Great Music for a Great Road Trip

Every great road trip needs a great soundtrack, regardless of where you're headed. On a recent trip home to see my family I pulled out my case of CDs (yes, I still have one of those) and left the iPod stowed away. I found that in listening to entire albums, I enjoyed the music much more and was less likely to skip any songs.

I started out the trip with Death Cab For Cutie's Photo Album (2001). Ben Gibbard's clever lyrics took me on an emotional journey through the eternally sunny Los Angeles in "Why You'd Want to Live Here" to his friend's loathing of his late father in "Styrofoam Plates". I was in the mood for more Ben Gibbard and I popped in The Postal Service's sole LP, Give Up (2003), and found myself wishing they would release a second album. As the Appalachian mountains welcomed me home, I finished off the trip with two My Morning Jacket albums, Z (2005) and It Still Moves (2003).

Bon Iver

Departing from Asheville on an unseasonably warm, late winter's day, I decided to roll the windows all the way down and blast Bon Iver's second self-titled album (2011), which won "Best New Artist" and "Best Alternative Album" at the 2012 Grammys. Later, just a day after a lighthearted debate with my brother about which Ben Folds Five album was the best, I decided to give The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messener (1999) a spin. I continued my trip down I-40 to the tunes of Maritime with We, the Vehicles (2006). And finally, in range of WKNC 88.1 FM, I finished off the trip with some of their jams. Now, enjoy a sample of my road trip soundtrack!


My Morning Jacket - It Beats 4U
Bon Iver - Perth
Ben Folds Five - Army
Maritime - Young Alumni