Is it close enough to write about windows down, dial up, sun shining, warm weather songs for the Spring?
Yeah. Probably.
After all, it is still March and I do live in Michigan.
Even though the sun is shining and the air is warming as I write this, it's a few days before I'll post it, and the universe may have sent snow to stamp out our Spring hope by then.
But let's risk it, shall we?
So what will I be cranking when I dive into the car and take the long way around to the grocery store?
The first tune that comes to mind is my favorite road song:
I've spent many late nights driving around while blasting this song. It was my anthem in a time when my childhood friends had moved away and I was a lonely kid floating through Midwest community college. That line, i don't need a girl, don't need a friend, cuz my friend lonesome's unconditional, that lifted my spirit more than any other. If you can't beat it, turn it into a song and scream it at 70mph, right?
Often, on nights when I'd have nowhere else to be, I'd take to the road. All I needed were empty country drives (we had plenty of that) and enough music to keep me going all night. I must have wasted so much gas in those days, driving from town to town, circling corn fields, looping through half the county. I'd make stops at all the townie hang outs, from the beaches of Lake Michigan to the I94 truckstop restaurants, sometimes finding no one and sometimes bumping into my fellow restless wanderers.
Most everyone has an affinity for the underdog in the movies and in sports, but those days cemented my bond with the losers and weirdos. There's virtue in following one's own internal logic and compass, even when (or perhaps, especially when) it goes against the general suggested path and designed order. The path of the bastards and losers, well, it can be a hell of a lot more fun. Certainly more of an adventure. So let's raise a glass to the losers, the bastards, the cheats, and the vagrants:
Of course, I could go on, but let's hear some of your choice tracks. What will you be blasting on your way down the road in the coming days of warmth? Comment here or Tweet us at @redchuckjustin #openroadsong.
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