Car Time

I have a bit of a road trip coming up. Because it’s a longer drive, and because some of it will involve passing through some extremely rural areas, AND because I don’t have satellite radio in my car, I’ve had to put together some hefty playlists. 

My daily one-way commute is about six minutes long. You’d think with that short of a drive, I’d be happy enough to simply turn on the radio and listen to some wacky morning show team, and maybe hear parts of a song or two. But no. I actually invest time into not only choosing which album I’m going play on the way to work, but which particular track will be first. This takes consideration, since I have to think about what the second song will be if the first one ends, and possibly a third one, and what kind of tone these any of these songs might set for me if they get stuck in my head during the day, and how much travel time might be added if I stop for gas on the way…you get the idea. There is way too much unnecessary thinking going on here, and all before 8:30 AM.

When I used to live in a townhouse one city away, my commute was reliably twenty minutes and sometimes, depending on traffic or weather, closer to half an hour. Of course the short drive is better in most ways, but I have to admit I miss having that extra time for listening to music in the car.

Car time has always felt like the perfect chance to get to know music really well. Even though driving involves a lot of separate tasks, so much of it happens through muscle memory that it usually only involves one channel of your brain. If there’s nobody in the car to talk with then it’s just you and the music. This gives you the chance to really take in the usually overlooked nuances of the songs you hear. Car time is a great way to either learn new music, refamiliarize yourself with music you’ve lost touch with, or to build a relationship with new favorite songs.

I have two playlists ready for my coming trip: One made up of songs from favorite albums I haven’t played in awhile to help keep up my energy level for a morning drive, and one consisting of two overlong live albums that will help me feel a sense of narrative as a drive home. 

I’m looking forward to this trip. It should be a pleasant interruption from the routine of the closing weeks of the school year. If I’m being honest, one of the things I’m looking forward to the most is putting my two playlists into action, and giving them some car time.