I grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles. As with most teenage populations, there was a general consensus in our 'burb that you were pretty much nothing without a car. Like Lloyd Dobler's Malibu in Say Anything, a car was your castle. This is why turning 16 was awesome. Forget Super Sweet Sixteen parties, I finally got my hands on my family's 1989 Buick Royale. So what if I had to turn it on with a screwdriver that I stored under my seat? A car was a car was a car.
Once my friends and I got our licenses, it was a straight shot south on the 101 to Sunset Boulevard where we spent pretty much every weekend rifling through records at Amoeba before going to a show. Though the shows were always awesome--this is where I saw Joe Strummer (of The Clash) and basically every angsty emo band in existence*--I loved the drive into the city. My friends and I sang very loudly and very off key to sparkly 80s Madonna and a lot of Tom Petty. Music, after all, is what makes driving amazing. It's where you can listen to terrible music without being judged. In the car, guilty pleasures reign supreme. No one judged that dude from Office Space when he listened to hardcore rap on his commute even though he was a nerdy white guy. Because we've all been there.
This is all to say that I need your help. Big time. Warren and I are going on a road trip on Saturday and are in dire need of some new tunes. This is where you come in: please, give me some of your driving songs, guilty pleasure or not. Here's one of my favorites:
Also, I did an interview with Land of Gazillion Adoptees. Check it out here!
*Dashboard Confessional, anyone? Saves the Day? What about the Get Up Kids? Aw, such adorable angst!
