ReadJunk Playlist: April 2010 (Road Trip Edition)

Playlists | Apr 4th, 2010

ReadJunk Playlist: April 2010 (Road Trip Edition)

Everyone loves a good ole’ road trip playlist! I like making playlist in general, but I especially love to make mixes and playlists for road trips. I’m going down to DC for a few days this week so I figured this would be a great time to compile a bunch of songs that are about the road, being on the road, or songs that just have the title of the song mentioning the road. I love to listen to oldies and classic rock on the road. Considering that era had the most songs about the road, it’s only fitting to include a lot of those songs on this playlist. Everybody has different taste in music, so it’s not really my place to tell you what to listen to. But I certainly can make suggestions to make your song searching a little bit easier. My Road Trip playlist would look something like this:

1. Lindsey Buckingham – “Holiday Road”
Any road trip or travel playlist has to have Lindsey Buckingham’s “Holiday Road” song from the Vacation movies. It’s just a perfect song to start off with.

2. Steppenwolf – “Born to be Wild”
An essential road song. But let’s hope you don’t end up like the characters of Easy Rider!

3. Johnny Cash – “I’ve Been Everywhere”
Just like the song says, he’s been everywhere, man.

4. Bruce Springsteen – “Born to Run”
“Baby we were born to run!”

5. The Doobie Brothers – “Rockin Down the Highway”
The Doobies have a few road songs, but this one I like the best.

6. Tom Waits – “Ole 55”
If you ever get a chance to hear Tom talk about this song on VH1 Storytellers, check it out. It’s amusing to find out the story behind this song.

7. Stereophonics – “Long Way Down”
The theme song to Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s travel series Long Way Down/Round. It’s a song I have to listen to all the time, but now it’s even more fitting being on a road trip playlist.

8. Me First And The Gimme gimmes – “On The Road Again”
Sure, I could have used Willie Nelson’s version but gotta have some punk rock on this playlist.

9. Less Than Jake – “5 State Drive”
Perfect for driving across 5 states…obviously.

10. Pennywise – Unknown Road”
Get out and see the world, try new things, experience life!

11. The Proclaimers – “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”
I would walk 500 miles. That sure is a lot of damn walking!

12. A3 – “Woke Up This Morning”
Be just like Tony Soprano and crank this song in the car, while smoking a cigar and driving through shitty New Jersey.

13. The B-52s – “Roam”
Be sure not to crash your car when the clapping portion of the song comes on.

14. The Byrds – “I Wasn’t Born To Follow”
Get on your bike and see the country side. Just don’t get shot along the way.

15. Carbon Leaf – “One Prairie Outpost”
I can tell that Carbon Leaf wrote this song out West, and I can just picture them looking out the van windows, reflecting on life. That’s what I get from this song.

16. Jerry Reed – “East Bound and Down”
YEEHAW!

17. ZZ Top – “Gimme All Your Lovin”
Can’t have a road trip playlist without some ZZ Top. Plus, they have a car on the front cover of their albums!

18. Sammy Hagar – “I Can’t Drive 55”
Sammy Hagar should update the song to “I Can’t Drive 65.” You got to be current these days, but then again Sammy Hagar isn’t either.

19. AC/DC – “Highway to Hell”
A song that is a must on any road trip playlist!

20. CCR – “Traveling Band”
Another must for this type of playlist. This song starts the traveling band portion of the playlist.

21. Frank Turner – “The Road”
The life of a traveling musician.

22. Travoltas – “One For The Road”
Another traveling band type of song.

23. Gary Numan – “Cars”
If you don’t include this song in your playlist, there’s something wrong with you!

24. The Cars – “Drive”
I’m sure lots of guys listened to this song in the car in the ’80s, while thinking they weren’t being appreciated. “Stupid bitch…”

25. She & Him – “Riding in my Car”
Great cover of NRBQ’s Riding in my Car. Either version would work for this playlist.

26. Jimmy Cliff – “Hard Road to Travel”
“I’ve got a hard road to travel and a rough rough way to go.”

27. Ky-Mani Marley – “Country Journey”
One of my favorites from Ky-Mani Marley!

28. Toots And The Maytals – “Take Me Home, Country Roads”
John Denver’s song is great but I also love Toots’ version as well.

29. Madness – “Driving In My Car”
Not my favorite Madness song but it’s about a car nonetheless.

30. Huey Lewis & The News – “Back in Time”
Nothing says ROAD TRIP like taking a trip back to 1955!

31. The Ramones – “Blitzgreg Bop”
Hey, this song was in National Lampoon’s Vacation, so why not?

32. MC5 – “Thunder Express”
Just a great rock n roll song to drive to.

33. Levellers – “The Road”
Gotta have a Levellers song on here. They are an excellent traveling band.

34. Shane MacGowan and The Popes – “Lonesome Highway”
I for one, can’t leave Shane MacGowan or the Pogues off a playlist.

35. Young Dubliners – “Backseat Driver”
Don’t backseat drive!

36. Gogol Bordello – “Wonderlust King”
“I travel the world, looking for lovers”

37. Oysterband – “Road to Santiago”
A really fun song to put on in the car.

38. Foghat – “Slow Ride”
Not really about driving but still can be a great tune to listen to while on the road.

39. The Eagles – “Life In The Fast Lane”
Hey, it’s got fast lane in the title, so why not include some Eagles on your playlist!

40. Roy Orbison – “I Drove All Night”
He drove all night, just to be with the girl he loved. Unless he was just really really horny.

41. Wilson Pickett – “Mustang Sally”
A slutty girl, mustang, whatever. It’s a good song.

42. Jackson Brown – “Running on Empty”
An excellent song to just cruise down the highway to.

43.Canned Heat – “Going up the Country”
Self explanatory.

44. Hank Williams – “Lost Highway”
“Just another guy on the lost highway…”

45. Grand Archives – “Sleep Driving”
Their song “Miniature Birds” is also a fun one to listen to in the car.

46. Fruit Bats – “Traveler’s Song”
Not exactly sure what this song means but I dig it.

47. Great Lake Swimmers – “Passenger Song”
The mellow portion of the playlist.

48. Herman Dune – “With a Tankful of Gas”
I heard this song on Last.fm and thought it was fitting. I liked this song but don’t know much about the band.

49. Nick Drake – “Road”
“I can take the road that’ll see me through.”

50. Beach Boys – “Little Deuce Coupe”
A little bit of a pick me up after Nick Drake and the other songs.

51. The Sonics – “Have Love Will Travel”
I loved this song in Rock n Rolla.

52. Dead Kennedys – “Buzzbomb”
“Buzzbomb” sounds so much better on Plastic Surgery Diasters.

53. Alice Cooper – “Under My Wheels”
Grab that special someone and put her under your wheels..and just take off! FUN RIGHT!?

54. Ozzy Osbourne – “Road to Nowhere”
A song about Ozzy looking back on his life.

55. The Business – “Drinkin’ and Driving”
Hmm, maybe not the best song choice but hey, it’s about driving nonetheless!

56. Justin Sane – “Cassette, Road Trip, Grand Canyon”
A song about traveling across the country and taping themselves. I think?

57. Greenland Whalefishers – “I Am Roving”
The life of a rover.

58. The Hippos – “Asleep at the Wheel”
Don’t pull a Clark Griswold!

59. The Toasters – “Running Right Through The World”
A great peppy ska song from the Toasters!

60. Marvin Gaye – “Hitch Hike”
Switching gears here. Marvin’s vocals are sooo smooth.

61. Kool and The Gang – “Jungle Boogie”
Get down and funky like Vincent and Jules in Pulp Fiction

62. Coolio – “Fantastic Voyage”
Hey remember Coolio?

63. War – “Low Rider”
Ooooh yeeaaah, get that low rider and blare this like it’s 1975!

64. Justin Hinds and The Dominoes – “Everywhere I go (Travel With Love)”
Self explanatory.

65. Buju Banton – “Not An Easy Road”
Life’s not an easy road. I’ll say!

66. Cherry Poppin’ Daddies – “Soul Cadillac”
A love song comparing a girl to his caddy? Hmm ok Steve Perry.

67. Ignite – “Slow Down”
A good song for you to realize you’re going over 100 Mph.

68. Mad Caddies – “Road Rash”
Listening to the Mad Caddies is always a good time.

69. Social Distortion – “Highway 101”
Mike Ness knows how to write a great road song.

70. Bad Manners – “Midnight Rider”
Bad Manners covers Allman Brothers. I don’t like Allman Brothers but don’t mind Bad Manners covering them.

71. Skankin Pickle – “Gas In My Car”
I always like to listen to some Skankin’ Pickle out on the road, especially this song.

72. The Lively Ones – “Surf Rider”
Listening to surf rock is perfect for well, surfing, but it’s also great for road trips.

73. Nat King Cole – “Route 66”
“Get your kicks on Route 66.”

74. Roger Miller – “King of the Road”
Classic road trip song.

75. Steve Earle – “Nowhere Road”
Whether or not you like country music or not, the bands or musicians certainly know how to write a good road song.

76. Lynard Skynard – “Sweet Home Alabama”
Simply a classic!

77. Presidents of the United States of America – “Highway Forever”
And now for something completely different..

78. Edna’s Goldfish – “1800 miles to Nowhere”
Another traveling band song.

79. Blue Meanies – “Acceleration 5000”
The playlist is coming down to home stretch, time to pick things up!

80. Strung Out – “Carcrashradio”
Ok, so maybe this isn’t the best song to hear when driving in the car.

81. The Primitives – “Crash”
See above.

82. Mu330 – “Vacation”
We need more ska on here so Mu330 is a good choice, even though The Go-Go’s version is good as well.

83. Brian Setzer Orchestra – “Drive Like Lightning (Crash Like Thunder)”
Rockabilly is another genre that’s perfect for road trips.

84. Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros – “Road To Rock n Roll”
I’m still shocked and upset over his death. One of my favorites from his solo material.

85. Nouvelle Vague – “Road To Nowhere”
Brilliant twangy cover of the Talking Heads’ song.

86. DJ Shadow – “You Can’t Go Home Again”
This song just makes me want to get in the car and bop my head while driving. Sure, I’ll look like an idiot to most people, but at least I’ll look like an idiot in sync with the music.

87. Daft Punk – “Around The World”
Awesome beat, and it makes you feel like you’re listening to music from the future.

88. Police Squad – “Theme”
Surely, you didn’t overlook this gem of a theme song? I didn’t, and don’t call me Shirley!

89. John Williams – “Star Wars”
Fly in your car like the parking attendants in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off!

90. The Rifles – “Great Escape”
My favorite Rifles song ever!

91. George Thorogood – “Bad To The Bone”
The perfect song for over the hill guys to get on their bikes on the weekend and drive until it’s time to return to their Doctor offices for work.

92. Edgar Winter Group – “Free Ride”
An upbeat song that most will remember from Dazed and Confused.

93. Deep Purple – “Highway Star”
Rockin’ good highway song! Just don’t get pulled over by the cops.

94. Chuck Berry – “No Particular Place To Go”
Get in the car and just drive; an impulse drive.

95. Tom Cochrane – “Life is a Highway”
The song that got a shitload of plays in the 90s.

96. Traveling Wilburys – “End of the Line”
This playlist is coming to the end of the line. But it’s all right…

97. Pearl Jam – “Rearview Mirror”
Not a road song technically but still one of my favorite Pearl Jams songs.

98. The Zombies – “Time of the Season”
I don’t know why but this is my favorite night time driving song.

99. Dewey Cox – “Beautiful Ride”
Not a car song but a song that sums up his (fake) life.

100. Kermit The Frog and Fozzie The Bear – “Moving Right Along”
A funny end to the playlist!

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