The Road Trip Pt.1- The Tunes
When you’re spending 24 hours driving in a cramped MINI cooper, music is a necessity.
When you’re driving for miles on end through barren lands, swearing that the same lone tree has been passing you for the last 20 minutes, music is a companion.
When it’s 2:48 in the morning and it’s pitch black outside, but you’re in the home stretch of your car ride and are just pushing yourself with every break you take, music is the friend that keeps you awake and says, “What, asleep? You’re not asleep. Sing along to some more Top 40 hits and you’ll be there before you know it.”
But that’s just the problem. At least it was for this trip.
It would have been so simple for me to have popped in one of my many CD’s, but I wasn’t alone on this trip (luckily). With my mom on the ride and driving half of the miles, she was not having what my case had to offer, or at least while she was driving. My second course of action was to use Slacker, the trusty radio app I have downloaded to my phone. The problem with that though is when you’re cruising through stretches of land that are either filled with hills, or conversely nothing at all, it can be pretty easy to go from 4G to no G. FM radio it was!
We all know how top 40 radio stations can be. They introduce you to the songs that new, catchy, and fun for at least the first 10 times. Then you’re stuck flipping through channels when you hear Lady Gaga’s “Applause” on B99.5 and turn over to 104..4 to hear the 2nd verse of the same song. It’s a musical Twilight Zone. It’s not too much that I think these songs are so terrible, but if you’ve ever been on the road for hours at a time you know that hearing the same songs over and over again can make you kind of zone out while you’re in the driver’s seat. No Bueno. So while I tried to switch it up, this trip provided me with a couple songs that I could really go without hearing for a while.
“Post to Be” by Omarion feat. Chris Brown and Jhene Aiko
Look, I am absolutely thrilled to have Omarion back in the spotlight. The last major hit I remember him having was a song where he was singing about having an icebox where his heart used to be. But now he knows where he’s “supposed to be”. Getting money. I get it, and I’m happy for you, but I can quite get over how catchy hearing Jhene Aiko sing about booty and grocery became, so I’m gonna need a little break.
“Earned It” by Weeknd
I never saw I still don’t intend to. It’s been four months since the movie came out, and this song is still at the top of the charts. When we were driving through the rural parts of Arizona, this song was on three of the five functioning channels. So I went to sleep.
“Boom Clap” by Charli XCX
Didn’t this song come out last year? Drummed up with all the hype surrounding ? I’m done.
“See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth
Anyone who is close to me knows that I love the franchise. This song is a beautiful tribute to Paul Walker. I can’t even be mad at this song for playing as much as it has. But as soon as I hear “It’s been a…”, I need to get something a little less depressing to fill my space.
“This Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like A Motherf***er” by Maroon 5
Like every other song by the group, it’s super-duper catchy, which can only mean that the first time you hear it will be the best time, because every time after that leads towards the hill of annoyance. I guess driving 80mph on I-40 got me quicker down that hill than I anticipated.
I just need the summer’s break to forget about these songs. Since I’ve gotten back from the trip, I’ve relied heavily on my CD player and my subscription to Slacker Radio to rediscover some old favorites. I’ll see you in September, Omarion.