TECH2

With CES a few days away, and my yearly pilgrimage to that great abomination in the desert (Las Vegas) imminent, I figured it was a good time to compile some excellent driving songs.

The key to a good driving song is not that the song has something to DO with driving, that's lazy and often highly inaccurate. Similar to my article on Pop Music in the Movies, the key is the feel. The key is a fast, *ahem* driving beat.

Of course everyone has their favorite driving songs, and of course there are the quintessential driving songs, like Born to be Wild and maybe Sprit in the Sky. If you've got favs, feel free to add them in the comments below. I guess there are a few songs that are about driving that are also good driving songs, but trite "driving" songs like I Can't Drive 55 are horrible.

So here are my picks for the soundtrack to some, shall we say, exuberant driving.

ZZ Top - "La Grange"

Fun Fact: I drove around the country a few years ago, and went out of my way to go to La Grange just so I could photograph a shack outside of town. No, not that kind of shack. An actual shack. Here's the photo:

Bonus Fun Fact: This is the first song I ever played in front of an audience on guitar (while singing). Rock'n'Roll!

Pink Floyd - "One of These Days"

Is there a better bass line in rock? No. And if you think so, you're wrong. I've blown out speakers with this song. Gleefully.

David Bowie - "Dead Man Walking"

Fun Fact: I'm the only person on Earth who liked this album, and I love it.

Blue Man Group - "Rods and Cones"

The first time I heard this song I was driving at night through the twisty, canyon-y part of Highway 15 in northern Arizona. An epic night driving song.

Daft Punk, Remixed by Moby - "The Son of Flynn"

Daft Punk's score for Tron: Legacy was brilliant, but it's still a score. The R3CONF1GUR3D album lets a bunch of talented musicians turn the tracks into actual songs. Amazing things happen, so pretty much this whole album, really. This is almost cheating, as any Daft Punk album is good to drive to, especially Alive 2007.

Bonus:

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood"

I can't say for sure this is for everyone, but it's one of my favorite albums of all time (Top 5, easy), and is always played on every road trip. Usually as I crest the final hill to descend into Vegas.