Ponytail Picks #10 - Roads
We hit the road this week in search of our picks. See how it hit back below.
LISTEN
Albums For Night-Time Driving
Living in Medicine Hat, I’ve been on the road at night between my home and Calgary on more than one occasion. This bit of the #1 Hwy might be the dullest piece of road on Earth, so it’s important to find some stimulating music to keep my eyes on the road. They say music is life. In this situation, the truth of that cliche becomes literal.
The long drive can also be an opportunity to listen to an album from front to back. So with that, here are four options for your next ride in the dark.
We’re New Here - Jamie xx & Gil Scott-Heron
This album introduced me to Gil Scott-Heron when it arrived in February 2011, only three months before the man’s death. A full-album remix of his record 2010 release I’m New Here, created by British producer and xx-member Jamie xx, it was an odd yet effective way to learn about this legend known as the godfather of rap.
Yes, you can dance to the music on We’re New Here, but it also transports your mind the more you listen to Scott-Heron’s lyrics and monologues. The contrast of treble and bass created by Jamie throughout the record will definitely keep your ears alert, too.
Excess - Automatic
On Repeat by Kevin Alexander, my favourite music-themed newsletter, turned me on to this wicked-fun band and their new release with the review you can find below.
The quick bass guitar lick and moody vocals of the L.A. group’s opener “New Beginning” will add a little weight to the right foot of any highway-traveller (you’ve been warned). The sharp production and track times found on the rest of the record are sure to keep your eyelids open as well.
Hail to the Thief - Radiohead
Radiohead’s forgotten record in a way, Hail to the Thief is no less stimulating a listen than its canonized forebearers, OK Computer, Kid A, and Amnesiac. In fact, while the first two in the list sacrifice songwriting for concept in places, and the third links itself, body and soul, to its predecessor, Hail to the Thief combines 14 stand-alone songs, each one holding onto your attention in its own way.
The band’s whole catalog makes for great night driving, but if staying awake is your priority, the rockouts of “2 + 2 = 5,” pan-spree of “Backdrifts,” and synth army in “Myxomatosis” are sure to do the trick.
Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen
You’ll have to turn this one up pretty loud for it to keep you awake, but a list of night-driving albums wouldn’t be complete without Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.
If all you know of Bruce are his classic rock radio hits, you might not be aware of how fantastic a songwriter the man is. Listening to Nebraska will change all that. Gone are the bombastic ballads and sax solos. Springsteen strips it all back and leaves nothing but his voice and guitar. That might make it sound like a dozer to some, but Bruce’s voice and stories grab hold you and don’t let go. A few hoots and hollars peppered amongst the tracks help keep you conscious, too.
-AK
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WATCH
Three movies that capture the magic and healing of the road
Dumb and Dumber (1994)
Road trip comedies like Dumb and Dumber are often known for their goofy mid-trip misadventures (usually a diner scene or two), but this 1990s Jim Carrey classic doesn’t get enough credit for the genuine pathos found in between the laughs that kick off the journey. Well, maybe it does. Check out this trailer that re-cuts it to feel like a straight-up drama:
“You know what I’m sick and tired of, Harry? I’m sick and tired of having to eek my way through life.”
Unemployed and unhappy and too poor to afford rent, Harry and Lloyd see hope on the horizon that is somewhere else (“We gotta get out of this town!”) and take solace in the road that takes them towards it. As a late teen, I remember being enchanted, however naively, by the freedom Harry and Lloyd had to just be able to get up and go like they did. No commitments, no schedules, just two best friends on an adventure. As an early 30s dad with plenty of commitments and schedules, I’m less naive and more happily grounded in where I am, but I admit I still romanticize that scene in my head quite a bit.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
As a participant in nearly yearly treks across the prairies with my parents and two then three siblings as a kid, I can testify that nothing intensifies the relational dynamics of a family like a road trip. Little Miss Sunshine is a movie that captures the full spectrum of this intensity, from close-quarter bickering while changing lanes to stressful impromptu roadside stops to smiles and laughs over a quirky inside-joke experience. And then after all that chaos and heat, there’s the cool tenderness of big questions, big hearts, and quiet comfort in the face of shared loss, all of it covered with the contemplative blanket that only the hum of a car on the highway and a window to look out of can provide (spoilers ahead):
Damn. For context, Frank (Steve Carrell) had only just tried to commit suicide because of devestating ostracization and heartbreak, and here we have little Olive, unaware of these details, bringing him definitively Good News as only kids can. Truly a divine moment on this family’s journey.
Drive My Car (2021)
There’s nothing like a long drive to provide time and space for long conversation and quiet reflection—as long as the steering wheel is in capable hands, which young chauffeur Misaki certainly has. Reserved stage director and actor Yusuke is hesitant at first to hand the keys to his beloved red Saab over to her, but in time (and there's a lot of it), her quiet poise and steady limbs gently win him over and give him the freedom to process his tragic and complicated story on the long commutes each day. Eventually, they become more than just chauffeur and passenger as their respective journeys out of pain and dispair connect through the mystical power of the drive.
-JB
READ
Road Trips Through the Ages
I’ll admit: some sea voyages make their way onto this list. But you get the idea.
The Torah
From God kicking Adam and Eve out of the house, to the 40 years of wilderness wandering, the first five books of the Bible are all about travel and getting home. It’s a rough trip, but they make it.
Oedipus Rex
Another rough journey, this time with a less-than-pleasant ending. People love to read into this one, but the moral of the story is pretty simple: roadrage is never the answer.
The Odyssey
This expedition is travelled mostly by boat, but you’ve got to include it with a name like that. I like to think of this epic as an extended trip to the grocery store—a father and son trying desperately to end up in the same aisle. Inevitably, they do—in the meat section.
P.S. Virgil’s fan fiction sequel, The Aeneid, offers up a great travel epic as well.
Sinbad the Sailor
You can find a lot of voyage tales in 1,001 Nights, but this one stands out, maybe because of how humanly stupid Mr. Sinbad shows himself to be. And yet, no matter how many times he leaves home and finds trouble, he somehow finds his way out of it. It really is the perfect setup for a comedy.
The Canterbury Tales
Sometimes it can get dull sitting in a car on your way to wherever you’re going, and you’ve got to find a way to entertain yourself. They didn’t have stereos, cell phones, or iPads in the Middle Ages, so they told stories instead. Next time you’re on the road, give it a try!
The Divine Comedy
Dante takes a wrong turn in the woods and ends up in hell. Not ideal. Will he make it back home to Tuscany? Well, the name of Part III might give it away, but I haven’t reached it yet, so don’t spoil the ending.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Okay, this journey is by water, too. But a river is like a road, no? This escape down the Mississippi is Sinbad-esqe in its telling of mishaps and shenanigans, but Twain manages to offer a great deal of wisdom through his unlikely pair of misfits.
The Lord of the Rings
The buddy epic to end all buddy epics, this journey to Mordor and home again is also just a story about friendship. Plus, it has some of the all-time best road trip-themed quotes in literary history. Yes, I mean, “Not all who wander are lost,” but also, “Great! Where are we going?”
On the Road
I know I’m on the nose with Keroac’s novel, but I couldn’t resist. More than any of the others on this list, On the Road depicts the road trip as it often actually is—meandering, goal-less, about the journey more than the destination.
The Flying Troutmans
Finally, a female-centred story! Miriam Teows really knows how to weave pain and laughter into a memorable tale. I don’t remember why it’s called The Flying Troutmans, but I’m still along for the ride!
We’ve parked the car for this week. Hop in next time as we bond over
How come you got to cheat by including a long list of literary picks but restricted yourself to only three music albums and films? As I said, on my Readsome review, this is the genius of your column--that it ilicits a conversation about similar "picks" in my own head. "Life is a Highway" by Canada's own Tom Cochrane has to be the #1 road song of all time. If you're looking for female road trip films, one has to add the classic Thelma and Louise.
Thanks for introducing me to Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska." Indeed, I had not noticed it in the midst of all his radio hits. What a brilliant concept album! Perfect for that lonely stretch between Calgary and Medicine Hat. If you nod off on a few gentle numbers, "Open All Night" would wake you up like the lights of a 24 hour gas station.
Huge topic — road-trip music, movies and books — but I love your picks.