Hooniverse Asks: Do you have a favorite driving song?

Jeff Glucker

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Back in college, I’d occasionally have to drive between Rhode Island and my home up near Boston. Towards the end of school, I’d acquired a 1985 Nissan 300ZX. It was the non-turbo version, but it could still just about hit 130 mph. I know this because of one of the times I hit play on the song “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Something about that song causes a reaction in my brain that in turn makes my right foot assert more pressure.

Pedal pressure begets engine speed. Engine speed begets wheel speed. And if you’re not careful, wheel speed begets traffic violations. And it all starts with that dive into the solo section of “Freebird”.

Do you have any songs that do something similar to you? Or do you have a chill-out song that is perfect for a calm cruise? What’s your favorite driving song?

Mine happens to make me drive faster… and lord knows, I can’t change.

About

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Hooniverse.com. He’s often seen getting passed as he hustles a 1991 Mitsubishi Montero up the 405 Freeway. IG: @HooniverseJeff

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51 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: Do you have a favorite driving song?”

  1. neight428 Avatar
    neight428

    The only known recording of my singing is of this song, driving my lifted ’94 Bronco heading toward Colorado from Texas during college.

    Reply
    1. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      Eastbound from Texas isn’t very likely to get you to Colorado.

      I hope you brought some Coors beer with you from Texas. Or maybe some Shiner.

      Reply
      1. neight428 Avatar
        neight428

        I wasn’t being geographically pedantic at the time, besides, after suffering a concussion on my last ski run of the trip, I was feeling less enthusiastic on the way back.

        The boys were thirsty in Durango, that much was true.

        Reply
  2. William Byrd Avatar
    William Byrd

    AC/DC – Thunderstruck
    GNR – You Could Be Mine
    Mötley Crüe – Kickstart my Heart

    None are car-related, but the driving beat tends to make me speed.

    Reply
    1. Zentropy Avatar
      Zentropy

      “Kickstart” was my first thought, and has definite car references (… top fuel funny car’s a drug for me…).

      Reply
    2. Zentropy Avatar
      Zentropy

      “Kickstart” was my first thought, and has definite car references (… top fuel funny car’s a drug for me…).

      Reply
    3. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      “You Could Be Mayan” is about a car.
      https://lifeinprogreso.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Mayan-Wheels-Car-Rental-Merida.jpg

      Reply
  3. Scoutdude Avatar
    Scoutdude

    Red Barchetta, of course comes to mind as does I’m In Love With My Car. Great Lyrics on both of those and good driving tunes.

    Honorable mention to Autobahn from Kraftwerk, not a great song for driving but a great name for a driving song.

    Reply
  4. Victor~~ Avatar
    Victor~~

    Hit the road Jack by Ray Charles,https://youtu.be/Q8Tiz6INF7I

    Reply
  5. 0A5599 Avatar
    0A5599

    Radar Love, though maybe not this version.

    Reply
  6. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    No.
    Next question?

    “Have you owned a vehicle with a sound system at any point in the past 25 years?”
    No.
    Next question?

    “Is it tricky to rock a rhyme? To rock a rhyme that’s right on time?”
    It’s tricky.

    Reply
    1. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      Very appropriate then for you to have listed a song where Teller raps silently.

      Reply
      1. Batshitbox Avatar
        Batshitbox

        Sometimes I roll the window down and listen to Air Supply.

        Reply
        1. neight428 Avatar
          neight428

          Provided the exhaust leak is aft of the firewall?

          Reply
          1. 0A5599 Avatar
            0A5599

            In the Econoline, if it has the flip-out rear glass modification, then the Station Wagon Effect might vortex the exhaust inside, even if there isn’t a leak.
            https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/222349938707_/Ford-Econoline-E150-Pop-out-Rear-Windows-E250-1992-2014.jpg

        2. crank_case Avatar
          crank_case

          Or Rush? ..or is that optimistic on the velocity?

          Reply
    2. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      You’ve got me beat. All I can say that nearly all of my vehicles have no sound system, which I must say is a pretty fancy term for an AM radio anyway. I’m nonetheless keeping the MiniDisc player that was in my Maestro when I bought it, on the basis that some day I may own a MiniDisc.

      Reply
  7. Max Avatar
    Max

    With my sister, whenever I had to drop her in Antwerp during her Erasmus year there, we had to play “Una Storia Importante” by Eros Ramazzoti and sing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBNVODLaltQ

    Reply
  8. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
    Peter Tanshanomi

    I’m not proud of it, but Hybrid’s “If I Survive” is guaranteed to increase both my speed and aggression behind the wheel. Significantly.

    Reply
  9. smalleyxb122 Avatar
    smalleyxb122

    As my comment turned more into a playlist than a favorite, I have to conclude that I don’t have a favorite.

    …but now I’m compiling a driving playlist, so thanks for the motivation.

    Reply
  10. danleym Avatar
    danleym

    Less a favorite song, more a favorite album. And it’s specific to driving at night- if I’m going to be driving for a while at night, this album will be played at some point.

    Queens of the Stone Age, Lullabies to Paralyze. All the way through, just great music, and for whatever reason it puts me in a good mood for driving.

    Youtu.be/RFRATw9BUeM

    Reply
    1. danleym Avatar
      danleym

      Anyone know why I can’t paste something I copied into comment? Disqus won’t seem to let me. I was going to post a link to the album on YouTube…

      Edit: I was able to hand type it, but thats still annoying.

      Reply
      1. neight428 Avatar
        neight428

        I think Disqus gets behind on its payments to contract coders and they introduce annoying bugs into the system until the check clears.

        Reply
        1. mdharrell Avatar
          mdharrell

          You have no idea how much of a struggle it was to become logged into Disqus properly so that I could upvote and reply to your comment, or, more to the point, perhaps you know exactly how much of a struggle this can be at times.

          Reply
      2. 0A5599 Avatar
        0A5599

        It tends to do that to me after I have used my phone to check notifications and then go from the notifications back to Hooniverse. Now I keep a notifications tab open separately from the ‘verse tab, and that tends to work a little more frequently.

        Reply
    2. Zentropy Avatar
      Zentropy

      Different album, but “Go With the Flow” is on my list of good driving songs.

      Reply
      1. Maymar Avatar
        Maymar

        Songs For The Deaf also works as a driving album in general with the little radio interstitials. Apparently it’s a very loose concept album, they sort of envisioned a night drive out to the desert.

        Plus, the liner notes have a picture of the dash from a Fiat 124 Spider, and that’s just a rad choice.

        Reply
  11. SteveW Avatar
    SteveW

    Big Log by Robert Plant. A nice ’55 in the video, too.

    Reply
    1. Pinkerton9 Avatar
      Pinkerton9

      Came here to say the same.
      But then again…

      Reply
  12. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
    Peter Tanshanomi

    For summer evening boulevard cruising, Scritti Politti’s Cupid & Psych 85 is the perfect windows- (or top-) down soundtrack.

    Reply
  13. Zentropy Avatar
    Zentropy

    “Kickstart my Heart” was my first thought, but William already noted it. I’d add the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” to the list, too.

    Oh, and the Cardigans’ “My Favourite Game”, because hours upon hours of GT2.

    Reply
    1. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      It’s all fun and games until Elvis C. sabotages the song.

      Reply
  14. outback_ute Avatar
    outback_ute

    Bow River by Cold Chisel, which is about getting away from the city rat race.

    Reply
  15. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    It used to be Frank Zappa’s “Grand Wazoo” and “Hot Rats”, before I practically stopped listening to music. Nowadays it’s mostly either calm stuff like Sharon van Etten or some Synthwave compilation downloaded from YouTube.

    Reply
  16. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
    Peter Tanshanomi

    For summer evening boulevard cruising, Scritti Politti’s Cupid & Psych 85 is the perfect windows- (or top-) down soundtrack.

    Reply
  17. I_Borgward Avatar
    I_Borgward

    From Dee-troit Motor City:

    Reply
  18. I_Borgward Avatar
    I_Borgward

    A close second:

    Reply
  19. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    It’s rare I’m ever by myself in the car anywhere the roads are even halfway decent, so most enjoyable driving is gentler road tripping. It’s maybe a little obvious, but this hits the right pacing for me.

    Reply
  20. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    Not Dead Yet

    By The Bad Examples

    Reply
  21. wunno sev Avatar
    wunno sev

    night time in an older, but not too old, luxury car:

    windows up, drive real slow, and contemplate.

    Reply
  22. Wayne Moyer Avatar
    Wayne Moyer

    Of course there is always Radar Love and things like that but I’ve been partial to this little known Queen song for quite awhile.

    Reply
  23. nanoop Avatar
    nanoop

    I aim for silence.
    Listening to Mozart’s Requiem while driving on B-roads in snowfall is something I love doing for ~thirty years though.

    Else, it’s audio books for long distance drives by myself, podcasts for short distances, and whatever a 6yo considers essential listening when I’m with a 6yo.

    Reply
    1. onrails Avatar
      onrails

      Classical is great for long scenic drives. Wagner’s Ring without Words or Strauss’ Alpine Symphony are both is an hour plus of massive orchestra at full chat plus some nice quiet moments breaking it up.

      Ze Germans know how to accompany nice scenery.

      Reply
  24. theskitter Avatar
    theskitter

    I went back to an old road trip band last week:
    Huey Lewis And The News

    Their hits were released 10 years closer to Chuck Berry than to the present day.
    And it sounds like it, but holds up.

    Reply
    1. wunno sev Avatar
      wunno sev

      https://img.cinemablend.com/filter:scale/quill/5/e/9/9/e/0/5e99e0b4f1de1cb5e348234c1934c2a67f614aa8.jpg

      Reply
    2. neight428 Avatar
      neight428

      I think I want a new drug.

      Reply
  25. Hatchtopia Avatar
    Hatchtopia

    Sister Havana and the rest of Saturation by Urge Overkill are on a road trip rotation for sure.

    Reply
  26. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
    SlowJoeCrow

    Road music is situational for me. For driving in the rain Brian Ferry’s Can’t Let Go or Sinead O’Connor Nothing Compares 2 U because I first heard it on the BBC driving up the M1 in the rain. For straight up driving I like the Gin Blossoms and Robert Earl Keen, because the road goes on forever and the party never ends 😉

    https://youtu.be/nTbKEIECp9g

    Reply
  27. Papa Van Twee Avatar
    Papa Van Twee

    Driving beat, good instrumentation. What’s not to like?

    Reply
  28. Joshua Williams Avatar
    Joshua Williams

    https://youtu.be/pgrj_IXuEGY
    The morning after hours of traffic in Kentucky saw us needing to stop at a hotel on our way back up to the Chicagoland suburbs, this came on shuffle. We didn’t any significant traffic the entire length of Illinois up thrI-59. Call me superstitious, but on a drive of any length, I still like to start off the day with it.

    Reply
  29. Jaymonster Avatar
    Jaymonster

    Ministry’s “Jesus Built My Hotrod” has gotten me in trouble a few times! Maybe because it’s played at 125 BPM, and that tends to affect my “foot pressure” -thing

    Reply