Mixtape: The Best Traveling Music Ever
"Vacation, all I ever wanted. Vacation, had to get away." Yeah, it's that time of year again, time to get in the car or on a train or airplane and get the F out of town for a while. I've already taken a few vacations so far this year, and I've got three more coming up in the next two months. (One of them doesn't really count, though, because it's with my in-laws, but I'm going to try to make the most of it—I hear there may be horseback riding involved. And I've always wanted to do that.) Anywho, I can't go any damn where without the appropriate music. For serious, I can't even run short errands without having something appropriate to listen to. Picking the day's CDs has made me late for work more than once. On longer travels, I have a few stand-bys that accompany me. But everywhere I go, so go the tunes. And so, I present to you, my favorite traveling albums and songs. Ramble on, y'all.
Albums
U2 - The Unforgettable Fire
Sheryl Crow - The Globe Sessions
DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
Everything But the Girl – Back to Mine
Morcheeba – Back to Mine
Calexico – The Black Light
Kristen Hersh – Hips and Makers
Mojave 3 – Excuses for Travellers
Mojave 3 is made up of some of the members of Slowdive, one of the better shoegazing bands of the era. Mojave 3 doesn't sound a bit like those bands. Instead, they've created a sound that is somewhere between folky and low-fi, but also modern and rich. Neil Halstead's lyrics and melodies are slightly mournful and searching. The perfect soundtrack for moving, or leaving the house of the person you just dumped, or quitting your job then taking the train home and looking forward to what's next.
Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico
Jonathan Richman – I, Jonathan
Juliana Hatfield Three – Become What You Are
I bought this album at World Record, in Columbus, Ohio, sometime in the fall of 1993. My dad let me drive to Columbus to visit Victor for the first time—only for the day, mind you—and I stopped there on the way back to Warren to get some music. The song, "My Sister," had been playing on the radio and my friends and I had taken to yelling at each other, randomly, "I miss my sister! I miss my sister!" Why? I don't know. It was catchy. The whole album is catchy. Oh yeah, let me tell you something—this is how old school I was: I bought it on TAPE. Yeah, that's right. On tape, motherfuckers.
(Editor's Note: I also purchased My Bloody Valentine's Loveless on tape, so per the request of one of my favorite record reviewers at Turntable Lab: "And if you bought it on tape, big ups and I will personally kiss your ass if you hand deliver your tape to me out in Bushwick." I'm on it, baby. I'm on it.)
Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
Lovage – Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By
Erykah Badu – Mama's Gun
There are four good reasons to buy this album: 1) "Penitentiary Philosophy"; 2) "Didn't Cha Know"; 3) "My Life"; and 4) "Bag Lady." Bonus Points: Get the "Bag Lady" remix. It's a mash-up with Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" and it is the bomb. I had an mp3 of it once and it got deleted. Damn, I sure wish I could find it again. The aforementioned Turntable Lab did have it on vinyl a while back, but no more.
Songs
Erland Oye – "A While Ago and Recently"
Ryan Adams – "Shadowlands"
JSBX, featuring Killah Priest – "Greyhound Part 2"
Madder Rose – "Car Song"
I don't know what it is about "Car Song" that I love so very much. I think it's because the album, Panic On, is one of those albums that entered my life at just the right time. Madder Rose's twang and slide guitar and dirty sound was just I was looking for in the spring of 1994. I wanted to be in the song; I thought of it as a mini-movie. Getting in the car, it's hot, you're going somewhere, looking up at the sky, your feet resting on the dashboard.
Portishead – "It's a Fire"
Strange note about this album: I bought it on vinyl not too long ago, and this song isn't on there. Weird.
Robert Plant – "Big Log"
PJ Harvey – "Cat on the Wall"
Queens of the Stone Age – "Go with the Flow"
Foo Fighters – "Everlong"
A Tribe Called Quest – "Award Tour"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – "Maps"
Ben Folds Five – "Smoke"
See if you can find the live version of this. I think it's from "Sessions at West 54th"?
Bob Marley – "No Woman, No Cry"
The Kinks – "Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' bout That Girl"
Lords of the New Church – "Dance with Me"
The Church – "Under the Milky Way"
Fuel – "Shimmer"
Grant Lee Buffalo – "Truly, Truly"
Digable Planets – "9th Wonder (Blackitolism)"
Tracy Chapman – "Fast Car"
Better Than Ezra – "Desperately Wanting" and/or "At the Stars"
Don't hate; appreciate. BTE usually get lumped with bands like Del Amitri and the Gin Blossoms, but that's not fair. They're more in the Fountains of Wayne and Shins-lite crew. Alls I know is that when I heard "At the Stars" on the radio for the first time, I was so into it that I got lost. I was on some country road outside of Columbus and in the distance, I saw a black lump on the road. As I got closer, I could see that the black lump was actually two black lumps and they were moving. When I reached the black lumps, I discovered that they were vultures! No lie! Vultures in Ohio, man. Who knew?
This is nowhere near the end of the list, but I'm tired. You have any you want to add?
Albums
U2 - The Unforgettable Fire
Sheryl Crow - The Globe Sessions
DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
Everything But the Girl – Back to Mine
Morcheeba – Back to Mine
Calexico – The Black Light
Kristen Hersh – Hips and Makers
Mojave 3 – Excuses for Travellers
Mojave 3 is made up of some of the members of Slowdive, one of the better shoegazing bands of the era. Mojave 3 doesn't sound a bit like those bands. Instead, they've created a sound that is somewhere between folky and low-fi, but also modern and rich. Neil Halstead's lyrics and melodies are slightly mournful and searching. The perfect soundtrack for moving, or leaving the house of the person you just dumped, or quitting your job then taking the train home and looking forward to what's next.
Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico
Jonathan Richman – I, Jonathan
Juliana Hatfield Three – Become What You Are
I bought this album at World Record, in Columbus, Ohio, sometime in the fall of 1993. My dad let me drive to Columbus to visit Victor for the first time—only for the day, mind you—and I stopped there on the way back to Warren to get some music. The song, "My Sister," had been playing on the radio and my friends and I had taken to yelling at each other, randomly, "I miss my sister! I miss my sister!" Why? I don't know. It was catchy. The whole album is catchy. Oh yeah, let me tell you something—this is how old school I was: I bought it on TAPE. Yeah, that's right. On tape, motherfuckers.
(Editor's Note: I also purchased My Bloody Valentine's Loveless on tape, so per the request of one of my favorite record reviewers at Turntable Lab: "And if you bought it on tape, big ups and I will personally kiss your ass if you hand deliver your tape to me out in Bushwick." I'm on it, baby. I'm on it.)
Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
Lovage – Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By
Erykah Badu – Mama's Gun
There are four good reasons to buy this album: 1) "Penitentiary Philosophy"; 2) "Didn't Cha Know"; 3) "My Life"; and 4) "Bag Lady." Bonus Points: Get the "Bag Lady" remix. It's a mash-up with Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" and it is the bomb. I had an mp3 of it once and it got deleted. Damn, I sure wish I could find it again. The aforementioned Turntable Lab did have it on vinyl a while back, but no more.
Songs
Erland Oye – "A While Ago and Recently"
Ryan Adams – "Shadowlands"
JSBX, featuring Killah Priest – "Greyhound Part 2"
Madder Rose – "Car Song"
I don't know what it is about "Car Song" that I love so very much. I think it's because the album, Panic On, is one of those albums that entered my life at just the right time. Madder Rose's twang and slide guitar and dirty sound was just I was looking for in the spring of 1994. I wanted to be in the song; I thought of it as a mini-movie. Getting in the car, it's hot, you're going somewhere, looking up at the sky, your feet resting on the dashboard.
Portishead – "It's a Fire"
Strange note about this album: I bought it on vinyl not too long ago, and this song isn't on there. Weird.
Robert Plant – "Big Log"
PJ Harvey – "Cat on the Wall"
Queens of the Stone Age – "Go with the Flow"
Foo Fighters – "Everlong"
A Tribe Called Quest – "Award Tour"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – "Maps"
Ben Folds Five – "Smoke"
See if you can find the live version of this. I think it's from "Sessions at West 54th"?
Bob Marley – "No Woman, No Cry"
The Kinks – "Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' bout That Girl"
Lords of the New Church – "Dance with Me"
The Church – "Under the Milky Way"
Fuel – "Shimmer"
Grant Lee Buffalo – "Truly, Truly"
Digable Planets – "9th Wonder (Blackitolism)"
Tracy Chapman – "Fast Car"
Better Than Ezra – "Desperately Wanting" and/or "At the Stars"
Don't hate; appreciate. BTE usually get lumped with bands like Del Amitri and the Gin Blossoms, but that's not fair. They're more in the Fountains of Wayne and Shins-lite crew. Alls I know is that when I heard "At the Stars" on the radio for the first time, I was so into it that I got lost. I was on some country road outside of Columbus and in the distance, I saw a black lump on the road. As I got closer, I could see that the black lump was actually two black lumps and they were moving. When I reached the black lumps, I discovered that they were vultures! No lie! Vultures in Ohio, man. Who knew?
This is nowhere near the end of the list, but I'm tired. You have any you want to add?
posted by Iseult at 4:15 PM
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