This week's mix is for a road trip. I quite like road trips, especially if I get to choose the soundtrack for it. I take the crafting of a road trip mix quite seriously (not that any other mix is any less a serious undertaking for a nerd like me) - it should have a feeling of abandon, a feeling of escape, a feeling of forward motion. For someone like me, it also has to have an element of singalong silliness. When I was thinking of an appropriate image and/or video for this post, my immediate thought was the music video for Sneaker Pimps' Postmodern Sleaze - a Thelma and Louise-like mini-movie featuring the band as runaway criminals in an American desert. I was also reminded of the suicidal music video for The Cardigans' My Favourite Game and that bizarre video with Tom Jones and Chicane, where the robber wearing a Tom Jones mask is revealed to be...gasp...Tom Jones. Needless to say, I went with Postmodern Sleaze. Apparently, people must always road trip through a desert in the US. Preferably running from the law. Or with a death wish.
Because I seem to have an innate need for travel and motion (I can be thoroughly entertained on day-long roadtrips by watching the landscape change as it whizzes by and listening to music), it often doesn't matter to me where a road trip goes. For me, the journey very often is more fun than the destination. Also, radio can rarely be depended on for a decent road trip soundtrack, so the music compiled for the trip is hugely important. I chose to go for a fair amount of variety, beginning with the driving force of one of the greatest bands for escaping to: The Jesus and Mary Chain. I can't help but feel like I'm speeding on a motorway under a sunny sky when I hear Automatic. I then included several electronic-based songs before launching into a few singalong songs from Duran Duran, Prince, Gary Numan (pretend you're Vince Noir, rock 'n roll star) and The Knack (this time, pretend you're a hopeless Gen-Xer dancing in a gas station). Also, along the way are songs I can't help but be exhilarated by, including Echo & the Bunnymen's The Cutter and The Clash's Car Jamming. I end the mix with some gentler, but no less propulsive music by Bedroom Eyes, The Brunettes, and Camera Obscura. And all along the way, I managed to fit in appropriate road trip references. I'm going to call this mix Obligatory Road Mix. Buckle up.
Here Comes Alice - The Jesus and Mary Chain
Get Away - 120 Days
We Rise - Chris Corner
Piccadilly in Sepia - Nemo
An Honest Mistake - The Bravery
Lights & Music - Cut Copy
Burning Up - Ladytron
Sex City - Van She
Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
Little Red Corvette - Prince
Like a Motorway - Saint Etienne
The Cutter - Echo & the Bunnymen
19-2000 - Gorillaz
Cars - Gary Numan
My Sharona - The Knack
Car Jamming - The Clash
Chase - The Cinematics
A Trip Out - British Sea Power
Motorcycle Daydream - Bedroom Eyes
Obligatory Road Song - The Brunettes
Let's Get Out of This Country - Camera Obscura
