Top 5 Songs to Blast While Driving

Note that this is not just "Top 5 Driving Songs," which would be harder. Songs like "Low Rider," "Little Green Bag," and "1979," for example, strike me as great driving songs, but not ones that you can blast or really rev your engine to. There's a specific feeling of power intended in this list. So without further ado...

Dan's Top 5:

1. Van Halen - "Panama" - I think this is an ideal choice for #1, because it was invented to be a driving song. After the band read a review criticizing them for writing songs about partying, women, and cars, they realized that the last bit was inaccurate. Thus, "Panama" was written. Coincidentally, also the first Van Halen song I was exposed to.

2. Stellastarr* - "My Coco" - I know this primarily as my "baseball-season-is-starting" song, but really, it's a good choice for driving as well. I tend to want to jump off of furniture when the first snare hit comes along, so acceleration is a good substitute for that.

3. Spencer Davis Group - "Gimme Some Lovin'" - An amazing driving song, even if you've never seen Days of Thunder. The hairs on my arm stand on end when the organ kicks in, as I always imagine playing this song live in front of a thousand screaming people.

4. Styx - "Come Sail Away" - not an obvious choice, but it became our true-to-life "Bohemian Rhapsody" (which I would include if it weren't for Wayne's World) when our car full of people all sang along. It's got both a vocal-intensive soft part, and a rocking out part. Try it next time it comes on the radio. The more people that join in, the better.

5. Muse - "Stockholm Syndrome" - It's hard to pick just one Muse, song so I picked the most suitable one that wasn't on Black Holes and Revelations, to show that I actually know Muse well enough to make the call. This is in my Top 5 Muse songs for sure (ahem).

Honorable Mentions, in no particular order: Bon Jovi - "Livin' On A Prayer," Sammy Hagar - "I Can't Drive 55," Iron Maiden - "Run To The Hills" (a serious contender for #5), Keane - "Everybody's Changing," Queen - "Hammer To Fall"

Ryan's Top Five

1. Muse - "Knights of Cydonia" - I love all of these songs (and all of my honorable mentions), putting them in order was difficult. That said, I don't know of a safer route than Muse, and you cannot go wrong with "Knights of Cydonia." I spent my 2006 fall travel season blasting this song, speeding, and shirking work at Baker.

2. Queen - "Don't Stop Me Now" - This song is like a tour de force. Freddie Mercury never slows down, for a good three minutes. You don't either. Or I don't, anyway--I have to yell every word. "I'm a rocketship on my way to Mars, I'm a satellite, I'm out of control, I'm a sex machine ready to reload, like an atom bomb, I'm about to woah woah woah EXPLODE!" Sheer brilliance. Bonus points for its association with "Shaun of the Dead."

3. Badly Drawn Boy - "Born in the U.K." - Damon Gough's obvious homage to his hero, Bruce Springsteen. This song is so fucking rocking, and opening with "Pomp and Circumstance" and piano? Ah, yes.

4. Journey - "Don't Stop Believin'" - This song is cheese-tastically brilliant. I adopted it as my own personal anthem in 2003 when the Royals lucked their way into playoff contention. I have never looked back. (Though it has gotten considerably harder to "believe" in the Royals.) Anyway, I will not ever be able to say No to this song after this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CzEIcWm5Lmg&feature=related . They cut the video off but I swear to God he is going to scream "Don't stop! Believin'!" exactly at 0.0 in the game.

5. Van Halen - "Panama" - Damn it, I can't say no to this one either. I tried to write something for "Livin' on a Prayer" (which I don't even really like, except at max volume speeding in a car), but my heart wasn't in it. This song deserves another Top 5 nod. Was also great in "Superbad."

Honorables, in no order: "Zero," Smashing Pumpkins (the ultimate anger song), "Stockholm Syndrome," "Helter Skelter," "Run," Gnarls Barkley, "Baba O'Riley," "Rebel, Rebel," "London Calling" and "London Burning," "My Coco," "Mr. Brightside," "Take Me Out," Franz Ferdinand, "Invincible," Muse, "Search and Destroy," Iggy & the Stooges, "Bohemian Rhapsody." Phew.

Tim's Top 5:
1. "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen – Like #2, this isn’t because the song begs to be played loud, it’s because it just begs to be played constantly, and if I play it loud enough, I can hear the piano intro and Clarence Clemons’ saxophone for several minutes after it’s over.

2. "Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan – On the list solely because I did this on Friday driving to work. I just about never turn my stereo up loud, but it’d been a long time since I’d heard this (which is on my short list of favorite songs ever). It’s not exactly a rocker, but it’s satisfying and is right on the list with Thunder Road of songs where I’m impressed that I actually manage to know nearly all of the words, despite the fact that they are both biblical in length.

3. "Free Fallin’" by Tom Petty – Ok, yeah, this is because of Jerry Maguire. You know what, screw you. You’re not cool either if you’re reading this.

4. "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse – Why this Muse song? Because I listen to XM, this is what they play with far more frequency. I have, however, decided that Knights of Cydonia is my favorite song to run to, having listened to it three times consecutively while I was wrapping up my five mile jaunt last week. Still, the sound of this song just gets better with astounding volume.

5. "All These Things That I’ve Done" by The Killers – It’s a long song with a lot of parts to it, and the extra volume adds even more depth to it. When the drums roll in at 52 seconds in, it demands to be blared.

Honorable mention: "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy - I hate me too, but when you can hear the second guitar coming in at the beginning of the song, it's worth it; "Zoo Station" by U2 - This is entirely because of About a Boy. More people need to make movies so that I can more fully enjoy music.