Perfect Driving Song
Shamelessly crabbing from a Bérubé thread, I consider, with less erudition, the "perfect driving song".
This is clearly not a unique property of a song, unlike for example, the perfect pop song. It depends on whether you are alone, with a partner, or kids; the time of day (morning is NOT the same as evening; and heading home from work is not the same as a late night emergency run to WalMart [sic]); time of year; and location, location, location. Going through the 101-I-10-210 interchange in downtown LA is different from cruising from Urbana to O'Hare, is different from cresting Independence Pass, is different from threading the M25 junctions, is different from doing a night run on the Autobahn, is different from taking a "AWD only" shortcut over a mountain in Iceland...
Having said that, clearly the perfect car song is "Þrjú Hjól undir bílnum" as done by Ómar Ragnarsson. I am not being deliberately obscure or anything here, it just is the best car song ever done.
In the interest of outreach and fair use, I present Þrjú Hjól .... Get thee hence to tónlist.is and buy some now!
However, in the interest of global accessibility, I'll go with "If I should fall from grace with God" by the Pogues. It is best suited for LA driving, since KROQ can't be completely relied upon; but it will do almost anywhere.
In a different mood I'd take "All I wanna do" by Sheryl Crow will do; as will "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf.
In a different place, I'd take "A13, Trunk Road to the Sea" by Billy Bragg, or "Alright" by Supergrass.
Anything by the Beach Boys can also do on some occasions; but "Men of Harlech" done by any good welsh choir (men's) will also go a long way on occasion.
Comment?
This is clearly not a unique property of a song, unlike for example, the perfect pop song. It depends on whether you are alone, with a partner, or kids; the time of day (morning is NOT the same as evening; and heading home from work is not the same as a late night emergency run to WalMart [sic]); time of year; and location, location, location. Going through the 101-I-10-210 interchange in downtown LA is different from cruising from Urbana to O'Hare, is different from cresting Independence Pass, is different from threading the M25 junctions, is different from doing a night run on the Autobahn, is different from taking a "AWD only" shortcut over a mountain in Iceland...
Having said that, clearly the perfect car song is "Þrjú Hjól undir bílnum" as done by Ómar Ragnarsson. I am not being deliberately obscure or anything here, it just is the best car song ever done.
In the interest of outreach and fair use, I present Þrjú Hjól .... Get thee hence to tónlist.is and buy some now!
However, in the interest of global accessibility, I'll go with "If I should fall from grace with God" by the Pogues. It is best suited for LA driving, since KROQ can't be completely relied upon; but it will do almost anywhere.
In a different mood I'd take "All I wanna do" by Sheryl Crow will do; as will "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf.
In a different place, I'd take "A13, Trunk Road to the Sea" by Billy Bragg, or "Alright" by Supergrass.
Anything by the Beach Boys can also do on some occasions; but "Men of Harlech" done by any good welsh choir (men's) will also go a long way on occasion.
Comment?
posted by Steinn at 12:35 PM
3 Comments:
Nah, "3 wheels on the car..." - the story of a family camping trip across the wilderness of Iceland.
You had to be there. Kid oriented, but with a good beat and excellent lyrics.
I do confess though that the Pogues is what I carry with me when I need the extra rental car boost...
I'll go with "If I should fall..." as the perfect car song for the broadest range of driving conditions and company.
A little bit of Icelandic goes a long way.
And "bíll" is one of the few words in Icelandic with latin roots, good guess.
But the "Ypiddi-Yay and Yippid-Yee" have to be heatfelt for it to work, requires listener participation.
The perfect driving song for me has always been, and always will be, "We Are Not Alone" by Frank Zappa, available on "The Man From Utopia" or (for fiscally minded individuals) "Cheep Thrills."
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