The thoughts and pontifications of Billie Marshall
Summer Song
by Billie Marshall,posted Jul 22 2010 9:24AM
So, how many of you, like me, plan on taking a good ol' fashioned road trip before Summer ends? Hell, I already have made the eight hour drive to visit my family in West Virginia. I'm sure many of you are gonna be hittin' the road with your friends and family to visit the beach, see a concert or maybe make the pilgrimage to I-95's greatest kitsch trap, South of The Border.
I know that before I start packing my bathing suit and toothbrush I start thinking about the music I'm gonna take with me for the long drives. Luckily for me my travel partner, Captain Beardface, and I enjoy the same kinda tunes, so we don't really have to debate which albums we're takin' on the road.
Since the music we love constantly serves as a soundtrack to our life I would like to share with you some albums that I've taken with me this Summer.
Clutch's Blast Tyrant is an amazing album for summer! Every song works with the open road and makes you feel like you're in your own version of Easy Rider. "Mercury" starts out like a '74 Nova peeling out of the driveway.
Blast Tyrant, from start to finish is a classic road trip album from one of the greatest American rock 'n roll bands of all time.
Deftones have admitted that their new album, Diamond Eyes, was influenced by a few psychedelic drug experiments. But don't think that this album is a 40-some minute Warhol trainwreck.
From the title track to other songs like "Beauty School" and "976-Evil" this is the kinda album you'd want to take through an over-the-speed-limit midnight trek through New Mexico.
I am tellin' ya...no road trip is complete without anything from Z.Z. Top. These masters of the Texas Blues make any mundane car trip with your family feel like the first time you got behind the wheel WITHOUT your parents in the car. I recommend the song "It's Only Love" if you're cruisin' with your man/ woman/ blow-up doll.
Look...a person can't listen to hard rock and metal every single day. Well, a person can, but I love ALL types of music and that's why I must include Taking Back Sunday's New Again for my Summer road trip soundtrack.
You know how you felt when you were a teenager and you took your very first road trip with your very best friends? This album contains every memory I have about my Summers when I was younger. It's love, it's angst, but most of all, it's a solid album that easily passes the time while you're driving far, far away.
After driving six hours when you've had to pee for the last three (all while you're "navigator" in the passenger seat hasn't been looking for cops, or more importantly, places to pee) you need something that's gonna make you grit your teeth, beat the s*** out of the steering wheel and get the hell outta dodge.
Mastodon's Remission, I guarantee you, will feel your pain. Granted, Mastodon doesn't care about your pain or the fact that you're bladder's about to burst into a million pieces, but they'll at least give you something to thrash to when you have had enough of the road.
Let me preface my love for Them Crooked Vultures debut by saying that I already have every Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters and Queens of The Stone Age album with me every single time I travel. This gem from the supergroup that I want to be in (but will never be cool enough to do so) has enough groove, space, rock and quirk to zone out to while you're driving without worrying about nailing a guard rail.
Even the lyrics from Them Crooked Vultures' song "Dead End Friends" reinforces the value of this road trip favorite;
I drive all alone at night;
I drive all alone
Don't know what I'm headed for;
I follow the road blind 'til the road is dead
No matter where you're going, who you're visiting or, Hell, who you may be running from, I hope the music that you take with you is as exciting and fun as the trip you're taking. What are some of your favorite albums? Email me at bmarshall@adventureradio.fm and lemme know.
Clutch's Blast Tyrant is an amazing album for summer! Every song works with the open road and makes you feel like you're in your own version of Easy Rider. "Mercury" starts out like a '74 Nova peeling out of the driveway. 
Deftones have admitted that their new album, Diamond Eyes, was influenced by a few psychedelic drug experiments. But don't think that this album is a 40-some minute Warhol trainwreck. 
I am tellin' ya...no road trip is complete without anything from Z.Z. Top. These masters of the Texas Blues make any mundane car trip with your family feel like the first time you got behind the wheel WITHOUT your parents in the car. I recommend the song "It's Only Love" if you're cruisin' with your man/ woman/ blow-up doll.
Look...a person can't listen to hard rock and metal every single day. Well, a person can, but I love ALL types of music and that's why I must include Taking Back Sunday's New Again for my Summer road trip soundtrack. 
After driving six hours when you've had to pee for the last three (all while you're "navigator" in the passenger seat hasn't been looking for cops, or more importantly, places to pee) you need something that's gonna make you grit your teeth, beat the s*** out of the steering wheel and get the hell outta dodge. 
Let me preface my love for Them Crooked Vultures debut by saying that I already have every Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters and Queens of The Stone Age album with me every single time I travel. This gem from the supergroup that I want to be in (but will never be cool enough to do so) has enough groove, space, rock and quirk to zone out to while you're driving without worrying about nailing a guard rail.