My wife and I are currently on a road trip from Portland, OR to Upper Peninsula, Michigan. In fact, I am writing this comment from Grand Marais, MI.
Three weeks total in a rented 25-ft RV.
Music-wise… We made two collab playlists that are both 10 hours long, and we hit shuffle. Why so long? We drive no more than 8 hours at a time, and so far we have yet to hear either playlist in its entirety.
I have also downloaded several albums; amongst them is Rose City Band’s newest. Interestingly, at home it did nothing for me, but driving through the endless fields of central and eastern South Dakota, it made perfect sense.
I hope trip is going well! If you've never been to the UP before, you're in for a treat!
I don't know what it is about Rose City Band, but all of their records remind me of Central Oregon. I talked about Summerlong here, but when I reviewed Sol Y Sombra, I mentioned a (very) similar vibe.
Thanks. Last night we were camping somewhat close to you at William G. Lunney Park in Madison! Brief rest spot for the evening with a lovely campfire. My wife was dazzled by the fireflies (they don’t have them in the UK).
Regarding the UP, MI… I have only ever been to Mackinac Island when I was about six. I have always wanted to do the UP properly, and we did! We stayed in multiple spots from Hancock to Tahquamenon Falls. Fantastic time and it was nice to be on the shores of a Great Lake again! I feel at home by the lakes.
I hear you on the Central Oregon vibe of RCB. They have that lazy, wide-open, stoned, and rural landscape vibe down well. Admittedly, when they go a bit too country, I struggle, but I like the jams. That is probably why ‘Earth Trip’ is my favorite LP of theirs.
Thanks. If we were in town longer, I definitely would have reached out. We arrived around 6, went to your Trader Joe's, and then to our campsite. We have to be in Wyoming on Tuesday and have a few spots in Kansas we want to see, so we split in the morning.
What I did see reminded me a bit of Portland (that said, I did come to Madison a few times as a teen when I saw the Dead at Alpine).
Back to Road trip music: ‘Croweology’ by The Black Crowes (a Best Of collection of songs, but all re-recorded as acoustic) was great as we pushed through the endless cornfields of Iowa!
Monroe street (where TJs is) is one of my fave parts of the city. The record store I like to go to is right across the street.
Also: kudos for being able to A: find a parking spot for your RV, and B: being able to squeeze it into whatever space you found! No easy feat for that part of town.
Your comment about John Darnielle creating “a whole ass album” around a mood made me laugh out loud. 😂
One underrated road trip album I love is Phil Keaggy’s instrumental “Beyond Nature.” Over the years it’s what we’ve put on as we drive through someplace beautiful, like Avenue of the Giants in the Redwoods, or the switchback on Highway 1 from Legget, CA to the coast, or the scene Hwy 9 from 89 into Zion National park.
I'm glad you liked that! "Beyond nature" is a new one for me. Thank you for getting it on my radar! I love me some southern California, but NorCal is incredibly underrated, especially places like Arcata and Trinidad.
The only album I've spent much time with is the Hiatt, but I don't recall listening to it on a road trip.
I brought this up on the Rockin the Suburbs podcast a few years back. My go-to road trip albums are Material Issue's Freak City Soundtrack, Tom Petty's Wildflowers, Wilco's Sky Blue Sly, and Matthew Sweet and Susannah Hoffs' Under the Covers Vol. 1.
The Mountain Goats deserve more road trips!
They certainly do!
Think about the change in sound in the 10 years between Tres Hombres and Eliminator. And yet it still feels the same....
Right?!
My wife and I are currently on a road trip from Portland, OR to Upper Peninsula, Michigan. In fact, I am writing this comment from Grand Marais, MI.
Three weeks total in a rented 25-ft RV.
Music-wise… We made two collab playlists that are both 10 hours long, and we hit shuffle. Why so long? We drive no more than 8 hours at a time, and so far we have yet to hear either playlist in its entirety.
I have also downloaded several albums; amongst them is Rose City Band’s newest. Interestingly, at home it did nothing for me, but driving through the endless fields of central and eastern South Dakota, it made perfect sense.
I hope trip is going well! If you've never been to the UP before, you're in for a treat!
I don't know what it is about Rose City Band, but all of their records remind me of Central Oregon. I talked about Summerlong here, but when I reviewed Sol Y Sombra, I mentioned a (very) similar vibe.
Thanks. Last night we were camping somewhat close to you at William G. Lunney Park in Madison! Brief rest spot for the evening with a lovely campfire. My wife was dazzled by the fireflies (they don’t have them in the UK).
Regarding the UP, MI… I have only ever been to Mackinac Island when I was about six. I have always wanted to do the UP properly, and we did! We stayed in multiple spots from Hancock to Tahquamenon Falls. Fantastic time and it was nice to be on the shores of a Great Lake again! I feel at home by the lakes.
I hear you on the Central Oregon vibe of RCB. They have that lazy, wide-open, stoned, and rural landscape vibe down well. Admittedly, when they go a bit too country, I struggle, but I like the jams. That is probably why ‘Earth Trip’ is my favorite LP of theirs.
Very close! I take that bike path quite often. Glad to hear you enjoyed it here! 😀
Thanks. If we were in town longer, I definitely would have reached out. We arrived around 6, went to your Trader Joe's, and then to our campsite. We have to be in Wyoming on Tuesday and have a few spots in Kansas we want to see, so we split in the morning.
What I did see reminded me a bit of Portland (that said, I did come to Madison a few times as a teen when I saw the Dead at Alpine).
Back to Road trip music: ‘Croweology’ by The Black Crowes (a Best Of collection of songs, but all re-recorded as acoustic) was great as we pushed through the endless cornfields of Iowa!
Monroe street (where TJs is) is one of my fave parts of the city. The record store I like to go to is right across the street.
Also: kudos for being able to A: find a parking spot for your RV, and B: being able to squeeze it into whatever space you found! No easy feat for that part of town.
Your comment about John Darnielle creating “a whole ass album” around a mood made me laugh out loud. 😂
One underrated road trip album I love is Phil Keaggy’s instrumental “Beyond Nature.” Over the years it’s what we’ve put on as we drive through someplace beautiful, like Avenue of the Giants in the Redwoods, or the switchback on Highway 1 from Legget, CA to the coast, or the scene Hwy 9 from 89 into Zion National park.
I'm glad you liked that! "Beyond nature" is a new one for me. Thank you for getting it on my radar! I love me some southern California, but NorCal is incredibly underrated, especially places like Arcata and Trinidad.
The only album I've spent much time with is the Hiatt, but I don't recall listening to it on a road trip.
I brought this up on the Rockin the Suburbs podcast a few years back. My go-to road trip albums are Material Issue's Freak City Soundtrack, Tom Petty's Wildflowers, Wilco's Sky Blue Sly, and Matthew Sweet and Susannah Hoffs' Under the Covers Vol. 1.
These would make an incredible mix!
Tres Hombres! Wasn’t expecting that. Nice.
I'm glad you liked that! :)
Will check out! I am also a huge fan of all things road trips! https://millerandybeth.substack.com/p/what-is-it-about-road-trips
Right on and thanks for the link!