Road Trip Kickoff

• Corey +2
• Peter Seeley +2 — This song makes me wish I had wheels. Not in the "own a car sense", but actual wheels as bodily appendages.
• Edward James +1 — It's so cliche, but then as soon as the beat hits you know exactly why it's achieved that status. It's infectious, you can't argue with it. It does exactly what it tries to do, which is be perfect for starting out on the road.
• fionmul +1 — OK, probably the definitive answer
• SamRobertsND +1 — One of the two songs on my shortlist, would be hypocritical not to vote for it.
• Spicey Riche +1
• Claire +1 — I didn’t submit this one bc I thought it would be too obvious/stereotypical and wouldn’t land. But the second it hit on the playlist I realized I was wrong. It’s just a perfect song.
• shea nowicki +1
• Brad Stalcup 0 — Also, Cars is not a top 10 pixar movie
• Sam Ary -1

• Joseph Harvey +1 — Yes, this works
• Corey +1
• Edward James +1 — 100% - perfect choice. Hype, destination, energy, raucousness. You can imagine a car of the bros belting it out as you start.
• Brad Stalcup +1 — Where's my car. Need to jump in it and start driving after hearing this song.
• Spicey Riche +1
• Claire +1 — Got me pumped in exactly the way I want to be pumped for a road trip
• Regina Scime 0 — This was #5 for me!
• SamRobertsND 0 — I owe Audioslave and the 88 an apology.
• Peter Seeley 0 — This would be a great for the "it's 3am and my adrenal glands can no longer process caffeine" part of the road trip

• Joseph Harvey +1 — This is a good song and good fit. I never noticed how bizarre the singing in this is but it is unhinged
• Regina Scime +1
• Brad Stalcup +1 — 3 seconds in I knew. Yes.
• SamRobertsND +1 — Ice Age!!! This was the second one on mu shortlist. Such an iconic intro, and the gobbledygook refrain with the whistling is peak 90s slop.
• Spicey Riche +1
• judd.baker +1 — hot take perhaps but the better of the two submissions from the soundtrack of an early 2000’s digitally animated movie
• Edward James 0 — The whole world opens up with its immense potential as you listen to this song. The build up is perfect for drawing you in to the road trip mood.
• fionmul 0 — Damn i do NOT have enough votes

Regina Scime: how my best friend and I kick off every car ride

• fionmul +1 — Wait I’m crying we have a video of me dancing to this as a baby I love this song
• Brad Stalcup +1 — Love me some doobie brothers. This is just a great song.
• Peter Seeley +1
• shea nowicki +1
• Sam Ary +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Close. Not quite a kickoff
• Edward James 0 — Another absolute road trip banger (Alex) but not one I would use for kickoff.
• SamRobertsND 0 — Pains me not to vote for this masterpiece but I'm out of votes. Hard 5th for sure.

• Edward James +1 — My friend Nick had a music blog back in the day when people had music blogs, and he had an article that actually inspired this category. He said the best road trip kickoff song when you're 16-22 is "The Great Escape" by Boys Like Girls (my runner up for my submission) - "for when you're young and still feel the shiny promise of life". And that "Thunder Road" is the perfect kickoff song for "when you're past college and the gleam and glamour is starting to wear thin and you're wondering what life might hold." I agree with him still, and therefore this gets my vote. Impeccable choice.
• Regina Scime +1
• Spicey Riche +1
• fionmul 0 — I wanted to vote for Bruce but not enough votes
• Brad Stalcup 0 — The way this song builds just seems to lend itself really well to getting onto the highway and "rolling down the windows and letting back your hair"
• SamRobertsND 0 — Hi Fiona! This doesn't work!
• judd.baker 0 — As with other submissions (perhaps even my own, upon hearing the whole playlist): roadtrip, absolutely. Kickoff? I’m not convinced

• fionmul +1 — I think this wins as far as which eagles submission is best
• SamRobertsND +1 — This was the Eagles' song to pick. Right tempo
• judd.baker +1 — See above. As the poet said, “I’ve had a long night and I hate the f-kin Eagles, man”—but with that said, something about this song and only this song really gets me. Platonic form of road trip song almost
• Joseph Harvey 0 — This is a great song. More of a second hour of road trip song though
• Edward James 0 — You could say it's hypocritical of me to ignore this one and upvote the other Eagles song, but this one does not invoke for me the same "Let's start on a new journey" feeling that Peaceful Easy Feeling does.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — Halfway through a road trip? Absolutely. Starting off a roadtrip? Not quite energetic enough.
• Peter Seeley 0 — Good for sixth hour of driving, right before lunch.

• Joseph Harvey +1 — This is a little too chill for a kickoff, but the iconic intro helps a lot. I love this song so much though
• fionmul +1 — Yep. it’s basic in some ways but surely the people will exalt it and I won’t be mad
• Regina Scime +1
• Peter Seeley +1 — Very good getting you hyped but not going full bore just yet.
• Edward James 0 — I do not see this as a road trip kickoff song. This is a late night, 2 hours into the road trip after dark has set in, type of song. Better than I remember it being tho.
• Claire 0 — I genuinely think this song sounds like what the beginning of a beautiful driving adventure feels like
• judd.baker 0 — Great song. Kind of an emo start to a road trip tho
• SamRobertsND -1 — Every damn U2 song is the same, and even so, you go with this instead of the obvious pick, "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Mistake! Colin would never have done this!

• Corey +1
• Claire +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Absolutely a 10/10 road trip song, but only once things have simmered down nicely, preferably during sunset or after nightfall. This is for the part of the roadtrip where half the passengers in the back are sleeping and a quiet conversation is taking place between the driver and copilot
• Edward James 0 — Absolute banger, but not one I would use for kickoff. This is a cruising into the sunset song.
• fionmul 0 — This is a little bit more middle of the road trip for me, but this is a classic for me and an ex of mine (in a fond way)
• Brad Stalcup 0 — This is 100% Eddie, only because I know of the personal connection you have to this song. This song has a sort of nostalgic feeling to it, as if it's more about the place that's being left than the place you're going. Doesn't quite have the pep or the build needed for a good kickoff song.
• SamRobertsND 0 — A superb song, one of the best country music songs ever written. The violin breaks my heart every time I listen to it. George is a singer whose voice stayed so consistent yet also changed in beautiful ways as he changed, and I hope that everyone here, young or old, longtime fans or newcomers, encounters the true joy that is George Strait. Too slow for theme, didn't vote.
• Peter Seeley 0 — Good for third or fourth hour of driving.

• Regina Scime +1
• ared56 +1
• Claire +1 — Good vibes
• judd.baker +1 — This is what blares from the open windows of the Redle family van on their weekly Sunday trip to Giant Eagle
• Joseph Harvey 0 — The production on this album is absolutely immaculate. It’s kind of a wonder to listen to just for that, but unfortunately it’s lipstick on a very dull and uninteresting pig. These riffs would have been cliche in 1970, much less 2002, and the vocals, while impressive, are hook free
• Edward James 0 — This is a really great song. I always forget that Audioslave is just Rage Against the Machine with Chris Cornell instead of Zac de la Rocha on vocals. I should like them more than I do, and this song was great. But it didn't stand out to me for the category, especially against some of the others.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — This had me tapping my foot. But I'm not sure this is a road trip starter, a little too heavy. But definitely a fun listen.
• SamRobertsND 0 — Truly terrible, nigh unlistenable. Should’ve known such a big group would traffic in poopoo
• Peter Seeley 0 — Good for night driving.
• Spicey Riche -1
• shea nowicki -1

• Joseph Harvey +1 — Hi Judd
• Brad Stalcup +1 — High energy. I can imagine accelerating on the highway during the bridge on this one.
• Sam Ary +1
• Edward James 0 — This is a really great song! But.....hear me out.....I really don't feel like this is a round for unheard of songs. To me a road trip kickoff involved other people, and to get them hyped, you need a song with shared memory. This is my own criteria, but it's how I imagine the category.
• SamRobertsND 0 — Nearly as bad as the first, slightly more tolerable.
• judd.baker 0 — This has the energy of an Eddie submission. I’m not sure if I’m feeling it as a road trip kickoff but golly this is a bange
• fionmul -1
• Peter Seeley -1 — Eh.

• judd.baker +1 — Yup. Definitive for a reason. No remarks. 10/10
• Edward James 0 — I love this song, and it's a cruising song for sure, but would not be my kickoff song.
• Peter Seeley 0 — I'd say this is great for the second day of the road trip, but not as a starter.

Peter Seeley: This song was in fact the kick off song to my journey to SB five years ago. It just happened to be on the radio.

• SamRobertsND +1 — Hi Richard! Or Judd? Maybe Shea if the Communists in Theology have gotten to her just yet. This is Augustine: the Song, and if you can't see that, you're a moral pervert. Cat Stevens was usually on during Roberts family car trips.
• shea nowicki +1
• Sam Ary +1
• fionmul 0 — I think the key part of this prompt is that it’s the very first song kicking off the roadtrip but many of these are great for middle of the trip vibes
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I kept waiting for this song to build to something that it never built to.
• Claire 0 — Lyrically on theme but didn’t hit music/vibe wise for me
• Joseph Harvey -1 — Kind of sounds like Peter Gabriel which I like, but not a good fit for this at all
• Edward James -1 — This is similar to Peaceful Easy Feeling in terms of the type of road trip vibe it creates, but sadly I am just not a big fan of Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens. Probably the hardest downvote to assign so far, so don't feel too bad!

• ared56 +3
• Sam Ary +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Just not feeling it
• Edward James 0 — This was my runner up for a 5th vote, if we had one. This is such a banger, and really gets the hype. I awarded my 4th vote to Peaceful Easy Feeling, however, since it really made me imagine a different view of the category that I could still relate to.
• fionmul 0 — This was the easiest choice I’ve ever made for a submission. I just remembered this one time that I started a road trip this and it slapped. So I can be at peace that I was true to myself even if I get hate (if you’re hating it youre hating on the real me)
• SamRobertsND 0 — Millennial round from last league called, they want their submission back.
• Peter Seeley 0 — I wish to get ignant and hectic after listening to this song. Do I want to drive though? Not sure .
• Corey -1 — May just be me, but this feels more like an intracity drive track than a proper road trip song.
• Regina Scime -1 — Not my vibe for the start of a road trip
• Brad Stalcup -1 — Can't upvote this one, because the original version is called "let's get retarded" (the rest of the lyrics remain unchanged) and has nothing to do with actually starting things off.
• judd.baker -1 — This would be a Corey-esque vote dump from me if the category were kicking off a homeroom party on the last day of sixth grade

Sam Ary: Starting off with a classic

• Edward James +1 — I was right away biased against this, because to me, road trip kickoff needs to be energetic. But I will say that as I listened, I could very easily picture a solo road trip, one meant to clear the mind and reflect, starting off with something like this. It expanded the category for me, and for that it gets a vote.
• shea nowicki +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — This is good for the last third of a road trip as the light starts to go golden, this is in no way hype enough for a kickoff
• fionmul 0 — So good but I voted for only one eagle song and thought the other was better
• SamRobertsND 0 — Great song, but there’s a better Eagles pick here.
• Peter Seeley 0 — Good middle of the road trip song
• judd.baker 0 — This is just too low key to be a trip opener. Also being The Eagles is an automatic -10 starting point that has to be overcome somehow (see elsewhere)
• ared56 -1
• Claire -1 — Love the song but of the two eagles songs it’s the one that feels less apt for this round