Roadtrip stories

Who doesn’t like a roadtrip? And who doesn’t like a roadtrip story?

Take your pick, folks.

Matt Quartermaine drives through burnt-out New South Wales via R.E.M and Everybody Hurts. The sparse music emphasised the isolation and frustration I was feeling. The song and situation aligned perfectly in that moment as a connection to pain, loss and dread.

Justine Sless needs Clairy Browne & The Banging Rackettes to get her from Melbourne to Adelaide. And back. As we head out of Adelaide towards the freeway, the kids begin their mammoth DVD watching session and groan in unison when I press play on the Clairy Browne CD. I bump and grind to the rhythm and yell out the lyrics as we clock up the kilometres back to Melbourne.

N.T. McQueen remembers his mother and the long country highways around Lake County, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Clear Lake, Upper Lake, Middletown via Karen Carpenter singing Rainy Days And Mondays.With my Mom and sister in charge, the 6 CD changer was female dominated with a leap year’s chance of the stereo playing MxPx, Face to Face, Suicide Machines, or Bouncing Souls.

Jesse Maskell goes stream-of-consciousness as he recalls a car accident via A Moment’s Grace by Boy & Bear. …the crash site, barrel-rolled down the hill at 100 Ks an hour, a miracle we both walked away over a year ago now, sorry for the van, I hate Grafton now…

Rijn Collins needs a hefty does of Etta James to get her safely across Iceland. We held onto the door handles, aghast, as our car shook from side to side. Police waved us past paramedics on the Ring Road, where the wind had overturned a boat on a trailer and sent it smashing into an oncoming car.

David Oke is embarassed to admit that his favourite driving song is a by a fictitious band.Anyone heard of The Vicksburgs?

These are just some of our roadtrip stories. We also have stories inspired by Paul Kelly, Lana Del Rey, Cold Chisel, The Beach Boys, Lorde, The Doobie Brothers, Johnny Cash & June Carter…

To see them all, open The Stereo Stories Glovebox of Roadtrip Stories.

Photos of California, West Texas, Victoria, and Montana courtesy of Jesse Maskell.