAC; on Friday I was listening to Bruce Hornsby’s “Harbor Lights” album all the way through.
NPR listener here, except for warm summer nights when I tune in Washington Nationals games on my local AM station. If I want music, I’ll pop in a CD. Sarah Vaughan, Dave Brubeck, Frank Sinatra are all good. I especially like “Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Song Book, Volume 1”, as well as her Cole Porter compilation.
I use a memory stick or a iPod in my cars. I load them up and simply press shuffle. On my mem card or iPod Snoop Dogg exists with patsy Cline and Starship etc. I have not played a CD in my car in years.
I will give most songs a listen. But the main artists that tend to live on my devices all the time are the following:
Toto
Rush
Journey(All Journey, from the prog rock era to now)
Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship
Chicago
Gloria Estefan
Astrud Gillberto(Bossa Nova)
The Church
The Cars
The Pogues
Pointer Sisters
Christopher Cross
Boz Scaggs
Sandra (German Euro Disco singer)
Beatles
1980’s New wave
DeBarge
The Zombies
Glenn Miller
Benny Goodman
Paul Whiteman
Bing Crosby
Sorry for being a bit late for this topic, but the only radio that I listen to in my car are the classical station & the local oldies station which also broadcasts the Red Sox. Otherwise, it’s all CDs, all the time in my car. I mostly like pop/rock, w/classical & jazz & a bit of country (I had Johnny Cash & Tom T. Hall last week). This week I have Elvis on for the 37th anniversary of his passing. I swear that when I had his ’69 Memphis sessions, my 2005 Focus felt like a ’69 Cadillac convertible 😉
My contribution to the debate…
“Wheels Of Steel” by Saxon, “2112” and “Red Barchetta” by Rush, “Love Is The Drug” by Roxy Music, “Stylo” by the Gorillaz, “Devil’s Triangle” by GG Allin, “Gold” by John Stewart, “Time” (Clock Of The Heart) by Culture Club, “Lotta Love” by Nicolette Larson, “Unknown Legend” by Neil Young, “Casey Jones” by the Grateful Dead, “Love Hurts” by Nazareth, “Black Betty” by both Ram Jam and Spiderbait, “Hicktown” and “1994” by Jason Aldean, “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly, “Waterfalls” by TLC, “Whiskey In The Jar” by Thin Lizzy, “Cat Scratch Fever” by Ted Nugent, and “Suavecito” by both Malo and 4 Corners. Which is my iPod driving playlist
Every drive is different. When I’m not craving peace and quiet:
The Hold Steady – Springsteen and Replacements-inspired rock
Pre-1980 ZZ Top
Prong (speed metal)
Chet Baker
Thievery Corporation
Brazilian Girls
Art Blakey
Robert Earl Keen
Delbert McClinton
Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Blues Brothers – Briefcase Full of Blues
Muddy Waters
Roxy Music
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Mother’s Milk
Soundgarden (pre-1990)
The Reverend Horton Heat (a bodyshop guy from Dallas who is a phenomenal psychobilly guitarist and genuinely nice guy – lots of songs about old cars, strong drinks, and beautiful women)
Jack White and the Luminares – new music that’s creative, interesting, and almost popular
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
And thanks for the recommendations – horizons need to get broadened…