"I'm On a Boat" by the Lonely Island (f/T-Pain). This song, a masterpiece cultivated by Saturday Night Live Digital Short-Busser Andy Samberg, is a parody of rap music cliches, and we will attempt to make a parody of the parody with a re-mixed version called "I'm on an RV." It won't have the same syllabic cadence, but it will have just as much T-Pain. When we have a reprise at the end of the Brucefest experience (which I'm pretty sure will flat-out be a musical), we'll sing the normal words as we raft down the Arkansas River.
"Ain't Going Down (Til The Sun Comes Up)" by Garth Brooks. We should probably play this as we're departing from the parking lot, given a title that is a propos as we drive through the night to reach our destination, a country flavor pleasing to the majority of our cast and an up-tempo offering. Bonus points for anyone that knows all the words and is unabashedly willing to sing them. That's me raising my hand."I Can't Drive 55" by Sammy Hagar. Once Whine and Die takes the wheel of the RV, I'm pretty certain this song is going to be on a loop at all times. A song dedicated to the furious rage of slow-moving traffic, Hagar combines hair-metal sensibilities with general disdain for Others, a flavor perfect for Whine and Die's character.
"On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson. The anthem of travelers everywhere and a hearken back to when The Mechanic and Fast Times hit up Farm Aid last year. Willie Nelson has been a part of RV culture for decades.
"Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver. It's a simultaneous celebration of our destination, our disposition and terrible folk music, but really it's a cautionary tale to remind us that when you're closer to the sun, you need more sunscreen.
"Mountain Song" by Jane's Addiction. This song is notable because its video was banned from MTV because of nudity scenes. In the RV, we have no such qualms about nudity.
"Drive" by Alan Jackson. Everyone remembers their first driving experience, and everyone remembers their first time driving a massive RV across four states.
"Open Road Song" by Eve 6. With Road Rage in the car, alternative rock is a must at least for small portions of the trip, and one of his favorites is this band composed of verbose teenage rockers, who present this delightfully simple ode to leaving one's cares behind and hitting the highway. I'm not sure if the RV can get up to 80 on the open road like the protagonist of the song, but we can at least try."Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen. As we high-tail it through blue-collar middle America, doesn't it seem particularly appropriate to have a song by a guy named Bruce? There will, however, be no Bruce Hornsby. Perhaps Road Rage's recent cover of Bananarama's "Cruel Summer" (re-imagined as "Bruce Summer") will make the list. Perhaps not.
"Air Force Ones" by Nelly. Once we get to Omaha and pick up Air Force One, there is really no reason why this song shouldn't be playing. Unless the RV is full of haters."Center Field" by John Fogerty. We're going to see a baseball game, many of us like baseball (Road Rage hates it) and we're going to stop over in Omaha, home of the College World Series. That calls for at least one great baseball song, and though "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" might be most people's first choice when considering the fusion of baseball and motorized vehicles, the more recognizable timeless baseball-related anthem will do.
"Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. Obviously.
"Across the Universe" by the Beatles. Because who doesn't love the Beatles, and who doesn't love a song that talks about driving across the country? Actually, that's probably not what the song is about. Nobody knows what it's about, because the Beatles were particularly high (not the Rocky Mountain kind) during this period in their career. But who doesn't love the Beatles?
"All I Need is a Miracle" by Mike and the Mechanics. Given that one of our characters is named Mike "The Mechanic," it's pretty clear that this band will have to be represented, obviously during a scene in which The Mechanic is primarily featured. Probably the one where our whitewater rafting instructor gets thrown from the boat, and The Mechanic saves us all by taking charge and leading us to dry land, despite Road Rage screaming like Jamie Lee Curtis and flailing his arms.
"Higher Love" by Steve Winwood. Every road trip needs a passionate singalong, particularly one where everyone is immediately embarrassed that they participated. Fifty years from now when half of us are dead and the other half are looking back on the RV trip, do you know what they'll remember? Steve Winwood.
1 comment:
I believe you have missed an opportunity to go with "Drive" by Incubus. I would also like to note that "Drive" is, of course, best enjoyed when preceded with the explicit version of Afroman's "Because I Got High." I know this from experience.
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