A reader asks if I’m listening to any classical this trip. I love classical, but no. The first three songs that came up on my shuffling iPod this trip were from fabulous women artists:
1. “Little Plastic Castle” by Ani DiFranco–“In a coffee shop, in a city, which could be any coffee shop in any city…” which seemed thematically appropriate for what is to come.
2. “Better” by Regina Spektor
3. “Hold On” by Alabama Shakes
Now I could fill out this play list with two other great songs by women that I heard during the first two days, but I’d rather leap into a bit on shameless promotion for a member of the Road Trip Alumni Association–the great Rodney Crowell. Rodney has a new album out called Kin, which features songs he wrote with Mary Karr, the poet and memoirist. (She wrote The Liars Club and Lit, among others.) Various terrific performers do some work on it, including Lucinda Williams, Norah Jones, Vince Gill, Kris Kristofferson and Rosanne Cash, who used to be married to Rodney. Anyway, two songs from that album you might want to download:
4. “I’m A Mess”
5. “Sister, Oh Sister”
I’ll have a surprise musical traveling companion next week, I hope. I’ll keep it quiet until Katy nails it down.