9/25/17
This wekend, our scout troop went on a camping trip up to Perdenales Falls, TX- up near Austin. From Houston, the trip took a total of 5 hours. Yet, it hadn't dawned on me until we got to the church to pack up that I had no means of music other than what was on my phone. The radio worked, but the scoutmaster Mr Carroll has a knack for changing stations in the middle of a song. But, it was his truck, his rules. I realized, had I of downloaded Spotify or Pandora, I wouldn't have been stuck listening to John's god-awful mumble rap the entire way there. (Or at least until I was able to get a signal at a Whataburger in La Grange.) So, I have taken up the liberty of providing y'all with a light driving and road trip playlist, so as you might not be stuck listening to Fetty Wap and Migos for hours on end. (And for the love of God, if I hear Despacito one more time I'm throwing that damn phone out of the truck.) Without further a due, I give you the official 'Merica Notes Roadtrip Playlist!
1) The Thunder Rolls by Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks certainly has that voice that just draws you in and captivates his listeners, add that deep southern drawl to a song about a cheating man and his nervous wife; you have perhaps the ultimate sad country driving song. If you're driving late one night, during rain along an empty highway, this song is perfect for you. The first verse goes to introduce the setting and the worried lady praying her man comes home alive. Unbeknownst to her, her man has made a detour and is actually cheating on her.
2) Amarillo By Morning by George Strait
Moving on to a less sad note, arguably the King of Country's most popular song "Amarillo By Morning" tells the travels across Texas by (most likely) George himself and how much love and pain he's endure from Texas's famous rodeos. Who can blame him? Everybody loves a good rodeo, even if you think you don't, trust me- you do. George poetically describes the freedom of the Texas rodeo and while others may not like it, its ultimately the experience and thrill of enjoying something you love and the journey that gets you there.
3) Boyz N The Hood by NWA ft. Easy-E
Let's take a break from country classics for a moment and delve into the solid roots of Gangsta Rap. Just a forewarning, you might not wanna play this with an audience of little kids in the car, or if you're headed to that Church retreat with the pastor. If you're looking for hype music, or just something that will annoy the minivan in the next lane, NWA has the song for you. Bonus: It's not Kendrick Lamar! With the high pitched synthesizer and bass drum beat creating a catchy background, its always nice to hear Eazy-E's rhythm intertwine with with each verse.
4) Panama by Van Halen
There is no doubt you've never heard the song "Panama" before. Whether you listened to it as a kid in several racing game soundtracks like Grand Turismo 4 on the Playstation 2 like I did, or whether you heard it in a commercial- you have to admit, "Panama" is one of those classic rock songs that just makes you want to drive fast. (Try driving slow listening to this, it's impossible). Van Halen definitely knew how to pump drivers up with their solid guitar riffs and loud vocals.
5) Take On Me by A-Ha
Honestly, this is probably the most famous racing or driving song in all of 80s rock. It's opening is a meme. It's a Volkswagen commercial. And, its a great song. The fact that the song and the music video are modeled after Speed Racer helps too. "Take On Me" is one of those songs that is so easily recognizable that usually you can tell what the song is within the first 5 seconds. (Almost as much as "We Will Rock You")
6) On The Road Again by Willie Nelson
Probably one of my favorite country songs of all time, Willie Nelson's famous "On The Road Again" has earned him numerous cameos playing the song or characters in commercials, TV Shows, and movies referencing or singing along to the red-headed stranger's signature song. The line "Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway" can definitely resonate on the long road trip across country with your friends in the car.
7) Turn The Page by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
"Turn The Page" is certainly a classic driving song, and a staple of all road trip playlists at that. Bob Seger knows how to enrapture the audience with a story of roaming town to town playing on every stage and the stress of the monotony and repetition of it all. Truly, it is a unique song, focusing less about the destination and more on the long journey to that destination. The phrase "turn the page" refers to the seemingly endless cycle of driving, performing, packing up, and driving again to do the exact same thing at a different venue a long ways from home.
8) Bat Country by Avenged Sevenfold
For the first metal song in this list, we have "Bat Country". While not necessarily all about driving, the son more so focuses on the confusion and compromise of travel and long periods away from home. The song is generally fast, with slow melodic bits in between to keep listeners engaged, and probably to avoid monotony in constant drumming. The speed is what keeps you captivated, and the song picks up when you least expect it- which makes it an optimal choice for this playlist because it has something for everyone; slow melody and fast and loud drumming unique to the metal genre.
9) La Grange by ZZ Top
La Grange is another staple of cross-country classic rock that encompasses the American spirit. Ironically enough, we did in fact stop in La Grange to get a Friday night Whataburger dinner. But what's great about ZZ Top's "La Grange" is not the awesome guitar solos throughout the song by Billy Gibbons, or the experienced drumming of Frank Beard, but rather the trio all together that gives La Grange its growling and southern rock sound, by the efforts of Dusty Hill, Frank Beard, and Billy Gibbons. La Grange is a song you'd love to drive through small towns blasting with the windows down. It's good music, I'm sure the residents won't mind too much.
10) Runnin' Down A Dream by Tom Petty
American-born classic rock artist Tom Petty is no stranger to fast cars and good music, and "Runnin' Down A Dream" serves as a testament to that. RDAD is a great song to listen to on a beautiful day with the pedal down on cruise control. Tom Petty doesn't give a damn what you think of him or his music, he'll play it loud and proud anyway. And that's quite alright by me. Good music deserves good recognition, and this sure does have plenty of good to say about Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Though we may never know who Dell is from verse 1, that's besides the point. We don't care about Dell; all that matters is that Petty's song is a great one to listen to on a long road-trip.
See any songs I missed? Want to suggest I do a part 2 of the MericaNotes Road-trip Playlist? By all means, leave a comment on what songs you want me to include next. Share this with all your musically interested friends and family, get your cousin "Pookie" off the couch and get him to listen to some real music instead of that Lil Uzi Vert garbage and show him this blog, get your 3 year old sister to listen to ZZ Top (she'll thank you in the long run), and show 'em this! Tell your grandma who still listens to BB King for some reason, tell your neighbor's friend's college room-mate's cousin's mother-in-law. Tell everyone that MericaNotes is here, and I'm bringing y'all great quality music in a generation of sub-par artists. Enjoy!
http://www.greatamericancountry.com/living/lifestyles/top-20-road-songs
http://www.watchmojo.com/video/id/13043/
1) The Thunder Rolls by Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks certainly has that voice that just draws you in and captivates his listeners, add that deep southern drawl to a song about a cheating man and his nervous wife; you have perhaps the ultimate sad country driving song. If you're driving late one night, during rain along an empty highway, this song is perfect for you. The first verse goes to introduce the setting and the worried lady praying her man comes home alive. Unbeknownst to her, her man has made a detour and is actually cheating on her.
2) Amarillo By Morning by George Strait
Moving on to a less sad note, arguably the King of Country's most popular song "Amarillo By Morning" tells the travels across Texas by (most likely) George himself and how much love and pain he's endure from Texas's famous rodeos. Who can blame him? Everybody loves a good rodeo, even if you think you don't, trust me- you do. George poetically describes the freedom of the Texas rodeo and while others may not like it, its ultimately the experience and thrill of enjoying something you love and the journey that gets you there.
3) Boyz N The Hood by NWA ft. Easy-E
Let's take a break from country classics for a moment and delve into the solid roots of Gangsta Rap. Just a forewarning, you might not wanna play this with an audience of little kids in the car, or if you're headed to that Church retreat with the pastor. If you're looking for hype music, or just something that will annoy the minivan in the next lane, NWA has the song for you. Bonus: It's not Kendrick Lamar! With the high pitched synthesizer and bass drum beat creating a catchy background, its always nice to hear Eazy-E's rhythm intertwine with with each verse.
4) Panama by Van Halen
There is no doubt you've never heard the song "Panama" before. Whether you listened to it as a kid in several racing game soundtracks like Grand Turismo 4 on the Playstation 2 like I did, or whether you heard it in a commercial- you have to admit, "Panama" is one of those classic rock songs that just makes you want to drive fast. (Try driving slow listening to this, it's impossible). Van Halen definitely knew how to pump drivers up with their solid guitar riffs and loud vocals.
5) Take On Me by A-Ha
Honestly, this is probably the most famous racing or driving song in all of 80s rock. It's opening is a meme. It's a Volkswagen commercial. And, its a great song. The fact that the song and the music video are modeled after Speed Racer helps too. "Take On Me" is one of those songs that is so easily recognizable that usually you can tell what the song is within the first 5 seconds. (Almost as much as "We Will Rock You")
6) On The Road Again by Willie Nelson
Probably one of my favorite country songs of all time, Willie Nelson's famous "On The Road Again" has earned him numerous cameos playing the song or characters in commercials, TV Shows, and movies referencing or singing along to the red-headed stranger's signature song. The line "Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway" can definitely resonate on the long road trip across country with your friends in the car.
7) Turn The Page by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
"Turn The Page" is certainly a classic driving song, and a staple of all road trip playlists at that. Bob Seger knows how to enrapture the audience with a story of roaming town to town playing on every stage and the stress of the monotony and repetition of it all. Truly, it is a unique song, focusing less about the destination and more on the long journey to that destination. The phrase "turn the page" refers to the seemingly endless cycle of driving, performing, packing up, and driving again to do the exact same thing at a different venue a long ways from home.
8) Bat Country by Avenged Sevenfold
For the first metal song in this list, we have "Bat Country". While not necessarily all about driving, the son more so focuses on the confusion and compromise of travel and long periods away from home. The song is generally fast, with slow melodic bits in between to keep listeners engaged, and probably to avoid monotony in constant drumming. The speed is what keeps you captivated, and the song picks up when you least expect it- which makes it an optimal choice for this playlist because it has something for everyone; slow melody and fast and loud drumming unique to the metal genre.
9) La Grange by ZZ Top
La Grange is another staple of cross-country classic rock that encompasses the American spirit. Ironically enough, we did in fact stop in La Grange to get a Friday night Whataburger dinner. But what's great about ZZ Top's "La Grange" is not the awesome guitar solos throughout the song by Billy Gibbons, or the experienced drumming of Frank Beard, but rather the trio all together that gives La Grange its growling and southern rock sound, by the efforts of Dusty Hill, Frank Beard, and Billy Gibbons. La Grange is a song you'd love to drive through small towns blasting with the windows down. It's good music, I'm sure the residents won't mind too much.
10) Runnin' Down A Dream by Tom Petty
American-born classic rock artist Tom Petty is no stranger to fast cars and good music, and "Runnin' Down A Dream" serves as a testament to that. RDAD is a great song to listen to on a beautiful day with the pedal down on cruise control. Tom Petty doesn't give a damn what you think of him or his music, he'll play it loud and proud anyway. And that's quite alright by me. Good music deserves good recognition, and this sure does have plenty of good to say about Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Though we may never know who Dell is from verse 1, that's besides the point. We don't care about Dell; all that matters is that Petty's song is a great one to listen to on a long road-trip.
See any songs I missed? Want to suggest I do a part 2 of the MericaNotes Road-trip Playlist? By all means, leave a comment on what songs you want me to include next. Share this with all your musically interested friends and family, get your cousin "Pookie" off the couch and get him to listen to some real music instead of that Lil Uzi Vert garbage and show him this blog, get your 3 year old sister to listen to ZZ Top (she'll thank you in the long run), and show 'em this! Tell your grandma who still listens to BB King for some reason, tell your neighbor's friend's college room-mate's cousin's mother-in-law. Tell everyone that MericaNotes is here, and I'm bringing y'all great quality music in a generation of sub-par artists. Enjoy!
http://www.greatamericancountry.com/living/lifestyles/top-20-road-songs
http://www.watchmojo.com/video/id/13043/
Great song list in this post, alot of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
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