An American road trip requires a soundtrack,
especially when streaking across vast stretches of Western landscape at
high rates of speed.
Wyoming: It’s big, it’s square, it’s
long. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy got me through it, along with an arsenal
of Beatles: Help, Revolver, Magical Mystery Tour, Abbey Road, Sargeant
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Johnny Cash Classics. Jimi Hendrix
– Electric Lady Land. David Bowie. The Rolling Stones: Sticky
Fingers, Tattoo You, Voodoo Lounge. The Doors (The post-apocalyptic
tune “The End” seemed fitting: This is the end of our elaborate plans,
the end, of safety and surprise, the end, I’ll never look into your eyes
again.”)
Utah: This is the land of red rocks
and mystical wonder. What better than Moby - Play to accentuate the
beautiful landscape? Crash Test Dummies – Give Yourself a Hand, because
it is off the wall, and no place needs an infusion of off the wall more
than Utah. Culture Club. Los Lobos – Will the Wolf Survive?
Lightning Hopkins. Johnny Lee Hooker. Mexican mariachi (“Con
mi treinte-treinte me voy a marchar . . . translation: with my 30/30 I’m
going to march . . . a little bit of machismo revolucion right in my car
to get into the mood for war.)
Idaho: B-52s Wild Planet – for the
songs “Private Idaho.” (“You’re living in your own Private Idaho,
get out of the state you’re in! You’d better beware!”) “Devil
in My Car” and “Dirty Back Roads”). With the certainty that war is
coming, I popped on The Andrews Sisters. And Jesus and Mary Chain
– Stoned and Dethroned, The Best of Lou Reed. Patti Smith.
The Proclaimers. Talking Heads. Benny Goodman. The Tubes.
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy for more of the war theme (Roland the Headless
Thompson Gunner (“They killed to earn their living and to help out the
Congolese”) for some odd reason became my anthem through the entire trip).
If you think that’s a lot of music, try driving through Idaho. It
never ends.
Oregon: Portland is home to the headquarters
of Intel. If you’ve ever seen their commercials, you’ll understand
why I played seventies music, most notably, the soundtrack from Saturday
night Fever’s “Disco Inferno” and another seventies tune, “Shake Your Groove
Thing.” The Pretenders (“Talk of the Town.” “Oh, it’s hard to live
by the rules, I never could and still never do. Who were you then
who are you now who are you?”) John Prine. Elvis Costello.
Creedence.
Washington: Soundtrack from “Oh Brother
Where Art Thou?” (favorite track – “The Big Rock Candy Mountain.”)
Bach’s cello concertos and solos. And grunge, of course. Pearl
Jam. Stone Temple Pilots. Nirvana. Feeling a bit punchy
after hours of heavy guitar chords, I popped in Deep Purple Machine Head,
and blared “Highway Star” (“Nobody’s gonna take my car, I’m gonna break
the speed of sound”) just for pure silliness – I have a Honda Civic.
Finally, in Washington, “Hunter” from Bjork’s
Homogenic seemed fitting as I drew near my destination by the water.
I sang it in the car and in the kayak:
If travel is searching
And home has been found
I’m not stopping
I’m going hunting
I’m the hunter
I’ll bring back the goods
But I don’t know when
Thought I could organise freedom
How Scandinavian of me
You sussed it out, didn’t you?
You could smell it
So you left me on my own
To complete the mission
Not I’m leaving it all behind
I’m going hunting
I’m the hunter . . .
(You just didn’t know me!)
(You just didn’t know me!)
