CNN's and Their Readers' Lists of Best Travel Songs

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CNN's and Their Readers' Lists of Best Travel Songs

Postby jon » Sun Jun 22, 2014 8:16 am

Here is the most recent CNN list of Best Travel Songs of All Time, based purely on their Writers and Editors:

12 best travel songs of all time
By Barry Neild, for CNN
September 10, 2013 -- Updated 0802 GMT (1602 HKT)

12. Peter, Paul and Mary: 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' (1967)

This wistful John Denver ballad telling the story of an achy-hearted traveler's sadness at leaving a loved one and not knowing "when I'll be back again" is an anthem for long-distance love.

In these days of volcanic eruptions, angry passengers and unhelpful counter agents, it could simply be a mundane tirade against the uncertainties of commercial flying.

Sad but apt fact: In one of popular music's most apt demises, Denver died when his experimental plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean.

11. I Nine: 'Same in Any Language' (2005)

As a director, Cameron Crowe has become the modern bard of hits ("Jerry McGuire," "Almost Famous") and misses ("We Bought a Zoo").

As a compiler of soundtracks, we'd probably put him above Wes Anderson as the best in the biz.

Though among his less celebrated films, 2005's "Elizabethtown" showcases one of his most memorable collections of excellent, semi-obscure tunes, highlighted by this strummy rocker about the gypsy lifestyle from South Carolina's critically acclaimed I Nine.

The song takes us from Tripoli to Amsterdam to Birmingham, but finds that all of us share the universal desire of chatting up a Navajo in a parking lot in Tokyo. (Somehow this all works really, really well.)

Whattya gonna do? fact: A great soundtrack couldn't hide the flaws in "Elizabethtown," which gets just a 28% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

10. Gene Pitney: '24 Hours from Tulsa' (1963)

Clearly a song of its time, Gene Pitney's hit is a tale of unexpectedly falling in love a day's drive away from an existing relationship.

It wouldn't happen today because the song's protagonist would have hopped onto a budget airline and made the journey in a couple of hours -- although he could perhaps have squeezed in a quick flirtation with the woman in seat 16B who was giving him those looks ...

Slightly tasteless fact: The Welsh hotel room where Pitney died of heart failure in 2006 was about 24 hours' travel time from Tulsa.

9. Iggy Pop: 'The Passenger' (1977)

Not to be confused with Elton John's execrable 1984 song "Passengers," or the 2003 album "Passenger" by Swedish nu metal band "Passenger," Iggy's restless punk anthem cleaves a ragged path through the dark heart of an unexplored urban landscape -- or at least it used to until it was appropriated (with lucrative results for Mr. Pop no doubt) to peddle cars, Guinness and cosmetics.

Sell-out fact: Apparently no longer content to be a passenger, Iggy himself -- old, wrinkled but still shirtless -- once advertised car insurance in the United Kingdom.

8. M.I.A.: 'Paper Planes' (2008)

Before you start hurling heavy objects at your screen, hear us out.

Yes, this might be a feeble attempt to keep this list current, but M.I.A.'s melodic mash-up of The Clash's "Straight to Hell" and Wreckx-n-Effect's "Rumpshaker" is about travel.

Sure, M.I.A.'s incoherent polemics on global oppression create as many critics as fans, and all the edgy stuff about visas and hustling on "Paper Planes" is somewhat undone by the misfiring irony of the song's cartoon violence -- but there's no avoiding the fact it was a solid platinum hit.

Undiplomatic fact: M.I.A.'s strident support for Sri Lanka's Tiger Tamil fighters led to her being branded a "terrorist sympathizer" by the island's government.

7. The Go-Go's: 'Vacation' (1982)

This splash of California sunshine unabashedly wallows in the giddy romance of a holiday fling without coming to terms with the fact that -- this being the 1980s -- he was just some sleazeball waiter who probably beds a different girl group every week.

Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin gets extra travel points for her 1985 solo single "Rush Hour" and her cameo in "Bill and Ted's Big Adventure."

Surprising subcontinental fact: Lead singer Belinda Carlisle now has a home in Goa, India.

6. Simon and Garfunkel: 'Homeward Bound' (1966)

This great travel song celebrates the tedium of being stuck in a dead-end en route to somewhere slightly better, which as any passenger knows, is half the fun.

Another contender from S&G is "America," veering off the beaten track to name-check the workmanlike destinations of Pittsburgh, Saginaw and New Jersey. "Homeward Bound" is a candid admission that being on the road blows and you've had enough. Boo hoo hoo.

Dirty fact: "Homeward Bound" was reputedly penned by Paul Simon after he was stranded for the night at Widnes station in England. Widnes' only other significant export is pollution.

5. Hoodoo Gurus: '1,000 Miles Away' (1991)

Australia's occasionally be-paisleyed, troubadoring Gurus may have been using travel as a metaphor for the emotional distance that being away from home can inflict

But with references to "spending half my life in airports doing crosswords and attempting to sleep" and the soul-crushing burn that accompanies life "at the bottom the corporate tree," this paean to airport barstools and estimated times of arrival is the weary road warrior's most sympathetic anthem.

Nautical fact: The crew of the Australian Royal Navy frigate HMAS Canberra declared "1,000 Miles Away" its unofficial theme song during the ship's last voyage before being decommissioned in 2005.

4. Bob Dylan: 'Tangled Up in Blue' (1975)

In truth you could conjure up a whole album of restless whines from the king of modern folk rock.

Tunes like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'" inspired legions of disenfranchised youths to make tracks, even if no one really knew what Bob was on about.

There's more clarity to be had from "Rolling Stone," even if he resorts to harping on about "clowns and jugglers" yet again.

But nothing rivals the epic trans-U.S. poetry of "Tangled."

Acting fact I: Dylan won an Oscar in 2000 for "Things Have Changed," featured in the movie "Wonder Boys." Just as well, since his woeful attempts at acting would never make the grade.

3. Willie Nelson: 'On the Road Again' (1980)

American national treasure Willie Nelson doesn't mess around with Dylanesque whimsy in this straightforward classic that does exactly what it says on the cover.

It's called "On the Road Again" and it's about being on the road again.

Hopefully Nelson isn't driving though. After arrests for marijuana and mushroom possession, it's perhaps better if one of his friends takes the wheel.

Acting fact II: Unlike Dylan, Nelson can act. Not that he needs to in movies like "Dukes of Hazzard."

2. Bruce Springsteen: 'Born to Run' (1975)

On the face of it, a rollicking love song for a girl going by the unlikely name of Wendy, but in truth a desperate anthem about getting the hell out of nowheresville (in Springsteen's case, Asbury, New Jersey), with the disaffected howl of "We gotta get out while we're young, 'cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run."

Career fact: A frustrated Springsteen recorded "Born to Run" as a final effort to hit the big time. Apparently it worked.

Steppenwolf: 'Born to be Wild' (1968)

The ultimate open-road song.

Steppenwolf's full-throttled cover version would be a perfect checklist for the rock 'n 'roll voyager, if having a checklist wasn't so un-rock 'n' roll.

"Get your motor running" -- check.

"Head out on the highway" -- check.

"Looking for adventure" -- check.

You get the idea.

Mind you, it's been so worn out over the years that the only people still listening to it are graying oldies whose checklist is more likely to include things like blood-pressure pills, sensible shoes and a hernia truss.

Not-so-wild fact: Despite being classed as one of the first heavy metal bands, Steppenwolf were originally called The Sparrows. Doesn't quite have the same ring does it?
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Re: CNN's and Their Readers' Lists of Best Travel Songs

Postby jon » Sun Jun 22, 2014 8:19 am

Readers' picks: Best travel songs of all time
By Chuck Thompson, CNN
June 20, 2014 -- Updated 0515 GMT (1315 HKT)

Below are the best travel songs our readers couldn't believe we missed the first time around -- frankly, neither can we.

15. "Truckin'" (Grateful Dead, 1970)

Back when the San Francisco herbadours recorded their immortal ballad of the blacktop, "Truckin'" defined a state of mind far more than it did the actual act of riding in a truck.

Perhaps that's why the Grateful Dead's terminally relaxed supporters didn't bother caterwauling in our comments section about long strange trips and mellowing slow.

Most simply left a single word of wisdom: "Truckin'."

14. "Convoy (C.W. McCall, 1975)

It's hard to imagine now, but for a flicker in time, no one in the world was as hip as America's red-blooded and red-eyed long-haul truckers.

Fueled by the CB radio lingo of the day -- "That's a big 10-4," "Good buddy," "Breaker 1-9," "Put the hammer down," they're all here! -- C.W. McCall's ode to outrunning smokies and teaming up with 11 long-haired friends of Jesus in a chartreuse Microbus resonates to this day.

Deanna J. Dragonus wasn't the only reader to chastise us for neglecting traveling professionals, but she did it with the no-nonsense aplomb of a truck stop waitress when she wrote: "Apparently, CNN didn't bother to ask the people that travel for a living for input otherwise there would be song (sic) such as C.W. McCall's 'Convoy.'"

Reader Popeboof chimed in from down the counter: "Hell ya Convoy!!!!"

13. "I Can't Drive 55" (Sammy Hagar, 1984)

From Long Island to Los Angeles, howls of indignation echoed across the country when the U.S. government decreed a nationwide federal speed limit of 55 molasses-like miles per hour on the nation's interstates.*

No one howled quite like lead-footed California rocker and Ferrari owner Sammy Hagar.

His populist challenge to the authority of a paternalistic central government remains an all-time classic.

Reader Marisofhm summed up the feelings of many by dubbing our original story a "lame list" without the inclusion of the Red Rocker's high-octane hit.

*The U.S. government passed the National Maximum Speed Law in 1974, making 55 mph the top speed on all interstate roads. In 1995, federal speed limit controls were officially removed with the passage of the National Highway Designation Act, largely leaving the matter of speed limits up to individual states.

12. "Going Up the Country" (Canned Heat, 1968)

MoDef wanted to know: "What about the Canned Heat??????"

That wasn't the only call for this chooglin' blues-rock number that deploys a power flute, promises a trip that "might even leave the U.S.A." and memorably lit up the crowd at Woodstock in 1969.

That's a travel-song resume for the ages.

11. "Holiday Road" (Lindsay Buckingham, 1983)

Widespread support for the theme from National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies took us by surprise.

We're big Lindsay Buckingham fans, but we'd deemed this one a little too lightweight for our original list.

Along with a number of others, reader Eric passionately disagreed: "'Holiday Road' by Lindsey Buckingham is #1."

But pspdude summed up the Buckingham Bridgade's beef best: "The road anthem of all time, 'Holiday Road' by Lindsay Buckingham. CNN, what were you thinking to leave (this) out?"

10. "Me and Bobby McGee" (Janis Joplin, 1971)

Reader pepina questioned our travel bona fides when lambasting the absence of this undisputed travel masterpiece from our original article: "Guess the writer has never been 'busted flat in Baton Rouge ... waiting for a train.'"

That's true enough, pepina, but various members of the CNN Travel staff have been busted flat in such places as Bangkok, Melbourne and Blythe, California.

Enough, it goes without saying, to admit we should have known to include this one in our original story.

Readers suggested various versions of Kris Kristofferson's drifter fable originally recorded by Roger Miller in 1969.

Wes Scott called the Grateful Dead's take the "best version of that song I EVER heard, and I LOVE Janis!"

But most cited Janis Joplin's 1971 version as the one they like best.

9. "Turn the Page" (Bob Seger, 1973)

Perhaps representing the roots rocker's mature and tolerant fan base, reader Mark was among many who lobbied in genial fashion for the inclusion of this world-weary tour bus ballad.

"Ease up people everyone's list is different," wrote Mark. "'Turn the Page' by Bob Seger would've been on my list but I'm not gonna bash (writer Barry Neild) because it's not on his."

Several other Seger songs garnered mentions from readers, including "Roll Me Away," "Travelin' Man" and "Against the Wind."

8. "Ramblin' Man" (The Allman Brothers Band, 1973)

Reader Kokapelye was driven to multiple exclamation points (actually a pretty common reaction) by the omission of this Southern rock tour de force: "What?! No Allman Brothers!! One of my road tapes is almost all Allmans."

We'll agree that any song that includes a line about being born in the back seat of Greyhound Bus, as well as one of the most memorable guitar solos in rock history (by Dickey Betts), deserved a place our original list.

We'll also agree that anyone who has a cassette player in their car is probably driving something way cooler than we are.

7. "Running on Empty" (Jackson Browne, 1977)

Micah Burns wrote: "'Radar Love' and 'Runnin' On Empty' ... are better than half the songs on this list."

Micah should be happy -- both picks were echoed often enough by others to make the readers' top picks list.

Driver of the magical cassette-rockin' car Kokapelye chimed in with an interesting if dubious claim: "Ooh yeah! 'Runnin' on Empty!' I actually get better mileage from the bottom of my tank by humming that song!"

6. "Travelin' Man" (Ricky Nelson, 1961)

Thomas McCraw wrote: "I am in my 50's and only recognize about 6 of these songs ... Where did they come up with this list of obscure songs? Surprised they did not have 'Traveling Man' by Ricky Nelson."

Smitty echoed the sentiment: "What no mention of Ricky Nelson's 'Traveling Man'?"

It's true, of course, that there are at least five or 10 benighted music fans under the age of 35 don't know who Ricky Nelson is.

Perhaps his high ranking here will help rectify the troubling musical vacuity of today's youth.

5. "City of New Orleans" (Arlo Guthrie, 1972)

Reader Neibo Eneri wrote: "I can't believe you left out 'City of New Orleans' by Arlo Guthrie."

Only a handful of songs were more popular among readers than this ode to American train culture originally penned and recorded by folk troubadour Steve Goodman in 1971.

"City of New Orelans" has been performed by a number of artists, including Johnny Cash, John Denver and Willie Nelson, but Arlo Guthrie had the signature hit with it in 1972.

Noting the song's numerous iterations, SteveK77536 wrote: "Not bad, I hope Goodman got some money for all that."

4. "Radar Love" (Golden Earring, 1973)

Reader chuck d opined fiercely: "What, no 'Radar Love' ?????? flawed list my friend."

Is that the Chuck D?

We doubt it, but much respect anyway, both from CNN and a number of readers whose road trips apparently aren't the same without this ESP booty call psalm from the driving Dutchmen of Golden Earring.

Reader whymilikethis reported a disconcerting connection with the song: "'Radar Love' -- I get speeding tickets listening to that one. My favorite drivin' tune."

3. "I've Been Everywhere" (Johnny Cash, 1996)

After scanning our list, Ron Bolin wanted to know: "Where is Hank Snow's 'I've Been Everywhere'?"

Idbrandel piped in: "Ron Bolin's vote for 'I've Been Everywhere' is a good call, though more people probably know Johnny Cash's version."

Jeff said: "LAME list. Forgot Johnny Cash -- 'I've Been Everywhere.'"

We're not sure that missing one song renders an entire list LAME, but we get your point, Jeff.

Ron Bolin and Idbrandel are also each right, though not quite complete.

Canadian country warbler Hank Snow took this rhythmic road riff to number one on the U.S. country chart in 1962.

But the Man in Black's 1996 version, produced by Rick Rubin, is the one most often heard today and the one most often cited by CNN readers.

However, the song was written by Australian musician Geoff Mack in 1959.

The original lyrics included a rundown of Aussie towns such as "Strathpine, Proserpine, Ulladulla, Darwin, Gin Gin, Deniliquin, Muckadilla, Wallumbilla, Boggabilla, Kumbarilla."

The lyrics were later adapted to name check American towns.

2. "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" (Nat King Cole, 1946)

Reader Littleredtop nearly blew a head gasket when he came across our original list of greatest travel songs ever: "(Writer) Barry Neild* must either be twelve years old or the most poorly informed music critic ever. He has completely overlooked the greatest travel song of all time -- Nat King Cole's rendition of 'Route 66.' This isn't just my opinion as hundreds of millions of people all across the globe will agree."

Many (though not quite hundreds of millions) did indeed agree.

SDM113: "Was shocked that neither 'Kokomo' nor 'Route 66' made this list."

Guest: "2 words, my friends. 'Route 66.' Get your kicks."

Kokapelye: "Other than Nat King Cole's original, Asleep at the Wheel has performed a great cover."

STSEndeavour: "'Route 66' by Depeche Mode (or anybody for that matter)."

*Little Barry Neild actually turns 11 this year. He's recently been introduced to the Rolling Stones and is currently in the process of recovering his self-esteem.

1. "Life is a Highway" (Tom Cochrane, 1991)

No song left off our original list inspired as much outcry as this rousing run through destinations from Mozambique to Memphis.

Greg Breault wrote: "list is invalid without 'Life Is A Highway.'"

Brad Johnson: "Life is a highway needs to be on here!"

Nikki Nik: "You left out 'Life is a Highway' by Rascal Flatts."

Stephen Haladay: "Tom Cochrane: 'Life is a Highway.' Come on CNN!"

Quite right on all counts -- we deserve to have our passports confiscated by surly border guards for leaving this one off the list.

Also, we like Rascal Flatts' twanged-up version almost as much as the original.

What we're not certain about is the whiff of anti-Canadian sentiment that colored some responses.

Alex1234 wrote: "What about 'Life is a Highway' by Tom Cochrane. Oh. He's Canadian."

Stumping for the Cochrane, Marty wrote: "Already disqualified because of Canadian citizenship. Hey, no one said life was fair!"

Hey, we've got nothing against Canadian anything -- some of our best editors are Canadian. The fact is, we could build a whole top 10 list of greatest travel songs ever solely with songs by Canadian artists.

In addition to "Life is a Highway" and "I've Been Everywhere" there's BTO's "Roll On Down the Highway," Gordon Lightfoot's "Carefree Highway," Rush's "Fly By Night," and ... um ... then there's ... uh ... help us out here, people!

Honorable Mention (songs that received multiple nominations from readers): "Country Roads" (John Denver), "Highway Song" (Blackfoot), "Highway Star" (Deep Purple), "Hot Rod Lincoln" (Commander Cody), "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" (The Proclaimers), "Jet Airliner" (Paul Pena/Steve Miller Band), "King of the Road" (Roger Miller), "Magic Carpet Ride" (Steppenwolf), "Midnight Train to Georgia" (Gladys Knight & the Pips), "Roll On Down the Highway" (Bachman-Turner Overdrive), "Southern Cross" (Crosby, Stills and Nash), "Take It Easy" (Eagles).
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