Sorry for the delay in posting this, folks. Turns out I’ve had to unfortunately deal with a few of my rough, tough, existential fears over the last couple of months, which is one of the reasons why it’s been so quiet around these parts. Anyway, onto the list — I’ll keep it short & sweet:

1. Elvis Costello, “Veronica”
   This is the most deceptively peppy song I’ve ever heard. Co-written by Paul McCartney, it’s an absolutely heartbreaking portrait of losing someone to a form of dementia like Alzheimer’s.
2. Manic Street Preachers, “Ocean Spray”
   The first song that singer James Dean Bradfield wrote for the Manics is their most direct single ever. In it, he details sitting at his mother’s bedside while she dies in hospital, pleading for her to “stay awake.” This song will level you, especially if you’ve ever had to watch a loved one deteriorate in a hospital.
3. David Bowie, “My Death”
   Every once in a while, I have a multi-day case of insomnia thanks to a dream about my death. Been a while since I’ve had one, but hearing Bowie’s song again today will likely mean a sleepless holiday season for me.
4. Eels, “The Stars Shine In The Sky Tonight”
   E unfortunately seems to specialize in elegiac laments, and this number from the often overlooked Blinking Lights and Other Revelations packs a whallop: never has the feeling of being left behind after the loss of a loved one been more vivid.
5. Tom Waits, “The Earth Died Screaming”
   Waits’ description of the apocalypse is as unsettling as the arrangement.
6. David Bowie, “Always Crashing The Same Car”
   The fear of getting into an accident is the biggest reason I finally got my driver’s license at 32.
7. Pearl Jam, “Hey Foxymophandlemama, That’s Me”
   The only really creepy song on my list, PJ veered into “Revolution 9″ territory with this nightmare-inducing sonic pastiche. I first heard it late at night while listening to my vinyl copy of Vitalogy for the first, and, until compiling this list, only time. Unsettling stuff.

Download: Elvis Costello, “Veronica” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Manic Street Preachers, “Ocean Spray” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: David Bowie, “My Death” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Eels, “The Stars Shine In The Sky Tonight” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Tom Waits, “The Earth Died Screaming” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: David Bowie, “Always Crashing The Same Car” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Pearl Jam, “Hey Foxymophandlemama, That’s Me” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download all the songs in a handy ZIP file:

Download: “Nachtmares!” (ZIP)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Not much to say about this one, it’s just as the intro post describes: songs that get me pumped up, motivated, inspired, etc. I’ve already posted plenty of vim and vigor on other playlists, but this category finally opens things up for me to include a few of my favorite songs of all time.

1. David Bowie, “Suffragette City”
There are few more kick-ass rock songs than this, a timeless classic that ties together everything from boogie woogie and the blues-riff roots of rock-n-roll through the analog synth glee of glam rock. KISS tried, over and over, for friggin’ decades, to come up with something to sum up Detroit Rock City better than this song by an British omnisexual former folkie named Davy Jones - and failed. Deal with it.

2. St. Germain, “Rose Rouge”
Cool modern sample-based hypnotic jazz mantra. I used to hear this every Wednesday morning on Emerson College’s WERS radio station while I was getting the store ready for “New Arrival Day”, and it helped the day get going with a spring in my step.

3. The Modern Lovers, “Roadrunner”
I’ve mentioned this song a bunch of times before - it’s just one of my favorite songs and has an energy that can instantly improve my state of mind.

4. Peter Gabriel, “A Different Drum”
This is from one of my favorite albums, Peter Gabriel’s music for “The Last Temptation Of Christ”.

5. Sniff ‘n’ The Tears, “Driver’s Seat”
Okay here we go. This is, with no apologies or qualifications, my favorite song of all time. It came out in 1979, I taped it off the radio, listened to it incessantly, was under the misconception that it was by The Cars, found it on 45 quite by accident at a library sale a few years later, and then finally got it on CD when it showed up on the soundtrack for “Boogie Nights”. I don’t know why it’s my favorite song, it’s just a combination of entering my life when I was at the impressionable age of 7, and featuring bits of things representative of lots of music I would later love; dancy beat, catchy synchopated chords, analog synths, vocal harmony, nonsensical but vivid word imagery… I guess it was just love at first listen, and I haven’t fallen out of love even thirty years later. Sure it’s got a high cheese factor as well - this was the disco-rock era that gave us stuff like “I Want To Kiss You All Over” and “Dream Weaver”. I don’t care. My love affair with cheese goes back even farther than 1979.

6. Sly & The Family Stone, “Stand!”
The first two thirds of this song are fine, the kind of “you can make it if you try” feel-good emotion that Sly was pumping out into the world at the time. But then the end break kicks in and wow! I’ll still play this over and over in my headphones when I need a pick-me-up and it just jams! I just want to jump up and down when this comes on, no matter how embarrassing it might be to do so on a crowded T platform. The essence of Up And Atom, distilled into a far-too-short-before-it-fades riff. Thank you, Mr. Stone and Family.

Download: David Bowie, “Suffragette City” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: St. Germain, “Rose Rouge” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Modern Lovers, “Roadrunner” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Peter Gabriel, “A Different Drum” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Sniff ‘n’ The Tears, “Driver’s Seat” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Sly & The Family Stone, “Stand!” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

…because 1997 was really the year I “got” music in the way some people “get” religion. When I came to college, my entire CD collection fit into a Nike high-top shoebox. When I left, it occupied about 4 entire milk crates. Some of that growth was due to the late, great BMG CD club (which I joined early and often), but most of it was thanks to Rudi, who didn’t know what kind of monster he was creating when he showed me my first issue of Q magazine. It (and the occasional bundled CDs) opened the door wide to British music, and I quickly became a voracious musical Anglophile.

I’d been a big fan of Brit rock (Oasis, Kula Shaker, and Pulp all spent quality time in my CD player), but Q (and the soundtrack to Trainspotting, too) broadened my horizons past jangly guitars. I quickly distanced myself from the Dave Matthews/Rusted Root scene that thrived on campus and dived head-first into electronica, trip-hop, and British pop. ‘97 was the year I became obsessed with Primal Scream, got into arguments over the merit of Future Sound of London’s “Dead Cities,” and turned my writing for my campus newspaper into a weekly review of the latest & greatest in (for the campus populace at large) obscure British music. Good times.

There’s a lot of music that debuted in ‘97 that I discovered & loved much after the fact (Björk’s Homogenic is a prime example), but I decided to give you a list of exactly where my head was at that year. Hope you dig!

1. Primal Scream, “Burning Wheel”
   I never would have discovered the Scream without the soundtrack to Trainspotting. The wordless titular track on the CD intrigued me, and it lead me to the Scream’s ‘97 album Vanishing Point which blew me completely away — I’d never heard anything like it (which, wonderfully, is par for the course for most Scream albums). This opening track from the album sets the table & sums the it up nicely: equal parts late-60’s Stones, Detroit punk, Madchester dance, and hallucinogenic dub, all of it utterly captivating.
2. The Prodigy, “Breathe”
   Remember the firestorm of controversy around The Prodigy? Misogynistic samples (”Smack My Bitch Up”), aggressive songs (”Firestarter”), and a freaky, frightening public face (Keith Flint) took their ‘97 album The Fat Of The Land to #1 in both the US and UK. It didn’t hurt that Fat is loaded with innovative music that was the first truly popular blending of dance music, rock n’ roll, and punk attitude, too. I do believe our culture has turned a corner, tho: just a couple weeks ago, the NBC show used “Smack My Bitch Up” to accompany a fight between two women on an episode of Chuck.
3. David Bowie, “I’m Afraid Of Americans”
   See? I wasn’t the only person to jump into British techno feet-first: David Bowie made Earthling, a whole album steeped in the (then) current jungle/electronica culture. This tune actually owns a lot to the mutual love-fest between Bowie and NIN’s Trent Reznor that was going on at the time — the menacing, fuzzy guitars and pseudo-industrial sheen of the beat could certainly pass for ‘97-era NIN. Reznor actually remixed this track six times over on a CD single (one version features [oddly] Ice Cube rapping), but I still prefer this original. It’s a great, paranoid song.
4. Texas, “Black Eyed Boy”
   This I discovered thanks to one of Q’s year-end best-of CD compilations — I remember the first time I heard it, thinking “who are Texas, and why do they sound so much like the Supremes?” The answers are (1) they’re a Scottish pop band whose fourth album shot them into the stratosphere in their native UK (White On Blonde hit #1 and spawned 5 British top-10 singles) and (2) it turns out they’re masters of classic-sounding blue-eyed soul, hitting the 60’s-throwback-pop mark a decade before Amy Winehouse made it über-popular. Singer Sharleen Spiteri’s voice is a total knockout, innit?
5. Sneaker Pimps, “Walking Zero”
   ‘97 was also a big year for downtempo trip-hop: Tricky, Portishead, Massive Attack, and Morcheeba all received a lot of attention, but one of my favorite albums of the year flew pretty well under the rader: the Sneaker Pimps’ Becoming X was a very radio-friendly set of tunes thanks to input from the great Nelle Hooper. “6 Underground” got some attention from radio thanks to its appearance on a number of film soundtracks including The Saint and Cruel Intentions, but my favorite cut is this darker, much more ominous song — love the way the big beats mix with the string samples.
6. The Chemical Brothers, “Setting Sun”
   The Chems’ Dig Your Own Hole was the other big British dance album of the year, and nearly the polar opposite of The Prodigy’s aggro Fat of the Land: it was all big beats, psychedelic sounds, and good times. Instrumental cuts like “The Private Psychedelic Reel” and the Grammy-winning “Block Rockin’ Beats” are solid, but the album soars when the Chems are joined by guest vocalists. Oasis’ Noel Gallagher takes the mic on “Setting Sun,” and the resulting creation is a nifty slice of rough-edged “Tomorrow Never Knows”-inspired techno.
7. The Rolling Stones, “Saint Of Me”
   Bowie wasn’t the only oldie looking for a jolt of youth this year — the Stones recruited hot shots like hte Dust Brothers and Danny Saber to augment their then-standard Don-Was-supplied sound to mixed results. This Dust Brothers-produced tune was the high point of the Bridges to Babylon album, the gospel-inflected mirror image of “Sympathy for the Devil.” The personnel on the song is an interesting mix of band members & guests: Keith Richards is not on the track, so guitar duties are handled by Ronnie Wood and Waddy Wachtel, a member of Keith’s X-Pensive Winos side project; and that’s Me’Shell Ndegeocello filling in on bass.

Download: Primal Scream, “Burning Wheel” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Prodigy, “Breathe” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: David Bowie, “I’m Afraid Of Americans” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Texas, “Black Eyed Boy” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Sneaker Pimps, “Walking Zero” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Chemical Brothers, “Setting Sun” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Saint Of Me” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

So given that the songs this month are so rich in narrative detail, I think I’ll spend more time telling you about where the songs are from and less about their content — let the storytellers do their job, no?

1. Stars, “One More Night”
   Easily the most arresting thing on 2005’s Set Yourself on Fire, this tale sex amidst a crumbling relationship is given weight thanks to a jaw-droppingly gorgeous melody and the subdued back-and-forth vocals of Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell.
2. The Hold Steady, “Chillout Tent”
   It took until last year’s Boys and Girls in America album for me to find Craig Finn’s voice palatable (in both the literal and figurative senses). Thankfully, on Boys Finn learned to sing instead of just talk into the mic. A dash of Dave Pirner vocals doesn’t hurt, either.
3. Willie Nelson (with Merle Haggard), “Pancho and Lefty”
   I thought, “well, if Matt is going to take Johnny Cash for his list, I’m going to make sure Willie is representin’ on my list.” Then I discovered that Matt didn’t, in fact, include a Cash song, but I stuck with Willie anyway, because nothing’s better than two outlaws singing about two outlaws.
4. The Rolling Stones, “Prodigal Son”
   The Stones were at their delta-bluesiest on this stripped-down retelling of the biblical story from ’68’s Beggar’s Banquet.
5. The Gourds, “Ziggy Stardust”
   Obviously “Ziggy” would make it on my list, but I decided to pick the most oddball version I could find. This one comes from The Gourds, a hayseed quintet who got well-known after an awesome bluegrass cover of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin & Juice” hit the intarwebs a few years back. This cover comes from a tribute disc included with Uncut magazine a few years back, which made it into my collection courtesy Rudi.
6. Eels, “Jungle Telegraph”
   Every time I hear this song, I think of the classic Bugs Bunny ‘toon Gorilla My Dreams, where he gets adopted by a family of apes. Much swinging through trees ensues.
7. Garth Brooks, “Papa Loved Mama”
   This I couldn’t resist. It’s 2:52 of awesomely clichéd redneck revenge courtesy the (frankly) most cosmopolitan of modern country singers.
8. Paul Simon, “Darling Lorraine”
   Rudi & I were treated to this song’s first (partial) public airing when we went to a New Yorker Festival event where David Denby (right?) interviewed Simon in advance of the release of You’re The One. Simon whipped out a boom box & played most of the unfinished song to the assembled crowd. Very cool.

Enjoy the tunes!

Download: Stars, “One More Night” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Hold Steady, “Chillout Tent” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Willie Nelson (with Merle Haggard), “Pancho and Lefty” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Prodigal Son” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Gourds, “Ziggy Stardust” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Eels, “Jungle Telegraph” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Garth Brooks, “Papa Loved Mama” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Paul Simon, “Darling Lorraine” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

One look at the list, and folks who know me must be wondering, “where the Stones at?” Don’t worry, you’ll get lots of that in a couple of weeks. For now, tho, here are the live tracks that jumped in my noggin when we settled on this theme — enjoy:

1. Bob Dylan, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” (from Live at the Gaslight, 1962)
   The Bootleg Series has been a boon for fans of his Bobness, and nearly every release has been loaded with live recordings of historical importance (Dylan plugs in back in 1966, the early home recordings on the No Direction Home soundtrack) or impressive power (his amazing duets with Joan Baez from 1964, the pre-release runthrough of Desire with his Rolling Thunder Revue), but my favorite of his live recordings came from Starbucks. Live at the Gaslight 1962 was released by the coffee chain’s Hear Music label, and it collects a handful of performances recorded at the historic Gaslight cafe in Greenwich Village. It presents a very different Dylan than most people know and recognize: young Bob is sharp, his singing is clear and (for him) tuneful, and the setting (and resulting recording) is intimate. There’s no crowd noise, a feature of the location and time (most folk recordings from that era I’ve heard feature — or, more accurately, don’t feature — a rapt, silent audience), just Bob & his guitar. This version of “Don’t Think Twice…” blows away any other version I’ve heard, and it really makes me wish I could have experienced him back then.
2. The Band, “The Weight” (from The Last Waltz, 1976)
   The godfathers of American roots rock were this bunch of mostly-Canadians, who started life as The Hawks, backing up the legendary Ronnie Hawkins, and eventually became The Band, who were propelled to fame by backing Bob Dylan when he first plugged in in 1966. Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Levon Helm, and Rick Danko became legends in their own right thanks to classic albums like Music From Big Pink and their self-titled sophomore set, and memorable singles like “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “Up On Cripple Creek,” “The Shape I’m In,” and this song, which is arguably their calling card. When the group decided to break up in 1976, they decided to go out in style by staging a mammoth live show at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom (the night was filmed by Martin Scorsese), and invited all their famous musical friends to join them. The show featured a veritable who’s who of my Mom’s record collection — Ronnie Hawkins, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Neil Young, Muddy Waters, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan — and the group ran through all of their hits and some of their guests’. The resulting live album and concert film had a lengthy tracklisting, but it only presented about 3/5 of the whole show. A boxed set released in 2002 presented the whole show, including this performance of “The Weight” which didn’t make the cut for the original double-album. No guests, just The Band doing their thing, relishing every minute of it — amazing stuff.
3. David Bowie & Nine Inch Nails, “Scary Monsters” (from Live. Inside, October 1995)
   Like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of musical awesomeness, Bowie & Reznor joined forces for an arena tour in 1995, with Bowie supporting his Eno collaboration Outside and Reznor still behind The Downward Spiral. NIN opened each show, and there was crossover each night as Bowie’s band came onstage, with both outfits merging to play some Bowie & NIN songs together. “Scary Monsters” always seemed like one of the more fierce numbers in Bowie’s canon, but the addition of Reznor’s raw vocals and NIN’s industrial sheen, the song practically roars.
4. Sam Cooke, “Chain Gang” (from One Night Stand: Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963)
   I’d never heard a live Cooke recording until about a year ago when I discovered One Night Stand, and it was a revelation. The power of his voice was never in question, but his studio recordings always struck me as immaculately controlled. That’s why hearing him live is so impressive — he’s got amazing stage presence, and the show practically oozes raw energy, enthusiasm, and excitement. This rendition of “Chain Gang” completely transforms the song from pleasant golden oldie into something unexpectedly sweaty and vibrant.
5. Aimee Mann, “The Scientist” (from the Lost In Space deluxe edition)
   Lord knows I’m no fan of the Coldplay, but thank goodness for Aimee Mann, whose gorgeous voice and canny arrangement transform Chris Martin’s somewhat cloying song into something really special in this live setting. A gigantic improvement on the original.
6. Pearl Jam, “Yellow Ledbetter” (from Seattle, Washington - November 6, 2000)
   I think Pearl Jam are one of the best live bands still working today. I’ve only seen them once, but I can confidently they know how to work a crowd, and can blow the doors off a big venue like nobody’s business. I also really appreciate their attitude towards live recordings — they’ve released excellent, official “bootlegs” of nearly every live show they’ve done since 2000 at bargain prices (they retailed around $12 a pop). This rendition of perennial show-closer “Yellow Ledbetter” is a special one: it was recorded in their home town at the last stop of their 2000 US tour, and guitarist Mike McCready deftly weaves in some licks from Hendrix’s classic “Little Wing” near the end. And now that I think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard the studio version of “Ledbetter,” but that’s okay — it certainly couldn’t top this.

Download: Bob Dylan, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” (from Live at the Gaslight, 1962 — mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Band, “The Weight” (from The Last Waltz, 1976 — mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: David Bowie & Nine Inch Nails, “Scary Monsters” (from Live. Inside, October 1995 — mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Sam Cooke, “Chain Gang” (from One Night Stand: Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 — mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Aimee Mann, “The Scientist” (from the Lost In Space deluxe edition — mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Pearl Jam, “Yellow Ledbetter” (from Seattle, Washington - November 6, 2000 — mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Gluttony. Here’s what’s filling us up:

UNKLE Matt:
Depeche Mode, “Just Can’t Get Enough (Schizo mix)”
Unfortunately, The Fat Boys’ “All You Can Eat” really just isn’t that good a song.

The Man(del) from UNCLE:
Mousercise, “Pig Out”
This cute, corny song was from the 1981 Mousercise album, part of a Walt Disney Records trilogy that also includes “Mickey Mouse Disco” and “Splashdance.” “Mousercise” was the Disney company’s attempt to cash in on the fitness club craze spearheaded by Richard Simmons and Olivia Newton John’s “Physical.” The album came with a booklet that had illustrated exercises that kids could do with the songs. I still find it ironic that an album about fitness had a song called “Pig Out.”

Uncle Sam:
David Bowie, “Cracked Actor”
Bowie’s Ziggy-era ode to Hollywood excess (both chemical and carnal) is about as elegantly filthy as he’d ever get. This live version — recorded in 2000, about 25 years after the original — shows that even an old dog can still overindulge with the best of them.

Onkel Rudi:
The Beatles, “Savoy Truffle”
George Harrison gets his lyrics from a box of chocolates, and sums up the body’s response to such a feast of cocoa goodness: massive indigestion.

Download: Depeche Mode, “Just Can’t Get Enough (Schizo mix)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Mousercise, “Pig Out” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: David Bowie, “Cracked Actor” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Beatles, “Savoy Truffle” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

This challenge was full of…. challenges. And originally I’d planned to make this a “mega-mix,” where each song flows into the other in seamless bliss.

But two things stood in the way - one practical, one more esoteric.

The first thing to note is that Ringo is very much a “feel” drummer. His tempo wavers a bit (”Drive My Car” varies between 122 and 124 beats per minute), but the songs always seem to be “just right.” And Ringo would be the first to admit that other drummers can carry a better, more consistent tempo. That said, the tempo variation gave me a bit of wiggle room to select songs for a fun playlist.

Secondly, citing any song by The Beatles was bound to make me smile - and incessantly ponder the right songs to list as follow-ups to “Drive My Car.” So I hemmed and hawed over songs for a long time. Even though the list of tempo-compatible songs was short(ish), it took me a long time to find the right order - and even the right performers. Had I wanted to, I could’ve made the entire list a bunch of songs by The Beatles, Wings, George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo. But that didn’t seem quite right, however fun (and easy) that would’ve been.

So I present this list as a starting point - and one that’ll get you 24-or-so minutes along in your journey.

1. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” - The Beach Boys
   From the same basic time period as “Drive My Car” comes this Brian Wilson song that also happens to be an ideal driving song. Even though Pet Sounds is a very moody, melancholy album, this song still brings forth the image of driving along the California coast - and what’s not to like about that?
2. “Lucky Town” - Bruce Springsteen
   Bruce wrote one of the better cruising songs - “Blinded By The Light,” which became a hit for Manfred Mann - so it stands to reason that he would record more songs that invoke the feel of a good drive. “Lucky Town” is from one of Bruce’s “twin albums” from the early 1990s, Lucky Town and Human Touch. The former album is mostly uptempo songs, while the latter is more mellow fare. The story of going “down to lucky town” seems to work well for a wheeled journey.
3. “You Just May Be The One” - The Monkees
   This song is one that is seldom seen as a hit for The Monkees, yet it’s one of their stronger songs. To my mind, it’s all due to the fact that Mike Nesmith wrote the song and closely dictated its arrangement - Papa Nez was perhaps the most musically gifted of the “pre-fab Four.” This version, from one of the Missing Links compilations, is an earlier recording that was used on the TV show - the song was later re-recorded by Nesmith, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork on their superb Headquarters album. On this version, the only Monkee performing an instrument is Nesmith, who plays rhythm guitar.
4. “Straight Shooter” - The Mamas & The Papas
   From If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears, this song has such wonderful harmonies and moves along at a good clip - something that can’t often be said of the output of this crazy, folk-rock group. Enjoy the wall of sound as you cruise down the highway.
5. “On And On And On” - ABBA
   Ah - Scandinavian disco at its best. Benny Andersson and Bjørn Ulvaeus are a potent writing team - on a par with Lennon-McCartney, John-Taupin, Nanker-Phelge and Wilson-Love in terms of being able to churn out well-crafted, eminently hummable songs that aren’t pure bubble-gum pop pap. This song encourages any driver to keep moving, on and on and on…
6. “Rebel Rebel” - David Bowie
   An ode to cross-dressing and sexual ambiguity wrapped up in a rocking package - one of David Bowie’s most enduring and rocking numbers, and one that forever ears him a place on my “must-have” driving playlist.
7. “She’s A Rejecter” - Of Montreal
   Just to show that I’m not completely stuck in the pre-modern days, there’s this gem of a track from Atlanta’s Of Montreal. Their arrangements are odd and sometimes most discordant, but they know how to establish a good beat.

Enjoy - and don’t crash along the way!

Download: “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” - The Beach Boys (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Lucky Town” - Bruce Springsteen (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “You Just May Be The One” - The Monkees (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Straight Shooter” - The Mamas & The Papas (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “On And On And On” - ABBA (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Rebel Rebel” - David Bowie (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “She’s A Rejecter” - Of Montreal (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Onkel Rudi’s “Drive (if you want to)” (XML Playlist)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

The whole thing is available as a single ZIP file for one-stop-shopping:

Download: “Drive (if you want to)” (ZIP)
(Click here for download instructions)