Did you ever make mixed tapes in the past? Did you ever try and seduce someone with your idea of the perfect set of love songs? Did you ever create a mixed tape masterpiece for a family member to bring them back to a time to your past together? Does a song every bring you back to a particular location while on vacation?
Well, a little while back I posted about Road Trip Food. It got me thinking about Road Trip music.
I vividly remember driving my German friend through California and Arizona choosing appropriate “Road Trip Music” all along the way. We listened to the Gypsy Kings as we drove through Central California. We listened to the Beach Boys while traveling through LA. We listened to U2’s Joshua Tree Album while traveling through Joshua Tree National park in Southern California near Palm Springs. We listened to Elvis in Las Vegas. We listened to American Indian mystical music in Sedona.
On subsequent trips to Europe with her we listened to country specific music when traveling through France and Italy. We also paid special attention to whatever was popular in the country at the time. I vividly remember a song called “The ketchup song” which to this day I still do not understand. Europe had to have a flaw and that song was it. We listened to the Proclaimers in Scotland and Ah-Ha in Germany. (I was actually fortunate enough to see them in concert while there!)
Traveling through Ireland with my brother I brought Irish CDs with me only to find out the car we rented didn’t have a CD player. Nonetheless we listened in hotels to Van Morrison, U2, Sinead O’Conner, Thin Lizzy, The Chieftains, Clannad, The Corrs, and Christy Moore.
I was introduced to Ronan Keating who sang, among other songs, “Nothing at all.” I was familiar with the song from when Alison Krauss sang it and remembered Keith Whitley sang it first. I pointed this out to a bartender who was singing along to it and he nearly threw me out of the bar for lying to him. I never did convince him that someone else could have sang it first.
On a road trip with my husband to Utah we knew we would be stuck in the car for two full day’s worth of driving just to get to our main destination. We ended up getting Farenheit 52 as a book on tape. It was terrible! Don’t hate me. Everyone else in the world seems to love that book… We had better luck listening to the Serial Podcast about a journalists journey to find the truth behind a murder! That was an absolutely wonderful way to spend a road trip up and back to visit in-laws in Oregon!
Now-a-days we have Pandora and iTunes and a billion other music options. It seems mixed tapes are no longer necessary making room for digital “playlists.” I can tell you I will never bring a physical CD on a flight ever again! But, I do miss the days where I put a lot of thought in to what music would be played to enhance my trip no matter whether I was driving or flying.
What kind of music do you listen to on the airplane when traveling? Or what kind of music do you listen to in the car on a road trip? What songs transport you back in time to a vacation moment you had long ago?
Bulldog Travels / Photos By Jenny 
We used to do exactly that for trips – I love hearing a song and being transported back in time instantly to somewhere else! I remember the Ketchup Song too – also didn’t get it, we saw the group performing it on a beach in Spain right before it hit the charts.
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Oh my goodness! Someone else knows that song! Awesome! Thanks for the comment. Happy travels.
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I can’t get it out of my head now!! It’s that kind of song…
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Sorry for that!
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I still have all those tapes I bought when I was in college (mid 90’s). I had a red colored boombox back then and spent summer nights on my roof while listening to each tape every night. That collection consists mainly of 70’s and 80’s hits.
Miss those nights very much!!
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Mayor you can bring them back in to regular rotation on your next trip! It could be fun!
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Yeah, it would be great. Thanks for the tip
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Thanks for the comment!
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That’s true, music can make trip memorable 🙂 I am not so much into music though, usually I just stick to pop and bit soul musics. I don’t plan on songs in my IPOD but I do have some TV series on my IPOD to watch 😀 That’s how I kill the time on the airplane 🙂 Oh talking about that, I prepared some TV series on my Ipod for my next travel 🙂
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Well, hey that works! Especially now that a lot of airlines are making you pay extra to watch tv on the screens in the airplane.
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Yup! Or no media services at all – especially when traveling around Europe. But I like your idea to have music on each trip – would be excellent as music background when making a video about your travel 🙂
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Thanks! It could be fun to try for you anyway. 🙂 something fun to pay attention to on your next trip or your next dive.
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We do that also for road trips, short or long! We’ love the songs of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, the Pixies, Inxs & if I drive, I like it to be a bit more Metallica, Within Temptation, red hot chili pepers, etc!
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Awesome! Perfect!
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Thanks for the comment.
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I often have songs I associate with trips, I remember driving through Spain with a girlfriend and every time we fit a freeway we’d play Crazy by Aslan. That song always makes me think of that trip. I still make playlists for trips now, which is close enough to a mixed tape I guess, but I do love Pandora!
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Thanks for commenting and stopping by!
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Looks like NPR had a similar idea on their program yesterday!
http://www.npr.org/2015/06/23/416862946/get-your-kicks-with-the-all-things-considered-road-trip-playlist
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