On The Road Again

This weekend I drove down to Pearl Harbor/New City in New York, to attend my fourth and final wedding of 2003. When I was in my early 20s I spent a lot of time driving between various points up and down the East Coast, at first by myself and later with The Beagle riding shotgun. It was during those many hours on the road that I developed my habit of incessantly scanning the radio in a search for good tunes. Even now that I have CD player in the Mach Five, I simply can’t help twitching the dial, mining the airwaves for musical gold. Now this can be difficult for passengers to handle since a) I will happily surf stations for 20 or minutes before settling on a proper song, and b) my idea of what constitutes a ‘proper song’ for a road trip has little to do with actual musical quality and everything to do with amusement value. My amusement value.

But since I was driving solo this weekend, I was free to indulge myself to my heart’s content. Here are some of the choicest gems I came across.

Gypsy Road by Cinderella
Mmmmmm…metallic hair-band goodness. I can’t properly mimic the lead singer’s scratchy screechy voice, but I can bang my head in proper fashion. Fun for me, and entertainment for any passing cars. Hey – sharing is caring.

True Colors by Cyndi Lauper
I’ve always thought she sounded like Elmer Fudd, so this song must be sung in that manner. ‘Twue co-wahs…’

Stayin’ Alive by The BeeGees.
Admit it – you like this one too. The proper mode of car dancing for this one is a steady yet ironic nod of the head, in time to the beat. If noticed by passing motorists, flash a peace sign or blow ‘em a kiss (depending on their gender).

Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-lot
This tune followed immediately after Stayin’ Alive, and there was much rejoicing. Yes, even white boys gotta shout.

Nothin’ But A Good Time by Poison
Make the heavy metal devil sign. Scream the lyrics. Enjoy.

Oh L’Amour by Erasure
Synth-pop madness strikes! This is the part of the road trip where we dance!

Rock Box and Mary, Mary by Run-DMC.
Allright, I cheated with these last two – I threw the CD in for the homestretch. Vehicular popping and locking may now commence.