I leave shortly to start a drive that will probably take me 3 days, all alone. I need MUSIC! I’m going to the CD store to buy 4-5 new CDs for the drive. Problem is, I’m so out of touch with music it’s silly. I’ll listen to stuff on the radio and think “Oh! I like that song! I should get THAT CD!” Problem is, I have no idea who it is.
I want some upbeat music to keep me awake during this bloody drive. My musical tastes are pretty eclectic - my favorite band is probably the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I also like Michelle Shocked, most opera, and the occasional country band.
I was thinking of buying the new Sheryl Crow CD, since she seems pretty upbeat and light, good driving music. Other than that, I’m clueless. What CDs are essential for 1400 miles of driving?
Get Weezer’s first album, titled “Weezer” (it’s the blue one, since their latest CD has the same name) - it is definitely on my “Desert Island” list. Also, anything from Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton.
Good call on RHCP, by the way. I love those guys. (their earlier stuff, anyway - BloodSugarSexMagik and before.)
The one that’s been living in my car CD player for weeks is the new album by Josh Rouse, Under Cold Blue Stars. Beautiful, flowing songwriting, just great for those long stretches of road. Especially if you’re going to be going through the Midwest…
Of course, no road trip is complete without Springsteen’s Born To Run. IMHO.
You might also want to try anything you can find by Clem Snide. Pseudo-country-ish. Beautiful. Strange.
I’m going to be burning a couple of compilations for my upcoming trip, so I’ll be watching this thread too.
Weezer! Yeah! That’s one o’ those songs I heard on the radio that the announcer was gracious enough to tell me the name of the band. Of course, I promptly forgot it. Thankee, Dirty Earthworm.
MrVisible, I will not only be going through the Midwest, I will be going through All of Nebraska and Half of Iowa. Stop, think about that again - ALL OF NEBRASKA AND HALF OF IOWA. This is why I require music. Lots and lots of music.
Oh… Nebraska. It could be worse, you could be driving through Texas.
You might want to try Josh Rouse’s first album, then; Dressed Up Like Nebraska.
Hmm… good Heartland music. (I’ve done that drive. About 15 times.) Pat Metheny’s American Garage. Some early B-52’s, to wake you up. Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, for some reason, always reminds me of mid-America at dawn. And to counteract that Midwestern down-home goodness, try either one of Rufus Wainwright’s albums. I can’t recommend him enough.
I’ll wave to you when you drive through Omaha. That should keep you up beat for the rest of the drive.
Pretty much anything by Weezer is gonna be a good listen. On long drives I like to listen to stuff I know the words too so I can sing along. Sure I look like an idiot, but who cares? Or you can learn the lyrics to songs you kinda know. Just dont run up the ass of a semi rewinding(rewinding??? a cd?? is that right?) the cd.
dead0man
My car music of choice is anything that I can sing along with. Driving long distances makes me sleepy and the best way for me to combat that is with caffeine and howling along with the radio. Based on that, my suggestions are:
Anything by Gilbert & Sullivan: tells a story, good tunes
The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs: very quirky and catchy, sweet in a wierd way
Robert Earl Keene’s latest CD Gravitational Forces: Thoughtful, fun country music
Steve Morse Band. It’s instrumental stuff but it covers Rock, country, blues, classical and what ever Steve feels like playing(Irish folk tunes anyone?). It’s all mixed together and absoultly amazing. The SMB picks of mine would be “Southern Steel” and “The Introduction”.
Lyle Lovette is another good choice. His lyrics rock.
New Model Army is another good choice. They are an English punk band that is really cool.
Offspring’s “Americana” somehow always gets played (and gets us singing at the top of our lungs) during our road trips. Compilation albums are always great for road trips, too - I have some 70’s and 80’s compilations that always seem to make it into the road trip tapecase. “Greatest Hits” packages of your favourite artists are also a good bet for road trips (Duran Duran, The Police, and The Cream of Eric Clapton packages come highly recommended by me).
(As for new music, we haven’t stopped playing Alicia Keyes “Songs in A Minor” since we bought it - I don’t know if it’s really road music, though - kinda mellow.)
Oh, I forgot to mention No Doubt’s new album - Jim is pining for it, and from what I’ve heard, it sounds pretty lively. Anybody familiar with this album?
