Driving is more than a commuter obligation for me, it’s a pursuit. In the right car, with the right music, a drive to the gas station becomes a lark. For me, every ride is a joy ride.

Last week Kimberlee published a list of songs that get her through long hours on SoCal’s highways and byways. There are many kinds of drive for me and, naturally, I have music for all of them. Here are just a few:

Driving home after a long, hard day.
Maybe it’s a big cliché, but Off the Wall always helps me get out of a long day’s funk. When the title track plays, I always imagine a dance floor full of middle-aged desk jockeys dressed in business-casual attire tearing off their ties and riving their Anne Klein hobble skirts into micro minis, hairpins and sport coats asunder.

When it’s sunny and warm.
Sunny days evoke a pretty simple feeling. There are so many songs, it’s impossible to choose just one. Here’s a list, straight up:

On a grey but not unpleasant day.
Joanna Newsom has a magical way of lighting up a grey day. Songs on The Milk-Eyed Mender can turn an oppressive ceiling of clouds into a seductive veil concealing spectacular landscapes. “Bridges and Balloons” is the first track on the album, and it’s about adventuring.

On a booty call.
Two words: “Go Deep.“SIke! If I’m feeling corny, I’ll roll to Nice & Slow, but I’m really a Break You Off kinda girl. If you only watch one video linked in this article, I suggest this one. It’s very sexy. Mmm.
To blow off steam.
Basement Jaxx have produced some of the thickest dance tracks on the market, “Romeo” being their best-known, but my favourite track’s got to be Good Luck, a colossal breakup anthem featuring Bellrays frontwoman Lisa Kekaula on vocals. What can I say? It pumps me up. It’s also been on my workout mix for years.

When you’re a little sad,
Or when the moving nature of things gets the better of you, Blonde Redhead will encourage you to turn your thoughts inward as you rattle down that empty country road. Their music runs the gamut of emotions but always sound a little shrouded. I like the weird and wobbly “Melody” from Misery is a Butterfly or the title track from their latest album. These songs will help you rock out with a brooding edge, and pair excellently with a sunset on a strange highway.

When you’re a lot sad.
When your heart is in pieces and you can’t think about anything but how sorry you feel, when all you want to do is pour your soul into bad student film, Jeff Buckley is your man. Anything on Grace will do the trick. Caterwauling along with “Lover, You Should Have Come Over” hits the spot for me every time.

Embarking on a road trip before your co-pilot is fully awake.
You know how it goes. You’re up at the crack of dawn with your car packed to the brim, and you’re pounding on your travel companion’s front door yelling “WAKE UP! WAKE UP OR WE’LL GET STUCK IN RUSH HOUR!” They roll out of their second-story bedroom window and into the car, pillow and all, and beg you to put something quiet on the stereo if you’re going to put anything on at all, because they’ll be sleeping until you hit the Canadian border. I have two recommendations for this scenario: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s “Ease Down the Road” (forgive the incomplete video, it’s all I could find) and Broadcast’s “Colour Me In” from Ha Ha Sound.

The open road.
Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love“. Well, isn’t it obvious? Boost the bass and crank that volume and this song could turn your grandma on. Ain’t a bigger badass on the road with this song pumping on the stereo.

In bloody traffic.
If my wheels are locked, I actually prefer talk radio or spoken word to music, but if I had to pick a song, I’d have to go with Fischerspooner’s Happy. According the author of this YouTube video, electronic-disco rhythm reinforces totalitarian mechanisms of production and thus the best means of media manipulation. Maybe that explains why it helps quell my impatience in gridlock.

That wraps it up! This Listen In Mix/re:Mix feature is cross-posted to Newsvine.com.

© Ryan Stolte-Sawa 2008 for Listen In

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