Your Desert Drive Mix

[dean_martin]

My wife and I are celebrating our 15th anniversary later this month with a trip to San Antonio. From there, we're renting a car to drive to Marfa, TX. I need some epic west texas/desert theme music for the drive. Any suggestions?

[Slosh]

Calexico - "El Picador"
Richmond Fontaine - "Moving Back Home"

[Mr MidFi]

Yeah, Calexico was the first thing that sprang to mind for me too. Some Explosions in the Sky would probably work, too. Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Tin Pan Alley" might be nice.

Not really Texas-style, but I think somehow The Doves' "Kingdom of Rust" would give you the right feel.

[Jim Clark]

I'd be a bit partial to some Stan Ridgway (Lonely Town, Goin' South Bound) and some early Wall of Voodoo (Call of The West, Lost Weekend). Clinic would blend in nicely with the aforementioned band from all too.

Have fun.

[Finch Platte]

Oh, man- plenty of ZZ Top would fill the bill. Tejas, Rio Grande Mud. The cover for El Loco even has them in some sand.



Asleep In The Desert is one, but you might not want to be driving during that one.

[dean_martin]

Taking care of things at work and at home didn't leave me much time to put my desert comp together before we left so I relied on the familiar (but not too familiar) and came up with a mix that my necessary travel companion, i.e., my wife (it was our anniversary trip, after all), and I enjoyed.

1. Fireball - The Fireballs (great tex-mex instrumental with lotsa slapback reverb which can be found on their album Bull Dog and on a compilation called Rockabilly for a Summer's Day - have to be careful because an online search revealed that there is another song called Fireball attributed to The Fireballs with vocals which sux.)
2. The Black Light - Calexico from The Black Light
3. Clap Hands - Tom Waits from Rain Dogs
4. Paper Tiger - Beck from Sea Change
5. Hell is Chrome - Wilco from A Ghost is Born
6. Girl from the North Country - Dylan (w/Johnny Cash) from Nashville Skyline
7. Bewitched - Luna from Luna Live
8. Gravity Rides Everything - Modest Mouse from The Moon & Antarctica
9. Fade into You - Mazzy Starr from So Tonight That I Might See
10. Fool to Cry - The Rolling Stones from Black and Blue
11. Jockey Full of Bourbon - Tom Waits from Rain Dogs
12. St. James Infirmary - Louis Armstrong from Satchmo Plays King Oliver
13. Folsom Prison Blues (Live) - Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison
14. I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) - Elvis Presley From Elvis in Memphis
15. Sweet Jane - Cowboy Junkies from The Trinity Session
16. Dark Center of the Universe - Modest Mouse from The Moon & Antarctica
17. Ashes of American Flags - Wilco from YHF
18. Menas de Cobre (For Better Metal) - Calexico from The Black Light
19. Tango Till They're Sore - Tom Waits from Rain Dogs

You may notice that I really like Rain Dogs right now. I made another version which substituted in various places the following:

Far Away Eyes - The Rolling Stones from Some Girls
Lodi Dodi - Snoop Dogg from Doggystyle
Unreal - UNKLE from Psyence Fiction
Dirty Harry - Gorillaz from Demon Dayz
Misunderstood - Wilco from Being There

It didn't flow as well.

Although they're not all tex-mex, most of the tunes are "epic" in some way or another which complimented the vistas and epic scenery we observed on our 5 1/2 hour drive from San Antonio to Marfa. Of course two or three more epic comps would have been even better. Fortunately, our rental had an auxillary jack for the iPod so all was well. Once we arrived, a little outlaw country hit the spot.