There's no better place to listen to music than in the driver's seat, looking out from behind a Cinemascope windshield. These five songs all feature some variation on driving, reaching a destination and, in some form or another, stopping along the way.
Read and hear more entries in the Road Trip: Songs to Drive By series.
Exeter, Rhode Island
Jennifer O'Connor spends a lot of time in her car, driving from gig to gig, and "Exeter, Rhode Island" perfectly captures the soul-searching that goes on while en route. O'Connor's new album, Here With Me, comes out Aug. 19.
Wagon Wheel
Much was made of Old Crow Medicine Show "co-writing" this song with Bob Dylan -- the band derived the chorus from Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid outtakes -- but "Wagon Wheel" gets most of its power from the verses. That said, the song does take license with geography: You wouldn't be "headed west from the Cumberland Gap to Johnson City, Tennessee." Look for a new album, Tennessee Pusher, on Sept. 23.
Drive South
Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" may be the definitive song to view road trips as a form of escape. But John Hiatt's "Drive South" marks a natural extension of that song, following its lead into middle age.
Choctaw Bingo
At eight and a half minutes, James McMurtry's "Choctaw Bingo" runs the perfect length for a good road song. The song's funny, vividly descriptive words may not be appropriate for everyone in the car -- references to drugs and guns abound -- but it does describe a road trip that few have taken. A classic from one of Texas' masters of descriptive musical storytelling.
Filibuster XXX
The length and linear structure of much African music tends to make it perfect for travel; these are songs sung over the course of long journeys, so their hypnotic nature makes perfect sense. It's easy to get lost in Antibalas' long improvisations while driving: "Filibuster XXX," in particular, features a lot of the band's secret weapon, keyboardist Victor Axelrod.
Copyright 2008 XPN