The Necessity of Music In The Car

I know there was a time when cars were simple. An engine, wheels, seats and a steering wheel used to be all that was needed. Maybe if you wanted the Model T tricked out edition you'd get a couple of windows thrown in. Nowadays, you get everything from GPS and 10 cup holders to seat warmers and auto parallel parking. Cars today are nothing short of homes on wheels. But setting all that crazy new technology aside, one thing that is now an absolute necessity in cars today are car audio receivers, or in layman's terms, the brains of the car stereo.

Really, where would we be today without music in the car? Traffic would be even more agony than it already is. Long road trips would be minus a soundtrack. Behind-the-wheel singers wouldn't even exist. You know those people. Kind of like the ones that pick their nose thinking that no one can see them as they drive down the road knuckle deep in the left nostril but instead, they are belting out every word to "If You Wanna Be My Lover" by the Spice Girls as if they were Posh Spice on speed. (Guilty.)

I know people listen to radio outside of their box on wheels, but radio as we know it would go the way of the VHS or Furby if not for people listening as they drive home from work or on their way to the grocery store. No more request lines, and free prizes for being the 9th caller. No more catchy radio jingles that get stuck in your head all day and no talk radio with outrageous political rants that offend and entice. Without that car stereo, I probably wouldn't find much use for CDs anymore. I wouldn't have that pleasure of driving home from the the local music store and blasting my new purchase with the windows down and the pedal to the floor.

Even though it only takes the simplest of car audio receivers to listen to the necessity that is radio in the car, it's hard not to drool over the new technology that's out there. It is the generation of in-the-dash everything isn't it? Especially when it's getting close to the holidays I can't help but browse sites like become.com which has an endless catalog of car tricking bliss with that all that crazy technology I can't come close to understanding. I even tend to wander from car stereos to iPods and even voice recorders. (I've always wanted something like that to keep by my bed or in my car's glove box so I don't miss those moments of songwriting inspiration.) 

Overall, without music in the car, I feel like driving would be a chore. And the day driving becomes an absolute pain in the butt while stuck in silence, letting the boredom build and the road rage to boil over, is the day I cut my license in half and start taking the bus. No joke.

The First Listen

So what's with the first listen? You know, the first time you spin a brand new disc (or hit play on the iTunes or however you get your music). It's never what it's cracked up to be...but then, all of a sudden, you realize your stupidity and small-mindedness as the first listen becomes the second and the third.

For me, new music is an occasion. I try not to buy new music too often, the stuff can get expensive, but I have my kicks and it's hard not to indulge. I usually head to a place like Best Buy and immediately rip the case out of it's plastic prison once I get in the car so I can roll down the windows and enjoy a nice, slow ride home to rock some new tunage that I so crave.

But, it never fails. That first listen is never what I expect. Beside the one radio single I might recognize, the rest usually does nothing for me and I'm left wanting something more when the speakers have spit out the last notes.

Then comes the second listen. Whether it's right there in the car the same day, the next day, in my apartment, or in my headphones, something just clicks. The bland, unrecognizable songs morph into something totally different. The hooks pop out at me and the melodies sing their sweet sounds. The new disc becomes a totally new disc. Almost every time.

Maybe it's my expectations. Or maybe that first listen I always just zone out and don't get a hold of the big picture of what the whole album is about. In a way, it's insanely frustrating always having that initial let down. Even new albums from my favorite bands like Our Lady Peace and Three Days Grace do this to me even though I know they never disappoint and keep me listening year after year, album after album. Does this happen to anyone else, or am I just crazy?

Anyway, I think it's about time I just accept the inevitable truth that every cd that I buy is going to suck the first time around, but I should find comfort knowing that the second listen is most likely going to end up blowing my mind.

Thank you to Thousand Foot Krutch and their new album Welcome To The Masquerade for inspiring this post.  I have listened at least 4 times and I definitely enjoy...now.

Street Legal, But What's With The Radio?

I've lived in Kansas for about 10 months and my car is finally, truly street legal. About 7 months overdue. You're supposed to register your car within 90 days, but I decided to wait 300. Well, I didn't really decide to wait that long, I just did.

I started the process on Monday. I tried to get a copy of my title, only for the inspection place to be closed on Tuesday. (They have some crazy rules to register a car in Kansas.) Then I get there on Wednesday only to find they need the title faxed directly from my lender, so that leads us to today.

I got my baby inspected (which doesn't mean the same thing as it does in Maine), drove across town to register and get my plate, and now I don't stick out like a sore thumb as I drive through downtown Lawrence anymore. Not only do I only have one plate like every other Kansan (wouldn't that save some money Maine, think about it), I have a nice shiny blue one with the name "Kansas" across the top. No more chickadee, sad.

I snapped the pic of my plate as I sat in the Dillon's Supermarket parking lot (which is where I registered, weird) listening to The Police on the radio.

On a side note, not that there is anything wrong with The Police, actually the Police are great, I just can't seem to find a radio station out here that I can stand listening to for more than a couple of songs. It doesn't help being jobless so I never drive my car and scan the stations.

It will be nice to finally get a job, not have to worry about getting pulled over in my expired Maine plates (which expire at the end of March, phew, that was close), with no one staring at me wondering why this idiot Mainer is driving among them, all while listening to a radio station that I've been able to find and rightfully program into my presets.

Anyway, random as this post may be, I'm just excited to have accomplished something today, something that was pretty important. Gets my confidence up a little. Next stop, Job Town. Population, me.