Music on the Road

How do you bring your music along on a long car trip? Depends on what you're driving, I suppose. Our car is a 2005 model, so it lacks a port for my iPhone or iPod. Once my wife and I attempted to feed our iPods through the radio, but it was terribly unsatisfying and only worked fitfully. So, as we hastily packed, I included a CD carrier that I'd used a couple of years before and hadn't cleared out along with a handful of CDs either purchased or checked out from the library.

Both Lisa and I found our tolerance waning the deeper that we got into a CD, no matter who the artist. We are still very much in a long-playing state of mind at home, rarely purchasing music piecemeal, but as a captive audience, and with the need for the music to keep us hyper-stimulated on the drive, we found we tired of an artist about halfway into the CD. "We need a change," one of us would say, and never was there a strong counter-argument.

 The most problematic listens for a long drive are the vocalists. As you know, I live for hearing a skilled vocal performance, but being hypnotized by Doris Day's graceful glissandos on various vowel sounds is not recommended for keeping your eye on the dotted lines of the interstate. Esperanza Spalding sounded terrific, but soon after putting her on I knew that we had to change the selection. Much too mellow for our needs.

 Instead we took a shot of Fountains of Wayne. Ah, some straight "power pop" that we could sing along to as the miles went by. Perfect! I then popped in K. T. Tunstall's new release. She was completely unfamiliar to me, but I found it terrific for driving. Every song brought a new rhythmic approach, and it was all very energetic.

One thing that I love about a vacation is that you wear out the music that you do bring. Sure, I've got my iPod, and Lisa has her iTunes library on the laptop, but mostly we use the old technology: the CDs that I have packed in the carrier, and the ones still in their cases, with their booklets to enjoy. In a way, I love being a captive audience to the CD that I put in our car player. Every insertion seems like a dive into a pool. How's the opening track? Did it catch your interest? Well, I'm into it, but what about my wife seated next to me?

 It's fun to also play DJ. While Lisa drove, I pulled out CDs and played favorite tracks from them, prefacing each song with an introduction of some sort. She seemed to enjoy this approach, as did our young boys. I can't listen to books as I drive because my mind wanders, but music seems just right—after the signal for NPR goes out, that is. It's a deep comfort for me to revisit CDs that I've purchased and to muse upon the passage of time, not only for the artist but for me, the faithful listener.

 Happy trails and terrific music to everyone who hits the road this summer!