3.7 hours...a car-trip play list...

i know i promised you guilty pleasures this week. i will do my best to make good on that one, and give you two (yes, that's right...two) installments this week, if the Good Lord is willing. and now, for a story before the tunes...

i spent a huge chunk of the weekend in the car...with my mom, my grandmother, and my great aunt sue, on the way to a family reunion in greater metropolitan texarkana.

let me state for the record that while i bear arkansas no ill will, inbreeding and the rise of hillary clinton notwithstanding, it is not my favorite state in the union. and texarkana seems to be the worst of two possible worlds, all smushed into one slightly urban reality: the absolute pit of east texas redneckery and intolerance mixed with the overwhelming idiocy and assbackwarness of arkansas. i had a hunch that the weekend was going to get a little weird. and it did. if you want the unabriged version, i'll be happy to fill you in on the down-low.

for now, let's just get to the part that made me happiest...three cds full of some of my favorite driving music. even mom and grammy and aunt sue liked the selection...or at least most of it!

appalacian spring--aaron copeland
this is the quintessential american road trip starter, at least in my book. i love the swelling french horns in the middle section of this arrangement. the last half of this tune is so majestic, so lovely and soaring. i still tear up when i listen to it, sometimes. cheesy? yes. timeless? you bet your sweet bippy.

tatoo--aimee mann
i love kevin smith movies. always have, always will. from "clerks" to "clerks ii", i just think the man is a genius. he used this song on the soundtrack to "jersey girl", which was panned during the whole bennifer craze. that's a shame, because the movie was really good. at least, i thought so. and this song is fantastic. agonizing, but fantastic.

pavement cracks--annie lennox
annie lennox is one of the greatest soul singers alive today. period. "bare" is one of the best albums i've ever listened to. this song says so much that i wish i had words to say. it's spare, and beautiful.

lewis boogie--jerry lee lewis
the killer, oh the killer. this is rock and roll at the very beginning. listening to jerry lee lewis, elvis presley, and johnny cash at this stage of their development, and the development of a genere is equivalent to catching the big bang on film, and watching evolution from the very begining of everything.

vincent--don mclean
this song makes me want to throw myself under a bus. and i love it. vincent van gogh is one of my favorite artists, ever. and i know everyone says that, because his work is so recognizable, and so timeless. this song is so sweet...and sad.

lucy in the sky with diamonds--the beatles
i don't care what the underlying message is behind this song...i just like it. and the ben harper cover of it isn't bad, either. but for my money, the old original makes excellent music by which to drive.

tiny dancer--(elton john cover) ben folds
one of the top five covers of all time, hands down. i love this song..."almost famous" and cameron crowe have changed my life in multiple ways. no kidding. for real. and ben fold's voice is so nice and smooth.

vienna waits for you--billy joel
i have this friend-in-law who claims that billy joel and elton john are secretly the same person. while i refuse to buy that theory, right along with lee harvey oswald acting alone, i agree that both men have added something irreplaceable in the mix of music, especially my own personal library. this is one of those songs that i continually find myself putting on repeat. one: the song is a good song...nice melody, nice structure, excellent lyrics, and two: i keep finding myself inside of it. i like that.

don't think twice, it's alright--bob dylan
this is my mom's favorite dylan tune. we saw him together two years ago, and he sang this song. that was a good night.

cannonball--brandi carlisle
again, i can't say enough about brandi carlise. i just think she's a genius, and this song is a shining example of that. backing vocals by amy ray don't hurt a bit, either.

you're so vain--carly simon
irony is a real s.o.b, you know? i love that mick jagger sings uncredited background vocals on this song.

mrs. potter's lullaby--counting crows
laura jane and k.sluder and i went on a wild adventure to the davis mountains three summers ago. we got lost. we got found. we had some nasty rat-tail man try to sell us contraband. we peed by mailboxes on the way to big bend. we saw the marfa lights. it was awesome. i want to go back.

heart of gold--neil young
i would be hard pressed to overstate the depth of my affection for neil young, and particularly this song. all my favorites...harmonica solo, slide guitar, intense feeling. love it. love it. love it. seriously love it. this song makes me feel like my hair is on fire, and i just don't care.

babylon II--david gray
good friday 2001. ryan came to dc to see me, and we proceeded to work our way through the zoo, right over to adams morgan, and the loriol plaza, which claims to serve mexican food. the mexican food was somewhat lacking, but the margaritas were excellent. at least i think they were. things started to get hazy after the second pitcher. we almost got kicked off the subway. we sobered up on my backporch by singing church and camp songs and smoking turkish cigarettes for four hours. and then we listened to this cd and the rain for hours. HOURS. and then next day,we took our hungover selves to mass, and i recieved my very first plenary indulgence. YEAH!

levon--elton john
jon bon jovi says that this is one of those songs you hear and wish you had written. i would have to agree.

waiting in vain--(bob marley cover) annie lennox
again, with the annie lennox...and such a great song to cover. bob marley IS summertime.

ruby with the eyes that sparkle--dirk powell and stuart duncan
from the "cold mountain" soundtrack. i am somewhat obsessed with the book and the movie, and i think this is such a great bluegrass tune. it immediately conjures up the blueridge, and watching the sun come up in the spring time.

babylon--don mclean
don mclean is getting a lot of airplay from me. this is a round, with a live audience. i remember singing this round at camp, my very first time as a camper, on the slab. the concrete was still hot from the heat of the day, even though it was full dark when we were having chapel. i remember laying on the slab, and looking up at the stars, and realizing how much God really did love me. that was a big day...

killing me softly--(roberta flack cover) the fugees
picture it: b-tex, 1996. i am 18. i am head over heels for a complete tool who is not worth my time. i can't stop listening to this song on my way to marching band practice. yes, i was THAT girl. and i still have anxiety dreams about not being able to remember the routine or find my uniform. wow.

sugaree--the grateful dead
my nephew loves this song, and will actually "shake it". don't act like that's not cool...

danceband on the titanic--harry chapin
i love harry chapin. psychotically love him. this probably stems from the fact that between the ages of birth to 17, harry chapin was played in our house at least once a day, and usually at length. i can name every song on the "greatest stories" live album. this is on one of the anthologies that i have...reminds me of a bad day at some places i have worked...

mona lisas and mad hatters--(elton john cover) the indigo girls
ugh. love it.

say hallelujah--tracy chapman
tracy chapman is one of my heros. she's so great, and totally uncompromising. i have been in the t-stop in boston where she was discovered. that was a major moment.

mad mission--patty griffin
this song says how i feel, right now, at this very moment. seriously.

goodnight, irene--jerry lee lewis
my aunt sue's former husband, uncle leo, loved this song. he loved this song so much he had it played at his funeral. we love it.

time is on my side--irma thomas
this is a great song, no matter who sings it. for my money, i prefer this version. just enough funk to make you wiggle around in your chair...

solsbury hill--peter gabrielone of those songs to which many memories are attached.

wagon wheel--old crow medicine show
i could seriously listen to this song on repeat for about a year. in college, i had this group of friends who introduced me to bluegrass. and i never quite got over how much i loved the music, or them. still do.

one less set of footsteps--jim croce
this is the ultimate "oh no, it's not me...it's definately you" kind of song. empowering in a very kick-ass kind of way, i think. "if that's the way you want it, that's the way i want it more..." nice. very nice.

my sweet lady--john denver
an excellent apology, "let's make up, and let me buy you a new pair of shoes for making you cry all day long, and then i'll empty the dishwasher and do all the laundry and let you have the remote" kind of song.

church in the wildwood--june carter cash
we all sang along to this song: me, momma, grammy, and aunt sue. at the top of our lungs. that's one of those memories i will hold in my heart for a long time.

cinnamon girl--neil young
neil young...again. this one rocks a little harder than the other neil young selection. i'd be hard pressed to say which i like better, neil young with crosby, stills, and nash, or neil young and crazy horse. give the option, i would probably always pick neil young and pearl jam.

thrice all american--neko case
i want to be neko case when i grow up. i feel like she's my generation's version of patsy cline. and that girl can freaking sing a torch song.

feeling good--nina simone
totally wierds me out that i like this song, because it's kind of creepy. for lots of reasons, not the least of which is that it sounds like one of those new orleans jazz funeral songs.

and i love you so--don mclean
this song is the aural equivalent of a can of squeeze cheese. so melodramatic. so overblown. so co-dependent and in need of some therapy. and it's awesome.

you belong to me--patsy cline
you belong to me is one of those standards that pretty much everyone has covered, including that jason what's his butt from lifehouse. this is my favorite version, ever. i will dance to this song at my theoretical wedding.

new shoes--paolo nutini
this song makes me want to dance. and go shoe shopping. paolo really gets what it's like to have a new pair of shoes...it's like a new haircut...you feel all-powerful and ready to throw a party.

take me home, country roads--john denver
i learned how to pick out harmonies listening to this song when i was in junior high.

chief--patty griffin
i would give patty griffin both my kidneys. at the same time. i am reasonably sure that she helped me maintain my sanity my senior year in college... you know the one when i took 21 hours one semester because i was in such a hurry to move to dc and take over the world?

red rain--peter gabrieldid you catch the redsox game last night? it was a doozy. man, i love baseball.

angel of the morning--(cover) the pretenders
this is a timeless classic. my mom likes the original, but i like this one. which is weird, because chrissy's voice isn't one of my favorites. this is another dc song that caro and melissa got sick of hearing in the mornings. at least i didn't play it non-stop for six weeks like i did with "hook".

like a songbird that has fallen--reel time travelers
another track from the "cold mountain" soundtrack. if i close my eyes, i can see the train trestle across the shenendoah, as it's bleeding into the potomac. and smell old woodsmoke from fires that haven't burned in a hundred years. this song stings like moonshine.

myriad harbour--the new pornographers
such a good driving song. thank God for cruise control. reminds me of new york, right after a good rain, and before the city starts to reek again.

your long journey--robert plant and allison krause
my grandmother loves this song. the older i get, the more music she and i have in common. i can remember listening to hank williams and old willie nelson on her record player, while we would be in the kitchen making cookies.

i'm going home--sacred harp singers
you have to hear this song to understand the depth of musicianship it brings to bear. it's one of the most unusual and beautiful songs i think i have ever heard.

good is good--sheryl crow
i did promise you a guilty pleasure...this is such a track. really, really guilty. i feel like i hemorage cool points every time i sing along with this one.

the promise--tracy chapman
great song. just really great. reminds me to keep the close ones close, and not to worry about the rest.

all that i want--the weepies
i can't say that this is my absolute favorite song ever...but it's up there. and yes, i know it's a christmas song and this is the middle of summer. sometimes, you just need a little christmas.

nobody knows you when you're down and out--eric clapton i will always remember p. hall playing this OVER AND OVER on the junior high retreat from hell. i had a cover of this by janis joplin, but can't find it for the life of me. my mother has an unhealthy obsession with all things eric, so this one is for momma.

happy listening!

mil besos--rmg