Mixtape | Songs for the open road

Surely there is no other time when a mixtape is so necessary than when heading out on a summer road trip, whatever the destination may be. From fun sing-a-longs to serious stompers to quiet, slow anthems, a mixtape can really add an element to your trip into the wild blue yonder you might not expect.

Songs have been written for decades about this truly American tradition of “road tripping.”

Listen to Twinkle’s Roadtrip Mixtape on Spotify.

You might want to start the timeline for this idea right on Route 66 that shoots clear through the continent from Chicago to the California coast. This iconic freeway was immortalized in song in 1946 and is a perfect physical representation of an American ideal — the freedom to travel, just because.

 

The time when the song “Route 66” was penned was quite possibly the first demarcation in history where people began to travel by automobile for leisure. Family vacations were beginning to be more popular and cars were becoming more accessible to a wider population. Everyone wanted to explore.

Photos: 10 unusual roadside attractions

I’m sharing today one of my mixtapes that I find captures the picturesque drive through southern farmland to the crispness of an urban landscape to the desolation of endless desert black top.

One of my favorite bands to put on my road trip mixtape is T Rex. The Marc Bolan-led musical outfit’s spacey ‘70s psych music brings a boring drive on an endless interstate up to an almost unearthly level.

A drive through the South might bring me to create a mixtape filled with blues and soul and laced with southern rock anthems.

And on a trip out West, you could hear anything from Marty Robbins or Tex Ritter to Band of Horses.

Take a road trip with Twinkle’s Mixtape, even if you’ll be spending your summer sitting behind your desk.

Listen to Twinkle’s Roadtrip Mixtape on Spotify.

Track Listing: 

1. "Route 66" - Chuck Berry

2. "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" - ZZ Top

3. "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" - Billy Bragg & Wilco

4. "In the Morning" - The Coral

5. "Roam" - B-52's

6. "Restless" - The Cobras

7. "I'm Going Home" - Prince Conley

8. "To the Left, To the Right" - T-Model Ford

9. "Buick Mackane" - T. Rex

10. "America the Beautiful" - The Dictators

11. "Motor Away" - Guided By Voices

12. "Let The Rest of It Burn" - Shooting Out the Lights

13. "Cosmic Dancer" - T. Rex

14. "Cattle Call" - Eddy Arnold

15. "Islands on the Coast" - Band of Horses

16. "Mr. Blue Sky" - ELO

17. "In the Summertime" - Mungo Jerry

18. "I've Been Everywhere" - Johnny Cash

19. "Road to Nowhere" - Talking Heads

20. "Miserlou" - Dick Dale & his Del-Tones

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Find Twinkle on Foodspotting, Tumblr and Twitter and at twinklevanwinkle.com.

Twinkle VanWinkle ponders, creates and discovers cool stuff about music, movies, food, fashion and so forth. Her thoughtful writings and interactives give great advice about healthy food, cooking tips, DIY projects, fashion and more. She’ll teach you a thing or two about music as well. Along with producing dynamic entertainment content for LIN Media, she is a mother, musician and social media fanatic.