Saturday 14 April 2012

M is for Mixtapes (the soundtrack to an adventure)

Back in the days when I had a Walkman - up until 2003 actually, I was a latecomer to the iPod - and money to blow on going to gigs that were really far away, I used to make mixtapes for my journey. These usually consisted of tracks by whatever band I was on my way to see, as well as some John Peel sessions, festival performances and songs I was hooked on at the time - largely a healthy mix of punk and rock n roll.

Last summer, during my own take on Jack Kerouac's coast to coast American road trip - from LA to New York via New Orleans on the train - I made my own soundtrack for the journey based on the states and cities I passed through and the bands that call them home. Sadly, this wasn't on a tape, but it still kicked ass. Go clicky-click!


Here's my American adventure soundtrack:


* Los Angeles, California: Shitty Future - The Bronx

* Palm Springs, California: Freedom Run - Kyuss

* Arizona: A Praise Chorus - Jimmy Eat World

* El Paso, Texas: Invalid Litter Dept. - At The Drive-In

* Birmingham, Alabama: Step Up (I'm On It) - Maylene and the Sons of Disaster

* Atlanta, Georgia: Curl of the Burl - Mastodon

* Virginia: I'm Your Opposite Number - Strike Anywhere

* Washington DC: Minor Threat - Minor Threat

* Baltimore, Maryland: Electric Worry - Clutch

* New Jersey: Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen

* New Jersey: Backseat - Gaslight Anthem

* New York City: Jamestown - The Movielife

2 comments:

  1. Those look quite interesting. Though I like light stuff like pop, I'm not closed to a little of renegade flavor. I'll be looking for these on iTunes!

    From Diary of a Writer in Progress

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  2. I'm afraid I don't know any of those tracks, but strangely, one of the tracks from my first trip across the USA came on my iPod as I read... I may be double your age, but there are still new things going on my 'things to do before I'm...' list!
    We just have to get ourselves back to the garden!
    Good luck and have a fun life. Every time you play those tracks you will remember where you were when ...

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