The Playlist: Songs for the Road Trip

I’ve done a fair amount of gas guzzling over the past few weeks. First, a weekend trip to my old college town – Radford, Va. – to be fitted for a tux I’ll be sporting in August when I get to play “best man.” Then, this past week, I ventured over to Cary for the North Carolina Press Association awards.

Neither would be classified as an entertaining drive. Long, arduous, and most importantly – boring.

Lots of trees. Lots of billboards. Lots of traffic. And road for as far as the eye can see.

So what do I do in such situations?

Plug in the iPod and put the car – and my brain – on auto pilot.

Here are a few songs which made the drives a little more bearable. I wouldn’t necessarily call them “driving” songs – but they helped the hours, and miles, pass by. Give them a shot and let me know what you think.

Be sure to send your comments, complaints, or suggestions to grahamcawthon@shelbystar.com.

Europe – The Final Countdown (1986)
Album: The Final Countdown
Peak position on the charts: No. 8
Bet you didn’t know: The song was featured several times on the show “Arrested Development” as the theme song for G.O.B. Bluth’s (Will Arnett) magic show.



Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch – Good Vibrations (1991)
Album: Music for the People
Peak position on the charts: No. 1
Bet you didn’t know: Marky Mark (Mark Wahlberg) earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance in Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed.”



Dan Fogelberg – Leader of the Band (1981)
Album: The Innocent Age
Peak position on the charts: No. 9
Bet you didn’t know: At one point, Fogelberg was among many being considered to join the Eagles. He later took his name out of the running and Joe Walsh got the job.



Prince – Little Red Corvette (1983)
Album: 1999
Peak position on the charts: No. 6
Bet you didn’t know: Stevie Nicks was inspired to write her hit “Stand Back” after hearing the song. She later got Prince to play keyboards for “Stand Back.”



Beach Boys – God Only Knows (1966)
Album: Pet Sounds
Peak position on the charts: No. 39
Bet you didn’t know: Paul McCartney has said it’s his favorite song and U2’s Bono said “the string arrangement on “God Only Knows” is fact and proof of angels.”



Lostprophets – Rooftops (2004)
Album: Liberation Transmission
Peak position on the charts: No. 114
Bet you didn’t know: The chorus of the song was inspired by the scene in the film “Garden State” in which the main characters scream into a chasm.



Linkin Park & Jay-Z – Numb/Encore (2004)
Album: Collision Course
Peak position on the charts: No. 20
Bet you didn’t know: The collaboration of the two hit songs led to a Grammy in 2006 for Best Rap / Sung Collaboration.



Tears for Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World (1985)
Album: Songs from the Big Chair
eak position on the charts: No. 1
Bet you didn’t know: The song served as the theme for HBO’s “Dennis Miller Live,” which ran from 1994 to 2002.



Dido – Take My Hand
Album: No Angel
Peak position on the charts: No. 1 (U.S. Dance charts)
Bet you didn’t know: Dido has said that the song, the last track on the album, was the first she ever wrote.



Kanye West (feat. Adam Levine of Maroon 5) – Heard Em Say (2005)
Album: Late Registration
Peak position on the charts: No. 26
Bet you didn’t know: Levine reprised the backup singer role on the premiere of this season’s “Saturday Night Live” during a Digital Short music video about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.



That’s what I got for this week. Check back next Thursday for the next Playlist. Comments and suggestions are always welcome at grahamcawthon@shelbystar.com.