Music On The Road: My Road Trip Tunes For 2019

Music plays an important role in life, and even more so when it comes to road tripping. It can make or break a trip. Listening to the radio can be a bit bothersome, especially if you are driving in a country where you don't speak the language and you don't fancy tuning your radio every 200 km.

Thus, a playlist is required and, like any good road tripper, I also have a road trip playlist which has an astonishing 185 songs! When one considers that I had to cover over 10 hour long drives without getting bored, it is not a bad length.

However, on a warm and humid day on the lake, I began to wonder which of those songs define this year's road trips. A couple of songs take me back to the French autoroute ...

As you may know from a former blog post, I am not too on board with the notion that every road trip playlist needs to consists of only 80ies songs. I am fond of dance, electro and chill house music - especially in summer. And all right I admit it, the only exception of this playlist is "You're My Best Friend" by Queen which simply slipped into there because  ...

So sit back, plug in your earphones, relax and listen. Or alternatively, sit back, plug your phone into your car and set of on your road trip!

1. Freesol (Dabin Remix) by Seven Lions feat. Skyler Stonestreet:

This song had almost made the cut in my last road trip playlist. It has become even more important in this one because where else can you achieve the freedom and state of Freesol (def.:  state of mind - a freedom of expression - with a main objective of never conforming to the usual way of doing things) better than during a road trip where you can basically go anywhere where your car takes you, and be nowhere at all during the same time. For me, it is always the best song to start a road trip.

2. Only One (Radio Edit) by Sigala + Digital Farm Animals:

For "Only One" it is the vibe that counts. When I listen this song, I can pretty much image two girls driving a Cabrio along an empty road near a beach while dancing and their hair floats in the wind.

3. Around the Fire by Ofenbach:

Lived in my mayor road trip playlist since its creation in 2017 but since it played when I rolled into Le Mans after covering a whooping 1.500 km it has a special place in my heart. Thus, I decided to play it when leaving the camping site as well. From then on, it has always been linked to this unforgettable trip.

4. Fast Car ft. Dakota by Jonas Blue: 

Despite the title, "Fast Car" is a song about anything but road tripping. However, I feel it belongs on the list because on a road trip, I have a sense of being in full control of all my decisions and enjoy the total freedom.

While I am also fond of the original, I picked this for the road because it has a more upbeat flow.

5. Take Me Higher by Illenium

A road trip playlist without Illenium is physically impossible for me, and "Take Me Higher" is one of their calmer tunes. So in the sense that every playlist needs some softer tunes, this song is the perfect pick.

6. Jona Vark by Gypsy And The Cat:

Honestly this dream pop song simply flows so well to the image of cars cursing along and when it comes on, I simply can't help to sing along during the chorus.

7. You're My Best Friend by Queen:

If I wrote that a mixture of Good Omens, sunglasses, The Girlfriend and the Vösendorfer Knoten are to blame for its spot up here would anyone be surprised? Basically after admitting that I don't really know any "Queen", it was suggested to me that I better get acquainted, and as such, I was listening to this while navigating the intersection on the Autobahn. Incidentally I was also wearing my Ugly Glasses TM - aka Crowley sunnies - and at the same time I recalled that Crowley listens to this song while in the car as well ... Thus, that settled it.

Side-note: this is a love song.

8. Drew Barrymore by Lu2Vyk:

While this might sound like the opposite of a reason why it should be on a road trip playlist, this is there due to traffic jams. As someone who uses the Vösendorfer Knoten, used the ring road around Paris, and has been stuck in traffic in four different countries, I learned to cope with the stress of stop-go traffic. I personally feel that this is more stressful than being fully stuck. This is where "Drew Barrymore" comes in, because it has an easy lyrics and a simpler melody I ended up singing along for minutes and on repeat while slow moving on various motorways.

9. Bangalore Streets by Kungs feat. Freia:

This song is not on there due to the name, and honestly, I don't even recall the lyrics. But it is just the song you need that can get you into the grove when you have already been on the trott for over five hours. It has a different rhythm and is interesting to listen to.

10. Stranger Things by Kygo [feat. OneRepublic]:

When I listen to "Strange Things" a certain image always comes to mind: time-lapse photography of cars at night. Similar to this:

Pretty much exactly this. Tell me I am wrong?

What are the songs that mark your 2019 road trip experiences?