This year’s DAMOP meeting is in State College PA, which has good and bad points. It’s not exactly a tourist Mecca, but then that means I won’t feel bad spending all day in physics talks. It’s also probably relatively cheap, unlike Calgary last year.
But the most important feature of the location is that it’s in western Pennsylvania, meaning I get to drive to it. This is good because I like driving, and because it keeps me out of airports and airplanes. It’s bad because the meeting ends on Saturday morning, and there’s a baby shower for FutureBaby on Sunday. In Boston.
So, I’ll be spending my Saturday driving across half of PA, half of New York, and all of Massachusetts. There is, of course, only one good way to stay awake on a drive like this– no, not amphetamines, music. I used to have a box full of mix tapes that I used specifically for late-night drives across Pennsylvania and New Jersey when I was in grad school– the iPod removes the need for separate tapes (though I really should re-create some of them as ordered playlists– the “Ziggy Stardust” into “Beast of Burden” combo is tough to beat for sing-along potential.
Anyway, in honor of my drive, below the fold are twenty songs from the “Speeding” playlist on my iPod, of songs that are good to play in the car.
What’s your favorite song for keeping yourself awake on long trips?
- “Hey Jealousy,” Gin Blossoms
- “Keep Your Hands To Yourself,” Georgia Satellites (Feel the 80’s)
- “Stranger Than Fiction,” Bad Religion
- “Runnin Down A Dream,” Tom Petty
- “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” Blue Oyster Cult
- “Here It Goes Again,” Ok Go
- “Show Me Mary,” Catherine Wheel
- “Semi-Charmed Life,” Third Eye Blind (Yeah, yeah, yeah. They’re a great car radio band.)
- “Anarchy in the UK,” Sex Pistols
- “Amsterdam,” Guster
- “Somebody To Shove,” Soul Asylum
- “I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor,” Arctic Monkeys
- “Hyper Enough,” Superchunk (I’ve been known to rewind and replay this several times)
- “Marie Marie,” The Blasters (The live version)
- “Exit Flagger,” Guided By Voices
- “You Can Make Him Like You,” The Hold Steady
- “Modern Swinger,” The Pink Spiders
- “New Year’s Day,” U2
- “The Magnificent Seven,” The Clash
- “Seven Nation Army,” The White Stripes
It’s not a song, but a favorite from college is the slightly-trippy Phantom Tollbooth esque book-on-tape that is The Lambda Expressway
But the most important feature of the location is that it’s in western Pennsylvania,
Come now. It’s almost precisely in the center of Pennsylvania.
Orgasm Addict, Buzzcocks.
The live version of Harry Chapin’s “30,000 Pounds of Bananas”. Bonus points if that song is playing as you drive through Scranton, site of the spectacular truck accident described in the song. (Though I have never needed to drive via Scranton.)
“Blue Monday”, New Order
“Tainted Love”, Soft Cell or the Gloria Jones original
“Push It”, Garbage
Guess I’m on a mildly retro kick at the moment…
Oh, I forgot one of my favorite road songs:
“Down”, 311
“On the Road Again,” Willie Nelson
Oddly enough, Beethoven’s 5th (and possibly 7th) symphonies work well for me, as I can keep my self awake by miming conducting them (earning odd looks from anyone who happens to notice…).
I’ve never had (and probably won’t ever have) an opportunity to conduct them IRL, but a man can dream…
Gotta say that I have no sympathy. I usually make two trips a year from Maine to Buffalo and back in April I gave a talk at Colgate – taught a class until 1:30, drove to Colgate, gave talk and ate lunch at Colgate, drove home – 11 of 30 hours spent behind the wheel. Plus, I have an 80 minute commute (one way).
Gotta say that I have no sympathy. I usually make two trips a year from Maine to Buffalo (9 hours of driving with wife, two kids, and dog) plus back in April I gave a talk at Colgate – taught a class until 1:30, drove to Colgate, gave talk and ate lunch at Colgate, drove home – 11 of 30 hours spent behind the wheel. Plus, I have an 80 minute commute (one way).
I think i’m breaking out in hives. Due to a thesis emergency i had to make that same road trip, both ways though (Cambridge – State College – Cambridge) in a 24 hour period about 4 years ago.
*shudder*
I left my house at midnight on Wednesday, got in around 7 am Thursday, took care of all my thesis related CRAP, got everything to the thesis office by noonish, had lunch, got the confirmation letter i needed, and got back in the car at about 2 pm, and was home again by midnight.
I just put my iPod on alphabetical by all songs. I made it through “i”.
Now when i take road trips alone i do books on tape. My first one was “Fragile Things” and since then i’ve burned through all of the back casts of Boundoff and am working my way through the public domain stuff i’ve found on iTunes.
Good luck! Have a beer at Xeno’s or the Rathskeller for me 🙂
Anything by Flogging Molly, especially “Devil’s Dance Floor” and “Black Friday Rule”.
When I was in grad school I used to frequently drive from William and Mary in southern VA back home to Baltimore. This will sounds absolutely counter to the “keep you awake” requirement to most people, but about half the time I would put on Philip Glass’s “Einstein on the Beach”. The somewhat repetitive nature of the music really made the drive fly by, and the 3:30 length was almost precisely the length of the drive!
All that 80s and no Radar Love by Golden Earring?
For shame.
@3 PhysioProf: Anything by the Buzzcocks “Fast Cars”, for example.
Matt: Second the motion. It’s a tradition on interstate hauls – kick in “Radar Love” at about hour seven.
Based on your topic, I thought the list would be “songs that will get you a speeding ticket”. There are a some great songs that make you want to put your foot down, that “get your motor running” as it were. One friend back in college got a ticket while listening to “Jesus is just all right for me” on a Doobie Brothers tape!
The one song I like to hear deep into a trip is “Turn the Page” by Bob Seger. I love the “walk into a restaurant, strung out by the road” line and the “on the road again” chorus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe7yOccqdxI
When I am really tired (like at 3AM on a 20-hour all-night drive), my preference is for music I normally don’t listen to. Examples would be C+W from some hick station in Kentucky, or a spanish language radio station in New Mexico. Best of the bunch would be a Cajun-french station in western Louisiana that I picked up. I had no idea what the announcer was saying, but you can drive forever to Zydeco music.
Matt: Radar Love was on Golden Earring’s Moontan album which came out in 1973 (one of the most complete albums in rock history).
Another great on-the-road radio tactic is to find a baseball game from whatever area you’re passing through. There’s something about baseball that’s ideally suited to radio, and some of the broadcasters are masters at the mix of reporter and storyteller.