Mushrooms over the desert road

October 28, 2010 3:25 PM

Does the hivemind know similar songs to the Röyksopp songs "Silver Cruiser" and Triumphant? So instrumental, hypnotic, majestic? The sort of song you can play driving through the Nevada desert?

I've seen a similar thread from 2006, but that was too generic.

posted by Eltulipan to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

In my mind, "Silver Cruiser" pairs perfectly with the Automatic 5 dub remix of Faith No More's "Ashes to Ashes." Not entirely instrumental, but the vocals have been mixed into the flow quite nicely.
posted by lekvar at 3:39 PM on October 28, 2010

YT links to Silver Cruiser and Triumphant. Reminds me of early Air (Sexy Boy is my go-to to define early Air), and I haven't really kept up with the band to tell you more from them. Silver Cruiser has some vibe of recent Radiohead (until it gets all hazy) - see Videotape, Nude. Not quite on, but similar. More instrumental: Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space. Slower and amazing: Explosions in the Sky = all slow builds, all fantastic - definitely night driving music. More spacy: Sigur Ros, but maybe too sleepy.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:49 PM on October 28, 2010

Mogwai. Lots of it would do. I like Kids Will Be Skeletons.

And you can't really go wrong for beauty with Dirty Three's Ocean Songs (The Restless Waves).
posted by Kafkaesque at 4:00 PM on October 28, 2010

Bonobo is a little more melancholy than Silver Cruiser and a little jazzier than Röyksopp in general, but might fit the bill. I've driven through the Nevada Desert while listening to him not long ago, and it worked great!
posted by aubilenon at 4:38 PM on October 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Okay, don't know how well these align with what you're looking for, but I'd personally love to be driving through the desert listening to any these.

Massive Attack - Angel

Orbital - Halcyon On and On

Fever Ray - Keep The Streets Empty (seems strangely appropriate too, don't cha think?)
Also, from her other act: The Knife - Silent Shout.

M83 - We Own The Sky and Slowly.

Blue Foundation, for example Sweep.

Oh, and Asobi Seksu.

Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb, or The Dark Side Of The Moon album.
posted by spr at 5:22 PM on October 28, 2010

<3 hypnotic music. How about some Boards of Canada, Boards of Canada, Boards of Canada, Plaid, Plaid, Plaid, Nathan Fake, Nathan Fake, Squarepusher, Squarepusher, Blackstrobe, Deadmau5, Cursor Miner, Cursor Miner, or (if you don't hate dubstep) Nuphlo, 16 Bit, Burial...

I've been listening to most of these songs for years
posted by 7-7 at 5:27 PM on October 28, 2010

I was reminded immediately of Blumenthal by Ulrich Schnauss. He's got some other great stuff too, if not exactly the same mood. Check out the albums A Strangely Isolated Place and Far Away Trains Passing By.

Another one that I think is just glorious is Flight Over The North Rim by Nicholas Gunn.

A bit of a longer shot might be The Legend of Babel by Georgio Moroder. It's more symphonic in parts.

Another longer shot is Part One from Constance Demby's Novus Magnificat. This clip is just an excerpt. The whole thing goes for over 26 minutes.

Transitioning from there into something more dreamy and breezy and happy than heavier and more majestic, I'm throwing this one in just because I like it so much. Maybe it could be your desert sunrise driving song: Tribal Gregorian by Constance Demby.
posted by Askr at 7:51 PM on October 28, 2010

Spindrift is a bit more western, but great for desert driving.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 7:56 AM on October 29, 2010