Hey!
Wednesdays are my favorite days! Here is my favorite guest blogger, on my favorite day, blogging about songs for one of my favorite pastimes! The world might just explode.
7 Summer Songs - "Herc vs. The Open Road" Edition
(part of ongoing series 7 Song Playlists)
Back in the day, we used to make mixtapes so we could take our music on the road and not be at the mercy of fading radio signals, motor mouthed DJs or commercials. And in the world of mixtapes, The Ultimate Road Trip Mix remains the elusive Holy Grail - as soon as you make one, you can make another and another. Then you had to make different mixes for day driving, night driving and driving in the rain. The possibilities and permutations are as endless as the road is long. These right here are seven of my most adrenaline soaked, pedal to the metal, windows rolled down hair blowing in the breeze, sing-along at the top of my lungs, tried and true driving ditties. What is the soundtrack to your road trips?
“One Headlight” - The Wallflowers [1997]
This is a night driving staple in the Hercmobile. Steady, almost hypnotic beat with enough of a rousing chorus to keep you from falling asleep. Lyrically, many pictures are painted and most of them are downers but for Herc it ends on a positive, hopeful note as they urge us to “try a little” and “we can make it home with One Headlight”.
“Runnin’ Down A Dream” - Tom Petty [1989]
A song about driving on a beautiful day and singing along to Del Shannon’s “Runaway”. A hyper-propulsive guitar riff backed by a steady, pounding beat and a soaring, searing guitar solo. Sorry, Dad, but I gotta hear that one again. “Working on a mystery/going wherever it leads”.
“Radar Love” - Golden Earring [1973]
A ramblin’ monster of a song with a beat so strong it bridges generation gaps, this Dutch rock ode to driving all night to get back to your baby is routinely named as Best Driving Song by popular vote as well as critical opinion. The locomotive rhythm keeps time as you grip the wheel tighter and tighter until mercifully you get a few breakdowns before it all starts up again. One time, somewhere outside of Austin, Texas on a long, downhill barely two-lane road, Herc passed 12 cars and trucks in a row driving the supercharged purple Mrs. Hercmobile while this song egged him on. “Last car to pass/here I go”.
“Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” - Paul McCartney & Wings [1973]
Buried at the end of the classic Wings Band On The Run album, “1985” features a relentless piano and bass riff that makes the miles disappear faster. The lyrics are brief but are sung in such a breezy way, they add to the illusion of motion. A few breaks allow the riff to start up again in dizzying fashion before a special surprise reprise of the album’s title cut. For Herc, “1985” will always hold a special place in his Herc-heart as that is the year that the earth-bound goddess who eventually became Mrs. Herc first deigned to go out on a date with him after almost two years of begging and grovelling on Herc’s part. And they live happily ever after. “Well I just can’t get enough/of that sweet stuff”.
“Joker & The Thief” - Wolfmother [2006]
The lyrical and thematic sequel to Dylan’s (and, let’s face it, Hendrix’s) “All Along The Watchtower”, this song is HEAVY. A peeling, winding guitar riff gives way to drums and organ before it all drops out and the chugging guitar and organ riff comes stomping in. And then that voice comes in, always on the verge of distorting like somehow the song just got out of control. Just three guys making all that noise? Yup. Herc has a story to tell about going more than 100 mph down the Old Sonoita Highway while cranking this song at maximum volume and blowing by trucks towing boats on trailers but he’s not at liberty to tell it here and now. Come back later.
“Shoot To Thrill” - AC/DC [1980]
Long before the second fake Bo and Luke Duke were driving the fake General Lee to this song in that Jessica Simpson bikini movie where she talks about her undercarriage, Herc was guiding the original Hercmobile, a green 1964 VW Bug, down the mean streets of this town letting everyone within earshot know that he, too, was ready to “Shoot To Thrill”, whatever that means.
“Come Back” - J. Geils Band [1980]
And who amongst us have not had to utter the title plea? That’s what I thought. This was the first single and actually the highest charted hit from the band’s penultimate breakthrough album Love Stinks. It gallops all over the place with wild effects from both keyboard and guitar in a duel to the death on the dancefloor. It’s like a wild ride you never want to end. Push repeat and it never will.
