Commuter Envy

I commute to and from work, to and from picking up and dropping off my daughters, and to and from shopping and various other activities. That’s the joy of living half an hour from any type of civilization. There are two things about the trips to work and back that I relish, though.

The first is being able to listen to my music without being disturbed. You would probably be surprised by the number of songs I have to skip when my iPod is on its shuffle setting and others are in the car. I have to skip:

1. My gangsta rap jams
2. Any song by Bjork
3. My Metallica anthems
4. Any “thrash” metal songs
5. Songs with “suggestive” lyrics (sorry, “I Wanna Sex U Up,” my ’90s mix will have to be complete without U in it)

Add to that the joy of listening to the Fresh Beat Band emanating from the back seat and my journey is complete. But when I’m ridin’ solo I can jam to my heart’s content.

Secondly, I get to embrace my road rage, or if I am to put it more accurately, my road comments. Which makes sense, since I deal with words as my weapons. I don’t think I’ve ever used my horn for its proper purpose, or ever thought that one of my fingers was cool to show off to others, even through two layers of glass. I’m reminded of the time Joey Tribbiani flipped off the guy in the next car over, then the whole road became a traffic jam. He locked his doors quickly for fear of recrimination. Unlike him, I say things under my breath. I know, I know. I should let it roll off my back, like a duck, but there are some things that really peeve me about other drivers, like when they:

1. Drive into my lane without indication
2. Take a turn without indication
3. Play really lame music loudly with the windows down (definition of lame: anything by Devo, Aqua’s “Barbie Girl,” or the extended version of “Freebird”)
4. Drive 40 mph in a 55 mph no-passing zone
5. Sail through a stop sign without second thought

Here is my ultimate commuter playlist:

1. Worlds Apart – Journey
2. The Stairs – INXS
3. Exit – U2
4. Iris – Goo Goo Dolls
5. Diet Mountain Dew – Lana Del Rey
6. Transatlanticism – Death Cab For Cutie
7. South Side – Moby
8. Fascination Street – The Cure
9. Uncharted – Sara Bareilles
10. Killer – Seal
11. 4 Minutes – Madonna
12. Back to December – Taylor Swift
13. 99 Problems – Jay-Z
14. The Real Slim Shady – Eminem
15. Jingling Baby – LL Cool J

And yes, I kept the rap to the end for those people whose sensibilities are easily offended, so they can skip them easily if they’d like. Or, for those who like rap, then you can crank the jams at the highest possible volume, preferably in a residential area.

What would you consider great commuter music?

Sam