Road trip.......what should I listen to?

[ForeverAutumn]

Earlier this year, I started a new job which will be taking me on the road once in a while. Next week, I've got about 10 - 12 hours of solid drive time over three days. What should I take with me for my listening enjoyment. I'm not opposed to doing some CD shopping this weekend if I don't have the stuff recommended.

CRSv9 and some stuff that FP has sent me are already on the list. I'll probably finish my Pink Floyd journey on this trip also. Any suggestions for good highway music?

[Dave_G]

I don't know.

I say grab 2 handfulls', at least 20 + cd's, thay you like a lot, and have at it.

If you have a quiet car it will be great.

My little Honda is loud inside at highway speeds which eliminates quite stuff from being enjoyed whilst I motor.

Regards,

Dave

[Slosh]

What should I listen to?

Your biological clock?

Eventually I'll hit upon a topic that someone wants to talk about :p (since no one seems to care much about music around here lately)

NP: Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker (LP - life is good :) )

[nobody]

I'm going on a trip to St. Louis and back, so I gotta start getting some stuff together too. I like oldies on the road, and always make sure I've got some real favorites. I just burned a bunch of Fats Domino to disc for the ride.

I also like to just kind of zone out with some electronic stuff. I'll surely grab some FSOL: Lifeforms for that. Last year's Massive Attack is good for extended listening too. Got a bunch to choose from here.

Then, driving in the countryside is gonna bring out the country classics. Gotta have my Hank Williams, some Willie Nelson, probably bring the latest Bonnie Prince Billy, some Watson Family for bluegrass.

Old vocal jazz is always good. When I have to drive others and I want something that damn near anyone is gonna like a bit, I grab something like Nat King Cole, or Louis Armstrong with Ella Fitzgerald. Safe, but still a good listen.

Then, there are the pick me ups, stuff like Ramones, lots of old hardcore in my case, some Kiss...that sort of thing.

Still gathering stuff myself.

[Davey]

I like to listen to Laika when I drive, especially their first one, <i>Silver Apples of the Moon</i>. Makes me think I'm driving some futuristic gravity-defying air sled. Or Stereolab <i>Emperor Tomato Ketchup</i>. Yeah. But that's just me. Last long roadtrip I was on I found <i>Neon Golden</i> by the Notwist was really nice too. But those are all kind of electronic. Don't know why I tend towards electronic music when on the highway. Is that normal?

But right now I would heavily exploit the Bob Marley <i>Songs of Freedom</i> 4-disc set. I did condense it into one disc of my favorites for "normal" listening, minus the gravity-defying super sled, but still would be fun to listen to the whole thing in one marathon session and the road would be the perfect setting. I can sing just like the rastaman when nobody else can hear me :)

[Slosh]

I like to listen to Laika when I drive, especially their first one, <i>Silver Apples of the Moon</i>. Makes me think I'm driving some futuristic gravity-defying air sled. Or Stereolab <i>Emperor Tomato Ketchup</i>. Yeah. But that's just me. Last long roadtrip I was on I found <i>Neon Golden</i> by the Notwist was really nice too. But those are all kind of electronic. Don't know why I tend towards electronic music when on the highway. Is that normal?

But right now I would heavily exploit the Bob Marley <i>Songs of Freedom</i> 4-disc set. I did condense it into one disc of my favorites for "normal" listening, minus the gravity-defying super sled, but still would be fun to listen to the whole thing in one marathon session and the road would be the perfect setting. I can sing just like the rastaman when nobody else can hear me :)

Good call! I haven't listened me no Marley in eons so I'll throw some on after Ryan Adams :)

See, you are good for something :D

[dld]

I've got Dave G loud car problems only mine's worse cause its a Mazda. So that makes quiet contemplative or lyrically intense music out.

Some suggestions,

Blue Man Group

Run Lola Run soundtrack

Pink Floyd doies not work at all, so although yer thinking aboat it, forget it eh? Although come to think of it, Animals played loud ain't too bad. Ok, where was I,

Jimi Hendrix, Axis Bold As Love

Sonny Landreth, Outward Bound

If your car is quiet, I can't recommend Daniel Lanois's Shine high enough. Its very contemplative, and just fine for me on those long, lonely drives. Plus, hes Canadian, not he is?

Ryan Adams Heartbreaker.

R.L. Burnside, Come On In. Down and dirty, and fun fun fun

Bill Frisell, Ghost Town. Great for a drive thru rural areas. Ditto Cowboy Junkies Lay It Down (quiet car a definite for both of these).

About any Steely Dan.

[ForeverAutumn]

Your biological clock?

Eventually I'll hit upon a topic that someone wants to talk about :p (since no one seems to care much about music around here lately)

What makes you think that people want to talk about my biological clock? No wonder you can't generate a conversation. :rolleyes:

:p

[Dusty Chalk]

...makes me think I'm driving some futuristic gravity-defying air sled...Don't know why I tend towards electronic music when on the highway. Is that normal?No, it's not normal, and no, it's not just you. Your space rock comp is good for that, too.

New Model Army, Lost Songs (or pretty much anything else)
Pain of Salvation -- anything
Subarachnoid Space (may induce white line fever, though, make sure that's alright before injecting)
Kraftwerk, Autobahn ("...wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf der Autobahn...")

...nah, a bit too obvious.

Don't listen to dalid unless you have a nice sub.

[Davey]

One that I think you might like and that would probably work very well on the road, especially with your recent renewed interest in all things Pink and Floydian, is the new one from the Secret Machines, Now Here Is Nowhere. I just picked it up myself for under $10 at my local indie hangout, but it is a Warner Brothers release and it has some buzz and ad budget behind it so shouldn't be hard for most people to find. Originally a Dallas trio but now roaming the streets of NYC, they make it no secret nor do they try to hide who their influences are, and Pink Floyd is a big part of the sound. But there's also a hint of new wave creeping into a couple tracks. And a real bombastic John Bonham type flailing drum sound on some of the songs too. Some other touchstones that you probably aren't as familiar with, like Mercury Rev's take on the Floyd, which mixes in The Band and Neil Young. I've only listened twice so this is all preliminary. I know they have gotten some good press since the album was first released electronically a couple months ago, but with anything like this that borrows some of that 70s prog bombast, there'll be plenty of criticisms too. Fun CD though, and I'm enjoying it. Fairly diverse collection too, with a good mix of tempos. Only 9 songs but the opening and closing tracks stretch it out to about the 9 minute mark each and most play out to around 5. But if you don't like an up front drum sound, it may get on your nerves a tiny bit. Pretty simple drumming for the most part, without a bunch of fancy fills and frills, although I know you're kinda partial to that fancy frilly stuff while I'm not. But there's also an electronically syncopated type drum sound mixed in on some of the songs. For now I'll just hide my comments about it down here where hardly anyone will see them, but I'll probably say something more visible about it in the next week. It does seem like a good one so far :)

Here's one song by song review I just found that is kinda fun but not very critical.... http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/albums/the_secret_machines_now_here_is_nowhere.php :)

[ForeverAutumn]

Some great suggestions! Sure to take some of the boredom out of my drive. Some of these suggestions require purchases. I don't have time to get downtown to the big records stores this weekend, so off I went to a more local store and found.....nothing! Not one thing on my list was in that store! It really, really sucked.

So, with the exception of one or two purchases not on my list, I'll have to make due with what I have, but will definately make it downtown before my next long trip.

Regardless, you've contributed to my road-trip through various comps that I've decided to take with me. Hyfi; Slosh; Mr. Midfi; JDaniel; DaveM; Davey; and Finch all will be joining me as I travel up to North Bay and Sudbury.

I picked up a pretty cool classic rock collection to take with me too. It's Harley Davidson Motorcycle Road Songs Vol. 2. There's a whole HDMC collection! Southern Road Songs; Country Road Songs; Roadhouse Blues. If you like mainstream classic rock, these are pretty cool collections, made with driving in mind.

Funny, I never really thought about road noise much before. I drive a Ford Focus and as long as I keep the sunroof and windows closed, it's pretty quiet. But I was in my sister-in-law's Mazda Protege last night and, after reading the comments here, paid attention to the road noise in her car. I couldn't believe how loud her car was. It sounded like we were driving on gravel the whole time. :eek:

[Slosh]

Funny, I never really thought about road noise much before. I drive a Ford Focus and as long as I keep the sunroof and windows closed, it's pretty quiet. But I was in my sister-in-law's Mazda Protege last night and, after reading the comments here, paid attention to the road noise in her car. I couldn't believe how loud her car was. It sounded like we were driving on gravel the whole time. :eek:

Hey! I have a 2003 Protege and I find it pretty quite, even with the sunroof open. One of the nice things about this car is its factory stereo is a good quality Pioneer six disc changer so no aftermarket stereo for me. :) I guess quiet is relative though; my other vehicle has a V-8 with dual exhaust, but that's an aural pleasure in its own right.

NP: a demo of a local band who doesn't want me to mention them here until their debut CD is finished. Me and my friend hung out with them at the bass player's house last night after the show and they're all down-to-earth, yet extremely talented guys. BTW, they kinda sound like a mix of Wilco and Clutch. Reading that it sounds like an odd combination but I'm telling you it works!