So, I am currently obsessed over this smokey psalm by Niia that’s been making my drive home a little bit less soul-sucking for the past week or so. Honestly, it’s reduced my blood pressure by like 20 PSI.
A current meme is to “Netflix and Chill” which is in fact a provocation to bump uglies, and not actually binge-watch. That ain’t happening during drive time, unless you’re exceedingly enthusiastic and unapologetically exhibitionistic. Since you won’t be doing anything like that, what’s your go-to music for making the daily slog passable?
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Hooniverse Asks: What's Your Favorite Chill in Traffic Song?
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24 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: What's Your Favorite Chill in Traffic Song?”
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I lived in Los Angeles when the song “Nobody Walks in LA” was popular. I got a kick out of cranking it with the windows down while in bumper to bumper on the Santa Monica Freeway.
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Are you talking about, “Walking in LA”, by Missing Persons?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_UpLtGEWoY-
Yeah. That one.
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I recently got a copy of all of the Billboard hot 100 charts, and did a deep dive into the 80s. I was surprised when I heard this it didn’t chart better, especially since they had two relatively decent hits previous to this, with “Words” and “Destination Unknown” both charting as high as 42. “Walking…” only made it to number 70.
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That is surprising. They were an L.A. band, so they punched above their weight there.
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Spotify has had me listening to a bunch of bands I’d never previously heard of. Lately it’s been a lot of Chamber of Reflection by Mac Demarco. That and a few Neon Indian and Tame Impala songs.
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Can’t Buy a Thrill.
Entire album.
Sirius XM: Ozzy’s Boneyard. -
The best thing to chill in traffic, Audible. Back when I was single I would read 15-20 books/year. When I got married, that changed to 5-10 books/year. When I had a child it went to zero. Now I catch up on my reading while sitting in traffic. I can get through about a book a month, depending on book length. Usually only in the afternoons, in the morning I switch between the local new/talk/traffic station and NPR.
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Similar but podcasts. Great for driving a car where the radio doesn’t work, but has a USB input.
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“When I had a child it went to zero.”
Go, Dog. Go! isn’t a book?
http://kinderbooks.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/978039480020211.jpg-
I guess I should have clarified, novels or at least books without pictures.
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(warning, long rambling and probably nonsensical post to follow)
First off, I don’t have to worry about traffic, except for county fair week.
However, for relaxing drive music – a French fellow named Francis Cabrel. Who the hell is that you ask? My answer is, I don’t know. See, we only have 3 radio stations. 1 plays pop music (and I LOATHE pop music), another plays current country which is nothing more than pop music with lyrics about drinking in a corn field (I bet none of those ‘artists’ have ever seen a corn field other than from their tour bus) and the third plays the same 7 classic rock songs over and over again – I mean I really like Highway to Hell, but not all the damn time. The other aspect of our local radio is that all programming will take a backseat to highschool sports broadcasts, or youth hockey broadcasts.
So with that background, I’ll tell this little tale. One afternoon I was doing something out in the shop. I wanted some background music, but my choice was a softball game, a baseball game, or Blake Shelton on the ol’ stereo. Oh but what’s this? There’s a mix tape cassette. No writing. Who is it? Gotta be better than my other options. What is this? It sounds like a cross between mellow Pink Floyd and mellow Dire Straits, but it’s in French. Coool. Where did this come from? Well, back in college days, MiSSus GTXcellent spent a semester studying in France, and this guy was apparently THE GUY. She had this long forgotten mix tape – now he’s on heavy rotation, and just puts a smile on my face. Even if I have no idea what he’s singing about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1ET6SEtwbc -
I don’t do “chill” in traffic. If traffic is moving, I want something aggressive and energetic, like Supercharger Heaven by White Zombie. If traffic is stopped, I want something nauseatingly upbeat, like Pharrell’s Happy. Redirecting my energy works better for me than trying to suppress it. You can’t have road rage singing along to Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe.
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One of my, “ashamed I like it”, songs is Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA”. So I like your thinking here.
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My playlist in my car is usually my “3 star mix”. It has become rather complicated, but it’s rotating (once it plays, the song is taken off the list upon the next sync, which is usually every night). I have playlists for 5, 4, and 3 star music that feed into this that. A 5 star song will get played 2-3 times a month. A 4 star song once every 1-2 months. A 3 star song, 1-2 times every year. I also have playlist for “new” songs so they get played more often.
I do sit in traffic a lot, but playing any song I can sing to helps out. -
After spending the last four hours running around Philly for work I can tell you that Chris Cornell/ Audio Slave/ Soundgarden is not it. Between texters and general rude and inattentive drivers I really want to punch someone right now.
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Luckily I don’t have to deal with much traffic. But…traffic or not, if it’s time to calm down? Beethoven’s 6th.
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I maybe misunderstood the question? -
I like an eclectic mix of music and one of the best is Radio Paradise. I’ve listened to it for many years and it’s still programed by a real person.
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This is my ultimate “be in the moment” Zen song. While I am not personally from the Flint Hills, one side my wife’s family is and I’ve considered the family farmstead a second home for three decades or more. It’s also one of our favorite riding areas.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f5da20adba13539d6469a23688ff32a413cefd1bee0b5a20ac2f537417f5427b.jpg -
Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac
Gangsta whitewalls
TV antennas in the back
You may not have a car at all
But remember brothers and sisters
You can still stand tall
Just be thankful for what you got
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDTXljIqxRE -
In the few occasions I drive in the cities and have to deal with traffic, I usually pop in the Division Bell album by Pink Floyd.
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Actually, the best song for mellowing out while stuck in traffic IS a Traffic song.
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The only music I want while driving is the sweet, sweet sound of no mechanical components announcing either their imminent or their actual failure.
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