Songs for a Summer Road Trip on the Torg Stories Podcast

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Anne and I choose 10 songs each to start a playlist that would be for a 15-hour drive to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. We aren’t really making this drive but it’s based on a family vacation I am taking during which we will spend the first night near the American Dream Mall, night two in Newport, Rhode Island, and then four nights in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Anne and I discussed the creation of playlists and this one in particular on the episode. Here are the songs that we choose to put on the list. You can connect to the Spotify playlist at the bottom of this page.

Here is our list of songs:

1. America by Simon and Garfunkel. (Anne) a fine even keel song that references the NJ turnpike which I will be driving. This song made me worry that people were going to turn off the podcast when they heard the pick.
2. New Perspective by Noah Kahan. (Bill) Trying to share some more from a musician that is pretty new and I really look. “You made Ohio seem like Central Park.” The moment when it takes off around a minute. About a town. Intersection has a Target.
3. Maybe Tomorrow by Stereophonics (Anne). Love this one. Not positive I’ve heard it before. Love the raspy voice. Evokes car wheels rolling on the highway for me. I don’t have any of that “finding my way” feeling these days but I count myself blessed.
4. Just Drive by Erin Kinsey. (Bill) The fun of driving with people you are about. It’s a romantic relationship but the fun is in the journey. I tell Izz during a workout when it’s the three of us, “This is the good stuff.”
5. Bloodbuzz Ohio by The National. (Anne) I like this one! Incredibly deep voice. Ohio comes up again! Got a car in it! We talked about this before. Something with Taylor Swift…
6. I Had Some Help with Post Malone and Morgan Wallen. (Bill) I like collabs! People who tell stories about being a mess appeal to me. Wonderboys the novel! When I was in Nashville I could totally imagine Morgan Wallen throwing a chair off a balcony. The way two people can team up to make a really big mess.
7. Silvia by Miike Snow (Anne). Some dramatic drum beats that could keep me paying attention.
8. Raspberry Beret by Prince. (Bill) It feels very summery to me. There’s that old 80s movie trope where someone walks in and the guy falls in love immediately. They take off driving on his bike.
9. When Am I Gonna Lose You by Local Natives. (Anne). The coast line! I think this is the second song you picked that I might add to my own list! More of a story in this one that I like.
10. In the City by Joe Walsh. (Bill) Starts with the subway or a train screeching to a halt. I’d have to skip to this one when we come out of the Lincoln Tunnel before the city has come awake on a Saturday morning.
11. Rivers and Roads by The Head and the Heart. (Anne). So somber which I think works over the course of 15 hours. A tired moment when talk has died down. I think the wrong mood for me if it was you and I in the car. A moving song?
12. Already Gone by the Eagles. (Bill). Feels most like, “I’m out of here!” I love where I live but I feel like I’ve been grinding really hard here doing a lot of the same things with teaching and basketball.
13. Weird Fishes by Radio Head. Those opening beats did perk me up. The best man in my wedding was named Matt Smith and he liked Radio Head. This makes me wonder if he still does.
14. Hot To Go by Chappell Roan. (Bill) Just a couple weeks into hearing this one. We talked about her. We’ve got counting to open! Super peppy. She wants nonfiction. And the feeling of “going.”
15. Street Lights by Kanye. (Anne). Makes me think of how streetlights can pulse in the dark. Not sure how much I’ll be driving in the dark, which feels weird. I used to do 12 hours all the time. Be good for those days I left NYC at 4:00 in the afternoon and arrived to Asheville at 4AM.
16. Ramblin’ Gamblin Man by Bob Seeger. This has been a top 5 song for me for a couple of years. “Ramblin” evokes the wander the landscape kind of feel I like for a road trip. The irony that I am stopping at the 2nd largest mall in the US is not lost on me.
17. 212 by Azealia Banks and Lazy Jay. (Anne). Super catchy. Super explicit. You wondered if it was appropriate for the pod… If I get in trouble for this I will try and throw you under the bus.
18. And We Danced by The Hooters. (Bill). It’s a staple of mine for cheer-fullness. It’s a happy story like vacation. I like stories. It’s peppy. Something is started… Wave on the ocean romance.
19. Fill Me Up Anthem by Gus Dapperton. (Anne). I think this is my least favorite one you picked. I can’t find anything in it yet to talk about.
20. She Calls Me Back with Kacey Musgraves by Noah Kahan. My favorite song of his. Peppy. Being lost, not being baptized but when she calls him back everything is good. So on the one hand, this unlocking of a person that another person makes possible. Something I used to reject for a long time. Maybe he knows it in these lyrics. MOSTLY, the way the song really picks up at about 40 seconds. Plus, it has a phone number in it!

Does our music belong in the same car together?

A question from a listener:

• Listener question from Laura: Anne used to drag me to Southlake mall in Merrillville at Christmas time because she loved how packed the mall was and the holiday decorations. I wonder if it is still the same for 50 year old Anne. We spent many hours in malls back in the late 80s

Happy Birthday July 1st to our Mom Sue!

Happy coming up 16th Birthday to my daughter Izzy July 10th!

Anne, it was good to talk to you.

We’ll be off next weekend. Thanks for listening everyone!