When Bob Geldof picked the 19 ultimate songs for a road trip
It’s hard to say why, but some songs just sound better in the car.
I, for one, firmly believe that if you have the psychedelic rock classic ‘Four Horsemen’ by Aphrodite’s Child on at just the right volume, at just the right time, it can be more effective at fuelling a vehicle than £40 of petrol.
As it happens, neurologically, when you’re in a vehicle, your sensory perceptions are already heightened. Once you couple that with a solid surround sound system and the confined space of the car’s cabin, you find yourself highly tuned into the music that you’re effectively embalmed in. Some anthems play perfectly into that zone.
In fact, I think this is one of the main differences between American and European music. For the most part, cars and roads are far cooler in the US. There’s a vast difference between revving a throbbing Mustang and driving through the desolate expanse of America’s scenic heartland and trudging along in an economical hatchback through steady urban traffic in Leeds or Cologne.
The open road has its own distinct sound, and the playlist that Bob Geldof compiled for XFM is proof of that. He described the CD as “the in-car comp that I’d play on some 80-minute journey and each track would make me happier in direct proportion to every inch traveled.”
For the ride, the Boomtown Rats singer places his trust in the likes of Roxy Music, Television, The Velvet Underground, and Bob Dylan. In truth, all pretty astounding and cool stuff, whether you’re in a car or not. As it happens, the only downside of the playlist, for me, is that it came with the unnerving realisation that I have remarkably similar taste to bloody Geldof (with the notable exception of Cliff Richard).
Although, the Band Aid organiser has made it perfectly clear that I have nothing to be embarrassed about. “You’ve got all the baggage that comes with me: The Boomtown Rats, all the tabloid stuff,” he once said.
Adding, “You’ve got to get through an awful lot of stuff, then put it aside and say, ‘Well, I’ll have a listen, I’ll give him a go’. But bizarrely enough, people do buy my stuff, so I get to play great theatres all over the world. Except in the UK, where they don’t give a crap.”
Ironically, perhaps this playlist stands as proof of his quality, because he certainly knows his way around a good song.
Bob Geldof’s favourite driving songs:
- ‘Overture to Oklahoma’ – Jay Blackton & Orchestra
- ‘Apron Strings’ – Cliff Richard
- ‘All Through The City’ – Dr Feelgood
- ‘Venus’ – Television
- ‘New Age’ – The Velvet Underground
- ‘Do The Strand’ – Roxy Music
- ‘Personality Crisis’ – New York Dolls
- ‘Pictures of Lily’ – The Who
- ‘The Late John Garfield Blues’ – John Prine
- ‘In The Jailhouse Now’ – Webb Pierce
- ‘The Pilgrim, Chapter 33’ – Kris Kristofferson
- ‘Visions of Johanna’ – Bob Dylan
- ‘War Ina Babylon’ – Max Romeo
- ‘All or Nothing’ – Small Faces
- ‘You Can’t Be Too Strong’ – Graham Parker & The Rumour
- ‘Dead End Street’ – The Kinks
- ‘Drive-In Saturday’ – David Bowie
- ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’ – Four Tops
- ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ – Leonard Cohen
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