Travel Music

The Wife is getting stir crazy and is clamoring to go to the beach, even though she is going in two weeks she wants to go on a trip with me. We are taking a day trip to Wrightsville Beach which is just over two hours away. One of the biggest problems we have while driving is music. The Wife is very main stream, while everything I listen too is slightly different from the norm. This has caused problems while driving long distances and the normal rule is who ever drives gets to pick the music. The problem The Wife has is she doesn't drive that much and midway into a trip will start complaining or makes suggestions that she would rather listen to the radio.

With the downfall of our MP3 radio transmitter death this causes even more problems. I will not listen to radio stations and now we have to pack CDs for the trip. Then I get an idea, I'll make a mixed tape collection for the entire drive. The problem is I have to cut out things that we don't agree on, so no Nirvana, Tragically Hip, Gorillaz or Silversun Pickups and for The Wife no Conway Twitty, New Kids on the Block or Poison. Pretty much that leaves us with a small selections but here is the list and order I came up with.

Ice Ice Baby- Vanilla Ice (She loves it and I'll make her happy and get this one out of the way)
Take on Me- A-HA (Classic)
Pour Some Sugar on Me- Def Leopard (Guilty pleasure and happiness for The Wife)
Inside Out- Eve 6
Brian Wilson- BNL
Walking Barefoot- Ash (Since it has a beach reference I slid this one in)
Karma Chameleon- Culture Club (ugh)
Look Away-Chicago (Don't judge me! I like Chicago)
Iris- Goo Goo Dolls
Desperately Wanting- Better Than Ezra
Rock Me All Night Long- AC/DC (I'm not a fan, but The Wife is)
Love Shack- B52s
Business Time- Flight of the Conchords (Greatest two songs back to back EVER on a mixed tape. Go to youtube and find both songs and see why)
Feralicious-Fergie (This song will never leave my head.... get it out!)
Notorious- Duran Duran
Everlasting God-Lincoln Brewster (Happy Wife equals happy trip)
Pocket Full of Sunshine- Natasha Bedingfield
Island in the Sun- Weezer (Somewhere King Tom is Smiling
Dizzy- Jimmy Eat World
Lovefool-Cardigans
Ladies of the World- Flight of the Conchords
1 2 3 4- Collio (Shut Up)
I've Got the Power- Snap (Fav!)
Fellin So Fly- Toby Mac
Unbelievable- EMF
Dancing Queen- ABBA (Stupid Mama Mia)
Summertime- The Sundays
Be My Yoko Ono- BNL
It's the End of the World-REM
Save Tonight- Eagle Eye Cherry
Vacation- Go Gos (Come on, you know you like it)
Let the Praises Ring- Lincoln Brewster (Happy Wife again)
You Can't Have It All- Ash (I will get a look when this comes on)
Right Behind You- Our Lady Peace
Barely Breathing- Duncan Shiek
Slide- Goo Goo Dolls
Leggy Blonde- Flight of the Conchords- (Greatest ending to a song)
Since U Been Gone- Kelly Clarkson
Love Like This- Natasha Bedingfield
Don't Funk Wit My Heart- Black Eyed Peas
Hungry Like a Wolf- Duran Duran (I think of Old School every time I hear this song)
Pump Up the Jams- Technotronic
Mickey- Toni Basil (Obvious)
Just a Girl- No Doubt
I Want to Fly Away- Lenny Kravitz
Sweetness- Jimmy Eat World
Meant to Live- Switchfoot
Good- Better Than Ezra
Here It Go Again- OK Go
Mysterious Ways- U2
Bring Me to Life- Evanescence
Somethin Somethin- Seven Nations (Celtic rock!)
The Most Beautiful Girl (in the room)- Flight of the Conchords
Girl From Mars- Ash (I'm hoping she's asleep on the return trip by now)
Lucky Denver Mint- Jimmy Eat World
Hurricane- Athlete
Clocks- Coldplay (You know how I know you're gay?)
Chasing Cars- Snow Patrol
All I Want- Toad the Wet Sprocket
Don't Speak- No Doubt
The Middle- Jimmy Eat World
Hiphopopotamus vs Phymenoceros- Flight of the Conchords (I have converted The Wife, she loves them.

The Hardest part of a mixed tape is the flow. The movie High Fidelity explains this process the best, you have to start out strong, mellow out and then hit it harder than the start. Everything has to go in and out seamlessly. If not then it's jarring and if you have too many slow songs in a row then you get bored. To much tempo and you get bored. I think I did a pretty good job for building a list that long in under an hour.