sing-a-long. scream-a-long.

Listening To: Hey Pretty Girl by Kip Moore
Loving: all the books you recommended on this post. Thank you!
Line Obsession: "Magnolia has coffee like muddy tears, but it gets me out of the house." - Emma Forrest

So I was hanging out with my dad last week, and we decided to stop for some coffee.

And by "we decided to stop for coffee" what I mean is that I saw the Starbucks sign and, thus, I began pointing and flailing about. "Freak Out" is my Pavlovian response to Starbucks. There's always room in my life for a Caramel Macchiato. (And now my sister's getting me hooked on those infernal chai lattes ... how can so much joy exist in one small cup?!)

So we stopped for coffee, then made our way back toward the interstate. As we were waiting to turn, a car rolled up along side us. And the car's music was blaring so loud that it made my car vibrate. It made my teeth vibrate.


When music is so loud that it makes my teeth vibrate, I have this involuntary reaction to look.

I wasn't being ornery about it or anything. I didn't particularly care that the music was loud (my teeth might care but I'm fine with it ...). I keep my music cranked up too, especially in the car. (Because I like to sing along ... and if I keep Adele turned up really, really loud I start to convince myself that I sound exactly like her. You savvy?) When I felt the bass line thumping deep down in my bones, I guess I just felt compelled to see what was up. Those woofers were like sirens to my redneck soul.

When I glanced over at The Boneshaker beside me, I saw ... a tiny, old Mazda truck. The truck was no higher off the ground than my car. The driver was a man who looked to be in his twenties or thirties - very thin, with shaggy hair and a backwards hat. He saw me looking. He smiled and waved: "Sorry!"

I waved my hand like, "Hakuna Matata, friend!" No worries. Carry on with thy boneshaking. I smiled at him.


And then he motioned for me to roll down the window.

Which I did, hesitantly.

And I was rather delighted by what I heard. Because when my window was all the way down ... my car was suddenly flooded with the sound of synthesizers and perky drum beats - glorious 80's dance music.

The Boneshaker was rocking out to ... Whitney Houston.


How will I know if he really loves me?
I say a prayer with ev-ry heartbeat ...


The guy smiled and gave a thumbs up and hollered, "I'm keeping Whitney alive!"


I'm asking you what do you know about these things?

I mirrored his thumbs up. "Awesome!"

I raised my coffee cup in honor of his bravery. Salute.

He passed us on the interstate and, to my great delight, he was still rocking out, still screaming, "How Will I Knoo-ooooow..." at the top of his lungs.

My dad was like, "Why did he feel the need to tell you he was listening to Whitney Houston?"

The world may never know.


But I like it. I like a grown-man who's not ashamed to sing-a-long with Whitney. 

Maybe he recognized a kindred spirit. I also like to have concerts in my car. Every since the day I met The Boneshaker, I've been thinking about my favorite car songs. And how my favorite kind of music, my favorite bands ... aren't necessarily my favorite tunes to sing in the car. My favorite kind of music tends to be moody, artsy, lyric-driven stuff. I don't remember if it was my mom or dad who made the observation that my favorite bands mostly dress like hobos and hitchhikers. *shrugs* S'true. And yet. Those same sweet, introspective songs that make me want to write better and fall in love harder or just curl up in the corner and weep ... those aren't necessarily my favorite car songs. There's some crossover, but the car mix is more eclectic.

Here are some of my favorites:


- As previously mentioned, anything and everything by Adele. Adele is inspirational-legit. Like I said, there is some crossover on this list.
- "Paranoia in B Flat" by The Avett Brothers. Except not too often because that song makes me want to bust a move. And it's hard to actually move around much in a car, while driving, without making other passengers nervous.
- "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan. Observation: when I try to sing like Bob Dylan I mostly just sound like I'm in pain.
- "Somebody Told Me" by The Killers. Classic.
- "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry. Uh-oh, the ballad of a dove. *raises hand as if releasing a small bird* Go in peace and love. (She's totally doing an ode to Anne Shirley in this video, don't you think? Well played, Kimberly Perry!)
- The entire Wicked Soundtrack. It's almost sad how much I like Wicked. But everyone deserves a chance to fly, dang it!
- The movie soundtrack for Grease. (When I hang out with my bffMelanie, we still listen to "You're the One that I Want" and we take turns singing Danny and Sandy's parts.) (...TMI?)
- "Carrying Your Love" with Me by George Strait. For whatever reason, I really, really like country music in the car. George Strait's voice puts me in a good frame of mind. I wish he was an option for the navigator's voice on my TomTom. I'd like for him to sing me around the city.
- "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard. This one ... I can't explain it. I only know it's a great car song. (For a double dose of awesome, you can watch him sing it with Dolly here.)
- "Gunpowder and Lead" by Miranda Lambert. Miranda's my go to girl for when I'm feeling feisty.
- "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson. Ditto for Kelly when it comes to the feisty factor. Stronger is also my favorite workout song right now. And I might have spent almost an entire night trying to learn the dance at the end. Judge me if you must. 

Sometimes, when I'm driving, I gravitate toward melancholy songs; songs that makes me think about where I'm going and where I'm headed. Other times, I just want the kind of music that makes me want to roll down the window and howl out the lyrics.

Speaking of howling, one of my all time favorite car songs is "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" by The Darkness. My brother hates it when we're out and that song comes on my iPod. I can't really describe the change that comes over me. All I know for sure, is that my rendition of the song is very special. In the words of Randy Jackson, it gets a little pitchy.



If you were going on an epic roadtrip with your best friends tomorrow, what songs would be on your playlist?