Tuesday Top Ten: Driving Songs

Now that summer is officially here (thank you, Ra), road trips will predictably increase in frequency. The key to any trip in a car is music. For any of you who may doubt my expertise on this issue, let me just say (1) that hurts, (2) one summer I lived in southern Illinois and did not spend a single weekend there, meaning I logged about 7,000 miles that summer, (3) I have driven both to Ft. Lauderdale and Charleston, SC from Bloomington, Indiana and back, (4) Jessie and I lived in different states for the two years before we were married, (5) I have had IU football season tickets since I graduated law school back in aught three, and (6) piss off.

Back when I had Sexy Sadie, Blackura, and Rhonda, my only option for car trips was a tape player, so I made a lot of mix tapes, many of which were made solely as "driving" mixes. These "driving" mixes contained songs that were generally uptempo, often longer than four minutes, sometimes instrumental, and always awesome. It was hard to narrow them down, but here are what I consider to be the ten best:

10. "Fallen Angel" by Poison. The song's all about leaving home and starting a new life, so it kind of makes sense that I think it's a great driving song. And it brings back the only pleasant memory of a 21-hour drive back to Bloomington from Ft. Lauderdale.

9. "New Way Home" by Foo Fighters. Foo Fighters are one of the best bands around for driving songs, and this is my favorite off of The Colour and The Shape (which I think is one of the best driving albums).

8. "Okie Dokie Stomp" by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. This is a great instrumental foot stomper by blues and R&B legend Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Unfortunately, Playlist.com did not have it.

7. "Jessica" by The Allman Brothers Band. Another fantastic instrumental with a driving (pun intended!) rhythm and soaring guitars.

6. "Search and Destroy" by The Stooges. This is a good one, especially for when you're on a mission and you need some extra inspiration to pass that minivan two miles ahead of you in the next three minutes.

5. "Train Kept A Rollin'" by Aerosmith. It starts out relatively slow, then kicks into gear, much like the band's cocaine habit.

4. "L.A. Woman" by The Doors. Aside from the obvious fact that there is an engine sound effect at the beginning of the song, this is a great song to listen to on the road.

3. "All My Life" by Foo Fighters. I once drove from Milwaukee to Bloomington in four and a half hours because I heard this song on my way out of Milwaukee.

2. "Drivin' South" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. This song is on the Radio One and BBC Sessions albums, and it may be my favorite instrumental song in the world. It's fast-paced, with expectedly fantastic guitar work, and it just reminds me of driving in a certain direction.

1. "Radar Love" by Golden Earring. This is the ultimate driving song.

Let me know your favorite driving songs.