Thursday, April 7, 2011

I made this mix tape for you ...

Driving into the golden desert sunset at Arches National Park, Ayk turned to me and said, "We should have a soundtrack."  Good call.  Though mix tapes are a thing of the 90s, we modernized our road trip soundtrack with YouTube videos.  This playlist is inspired by all the places we went to and it, like, totally expresses our feelings into song, man.  So, umm, yeah, hope you like it.


Pittsburgh: "Born in the U.S.A." – Bruce Springsteen
A song about a small, industrial city, like Pittsburgh.  It seems almost fitting to start the playlist with this patriotic song, until you realize it's satire.


Cleveland: Tourism videos: Parts 1 and 2
What, you thought we'd do the "Cleveland Rocks" intro from The Drew Carey Show?  Don't kid yourself.



Chicago: “Chicago” – Sufjan Stevens


Milwaukee: Laverne & Shirley theme song


Minnesota: “Life in a Northern Town” – Dream Academy


South Dakota“Badlands” - Bruce Springsteen


Wyoming: “Fuck You” – Cee-Lo Green
Seriously, fuck you, Wyoming.


Denver: “Rocky Mountain High” – John Denver


Arches National Park: "Home" - Edward and the Magnetic Zeros
When Ayk suggested a soundtrack at Arches, I promptly started playing this song.


Salt Lake City: "Take on Me" - A-Ha; "Fly Me to the Moon" - Frank Sinatra
It only made sense to pick A-Ha's '80s song for SLC, since it has been featured in every skiing movie ever.  Ayk preferred Fly Me to the Moon [Bounce] over hitting the slopes.

Note: The official video can't be embedded on a blog, so this mirrored version was really the next best thing I could find.


Lake Tahoe: “On the Road Again” – Willie Nelson
After staying in SLC for three full days, it was nice to hit the highway.  It was either this, or try to find a song about cannibalism.


Folsom: “Folsom Prison Blues” - Johnny Cash
Mo's house, where we stayed while visiting San Francisco, is actually in Folsom.


San Francisco: “If You’re Going to San Francisco” – Scott McKenzie


Napa Valley: "California Dreamin’” – The Mamas & The Papas


Big Sur: “Big Sur Moon” – BucketHead


L.A.: “To Live and Die in L.A." - 2Pac
No, absolutely no Katy Perry on this blog.


San Diego: “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” - Rockapella
Did you really expect anything less?


Joshua Tree: “With or Without You” – U2
The best song from U2's Joshua Tree album.


Las Vegas: “Viva Las Vegas” – Elvis Presley


Grand Canyon: “We Will Rock You” – Queen
Aside from the obvious pun, the Steelers' Super Bowl defeat while visiting Grand Canyon was also another reason for choosing this song.


Carlsbad Caverns: "The Cave" - Mumford & Sons


Austin“We’re Not Gonna Take It” – Twisted Sister; “People Are Strange” – The Doors
The Twisted Sister tune is dedicated to the bed-bug infested, rodent ridden, urine-stained motel that we disdainfully rejected.  Austin itself deserved The Doors' tribute to weird people.



New Orleans: “It Ain’t My Fault” 
The go-to big brass song at New Orleans jazz clubs.


Miami: “I’m in Miami Bitch” – LMFAO


Everglades: “See You Later, Alligator” - Bill Haley & The Comets

Hopefully deep-fried and on a plate.


Key West: “Kokomo” – The Muppets vs The Beach Boys
Tough call.



Cape Canaveral: “Rocket Man” – Elton John


Savannah: Forrest Gump Theme song


Baltimore: “Two of Us” – The Beatles


Road Trip Anthem: "40 Day Dream" - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Our trip wasn't exactly 40 days, but it certainly felt like a dream.


1 comment:

  1. this is incredible! so glad I found your blog too. Glad to see we're both going through quarter life crises and having some adventures! :-)

    ReplyDelete