For those of you who have been living under a rock, or in a box, or stuck in an old refrigerator, or on walkabout in the Australian Outback, I'd like to announce that my little bro. has moved to KY. KY here refers to the state of Kentucky, not the lubricating jelly. He has in turn invited my parents and me for Thanksgiving so I'll be hitting the road for another road-trip tomorrow afternoon. The fact that I'll be in the car w/ my parents for 7 or 8 hours got me thinking about road-trip music. It's a tricky situation because not only does it have to be quality music, it also has to be w/in the realm of music my parents can tolerate. Here's the list I've come up w/... feel free to recommend anything else that might work.
Bob Dylan: Blond on Blond
It has that nice old-timey AM country station sound that works so well while driving through the Mid-West. It's also Dylan which means that my dad will be willing to listen to it w/o much complaint.
R.E.M: Eponymous
A nice retrospective of their early stuff that also has a flows together better than most compilation albums. It also has that same late-night AM sound that for some reason I just love while on long trips.
Son Volt: Trace
I was going to go for Uncle Tupelo, but I just realized my disc is skipping & I'd have to burn a new one which I'm not going to do by tomorrow morning. That's OK though; Trace has some quality stuff on it & it's really similar to his earlier stuff.
Gaelic Storm: Gaelic Storm
Their 1st album w/ fun Celtic stuff that I think my mom will dig. It's also a good thing to listen to now as we approach the Burns' Night festivities in just 2 short months.
Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison
Although people tend to overlook the fact that he has a lot of rather cheesy songs like "A Boy Named Sue" & "One Piece at a Time," this live album features all sorts of old murder ballads and both of my parents are loving Johnny Cash.
Jerry Garcia/David Grisman: Jerry Garcia/David Grisman
A trip through Ohio obviously needs some sort of Jerry, & this is acoustic & jazzy so I think they'll be able to tolerate it.
Grateful Dead: Blues for Allah
Deciding which Dead disc to bring was tough, but I think my dad might dig the borderline prog rock jazziness of "Slipknot" & "King Solomon's Marbles." My 1st though was Reckoning, but I can't find it. My 2nd thought was American Beauty, but it skips.
Bob Dylan: Modern Times
2 Dylan's might be a bit much, but don't worry; I think I'm actually going to bring 3. The reason I'm down w/ the new 1 is because it's got that same old-timey feel & the vocals are so rich & weird... like his older stuff.
Bob Dylan: Nashville Skyline
Going to KY needs requires something like this. Plus, it's got Johnny Cash, Norman Blake, Charlie Daniels, & Charlie McCoy... it should work well. Besides, that version of "Girl from the North Country" is just fantastic... if not oddly fitting considering the fucked up week I've had (see the previous post to get the total effacement of that issue).
Please make some recommendations of stuff that might work well along these lines. I think I'm also going to have to bring the lap-top so I can watch a couple movies in the back seat: Casablanca, The Empire Strikes Back, Temple of Doom & Mallrats might be in order. Not to mention the stack of papers I have to grade & the books I have to read. Maybe 8 hours will end up going pretty fast. Now make w/ the suggestions!
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11 comments:
good to hear you will be visiting the bro for the holiday, even if it is in Kentucky. I would like to recommend Elvis' country hits album. I personally love it, but so do my parents, and one of my favorite songs on it is "Kentucky Rain". I also tend to enjoy listening to Motown stuff with the folks. Since it is Kentucky, some additional bluegrass may be in line? Greensky Bluegrass' album "Tuesday Letter" is fantastic! I highly recommend it.
Is that the Elvis CD I ended up w/ after 10KLF last year? I think I still have it somewhere, but it isn't in very good shape anymore. I forgot about it, but I'll replace it for you. It sat around for a while w/o a case and was pretty scratched up when I found it behind the books on my shelf.
You need some women in there--you have Cherie Knight, don't you? I bet your parents would like Patti Smith. Gillian Welch, Be Good Tanyas?
The Police are always good in the car. I just got their greatest hits 2 cd set...its good.
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
Seger?
Who are you that is coming up w/ Seger?
My parents wouldn't like Patti Smith. Too weird and punkish. Maybe Cheri Knight
Jim Nabors Christmas album is a hit with parents everywhere.
Good point. Not quite as popular w/ your brother though.
Really, you don't think they'd like some of Patti Smith's newer stuff? You never know, she's a poet, your dad's a poet.
After I suggested Gillian Welch, it occurred to me that she could be too sedating for such a long drive.
Oh! Every roadtrip needs some Allman Brothers.
Paul Simon's "Graceland" and maybe some Minor Threat! Try not to become a bigot while in KY!
Here's a tip for you:
SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!
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