Some amazing pieces of advice to keep in mind while choosing music to play when you are planning to drive across the states in your reliable, vintage car.
Trips are the best way to get away from the hustle and bustle of your daily life. And road trips are even more amazing as it adds a sense of adventure to the whole experience. And when you're winding down the long stretch of roads with your car, nothing can be more reliable of a companion than some good ole music.
Be it a solo trip or a journey with a group, nice music works wonders as a mood booster. When you are on the road for hours on end and your adrenaline starts to wear off, upbeat 80's music can be the best pick-me-up. Or when you start to feel antsy and crammed up with a lot of people in a tiny vehicle, a few funky, enjoyable tunes can be a useful tension reliever.
But like anything related to a trip, making a decent playlist for the road can be a herculean task as well that can give you a headache. Because you want everyone to enjoy their journey and have fun. So sometimes it becomes a huge concern to choose the best songs for car rides. What to add and what to avoid? Don't take the stress. Because we are here to help. We have some helpful tips to make it easy for you to create the best playlist for your upcoming road trip.
-
Keep the terrains in mind: First and foremost, when you are making a playlist for a road trip, keep in mind the terrains you will drive through. The landscapes you are passing by set your mood and it would also reflect on the music you would like to listen to. So do research in advance to know what would lie ahead in your journey and make your playlist according to that. If you are driving through a desert, you may want to hear edgy electronic music. But when you are driving by the sea coast, you may be more inclined to sultry or romantic tracks.
-
Let The Destination Be The Judge: For trips, the mood of the journey often depends on the vibe of the destination itself. When you are going for a get-together with old friends, you are in a jokester and goofy mood. But when you are attending an extravagant wedding party, you lean into a gleeful romantic mindset. So let your destination and the purpose of the journey be the judge of your music choice for the road. With friends, you can listen to all the old nostalgic songs you danced to in your high school years. Or with a special someone by your side, you can indulge in some dreamy love songs.
-
Diversify The Genres: When curating a road trip playlist, it's advisable to stick to a theme depending on the type of journey you are embarking on. But be careful not to let it be monotonous. You don't want to get bored with the same kind of songs. Not all songs are drive-friendly. So include songs of different genres and tempos to bring diversity to your playlist so your co-passengers feel engaged as well. For mornings or early a few hours of the road trip, play all the mellow, soft, romantic numbers, as you are more energetic at that time. And when the sun sets down and tiredness engulfs you, listen to upbeat dance tracks to keep you alert and focused on the road.
-
Take Recommendations: When you are taking a road trip with a bunch of other people, let them have a say in the choice of music playing in the car. Long journeys on the road can take a toll on travelers' minds at some point. Boost their morale by playing a few of their favorite songs. Take recommendations in advance. Or spice things up by going around in a circle and letting each of them play a song of their choice. This way everyone in the car would be satisfied, and feel included. This can also be a nice opportunity to discover new music and artists.
-
Give Priority to the Driver: Yes, it's important to maintain a semblance of peace on the trip by including everyone's choice of music. But it's a thumb rule of a road trip to give the utmost importance to the driver, the person sitting behind the wheel. That person carries out the most important task of taking everyone to their destination safely. So it's obvious that their choice matters the most. The songs playing from the speaker must be helpful to keep the driver alert. If a track becomes too annoying or distracting to them, they must have full freedom to stop or skip the song. In short, drivers get the final say for car ride songs.
-
Listen to the local artists: When you are driving miles after miles zooming through distant towns or a busy City Street, it is very fitting to the mood to listen to the local artists of those places. When you are in San Diego, you may love to listen to some blink-182. But in Huntington Beach, The Offspring can bring a sense of belonging. If you don't know much about local music, you can let the radio do its thing to discover some for you. You may even stumble upon something really up your alley.
-
Leave room for spontaneity: Planning is good and important, but don't forget to leave room for spontaneity. A trip brings a lot of unexpected twists in the long run. And that influences our mood accordingly. And a specific mood calls for a specific choice of music even if it's not something you anticipated listening to. So you won't need to be stubborn and stick to a certain road trip playlist if you are not vibing with it. After all, it is all about having fun at the end of the day. Listen to your heart and just go for the tunes you want to listen to at that moment.
-
Give new songs a chance: Sticking to the famous crowd-pleasers is a safe idea as you get everyone to mouth the lyrics of the songs along loudly. But sometimes it's fun to give new songs a chance. Dive into the latest releases section of your music streaming service, be it Spotify or Apple Music, and you may find a gem or two. Or you can give a chance to the already curated playlists on these platforms to check out the latest TikTok famous song trending everywhere.
-
Download in advance: This is the most important thing to keep in mind while making a road trip playlist, download the songs on your device. You do not want an unstable internet connection on the road to ruin your travel experience. So be careful!
Here's a nice road trip playlist you can take inspiration from -