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(Originally finalized on July 16, 2025)
Preface: If production on this music log has slowed down over the past few weeks, it's not for lack of ideas. It's just that I get really busy during the height of summer. Going on trips, spending a lot of time outdoors. So, in that spirit, I think I'm gonna just go ahead and do a theme dedicated to driving songs, after all. Buckle up, because we're going on a road trip!
Monday: Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild [Steppenwolf, 1968]
Comments: The breakout hit from their self-titled debut album, its inclusion on the soundtrack to the 1969 film Easy Rider made Steppenwolf's Born To Be Wild a counterculture anthem. It's the perfect start to any road trip - let's just hope it ends better than it did in the movie. "Head out on the highway, lookin' for adventure."
Tuesday: The Yardbirds - The Nazz Are Blue [Roger The Engineer, 1966]
Comments: In hindsight, the fact that half the songs I'd pick for a road trip have already been used for other themes just means that I have to agonize less over my choices this week. Here's one of my favorite lesser-known Yardbirds tunes, featuring an idiosyncratic guitar solo by Jeff Beck. "I've got myself a car, and that thing is painted blue."
Wednesday: Tom Petty - Runnin' Down A Dream [Full Moon Fever, 1989]
Comments: One of the highlights of Tom Petty's first solo album (and a harder rocker than the smash hit Free Fallin'), Runnin' Down A Dream shares a writing credit with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, as well as ELO's Jeff Lynne - who was a member of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys. With an unrelenting outro that seems to break free of all constraints, it's a perfect song for a road trip. "There's something good waiting down this road."
Thursday: Golden Earring - Radar Love [Moontan, 1973]
Comments: In addition to describing driving down the highway, this song has something else in common with Tom Petty's Runnin' Down A Dream - it mentions a pop song from the '60s by name! Arguably a one hit wonder (Twilight Zone - not to be confused with the TV show - might have something to say about that), this band from the Netherlands scored international success with this breakthrough hit. "The road has got me hypnotized, and I'm speeding into a new sunrise."
Friday: Led Zeppelin - Trampled Under Foot [Physical Graffiti, 1975]
Comments: I shared Deep Purple's own love letter to cars on the second week ever of this music log, so I'll have to go with this funky tune in the vein of Robert Johnson's Terraplane Blues instead. As Plant insists, what he's really talking about with all those mechanical metaphors is... love! "Grooving on the freeway; gauges all are red."
Saturday: The Eagles - Life In The Fast Lane [Hotel California, 1976]
Comments: Not to be a downer, but it would be reckless to go zooming down the highway without considering the dangers of speeding. Don't worry, I'm not going to finish this week out with Speed Kills or Motorcycle Irene. From the legendary album that brought us Hotel California, this is easily one of the highlights of The Eagles' discography - at least from a guitarist's standpoint. "They went rushin' down that freeway, messed around and got lost."
Sunday: Styx - Renegade [Pieces Of Eight, 1978]
Comments: I'm including this song about being on the run in order to discourage me from even considering the possibility of doing a separate theme. In the same spirit as Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead Or Alive from 1986, but somewhat less self-important, here's Styx with Renegade. "Lawman has put an end to my running, and I'm so far from my home."
Honorable Mention: Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run [Born To Run, 1975]
Comments: Since my appreciation for Bruce Springsteen's music only goes so far, I'm including this title track from 1975 as an honorable mention, in deference to rock history - for the impact this album had on the musical landscape of the day. "Someday, girl - I don't know when - we're gonna get to that place where we really want to go."