Up until streaming podcasts were a thing, virtually everyone was listening to some kind of music in the car while driving. What kind of tunes were they playing?
If the driver is a youthful car audio aficionado, the entire neighborhood can probably hear and even feel what they’re cranking out, whether they want to know or not. For most everyone else, we’d need to guess. What are some cars you associate with certain types of music, or even specific songs?
A second-generation Camaro? It’s gotta be Sammy Hagar yelling about Three Lock Boxes or his song from Heavy Metal, imaginatively titled Heavy Metal.
How about a Chrysler Fifth Avenue? You know it’s Sinatra’s greatest hits, or some Streisand. There are Neil Diamond tapes in there too, but wife Sheila says those are husband Maury’s and “they’re too loud.”
A Volvo 240 wagon? Since it’s likely National Public Radio playing, it’s going to be All Things Considered instead of music. However, when NPR finally stops blabbing on about, say, the tragic plight of Abyssinian goat herders or whatever they might play some “music” snippets from Prairie Home Companion.
Chevy square body? Gotta be some George – either Strait or Jones – played by an owner who “don’t like that Hollywood country bulls**t.”
How about you? Let’s hear what you think is playing in, say, a purple Geo Storm or a duck-covered Jeep Wrangler. Or flip it, tell us about the unexpected tunes you’ve heard from cars that very much did not fit the musical bill. Heck, maybe you’re playing them yourself.
Top graphic image: GM
Personal soundtrack (mid 80’s cassettes)
67 Plymouth GTX – Springsteen’s Born to Run
68 Firebird Sprint 6 – Judas Priest’s British Steel
71 Vega – FM radio only – KISW 99.9 Rock
Current driver is a 2012 Mustang and the only CD in the glovebox is Def Leppard’s Pyromania lol
’81 Trans Am – Kid Rock
’04 Durango with gaping holes, mufflers dragging on the ground, and multiple infants in rear – Kid Rock
Lifted Dodge Pickup rolling coal – Kid Rock
Anything with a Confederate flag across the rear window – Kid Rock
Any Mustang in Copper Orange colour with chrome wheels going 75 down your residential street – Kid Rock
Lamborghini Countach kit car – Kid Rock
Any vehicle equipped with “Rifle it,” a novel 90s truck accessory that allowed you to store your loaded shotgun on a shelf above your windshield for easy access – Kid Rock
Any ICE vehicle obnoxiously parked across 3 charging stations, any vehicle running cyclists off the road while screaming obscenities at them, etc.
Whitesnake “Here I go again” and Jaguar XJ (and the lady on the hood 🙂
Whenever I see any Alfa Romeo Spider I always think of Simon and Garfunkel, even though it was only the original Duetto in The Graduate.
Blue Monday by New Order for driving my BMW e36.
A Pantera with Pantera
There’s an older gentleman around town that has massive bass coming out of his second gen Prius. I don’t even know what it is, it could possibly be Bassnectar or Skrillex but I don’t think those have enough low end oomph for this guy.
All Mustangs make me think of “Bell Bottom Blues.” It’s personal.
Here’s what I hear when I see that Chevy pickup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO-KKgYG9ZQ
(I am deep into the Bakersfield sound this week)
I associate Zamrock with my Saab (’85 SPG), because I first listened to it on the road trip to get it home. This is a bit more of an association with an experience than with the car alone, however.
When Dad bought Mom her first Volvo 240, he bought her a couple ABBA tapes.
That’s what I think of when I see a 240.
Pink Corvette? B52’s “Summer of Love”
1980’s Porsche 911SC Targa? Julie Brown “Cause I’m a Blonde”
Cadillac Coupe deVille? Sinatra “My Way”
Cadillac Sedan deVille? Ray Charles “Hit The Road Jack”
Cadillac Eldorado? Jim Croce “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”
Lincoln Continental? Henry Mancini “Peter Gunn Theme Song”
Plymouth Volare? Dean Martin “Volare”
it’s usually not the car, but the way the driver looks that i associate what kind of music they’re listening to.
I will always associate the mid-’80s Chrysler New Yorker with Judas Priest’s Turbo album, and the girl I was too scared and stupid to ask out in college.
I cannot see a ferrari testarossa without that Jan Hammer Miami Vice playing in my mind’s ear.
I’ve been rewatching it on Tubi (I’m old enough to have originally seen it on primetime), and I find myself amazed by how much synth is in it, either via Hammer’s actual songs or just the background music. That show alone could be seen as giving birth to the general 80s music meme.
VW Eos: early Justin Bieber. Since I’ve had zero personal experience with this car, my strongest memory of the VW Eos was when one pulled into the parking lot at the mall I used to work at, blasting Baby with the top down. This was also in the late 2010s BTW, way past that era of Justin.
Liked because I’m just happy there’s another person in here under 60.
The Vector W8 is definitely the theme song to Airwolf
Minivan? <3 years old? Barnie, Wheels on the Bus, Wiggle, Bluey, etc.
3-10 years old? Whatever the latest pop songs are.
Over 10 years old? Death Metal or Gangster Rap at about 3 times the proper volume for someone who’s hearing wasn’t destroyed by kid songs and crappy pop songs are.
Jeeps has to be muppet Ernie’s classic “Rubber Ducky,” or Rick Dees “Disco Duck.” Although, when banging around the PI in my old MB with a boombox duct-taped to the bed floor, it was commonly “Born in the USA” and – perversely – Kharma Chameleon.”
In my SAAB, when new, it was The Eurythmics with “Would I Lie to You” in frequent rotation. The exception was when I was traveling to my girlfriend and – somewhat inexplicably as I’m not a country fan in particular-it was all Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakum, Keith Whitley, George Strait, Clint Black, and Larry Gatlin. Otherwise, a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan.
In my high school ‘68 Charger “Born to Run” was a driving anthem as well as “Radar Love.” Or any of the Raspberries’ hits.
In my old Volvo, the radio was tuned to a “classic rock” station where Ozzie Osborne’s “Crazy Train” and “Mama I’m Coming Home” seemed to be every fifth song in rotation, for eight years! So, that’s what sticks for the old 240.
It’s impossible to look at a black Ferrari Daytona and not hear Phil Collins…even though it was not a real one
There were fake Phil Collinses?
It was a fiberglass bodied corvette. Still the best theme song ever.
Bump bump de bump de de bump bump
Yep. That’s why Enzo gave them the white Testarossa to blow up the Fauxrari, which led to this meme.
I’d take Phil the Shill’s white Lambo Jalpa in any case.
It was the perfect car for the character. Unlike those hard core, irredeemable bad guys that always seemed to drive white Countachs.
The theme for CBC’s As It Happens (which I just learned today is called Curried Soul, by Moe Koffman) is personally ingrained with my dad’s Plymouth Sundance, driving me to Cub Scouts, although your stereotypical CBC listener more likely in a perpetually 10 year old Subaru.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjTnwmHbwDc
This Curry rarely listens to Soul anymore, though it used to be part of the radio rotation before they all became venture capital conglomerates.
Soundtrack to a 1973-1977 El Camino:
Molly Hatchett – Flirtin’ with Disaster
Humble Pie – 30 Days in the Hole
Robin Trower – Too Rolling Stoned
James Gang–The whole Rides Again album
Absolutely!
VW Cabriolet = Mournful British folk (aka Nick Drake) thanks to this masterpiece of a commercial.
https://youtu.be/jKM7zKxfEQw?si=I8JnG3N82tgqIaPd
Weren’t we just talking about this?
On the rare occasion that I see a still functioning Cabrio on the road, I will immediately start singing Pink Moon by Nick Drake to myself
Was just was posting the same thing. Great minds…
Man, I can’t tell you the impression that commercial made on me when I first saw it. Like the very first ad that was made specifically for me
This! I’ve been a Nick Drake fan since the 80s long before most knew of him. This spot spoke to me too. I think that 60 second commercial is better than most of the new 2 hour movies and the choice of the late, great Nick Drake tune is perfect.
“What Cars Do You Associate With Specific Types Of Music?”
A pink Cadillac: Bruce Springsteen
Any Mustang driven by a girl named Sally: Wilson Pickett
A ’32 Ford: The Beach Boys (Bonus points if it’s got a swapped-in 409)
A Camaro: The Dead Milkmen
A Ferrari Barchetta: Rush
A GTO: Ronny & The Daytonas
A Willys Jeepster: T-Rex
A Trans Am: Sammy Hagar
A ’92 Subaru: Fountains of Wayne (Bonus if driven by Stacey’s Mom)
A Crown Victoria: The Presidents of the United States of America
A 400 horsepower black ’65 Mustang: White Zombie
You left out the MG and white Chrysler Lebaron: Cake
And pink Cadillacs also remind me of Aretha Franklin and the “Freeway of Love.”
Thanks for catching Cake. I should have thought of that.
But the MG is probably a stick shift, and they both probably have safety belts, so maybe that cancels them out. 🙂
Have to disagree with the ’32 Ford. That is 100% ZZ Top’s Eliminator album for me.
You also missed a Ford flatbed truck: Eagles’ Take it Easy.
Though I believe The Beach Boys were into that first.
Maybe so, but ZZ was on MTV for my formative years, so they win this round.
Only if that flatbed F*rd was being driven by a girl in Winslow, AZ.
I like this take for a camaro, but if I see a hesher driving a Gen 3 today I think of Manowar.
The only Manowar album I own is Fighting The World. (Death to False Metal!)
And I thought Hesher was Nickelback’s first album, but I’m not Canadian, so what do I know, right?
Per Google (and also my understanding):
A hesher is a slang term for a diehard fan of heavy metal music, typically characterized by a grungy aesthetic, long unkempt hair, band t-shirts, and a rebellious or rough-around-the-edges attitude.
Definition and Style
Sounds like me. Especially from the mid ’80s through the mid 2000s when I had really long hair. But I kept it combed, so it wasn’t unkempt.
Never saw Manowar live, and I’ve never owned a Camaro. (I do have a 3rd-gen Camaro drivetrain in my El Camino, though) I have seen Metallica live four times, plus Judas Priest, Pantera, Anthrax, Coal Chamber, Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Slayer, and too many others to list here. I’m going to see Godsmack again next month, actually.
But I’ve also seen Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Billy Joel, and the Violent Femmes, too, so there’s that.