A road-trip playlist preview with debates, moods, and a wildly varied song list
Based on the show notes, this episode is a seasonal road-trip music guide: the hosts share playlist picks, talk about what kinds of songs work at different moments, and weigh a classic car question about who controls the music. The featured tracks range from Broadway and pop to metal, punk, funk, and classic rock.
This is a preview based only on the published show notes, not a recap of the audio itself. If you’re looking for an episode that feels more like a music hang than a deep artist interview, this one appears built around a familiar summer question: what actually makes a great road-trip song? From the notes, the appeal is in both the conversation and the range of selections. The hosts promise to share their own picks for a “perfect playlist,” think through what works best at different points in a drive, and set some ground rules for in-car listening — including whether the driver gets the final say. That framing suggests a mix of practical playlist logic and friendly debate. The song list alone hints at how broad the episode may be. It jumps from Eric Burdon and War, Steely Dan, The Allman Brothers Band, and Black Sabbath to Stromae, Shania Twain, Lakestreet Dive, and Tunde Olaniran, with Broadway cast recordings and heavier turns like Abiotic and Anthrax & Public Enemy also in the mix. If your ideal road-trip soundtrack is eclectic rather than tightly curated to one genre, that variety may be the biggest draw. This episode looks especially promising for listeners who enjoy hearing how people sequence music for mood, energy, and shared car etiquette — and who don’t mind a playlist that swerves across decades and styles.
About this episode
It’s the season of road trips -- and nothing goes better with those long and winding roads than music. This week we share our picks for the perfect playlist, breakdown what works best when, and consider some ground rules -- does the driver always have the final say?<br/><br/>Reviews help! Leave us one on<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-songs-considered/id79687345"target="_blank" > Apple</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/10LYbliXlNZe1VStsTkcC0?si=b94426ae945445df"target="_blank" >Spotify</a> wherever you listen to podcasts. <br/><br/>Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: <a href="mailto:allsongs@npr.org"target="_blank" >allsongs@npr.org</a><br/><br/>Featured artists and songs:<br/><br/>(00:00) Eric Burdon and War: “Spill the Wine”<br>(03:09) Stromae: “Santé”<br>(04:57) Broadway Cast: “Alexander Hamilton”<br>(07:53) Joe Iconis / Broadway Cast: “Michael in the Bathroom”<br>(10:14) Abiotic: “Vermosapien”<br>(12:02) Wipers: “Mystery”<br>(13:36) Steely Dan: “My Old School”<br>(17:28) Tunde Olaniran: “Namesake”<br>(19:54) Shania Twain: “Man, I Feel Like a Woman!”<br>(22:37) Pat Travers: “Amgwanna Kick Booty”<br>(26:27) Anthrax & Public Enemy: “Bring The Noise”<br>(27:49) Unwed Sailor: “Monster Collecting”<br>(29:46) The Allman Brothers Band: “Midnight Rider” and “Southbound”<br>(33:12) Lakestreet Dive: “You Go Down Smooth”<br>(35:41) Black Sabbath: “Turn Up The Night”<br>(37:19) Simple Minds: “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”<br/><br/><em>Note: A version of this episode originally posted in August 2025.</em><br><br/><br/>See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>