Road Trip Music - Cue the Theme Music Playlist

The last month has been extremely difficult for me. Between two weeks of final exams and starting new jobs, there have been some mornings as I drive to school or work that I'm just not sure I can make it through another day. That's when its time to cue the theme music. When I was in high school, my friends and I had those songs we would play as loud as possible in the car just to get our spirits up. Our favorite was "Minority" by Green Day. We always felt better about life as we shouted the lyrics out the window.

As I've gotten older, I still have theme music that I love to yell out the window. And so to get me through these past several weeks, I made a playlist to keep my spirits up.

"Cue the Theme Music" Playlist

1. "Don't Stop Believin'" Journey
2. "Carry On My Wayward Son" Kansas
3. "Free Bird" Lynard Skynard
4. "You Give Love a Bad Name" Bon Jovi
5. "Gimmee Three Steps" Lynard Skynard
6. "Smoke on the Water" Deep Purple
7. "All My Life" Foo Fighters
8. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Nirvana
9. "Cold Hard B****" Jet
10. "Back in Black" AC/DC
11. "Whole Lotta Love" Led Zepplin
12. "Don't Fear the Reaper" Blue Oyster Cult
13. "Simple Kind of Man" Lynard Skynard
14. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" Rolling Stones

Photo Source

Roadtrip Music - St. Patrick's Day Soundtrack

Back in my younger days, I was quite fond of whiskey, bourbon, and scotch. While other girls my age were sipping on cocktails and martinis, I was nursing a neat glass of Talisker single malt scotch aged 10 years or maybe just knocking back some Jack Daniels. But over time, my love has waned. More accurately, my ability to bounce back from a night of drinking has significantly deceased throughout the years. But once a year (and only once a year), I still drink whiskey.

And that time is tonight: St. Patrick's Day.

My relationship with St. Patrick's Day is a little difficult. While I think it is a great day to celebrate Irish heritage or just get blind drunk, I am not Irish. I am Scottish. When I was little, my grandmother on my mother's side would sit me down with her and tell me about our Scottish heritage. My family has also embraced our heritage. One of the funniest things I've ever seen was my parent's reaction when they found out my sister was dating a guy with the last name "Cromwell." (For those who don't get why that's funny, brush up on your European history a little). In pursuit of my Scottish roots, I actually spent some time living in Edinburgh and reading Scottish literature. Suffice it to say: I'm really, really into being Scottish.

So tonight I will be wearing my shirt that says, "Suck It, I'm Scottish" and joining my friends with a glass of whiskey to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. And of course, I have made a playlist to drink to.

Let's Drink Until We Can't Feel Feelings Playlist

1. "Kentucky Bourbon" Murder by Death
2. "As Long as There is Whiskey in the World" Murder by Death
3. "Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)" The Doors
4. "Bottle of Jesus" Beth Heart
5. "My Alcoholic Friends" Dresden Dolls
6. "Alcohol" Gogol Bordello
7. "When the Heat Dies Down" The Kaiser Chiefs
8. "Leeds United" Amanda Palmer
9. "The Seven Deadly Sins" Flogging Molly
10. "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" Dropkick Murphys
11. "Drunken Lullabies" Flogging Molly
12. "The Spicy McHaggis Jig" Dropkick Murphys
13. "Another Irish Drinking Song" Da Vinci's Notebook

Road Trip Music - "Light It Up!" Playlist

A new year and time for a new playlist! Many of my playlists tend to center around a theme I accidentally discover in my collection of music. This time, it was fire. As I was listening to Franz Ferdinand's "This Fire" for what must have been the ten millionth time, I realized that many of my songs have a similar focus on flames. So I decided, for my New Year's Eve adventures, to compile a playlist of burning hot music to light my way through my nighttime adventures. And now I'm pleased to share it, for those also inclined towards scorching music.

"Light It Up!" Playlist

1. "Danger! High Voltage" Electric Six
2. "Start the Fire" No Doubt
3. "This Fire" Franz Ferdinand
4. "We Didn't Start the Fire" Billy Joel
5. "Pistol of Fire" Kings of Leon
6. "London Calling" The Clash
7. "Fire" Jimi Hendrix
8. "Light My Fire" The Doors
9. "Ring of Fire" Johnny Cash
10. "Playing with Fire" Shannon Curfman
11. "Smoke on the Water" Deep Purple
12. "Ash" Murder by Death
13. "Lake of Fire" Nirvana
14. "The Desert is On Fire" Murder by Death
15. "Ampersand" Amanda Palmer
16. "Streets of Fire" The New Pornographers
17. "Fiery Crash" Andrew Bird
18. "Run" Snow Patrol

Photo Source

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

Photo Source

Road Trip Music - "Sometimes I Wonder About You" Playlist

It's officially October, my favorite time of year! The weather starts getting cooler and crisper, the leaves start changing, and it is the one month I can dress up like a zombie and nobody looks at me funny. That's right. I dress up like a zombie. Next week, I'll be posting about my trips to local Zombie Walks in Lawrence and in Kansas City. And soon I'll be posting about my trip with my favorite tourist-ing partner Anna to Tempe, Arizona for the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Fest. So in preparation for a month of creepy road-trips, I thought I would share a creepy music playlist.

There is a story behind this playlist's name. If the fact I dress up like a zombie didn't clue you in, I'll say it now: I'm weird. I love horror movies, ghost stories, and all things slightly creepy. This has a tendency to disturb my family. One day, I was at my parents house, reading on the couch. My father came in and asked what I was reading. I showed him my book, "Stiff: The Fascinating Lives of Human Cadavers." My father stared at me for a moment before finally saying, "Sometimes I wonder about you." Then he walked away.

So I have made the "Sometimes I Wonder About You" Playlist, a soundtrack to all my creepy roadtrip adventures this month. It includes songs about mayhem, murder, zombies, and just plain freaky stuff. Because this is a rather...um, creepy?...playlist, I do not recommend it for anyone under the age of 18 and I definitely do not recommend it for anyone without a morbid sense of humor. That being said, enjoy!

"Sometimes I Wonder About You" Playlist

1. "Walk Like a Zombie" HorrorPops

2. "Devil with the Black Dress On" Jack Off Jill

3. "Missfit" HorrorPops

4. "Super Sadist" Jack Off Jill

5. "Highway55" HorrorPops

6. "In Old Yellowcake" Rasputina

7. "Hitchcock Starlet" HorrorPops

8. "The Curse of Millhaven" Nick Cave

9. "Rumbrave" Murder by Death

10. "Jack Killed Mom" Jenny Lewis

11. "Killbot2000" Murder by Death

12. "Psycho Therapy" The Ramones

13. "Eet The Children" Otep

14. "Prison Song" System of a Down

15. "Sacrilege" Otep

16. "I Wish You's Die" Betty Blowtorch

17. "T.R.I.C." Otep

18. "Mis Ann Thrope" My Ruin

19. "Menocide" Otep

20. "The Crimson" Atreyu

21. "That Crown Don't Make You a Prince" Murder By Death

22. "'O'Malley's Bar" Nick Cave

23. "'52 Ford" Murder By Death

24. "Holloway Jail" The Kinks

25. "Crazy People" The Wreckers

26. "Henry Lee" Nick Cave

27. "Down in the Willow Garden" Kristin Hersh

28. "Death is Not the End" Nick Cave

The Record Bar - Kansas City, MO

There are many reasons I travel - to experience new things, to see things I've never seen before - but one of the big reasons I travel is for music (if my recent trip to Bonner Springs wasn't a clue). So when I heard one of my favorite bands, Murder By Death, was playing at The Record Bar in Kansas City a few weeks ago, I dropped everything and jumped into my car.

I first heard Murder By Death when I was sixteen. They were opening for Thursday in Tulsa, Oklahoma (and by admitting I was at a Thursday show I know I am revealing my age). Their first album, "Like the Exorcist, But More Break Dancing" had just come out and their stage show was amazing. The album immediately sold out at the merch table and I was lucky enough to spend some time talking with the keyboardist. Mostly because I yelled, "Neil Simon!" when I saw him. (For those who don't know, "Murder By Death" is a play written by Neil Simon and later made into a film by Robert Moore.) He told me I was the second person to ever get the reference.

Since I was sixteen, they have released many more amazing albums (my favorites being "Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left of Them" and "Red of Tooth and Claw"). I have remained a serious fan and was thrilled to see them live for the first time in years. I was also excited because the show was at The Record Bar, my favorite bar music venue in Kansas City. Anyone who has been to a show at a bar knows there are certain advantages and disadvantages to a smaller venue. The concert is more intimate and you can really feel yourself being part of the musical performance and the crowd, it becomes a full-sensory experience. But the downsides are always overcrowding and the typical drunk guy who wanders through the crowd spilling his twelfth beer.

But a show at The Record Bar is worth traveling for. First, it has a parking lot. While most shows at a Westport bar require driving in circles for thirty minutes looking for a street parking spot, The Record Bar is in a small shopping center so there is always somewhere to park. No long, dangerous walks back to my car!

Second, the staff is incredible. Every time I have been there for a show, the bartenders have always been kind and helpful. The night of the Murder By Death show, maybe too much. You see, I don't drink whiskey anymore. In my early twenties, I could put away Jack Daniels with the best of them. But now I'm older and wiser and my liver simply can't take it. But because most of Murder By Death's songs are about whiskey and bourbon, I decided to have one. Well, the lovely bartender declared me his "shot buddy." Next thing I know, he's pouring me shot after shot of free Jack Daniels! How do you say no to free alcohol? I couldn't and enjoyed a few, although I certainly felt them with a wicked vengance the next day.

Third, it's easy to get a cab to The Record Bar. If you are going to drink at The Record Bar (and although the drinks are always over-priced, the variety and selection of drinks makes it likely you will) then don't drive home! Throughout Kansas City, it can be impossible to get a cab, but in Westport and specifically The Record Bar, it is easy. I appreciate any place that has a parking lot where I can leave my car and get a cab home after enjoying a few adult beverages and a great concert.

The Murder By Death show was amazing and The Record Bar was a perfect venue. If you want to travel to see a musical act in Kansas City, I recommend making The Record Bar your road trip destination.

Total Time Traveled: 2 hours

Total Distance Traveled: 84 miles

Soundtrack: "Red of Tooth and Claw" Murder By Death

96.5 Buzz Beachball Festival - Bonner Springs, KS

I rarely listen to the radio when I'm in the car. I usually have a new playlist or CD to listen to when I'm driving. That's probably why I didn't hear about the 96.5 The Buzz Beach Ball festival until the last minute. The lineup for this mini-festival includes: Smashing Pumpkins, Anberlin, Limosines, Civil Twilight, AM Taxi, the Beautiful Bodies, A Silent Film and Six Percent. But none could have made me leave the comfort of my home and drive through the perpetual traffic jam on I-70 except for...(drum roll, please)...Cake!

I was late to the Cake party because I didn't start listening to them until after college, though this alternative rock band has been around since the 1990's. But once I started listening to them, I was hooked. So when I heard they were playing at Buzz Beachball, I paid for my overpriced ticket (and my equally overpriced parking pass), queued up the Cake albums on my iPod, and hit the road!

The crowd at Buzz Beachball ranged from the very drunk preople from small towns, the indie/alternatives showing their piercings and tattoos, teen girls sneaking alcohol, and the occassional thirteen year old who had probably been dropped off by his mom. Luckily, most of the less-than-devoted crowd had been driven away by the bad weather. It wasn't the ideal weather for an outdoor concert. It was the coldest night we have had yet and after an afternoon of rain, it was dark, damp, and cold. It actually made me a little concerned I had only just recovered from allergies to put myself in the perfect situation to catch a cold.

But I forgot all about that when people started screaming and in the dark I could see Cake taking the stage. They opened with "Comfort Eagle," a great song. The lyrics, "We are building a religion," captured my mood as I stopped feeling cold and forgot that I had to keep wiping my nose on my hoodie sleeve because I forgot tissues. Because I was seeking Cake live. And they were awesome. We were building a religion of Cake fandom!

They played some music from their upcoming album that drops 1/11/11, and, as always, it sounds great. Which once again proves that Cake will always continue to produce great music (even if Comfort Eagle will always be my favorite Cake album).

In honor of this amazing musical experience, I though I would share my top five Cake songs for road trips. But if you're also a Cake fan, feel free to comment and suggest your own!

1. The Distance

2. Long Line of Cars

3. Stickshifts and Safetybelts

4. Race Car Ya-Yas

5. Satan in My Motor

Road Trip Music - "Away We Go" (100th Post Soundtrack)

Well, it's official! This is the 100th post on The Yellow Brick Road Trip! And in honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I would share my new road trip soundtrack.

I haven't made a road trip soundtrack in a while, just soundtracks to long hours of studying evidence procedure. So it was nice to think about the music I want to listen to while driving as quickly as I can away school. Some of the songs are repeats from previous mixes, but I think this is a nice way to celebrate 100 posts of vagabonding!

"Away We Go" (100th Post Soundtrack)

1. "Hell on Wheels" Betty Blowtorch

2. "Thelma & Louise" HorrorPops

3. "The Get Away" Pretty Girls Make Graves

4. "Highway 55" HorrorPops

5. "Satan is My Motor" Kaiser Chiefs

6. "Oh My God" Kaiser Chiefs

7. "Take Me Anywhere" Tegan & Sara

8. "A Change Would Do You Good" Sheryl Crow

9. "I Saw a Cop" Jill Sobule

10. "God's Country" Ani DiFranco

11. "All American Girl" Melissa Etheridge

12. "North Carolina" Melissa Ferrick

13. "Everyday is a Winding Road" Sheryl Crow

14. "Nowhere to Go" Melissa Etheridge

15. "LA Song" Beth Hart

16. "Westbound" Melissa Ferrick

17. "Giggling Again For No Reason" Alanis Morissette

18. "I Drove All Night" Cyndi Lauper

19. "Vegas" Sara Bareilles

Road Trip Memories - Hail to the Truck Driver!

For the July 4th weekend, I took a trip down to Oklahoma to see my friend and brother from another mother, Joel. I have known Joel over ten years when we were growing up together in Oklahoma and that is both a wonderful and frightening thing. He’s an amazing friend but I’m also pretty sure he has amassed a significant amount of blackmail material on me over the years.

Much of this blackmail material was probably gathered during church trips. Joel and I both went to the same school but didn’t actually meet until I joined our church youth group. Initially, we hated each other. Or rather, he hated me and I responded in kind. He hated me because I tore up a picture of a 99.9% germ free toilet. Really, that is how we met. We spent the next year disliking each other pretty intensely until we became friends during a church lock-in. We bonded over our love of rule breaking. The group had been given a list of contraband materials so Joel and I bonded over how many we actually had with us. He won by a landslide, but what do you expect from a guy with a gun rack on his truck?

One of the regular church trips Joel and I went on was a ski trip to Wolf Creek in Colorado over Christmas break. We would pass the long ride in the bus by playing games like poker and what-can-Kris-fit-into. (In high school I was barely 5’ 3” and weighed around a hundred pounds so we liked to see what I could squeeze into. For example, we discovered I can fit in most storage spaces on a bus, including the overhead bins.) Joel would also teach us raunchy songs to sing on the slopes.

One song Joel invented to commemorate our church bus run-in with a very angry trucker. Our bus was plodding along the road through a snowstorm, when we seem to have swiped the side mirror of a semi-truck. The trucker was not too happy with us, so he got some buddies to box us in on the side of the road. Suddenly, the bus came to a complete stop. There was a semi in front of us, a semi behind us, and a very angry trucker beside us. With a metal baseball bat, he started bashing the doors and side of the bus. He screamed obscenities and demanded the bus driver come out and face him like a man.

Chaperones began calling the police, some girls squeeled with terror, and a few guys pulled out their pocket knives (I think just in case the truck driver wanted to reenact a fight scene from “West Side Story.”) I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. Meanwhile, Joel wrote a song.

We eventually got on the road again when the other two semis took off, probably when they realized we had called the police. The angry truck driver followed us for a while until we all pulled over to a truck stop where a police officer told the trucker to get over it. Interestingly, we later spent the night in a Love’s truck stop because the snow had made the roads impassable. It crossed my mind several times during the night that our belligerent trucker could be sleeping in his rig somewhere in the same parking lot.

We never did see the angry trucker again, but we kept his memory alive on the slopes. Joel wrote a song we sang all the way down the snowy mountain that weekend. And a song we still sing after a few beers.

Hail to the Truck Driver! Lyrics
(sung to the tune of Hail to the Bus Driver)

Hail to the truck driver, truck driver, truck driver!
Hail to the truck driver, truck driver man!
He drinks and he cusses,
He threatens church buses,
Hail to the truck driver, truck driver man!
He beats on the door,
With a big two-by-four,
Hail to the truck driver, truck driver man!

Roadtrip Music - "You Can Take the Girl Out of the Country, But Not the Red Out of Her Neck"

While on the road, Anna was eager to play with my iPod and to enjoy some good ol' country music. Apparently, her life in Chicago has lacked the twang we had back in Oklahoma. I was happy to oblige with an old playlist I made as an homage to my redneck youth.


"You Can Take the Girl Out of the Country, But Not the Red Out of Her Neck" Playlist

1. "Sweet Home Alabama" - Lynard Skynard
2. "No Riders" - Shannon Curfman
3. "Redneck Woman" - Gretchen Wilson
4. "Hicktown" - Jason Aldean
5. "Broken and Ugly" - Beth Hart
6. "Sin Wagon" - Dixie Chicks
7. "Wild One" - Faith Hill
8. "Way Back Home" - The Wreckers
9. "I Go Back" - Kenny Chesney
10. "Not Ready to Make Nice" - Dixie Chicks
11. "Red Dirt Road" - Brooks and Dunn
12. "My, Oh My" - The Wreckers
13. "How Do You Like Me Now?" - Toby Keith

Roadtrip Music - "Girls Gettin Gone" Mix

Every roadtrip has a soundtrack. In this case, my friends and I each decided to make a mix cd for the road trip. Jessica put together a collection of fun music to sing along to, Kelly couldn't bring hers so brought along the Wicked musical soundtrack for inspirational purposes, while I went the more thematic route. I created a roadtrip mix called "Girls Gettin' Gone" featuring all female performers (mostly acoustic, country and classic) singing about the road.

"Girls Gettin' Gone" Mix
By Kris the Educated Vagabond

1. "All American Girl" - Melissa Etheridge
2. "Everyday is a Winding Road" - Sheryl Crow
3. "Particular Place to Be" - Melissa Ferrick
4. "L.A. Song" - Beth Hart
5. "Freeway" - Aimee Mann
6. "Welcome to my Life" - Melissa Ferrick
7. "Get Out the Map" - Indigo Girls
8. "The Road's My Middle Name" - Bonnie Raitt
9. "Me and Bobby McGee" - Janis Joplin
10. "Get Out of this Town" - Carrie Underwood
11. "Heads Carolina, Tails California" - Jo Dee Messina
12. "The Long Way Around" - Dixie Chicks
13. "Till We Run Out of Road" - Jewel
14. "Cigarettes" - The Wreckers
15. "Vegas" - Sara Bareilles
16. "Giggling Again for No Reason" - Alanis Morissette

So what do you think? Did I forget any really good songs?