SIRIUSLY????
A PCA “Club Talk” e-mail thread from my former region recently hosted an exchange of opinions about the best music for driving. It really got me to thinking.
Looking out in the garage, I considered the connection of “music” to each vehicle. Let’s see… the vintage 1960’s British car has no radio. At least not one that works. Positive ground (they call it “earth”) and transistors. No one to fix it. No way to buy a new one. No music. Not obvious why it is named “Triumph”.
Next car, a topless Audi. Julie wants her 100+ Sirius channels so that she can listen to 6 of them. Good sound. Worth it.
Next car, the Cayenne. A cruiser with an awesome sound system. It, too, has Sirius satellite radio, and for the same reasons as the Audi. Gets 100+ stations, I typically listen to six pre-sets as well. But they are MY six, not hers.
Then there’s the Cayman R. It actually came with a 2-month free subscription to Sirius. Siriusly??? Like many other Porsches, this one makes its own music- no radio required. Octaves of RPMs flowing out from under the glass right behind my head, connecting my ears to my hands, to my pedal feet and to the seat of my pants (so to speak). So the Sirius subscription offer sat unused for years. Then last summer I had a string of about 8 weeks that included taking the Cayman to Spokane, then Banff, then to the PCA Club Race in Colorado. THAT seemed to be the perfect time to use the trial subscription and then decide whether to pull the trigger on the subscription for those 6 pricey stations. Hardly used the radio through the whole trial period. Passed on the subscription.
Then a few weeks ago, the Nord Stern region “club talk” thread got me to thinking about how certain commercial music can actually augment the driving experience in cars that already engage all of your senses. It’s like going from 100% already, to a number that’s WAY higher. The tunes that I came up with -and for me there are only a dozen or two- seem to be connected with some very deep memory or a particular road trip. Tunes in my list come from rock, jazz, pop, and even opera. To illustrate, “Rider’s on the Storm” by The Doors is great for a rainy night drive. Golden Earring’s “Radar Love” matches recalls an all night drive (in an MG-B…with an Abarth exhaust). Pat Metheny’s “Last Train Home” is perfect for getting anywhere fast. Sting’s “Stolen Car” takes me back to commuting from Paris to Brussels at about 200 KPH. Pavarotti singing Nessum Dorma, just forces the driver to match the revs to the volume of the song itself. The last one is ticket bait for sure.
Anyway, as I’m about to head off in “Red Hot Chili” (the Cayman…not “Pepper”, the Cayenne) for a road trip from Salt Lake City to Colorado Springs, I’m thinking about creating a custom play list on my trusty old iPod. Just plug it into the USB port and crank it up! Pandora? Spotify? Sirius????? I’ll pass, thank you. But I’ll definitely be “In the ZONE”.
What’s on YOUR playlist??? Go to the Zone 9 Facebook page and join the thread!!!