avid Cross, comedian

In no particular order, and in consideration of a lengthy (at least two-day) road trip:

1. Camper Van Beethoven. The first record. It's as if they made this record specifically for this purpose.

2. Fugazi. The first record. Because sometimes you just have to drive really fast and yell.

3. Neil Young, Harvest Moon. Because then you have to slow down, mellow out and take in your surroundings.

4. Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet. I like cranking this one as you pull into super-small southern or western towns.

5. Paris, Texas soundtrack. This is by Ry Cooder, and it's the best music to listen to as the sun starts rising above the horizon after you've been driving for twelve or sixteen hours. You start seeing everything around you in a literally different light. Your whole mindset changes, and your thoughts change from dreamy projections to reality-based practicality.


Dan Snaith of Manitoba

1. Vinroc, Dancehall Flavaz
If you're talking driving albums, you've already listened to this shit. If you have to drive all day, but you start and finish with this, you'll want to turn around and do it again.

2. Steve Miller, Greatest Hits 1974-1978
It's tough to top classic-rock radio, unless you take fourteen of the greatest rock-pop songs ever recorded and slam them back to back. This is what you should be listening to when you egg passing cars that are blaring the Eagles.

3. Madvillain, Madvillainy
It's from outer space, and it'll make you cry. For the beautiful moments.

4. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Axis Bold As Love
Why would you listen to this record when all this fresh new rock is around? Because it's better.

5. Weezer, Weezer
This one's a given. Don't get clever about it — this is the sing-a-long shit that everyone's feeling on the way to the cottage or on the way back. Go on, try and enjoy listening to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or the Rapture as much as you enjoy this. It was meant for the car.


Eric Johnson of the Fruit Bats

1. Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy
Contains "Song Remains the Same," the finest opening song of just about any album. Completes the one-two punch with "Rain Song." Any Zeppelin record is good for driving — or riding a white stallion.

2. The Byrds, Notorious Byrd Brothers
This makes you feel like you should be driving an old flatbed jalopy through some Malibu canyon, even if you're driving a shitty '86 Volkwagon Golf through a Chicago traffic jam.

3. Television, Marquee Moon
I include this one just to offset my first two, very hippie-ish, choices. The title track is a hypnotic ride in itself.

4. Meat Puppets, II and Up on the Sun
I tried listening to these in the desert, but it's way too obvious. But anywhere else, these are amazing driving records.

5. Vashti Bunyan, Just Another Diamond Day
A beautiful, very Renaissance Fair-sounding record. I drove through the peak-to-peak region of Colorado listening to this one and barely ever touched the brakes.


Andrew Kenny of American Analog Set

The best driving album is one you know really well but haven't heard in a long time. I'll stand firm on that. That said, here are a few of my favorites:

1. The Smiths, The Queen Is Dead
This came out the summer before I got a driver's license. The first time I was allowed in the car by myself, I took this tape along. I don't think I've owned a car that didn't have this cassette wedged between the driver's seat and the emergency brake.

2. The Magnetic Fields, Charm of the Highway Strip
It's obvious, but I swear this record holds up. Highly recommended for road trips in the South and Southwest.

3. Belle & Sebastian, Tigermilk
If You're Feeling Sinister was released the winter before our first tour, and we all liked it a lot. So we spent most of our first tour asking everyone if they had a copy of the first record. It took us forever to find it, but once we did, Tigermilk didn't leave the tape player for days. It still reminds me of driving around and singing along.

4. Death Cab for Cutie, We Have the Facts . . .
I like this record for around-town driving. Every so often, I'd clean out all the tapes in my truck and replace them with new ones — or less-listened ones, anyway. We Have the Facts escaped this spring cleaning twice because it was in the tape player. That's got to count for something.

5. The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses
How many times has this record saved my life? Late at night, when there's an hour still left to go and another cup of coffee will only make things worse, the Stone Roses always get me home. This record has never let me down.

6. The Kills, Keep On Your Meanside
This is new, I know. Will it be added to this list of classics? I can't answer that now. But I just spent five weeks in a van and this was in my headphones nearly every day.


Matt Pond of Matt Pond PA

Five driving records that keep everyone in my band from killing each other:

1. The Beatles, Rubber Soul. Nothing that a good sing-a-long can't fix, in that late-sixties-family-band manner. Smiles and hand motions. Men can hug men. And then it's over, and we're back to mumbling and hoarding snacks.

2. Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. This should be sung along to as well. But imperfectly. Very imperfectly. It sounds like five drunk kids trying to out-loud everyone else. Which is really not so far from the truth.

3. David Cross, Shut Up You Fucking Baby. I told David Cross that he saved our band's life with this CD. He did! We listened to it over and over during some long drives to bad places. Between this and Mr. Show — and I say this in all seriousness — I rank him among the top five greatest living people. I don't know the other five, but I'm sure they're very important. I told him this once, and he kept backing away, slowly, very careful not to startle me.

4. The Magnetic Fields, The Charm of the Highway Strip. My favorite Magnetic Fields record. Staring at the road while listening to songs about the road might seem redundant, but no, the time passes quickly with this one.

5. Guided by Voices, Bee Thousand. If I hear one more criticism of GBV that involves them being too prolific or having a male-dominated audience, I'm going to get angry and do something about it. I will never tire of this record, and this record will never challenge my weak stereo system with its high fidelity. We're perfect for each other.  

 

Read other features from the Road Trip issue!

© 2003 Jen Dolloff and Nerve.com.