Driving tunes

March 12, 2007 10:51 AM

What kind of music do you use to help keep you alert early in the morning, in the afternoon, and late at night?

For the mornings talk radio isn't really an option because my passengers can't stand it...

posted by joshuak to Travel & Transportation (23 answers total)

I listen to music I like to sing to. Hard to fall asleep when you're singing. :)
posted by miss lynnster at 11:07 AM on March 12, 2007

Force your passengers to sing too. Nobody gets out alive!
posted by miss lynnster at 11:09 AM on March 12, 2007

Japanese pop and rock: The Pillows, Shiina Ringo and eX-Girl for choice. I find it helps that I don't understand the words apart from the bits in English, and sometimes not even those.

It doesn't work for me personally, but some people are really energized by ska, reggae's hyperactive cousin.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 11:10 AM on March 12, 2007

The best stay-awake music is invariably that to which you can sing, or, more importantly, boogie.
posted by kmennie at 11:27 AM on March 12, 2007

Offspring
posted by cashman at 12:01 PM on March 12, 2007

Recordings of stand-up comedians are great for keeping you alert. You'll just need to figure out what level of offensiveness your passengers can handle.
posted by el-gregorio at 12:07 PM on March 12, 2007

What kind of passengers? Is this for a carpool?
posted by asuprenant at 12:11 PM on March 12, 2007

I tend to listen to NPR. it's quite nice in the morning because it's not the talk radio blubber, not too many commercial breaks (excuse me, underwriting) and you arrive alert and actually informed. then again, I am just the curious type.
posted by krautland at 12:12 PM on March 12, 2007

I listen to hyphy, but YMMV.
posted by dead_ at 12:15 PM on March 12, 2007

I tend to drive a lot at night --- long drives sometimes --- and definitely not anything downtempo. Fast, upbeat rock music is always good ... and also strangely, one of my favorite things to listen to at night, is Amon Tobin, I have no idea why.
posted by hazyspring at 12:27 PM on March 12, 2007

KMFDM, Infected Mushroom
posted by koudelka at 12:33 PM on March 12, 2007

Amon Tobin put out an album under the name Cujo called Adventures in Foam. I find it perfect to keep me awake while driving
posted by subtle_squid at 1:06 PM on March 12, 2007

Actually, singing, boogieing AND butt dancing are all valid methods of staying awake while driving.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:55 PM on March 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

Actually, singing, boogieing AND butt dancing are all valid methods of staying awake while driving.

Motown accomodates this well.
posted by donajo at 2:04 PM on March 12, 2007

Old school ska like Lee Perry, Prince Buster and Desmond Dekker.
posted by electroboy at 2:27 PM on March 12, 2007

This morning, the Velvet Underground's "What Goes On." (I have a short commute.) Mainly 60s garage rock and soul. 70s punk too.
posted by scratch at 3:20 PM on March 12, 2007

The second disc of Dylan's 1966 Royal Albert Hall performance does it for me. The first disc is definitely mellow, but might be interesting enough for morning music.

Solomon Burke's Nashville has a few subdued moments, but its opening tracks are a huge 1-2 punch.

Also:
Beethoven's 7th or 9th

Graham Coxon's Happiness In Magazines

Elvis' Tiger Man

Devin Davis' Lonely People of the World Unite

Anything by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Yo La Tengo's I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

Supergrass's In It For the Money

Richie Hawtin's DE9: Closer To The Edit

Os Mutantes's self-titled debut

The Magic Numbers's self-titled debut

M. Ward's Post-War

Herbert's Scale

Les Savy Fav's Inches or 3/5

Radiohead's The Bends

Ricardo Villalobos's Taka Taka

The Walkmen's Bows and Arrows

And then there's always the AC/DC live album...

And if that doesn't work:
Kemistry and Storm's DJ Kicks
posted by asuprenant at 4:04 PM on March 12, 2007

The Ramones and The Clash are my commute coffee.
posted by deedeep at 5:48 PM on March 12, 2007

Dance music and hard rock. Anything that makes you want to move to it, really. Or some kinds of classical can work--you know, the ones with lots of dramatic bits.

And I especially like "Move your dead bones" for a really energizing song. (See this video clip--it starts at around nine seconds.)

Varying it a lot also works pretty well; I find if I listen to the same kind of thing for too long, it's almost trancelike.
posted by Many bubbles at 7:42 PM on March 12, 2007

Downloadable Coffee

"The folks at anabubula dot com have a “Coffee replacement,” site. Rather than the steaming cup of joe most people expect, the site features a 20 minute Mp3 that stimulates the listener’s brain allegedly the same way a cup of coffee does. The audio clip starts with nature sounds as a base, then gradually introduces rapidly repeating beats into the background." [source]

I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but it's a neat concept.
posted by catburger at 8:41 PM on March 12, 2007

At night I prefer Tool, A Perfect Circle, NIN. You get the drift. Morning & afternoon are usually more eclectic - I find Mozart, Bach, Telemann very invigorating for AM - with afternoon more of a mix of everything - Rascal Flatts (sp?), Seal, Cult, Nickelback, Collective Soul.
posted by ranchgirl7 at 9:37 PM on March 12, 2007

Download some This American Life shows and burn 'em to CD - they tend to get people interested, and keep you awake. There's a thread of recommendations around here someplace.
posted by Happy Dave at 2:39 AM on March 13, 2007

I second the Desmond Dekker.

I like stimulating music. Below are some favorites. The first one is a lovely band, the rest are electronic:

Albums:
Of Montreal - Sunlandic Twins
Minotaur Shock - Maritime
Der Dritte Raum - Wellenbad
Rip Van Hippy - Waking Up is Hard to Do!
Claro Intelecto - Neurofibro (or Neurofibrio)

Stuff from Haltya, Pelinpala, Cursor Miner, The Rip Off Artist.

Anything you can find from Minimal Radio is great for making time disappear late at night.

Cheesy 80's love songs to sing along to is a favorite strategy.
posted by redteam at 5:37 AM on March 13, 2007