Songs for the long road trip ahead

When I was younger - much younger - it would not be a physical stretch to drive 16 hours straight.

Of course all of the necessary checklist items were in place…. gas money, a AAA TripTik map, a place to stay and money to eat with were the “I wouldn’t think of leaving home without them” items. Once the checklist items were in place, off I went!

These days, packing toiletries, changing the oil, safety check on the car, paying all bills, checking credit card balances, camera, tons of electronics, gps and music to go on the iPod is a must. Of course, I tell my wife where I'm going and have some bonding time with my two dawgs.

Anyway, it seems that 3 hours is within my zone of sitting on my arse without a bladder break. Now I have my iPod loaded up with 30gb of music, but only a couple of dozen songs really propel me down the road. What I mean by that is that some songs seem to send my Honda Odyssey on a cruise control time warp effect that makes the trip go much faster.

Now I’m not a music scientist, but perhaps there’s a certain rhythm, a back beat that makes time in car fly by. Songs that work for me include horns, sing along choruses, hand drumming on the steering wheel, fake keyboards, a little head / neck motion, whistling, yelling, something that I can sing loudly (in the privacy of my car)… ‘num saying?

With that said, here are some of the road tested songs that really work for me…

Get Back – The Beatles
Dweller On The Threshold – Van Morrison
Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who
Compared to What – Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
Willin’ – Little Feat
Goodnight Moon - Shivaree
Jamming & Buffalo Soldier - Bob Marley & The Wailers
Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John
Kid Charlemagne - Steely Dan
Running On Empty - Jackson Browne
Pick Up the Pieces - Average White Band
Love Shack - B-52's
Going Up The Country (Woodstock) – Canned Heat
The Golden Path (Original mix) - The Chemical Brothers
Indescribable – Chris Tomlin
Ain't Got No Home - Clarence "Frogman" Henry
Deep Forest - Deep Forest

As for albums, Deep Forest by Deep Forest and Love by the Beatles work every time without fail.

I wanna know what works for you so that I can build a playlist that will send me hurling down I 24 to Atlanta, GA!