The Road.

I have a problem.  The first step is admitting it, right?  Well, I live in my car.  All day long, I drive from house to house, from one end of the city to the other... and then I drive out to the suburbs for gigs... and then when I return "home," I park in my designated spot and am too damn tired to actually leave my vehicle.  It's just that Lil' Mama has become my substitute home.  She's my caregiver, my escape route, my tiny little bubble that takes me to far off lands.  And the best part? I have an endless supply of music streaming from all sources of media.  There's a CD player, a radio, and an iPod aux jack.  Add a Subway footlong, a Starbucks decaf grande Americano, and heated seats... I'm good. So I'll sit there in my parking spot for a solid 10-20 minutes soaking up the situation, basking in the built-in surround sound, before I can compose myself and muster enough strength to return "home."

But why the love, the need, the desire for music in a vehicle?  What is this love affair with the romanticized concept of the road?  I don't know, but I'm a sucker for it.  At 2 am, I often find myself driving home from the Schaumburg vicinity, lost in a haze of thought with Bob Dylan blasting through my speakers.  I'll get a sudden urge and a burst of energy and think to myself, "I'm just going to keep driving."  At this time, I'm heading East, so my initial thought is, "Why don't I just keep driving to Newport?"  Newport, RI... home of the Newport Folk Festival.  Home of my favorite spot in the U.S.  Home of so many memories.  Obviously, this is where the car would take me at 2 am when I'm listening to Bob Dylan.  So why haven't I just kept going?  By the time I hit my Addison exit, I realize that I'm actually extremely exhausted and it wouldn't be smart to drive by myself for another 18 hours.  I may fall asleep at the wheel, and that would be a sad road song.

When discussing this topic, there's so much to write about.  What are the 3 types of "road" music?  What are the various reasons for going on the road in "road" songs?  How many damn songs are there simply entitled "The Road"???  Oh, where to begin.  Just follow along this journey...

Everyone has his or her own type of music for the car.  Personally, I have three kinds:

1)  The drive.  The song that literally pushes you.  Everything about the music is horizontal.  The song is like the Hulk roller coaster.  3, 2, 1... bam!  You're off and running, and you're not looking back.  Maybe you're pissed off, maybe you need to escape, maybe you're moving and think you can literally run away from something/someone.  Who cares.  You need this drive and this energy to propel you and the car.  Oh, your head also does a little nod the whole time.  For example?  Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "Stop."  The band is literally driving in the video:



Here is The National's "Bloodbuzz Ohio."  Note: constant drums in your face, piano hysteria, and a swarm of bees.



2)  The thinker.  It's 2 am, you're on the road, and you need to get somewhere.  You're thinking about someone, or something.  You're driving somewhere.  Where are you going?  Why?  Where is life taking you? Where is your car taking you?  How did you end up here?  Crap.  Why won't your brain stop thinking?  And now, there are all these songs about the road, and all these songs about getting to that final destination.... and you don't even know where it is.  Perfect.  For example, "Get On The Road" by Tired Pony.



Depressing?  Yes.  Excellent harmonies of Gary Lightbody and Zooey Deschanel.  Let's get on the road and keep driving.

3) The crappy sing-a-long.  Stupid, check.  Fun, check.  Endless amounts of entertainment, check.  Why is it that the Dixie Chicks are always a must for road trips?  Funny thing is, they don't even count as "crappy" because, well, the Dixie Chicks are pretty awesome.  But I just wanted to include this song as one of the best car sing-a-longs ever:



More analysis of "The Road" is still to come.  I haven't even told you guys how many road songs I have on my iPod.  Kind of crazy!  But it's day one of Blizzard '11, and my friend is coming over to go over some of our own songs.  Funny thing... I've been writing lyrics for a new ditty, and it's been lending itself over to the "road" side.  I can't help it.  I live in my car.