So as we hit summer time in the UK that can mean only one thing. Glorious sunshine.... during the week when I'm stuck at work. Followed by torrential downpours and flood warnings, come the weekend when I can work on the project.
So in the mean time I have done a little bit of shopping. I have picked up a couple of smaller pieces such as a new boss kit, some bits to add some colour to the interior etc. but most notably I have also made my next big purchase (partly thanks to Mrs 3oD who contributed as part of my birthday present from her). I have now ordered a big brake kit for the GTO which I will hopefully get to show off in a week or so when it arrives! This upgrade is long overdue because the money I had saved for it originally went on the clutch upgrade through necessity.
So quick update out of the way, onto a bit of a question...
What are your top driving tunes?
Long before I grew up and got a proper job sat at a desk playing solitaire, I used to tend bar. I tended bar long before I passed my driving test, and continued to do so long after.
I had already found an affinity to associating music with most of the things in life, friends, events, work, college. It was only natural that when driving home on empty roads at 4am, music and driving would also go hand in hand for me. I would often drive well over a half hour in the wrong direction to drop off staff and then really enjoy giving myself a long run home with the only other cars on the roads being taxi cabs and boy racers, looking to blow off some steam and wind down from the antics of the night, blaring the music, driving into the sunrise in my first POS Scooby.
Certain songs still really effect my mood when driving, here's my Top 10:
#10 Feeder - Buck Rogers
When I passed my test and got my Scooby, it still had it's stock sound system and no USB port. So I took all the music I wanted in my car, put them into 1 playlist hit shuffle and then burnt the playlist onto about 7 CDs. Track 1 of CD 1 was this song, which at the time I thought was very appropriate given its opening line is "Got a brand new car"... although it didn't look like a Jaguar, no matter how hard I squinted. It's seats weren't leather either, they were Recaro. But at least it had a CD player player player player...
#9 Dan Bull - Forza
I am admittedly a self confessed geek. Car geek yes, but also geek in general. Many of Dan Bulls raps cover topics such as politics, tv, there's even one about the bible. Most of his raps are about computer games, as is this one. Yes. I have just included a song about a computer game in my top 10. Yes this is on my spotify driving playlist(s).
#8 Walk the Moon - Shut Up and Dance
I have to hold my hands up with this one, not really a driving song at all. Not in the slightest. But it is one of my guilty pleasure songs which I play ALL the time in the car. A catchy tune and simple lyrics mean that its a good song to bop along to in a car... as well as the fact the local radio station I listen to for traffic updates on a morning plays this as every other song....
#7 Gym Class Heroes feat. Fall Out Boy - Mash Up
A lot of the songs I like to drive to make me want to have a really heavy right foot and push the limits to how late I can break. This is not one of those songs. This wants to make me roll the window down. Tap my hand on the car door. Nod my head in time with the music.... and just cruise. The combination of Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes is a random one, but if it works...
#6 My Chemical Romance - I'm Not OK (I Promise)
From a song that makes me ease up, to one that makes me put my foot down. When you've had one of those days at work, college or whatever. When everything seems to be pushing you past breaking point, and life feels like it's riding you like a b**ch. There is this song. When I am in one of those moods nothing can beat hitting winding national speed limit country lanes in a good handling car with this song blaring. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a my chemical romance fanboy or anything, they're ok. But this song is angry and upset all at once which makes it perfect for when you are on the verge of snapping, and in that mood I can't help but plant my foot to the floor when this tune starts.
#5 Talco - La Torre
Now, I cant speak a word of Italian, but really appreciate a song with a good beat. Helped by the fact I'm a bit of a ska fan. These guys have so many songs that make me want to tap my feet. So if you're looking for something with a Mediterranean flavour for your driving music and want to give spanish rap a miss (A ella le gusta la gasolina (dame mas gasolina)) give these guys a try.
#4 Go Radio - Rolling in the Deep
This one may be a little controversial, it's a cover of the song by Adele. They take her song and make it rock! I think those who love the original would dislike this on the list thinking that the cover is sacrilege, those who aren't fussed on the original probably wouldn't like to see it on the list thinking it cant be good for driving. I urge you to give it a chance! This is one of those songs where when it comes on I cant help look like an idiot in traffic singing my little heart out. I much prefer it to the Adele version....
#3 Wiz Khalifa - See You Again
In an attempt to not look overly cliche I was going to put another song in from the F&F franchise, maybe even "We Own It" by Wiz Khalifa, but lets face it, this has become the song from the franchise. I think it had to be on the list.
#2 Alistair Griffin - Just Drive
This song is used as the theme for the Sky Sports F1 coverage of the Formula 1 races, but the song is a great song in its own right. I was shocked when I started trying to look into what that song was, that it had so few views on YouTube. This song tends to make me feel however I felt after the result of the previous race. If Hamilton won, makes me feel upbeat and happy. If Rosberg has won.... well.... lets not go there.
#1 Alkaline Trio - This Addiction
Alkaline Trio are my all time favourite band, so they we're gonna be on this list somewhere. They even made it into my wedding vows with their song 'Every Thug Needs a Lady' (more romantic than it sounds, honest).I tend to prefer listening to their older albums, Good Mourning is really my era, my halcyon days (showing my age there!). In terms of driving and cars this song pretty much sums it up for me. It has a great beat that can lead to heavy feet, but the song is also, rather obviously, about an addiction, and the feelings of withdrawal are reminiscent of how I feel when I have not been able to let loose and drive my little heart out.
I was lucky enough to meet Matt Skiba last year outside of an Alkaline Trio gig, awesome guy, though I was left a tad star struck, giggling like a little school girl. If you haven't heard of Alkaline Trio before you may have heard of Matt's new band. A little band known as Blink-182. More importantly, if you haven't heard of Alkaline Trio, check 'em out!
When I started this post I thought it would be a relatively quick one, boy was I wrong. I have several playlists with hundreds and hundreds of songs in for different kinds of music depending on my mood for driving. But that's the key thing right there, depending on mood. My favourite song one day may have me diving for the skip button the next. I was also trying to avoid the cliché songs wheeled out by the BBC and Top Gear branded for fathers day, such as 'Jessica' and 'Don't stop me now'. But instead found myself putting a few more modern clichés like 'See you again'. Being a drive time DJ on the radio must not be as easy a job as I thought....
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