Road Trip Music

I'm off on a road trip this week doing book research, so music week here on TFC comes at a great time for me. Why? Because I cannot travel without tunes.

Things have been so crazy at home over the last few weeks that I rarely have time to eat much less enjoy my favorite songs. But driving an entire day to my destination? Oh, baby. Crank up that volume.

In the spirit of playlist happiness, here are 10 songs currently on my travel soundtrack this time. Some of these are book-related (for writing inspiration) and others are just because I like 'em. I'm happily eclectic when it comes to music. :-)

Gravity by Sara Barielles
Back to December by Taylor Swift
One Last Breath by Creed
Better Life by Keith Urban
Across the Universe by Rufas Wainwright
World by Five for Fighting
This Could Be Heaven by Seal
Duck and Run by 3 Doors Down
Every Day by Rascal Flatts
Ordinary Miracle by Sarah McLachlan

What's on your personal soundtrack this week?

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I’m going with… MUSIC!

All right, I’ll admit it. I’m a bit of a music junkie. And like any true junkie I’m not all that particular about what I put into my system as long as it gets the job done. I want my music to transport me someplace, to take me to different musical or emotional landscapes. I want to feel it pulsating through my body, chiming away in my brain, pushing different buttons, awakening forgotten memories and cementing new ones. And if it can’t do all that then it better be able to at least make me tap my foot…that’s the least it’s gotta be able to do.

You see, I don’t care what I’m listening to as long as it’s good. (It’s also important that you know that I’m the captain of these here ears on the sides of my head and I decide what is and isn’t good…got that, matey? If not, cast off before I make you swab the decks or send you off to Davy Jones’ Locker.) I don’t care what anyone says, all music is personal; if it doesn’t move you then it’s worthless. You might be able to convince me that an artist has talent but if I don’t feel his or her music in that inward place that some people call a soul then I’m not going to listen to it for very long.

Most people who borrow my ipod don’t listen to it for very long. It’s all over the place: jazz, rock, punk, classical, country and everything far and in between. One of the things that bother me most about my old friends is that most of them are stuck in their golden years of music. You know what your golden years of music are, right? It’s that period of your life between 12 and 25. The years when music becomes the soundtrack of your life, when you wake up and go to sleep listening to music, when you actually live inside of it soaking up the lyrics, searching for their meanings, and diving in deep probing for answers. You reach out to people who like the same music you do and categorize others who don’t. It’s a time of your life when music rules all. Unfortunately some people never move beyond the music they listened to in their golden years. They listen to the same tired songs year in and year out all the while trying to convince you that they just don’t make music like that anymore. But I’m not buying what they’re selling. My ears didn’t close at 30 and they’re still wide open. There’s a TON of good new music out there.

If you’re like me you love to get lost in your music and one of my favorite musical black holes to dive into is The Black Cab Sessions. Maybe you’ve seen it before. It’s so simple that it’s beautiful. Take an artist, put him or her in an English cab, drive them around London and let them sing. It’s intimate, moving and can be a huge time drain if you let yourself get caught up in it. Here’s a link to one of my favorites that always knocks me out, Amanda Palmer covering Radiohead’s “Creep” on a ukulele. Enjoy if you dare but I’m warning you once you venture inside the Black Cab Sessions it’s hard to leave. (Warning: Explicit lyrics.)

"Creep" on a ukelele.

How about you? Is music the center of your universe? And if so, what moves you the most?

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The DJ in Me

True story . . . in college I was a radio DJ. And I took gigs on the side spinning records (yes, those were the days of RECORDS) in very dirty, very rough clubs downtown. I loved it. My play list THEN would likely include . . . The Ramones, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, and some unheard of acts like EBN OZN. As well as the Smiths . . . the Clash. Oh, those were the DAYS.

So flash foward to three Christmases ago. Significant Other purchases me the (at the time) Rolls Royce of iPods--video, 160 GB of storage. I looked at said gift and did not speak the thought I had aloud. "What the HECK am I going to do with this thing?"

You see, I had an extensive CD collection. Do you mean to tell me I had to download ALL that music onto some little portable device? The idea was madness. Until . . . I started.

I now have the equivalent of enough music on my iPod to survive a nculear fallout without having to repeat songs. When my iPod is not up-to-date, I feel panic.

Sunday night, I did a major update. I erased all my old playlists and created new ones. I bought music (the Across the Universe Jim Sturgess Beatle remakes; songs from GLEE; old Rolling Stones plus a Fatboy Slim remix). I channeled my inner DJ.

What's on my iPod? Oh, all the names I listed from when I was a DJ. But lots and LOTS of new names: Ray LeMontagne, Jeff Buckley, Fatboy Slim, Modest Mouse, Bell 1X, Glenn Hansard, Kings of Leon . . .

So . . . anyone else channel their inner DJ? And what's on your iPod right this SECOND? Hit shuffle and tell me.

All right . . . shuffle . . . .

SHIP OF FOOLS by World Party!

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Now I like it, now I don't!

When I was five or six, my dad and I would take business trips together when I wasn't in school. We'd drive from Nashville to Ocala, Florida and on every trip, my dad would play his country tapes. Yep, that was back in the early 90's where CDs weren't out or weren't popular yet. My dad had zillions of tapes and we sang out loud for ten hours on our way south singing "Tear in my Beer" and "Achy Breaky Heart." I loved singing those songs! Our trip once took us down to Key West and we were in a restaurant when one of Dad's country songs came on. Dad told someone there I loved to sing and the manager helped me onto a table to sing! Granted, my singing voice was probably awful, but I filled a jar with tips. That clinched it--I loved Dad's country music.

But when I hit twelve or thirteen, Dad's country music became...embarrassing! I didn't like it anymore and never told any of my friends I used to like country music. I'd moved onto Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. Hardcore bubblegum pop.

Now, at 21, I can appreciate my Dad's old songs. I don't mind listening to them every so often and they always remind me of the roadtrips we'd taken. Sure, I've got BSB and *NSYNC CDs on my shelf, but I've got a couple of Dad's CDs mixed in there, too. It feels like one of those full circle moments.

So, anyone have a similar experience? Love certain music as a kid and then hit teenage years and dislike it, only to later enjoy the music as an adult?

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