Road Trip Music - We're Headed to Hell in the Handbasket

In college, I was known for making mixed tapes. I did it religiously and with a zeal usually reserved for introverted, emo high schools kids. Every tape had a theme and I spent days painstakingly calculating how to create the perfect music experience on that little cassette. When I set out with MirMir and Bess for Hell, Michigan, I jumped at the opportunity to create a mixed tape that would capture the "hellish" experience.

The original "We're Headed to Hell in a Handbasket" was actually a mixed tape. I mean literally, a mixed tape. The car we borrowed didn't have a CD player and this is before it was common for an iPod to be able to hook up to a car stereo, so as much as it might be showing my age I actually did make a mixed tape for this road trip. But time has passed, technology has improved and despite my resistance to the change I have begun to make mp3 playlists rather than mixed tapes.

So in honor loving honor of my road trip to Hell, I have made a new hell playlist with some newer music, some old classics, and in a format that more people will be able to use.

"We're Headed to Hell in a Handbasket" Playlist
1. “Run Devil Run” Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
2. “Devil Went Down to Georgia” Charlie Daniel’s Band
3. “The Devil in Mexico” Murder by Death
4. “Hell’s Bells” AC/DC
5. “Bat Out of Hell” Meatloaf
6. “Highway to Hell” AC/DC

7. "Devil's Dance Floor" Flogging Molly
8. “Hell on Wheels” Betty Blowtorch
9. “Devil with the Black Dress On” Jack off Jill
10. “Your Sweet Six Six Six” HIM
11. “Rock and Roll ‘69” Betty Blowtorch
12. “Sacrilege” Otep
13. “Sanctuary” My Ruin
14. “Heaven’s a Lie” Lacuna Coil

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Road Trip Memories - Hell, Michigan

On Tuesday, I told you some of my favorite road trip blogs and mentioned I have traveled before with the bloggers of The Unplanned Misadventures of MirMir and Bess. It only seems fair that I should also share one of my favorite road trip destinations and the greatest roadside attraction I have ever seen - Hell. That's right. I went to Hell.

My friend Bess was a film major and working on a documentary about Hell as a place. She interviewed some religious authorities on what Hell may be as a location and then decided that MirMir and I should accompany her on a weekend trip to a little town called Hell, Michigan. We borrowed a car from MirMir's relatives and pasted a sign on the window that said, "The Handbasket," so we could go to hell in a handbasket. We then tapped a little statute of Buddy Christ (a "Dogma" reference for those who don't know) to the compass on the dashboard so we could ask Jesus which way to Hell. And I made mix tapes combining the best songs about hell that I could think of. We were off to Hell!

After a brief stop in Indiana for a speeding ticket, we made excellent time and reached the tiny town of Hell rather quickly. Hell, for those wondering, is cold in the winter. Very cold and very drizzly (For those wondering, Hell does freeze over in the winter). The town actually consisted of three buildings - a general store, an ice cream store, and a gift shop. We went to the gift shop first for souvenirs and so Bess could interview the proprietor about it was like to work in Hell. Unfortunately, the ice "screamery" was closed so our plan of getting frozen treats in Hell was quickly foiled. But we did discover you can buy postcards in the general store and send them so the postmark will read from Hell (for an extra dollar, they will also singe the edges of the card, because what is Hell without hellfire?)

Our trip was short because it started to drizzle (apparently it rains in Hell) and I was incredibly sick. But we loaded up on local wine with devilish names (Witches Brew, for those wondering) and headed to our nearby motel. Unfortunately, you can't stay overnight in Hell but there are plenty of places nearby where you can find a cheap room. We caused a bit of a stir in our little motel as we marched up to our room carrying several bags of camera equipment. It took us about ten minutes to understand why the employees were looking at us funny. After all, what would you think a bunch of young girls were doing with a camera in a motel room? I'm guessing you wouldn't think they were making a documentary about Hell.

When we got home, Bess filmed the final credits for the film which consisted of us singing an old road trip song appropriate for the occasion. It goes a little something like this:

I don't care if it rains or freezes

Long as I got my plastic Jesus

Sitting on the dashboard of my car (of my car)

He's got style and he's got class

Got a genuine magnet on his ass

He's hollow and I use him for a flask

Road Trip Memories - Somewhere in Indiana (On Our Way to Michigan)

When I was in college, I had two of the coolest friends in the world - Bess and Mir Mir. Bess was studying film and wanted to do a documentary for a class about Hell. She interviewed numerous religious authorities about Hell as a place. She decided the narrative of the film would be our trip to Hell, Michigan. That's right, we were going to Hell!

We went all out in preparation. Mir Mir borrowed a car and we taped a figurine of Buddy Christ to the dashboard compass so we could yell "Which way to Hell, Jesus?" I put together some mix tapes to celebrate our road trip in an appropriate fashion (meaning a lot of AC/DC). The coup de gras was a cardboard sign tapped to the window - The Handbasket. We were going to Hell in the Handbasket!


We set off for Hell early one morning, AC/DC blasting on the radio as we left the big city of Chicago behind for the open highway of Indiana. But it came to a quick and sudden halt when we were pulled over by Indiana Highway Patrol. All highway cops have the same walk, they put their thumbs in the pockets and point to their packages as they saunter up to your car - keeping in mind their packages are at the drivers eye level. Even their wide legged slow approach is perverse.

After taking his time to approach the car, the cop leaned over to Mir Mir in the driver's seat and said, "Where are you in such a hurry to?" Bess shot me the dirtiest look in the world. I curled up in the backseat and covered my mouth. I wanted to say it, oh god, I wanted to say it! Mir Mir got a speeding ticket which we laughed about and as soon as the cop walked away I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"We're in a hurry to get to Hell, officer!"