This is my first tryout of the web service “Plinky,” designed to get people to answer questions every day and, I guess to promote dialogue. This first set of questions kind of seems more like a meme than a conversation generator, but I guess I would really be interested in other people’s answers to this question (which isn’t always the case with the what color socks are you wearing/where would you be now if you could/what the hell did you do with my monkey memes).
The first Plinky question was essentially “name three songs you would add to a road-trip mix and say why.” What are yours?
Someday, Someway by Marshall Crenshaw
It moves – as hopefully your car does. If your car isn’t moving, it’s fun to sing.
Keep the River on Your Right by Jonatha Brooke
It’s determined and fierce – just what you need when you get really tired of driving. It’s also about keeping moving.
Boston and St. John’s by Great Big Sea
While this one is slower and more melancholy, it’s about needing to keep moving.
In My Car I’ll be the Driver by (*blush*) Shania Twain would have to be there.
No Particular Place to Go -Chuck Berry (I’m the queen of the embarrassing playlist.)
Taking the Long Way -Dixie Chicks -no need to apologize for the Chicks ;)
I don’t make road-trip mixes. I take CDs. Currently listening to Roseanne Cash’s Black Cadillac, and also in the van are Eva Cassidy’s Songbird and Delbert McClinton’s Never Been Rocked Enough.
Like Marilee, I take CDs rather than making mix CDs, when it’s my road trip. (I have made several mix CDs for my dad.) And Paul Simon is my music for driving Iowa. Either “Graceland” or “Negotiations and Love Songs” will do nicely. Follow up with Indigo Girls’ “All That We Let In,” and you’ve done a pretty good chunk of Iowa pretty painlessly.
(I have no opposition to Iowa, it’s just that they put it between me and my grandparents.)
Like the others, I have a favorite road trip cd: the soundtrack to Boys on the Side. But in keeping with your meme, let me see if I can come up with the three tracks from it I like best:
1. Indigo Girls, “Power of Two”
2. Bonnie Raitt, “You Got It”
3. Sheryl Crow, “Keep on Growing”
Wait… Can I add one? Or maybe lose the Chuck Berry? The Road and the Radio would need to be there!
I’m so happy to see “Boston and St. John’s” on your list. Such a lovely tune. I get your reasoning, although my GBS choice for a road trip mix is always “Ordinary Day.” It’s one uplifting cliche’ after another, but it works for me. As one who has a tendency to think somewhat on the darker side, I appreciate some feel-good perspective by a bunch of guys who sound like they just got off work at the docks.
My other two choices are rather similarly prosaic, I’m afraid:
“Thunder Road,” Springsteen. No other tune makes me happier about the prospect of going somewhere else other than where I am.
“Back on the Chain Gang,” Pretenders. And no other tune makes me grateful, however ruefully, to return.
In between those, things get fairly esoteric as befits an ADD-led musical snob. :-)
Way to rock the Tift Merritt, by the by.