Crafting the right music mix for your road trip can be as important as printing out directions: Both tasks require advance planning, and both are there to ward off dire consequences, be they getting lost or finding yourself stranded in a wasteland of crummy radio. The perfect mix lets you celebrate the freedom of being on the road, while the wrong mix cries out, "You're paying $4 a gallon for this?
These five songs not only touch on the concepts of movement and driving, but should also help keep you going just a hair over the speed limit — rolling along in the left lane, where you belong.
Keep Your Eyes Ahead
One of the best records of 2008 finds The Helio Sequence rediscovering its voice with grand, sweeping anthems. This is the epitome of driving music: driving beat, driving lyrics, all perfect for wailing along with the windows down. Keep Your Eyes Ahead's title track couldn't be better suited to repeat listens on the road: "Keep your eyes on right / keep your eyes on right ahead!" It's good advice, too, though it won't make much difference if you're going 105 at the time. Set the cruise control first.
This Year
"This Year" perfectly captures the desperation of youth, as well as the unwavering stubbornness required for survival in hard times. An all-time great driving song, it's also steeped in the imagery of the road, setting the tone early on ("I put the pedal to the floor / Headed north on Mills Avenue / and listened to the engine roar"). From there, The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle celebrates the power of the machine ("Six cylinders underneath the hood, crashing and kicking / Aha! Listen to the engine whine") and offers up a classic shout-along chorus: "I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me."
Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)
An album that's both uplifting and dark, Gnarls Barkley's The Odd Couple functions as excellent driving music. "Run," in particular, is all about motion and escape -- a natural combination, of course. It doesn't hurt that the track references the killer riff from Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son." "Cool breeze come on in / Sunshine come on down," singer Cee-Lo Green sings, before later adding, "You better move / I said move."
Great DJ
Arguably the best song of 2008, The Ting Tings' "Great DJ" is an upbeat pop gem with a chorus that's bound to get stuck in your head long after the road trip is over. With blunt simplicity -- sample lines include "ah ah ah ah ah ah ah" and "eee eee eee eee eee eee eee" -- you won't be distracted from thinking too hard.
Price of Gas
Look on the bright side: Gas may be on its way to $5 a gallon, but there are a lot fewer cars on the road. Bloc Party's "Price of Gas" will rock your mix while smothering you with guilt, unless you're rolling in a hybrid. "I've been driving a midsize car / I never hurt anyone / Is that a fact? / The price of gas keeps on rising / Nothing comes for free." Oh, well.
Copyright 2008 KEXP
