The music brains of RNZ came up with the perfect summer roadie playlist that includes The B52's, J Boog, Chaka Khan and more. Photo: Supplied
When you hit the road during the Kiwi summer what music do you want in your ears?
It's got to be a bop that puts a smile on your face and summons up a good mood. It's got to conjure up blooming pōhutukawa. The playlist needs a few singalongs, and a couple of classics.
Here's what the music brains of RNZ came up with for the perfect summer roadie playlist.
Music 101 host Charlotte Ryan's picks:
Road to Nowhere - Talking Heads
Talking Heads have written a perfect song for road trips - a song with lyrics about driving to paradise with lyrics about roads and rides. David Byrne's voice is comforting, with a little hint of 'what's around the corner' - and a fun car game while playing this song could be 'what instruments can you hear' - as well as the usuals, there are saxophones, tambourines, accordions and a washboard.
Please note - mostly all Talking Heads songs/albums will be brilliant on a road trip.
Roam - The B52s
I think this song was written for road trips specifically - okay, I made that up - but the lyrics about roaming wherever you want to go, rocking through the wilderness and travelling all around the world are perfect for a car trip singalong with great harmonies for those experienced singers.
A great song to bring energy to a car if the driver needs help to stay awake.
Save it for Later - Eddie Vedder
Originally released by The English Beat in 1982, this classic track was re-recorded this year by Pearl Jam frontman, Eddie Vedder. The recording appeared on season three of the TV show The Bear - one of my favourite TV shows - and suitably for the show, this version is more emotive. Great to play in the car and daydream, stare out the window if you are in the passenger or back seat.
The Sampler host Tony Stamp's picks:
Nia Archives - Baianá
What better genre to motivate you at the start of your journey than jungle/drum and bass? This track comes from English producer Nia Archives, who flips a sample from Brazilian outfit Barbatuques into a shot of pure musical adrenaline. The original is very good, and this is, as they say, a banger.
Close To Me - The Cure
[With my sound engineer hat on] A lot of high frequencies get lost during a car ride, particularly if the windows are open. You need tracks with a good bassline and this is one of the best ever, on one of The Cure's most cheerful songs.
Note: I'm not talking about the 'single' version, which added unnecessary brass, or the slowed down 1990 remix. Original album version only please.
Buffalo - The Phoenix Foundation
When I picture a journey through the wide-open spaces of Aotearoa, this song immediately springs to mind. It just sounds like a road trip to me. I guess there are parallels between a buffalo roaming across the sea floor and me heading down whichever motorway is required? Anyway, for these four minutes and 14 seconds, "I am the buffalo, calling home".
The Tahi team picks:
Ganja Farmer - J Boog
"I had a ripped version of this song on my iPod when I was staying in American Samoa back in like 2010. It just feels like summer to me and the fact I know every word just makes it an ultimate roadie tune to belt at full volume." - So'omalo Iteni Schwalger
Raumati - Corrella
"This one has already started to make it's annual comeback on my rotation and immediately gives nostalgia of sun, salt water and blooming pōhutukawa every time I hear the opening line 'E rere ra!'" - Janay Harding
The Night - Goodnight Nurse
"Nostalgic, my formative music-loving years, a summer banger of the Kiwi pop-rock variety!" - Harrison Pali
RNZ music producer Zen Yates-Fill's picks:
Be Thankful for What You Got - William DeVaughn
This serving of soothing '70s soul speaks to the sound of summers past with DeVaugn's soothing vocals subtly backed by members of the legendary Sigma Studio's session band MFSB.
Originally titled 'A Cadillac Don't Come Easy,' the song was initially mistaken as a Curtis Mayfield track on it's release and went on to sell more than two million copies.
It's the perfect tune to cruise around with the top down. I first discovered "Be Thankful..." in 1991 via Massive Attack's version on their debut album Blue Lines with the record resonating among the flats and cafés of Wellington's upper Cuba Street that summer.
Peanut Butter - The Compass Point All Stars
Led by the legendary Jamaican rhythm section of Sly & Robbie, The CPAS were the house band for Chris Blackwell's Bahama-based Compass Point Studios, where, in the late '70s & early '80s the likes of The B-52's, Talking Heads, Robert Palmer, Joe Cocker, Mick Jagger, Brian Eno and Grace Jones recorded some of their greatest albums.
An unused outtake from an earlier recording session, 'Peanut Butter's driving bassline, pulsing drums along with echoed guitar and stabbing synths caught the attention of Grace Jones who in turn added lyrics and vocals creating her signature track 'Pull Up to the Bumper'.
A hypnotic slice of futuristic dub funk, 'Peanut Butter' struts from the street to beach all in the same breath.
Feel For You - Chaka Khan
On any playlist three artists remain compulsory; Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan and Prince. 'Feel For You' covers all the bases. It's an '80s electro soul party anthem that absolutely bumps, both on the dancefloor and in the car.
Originally written by Prince for Patrice Rushen in 1978 (she turned him down), the Purple One would go on to record the song for his self-titled sophomore album a year later. Khan's later version would be the first R&B hit featuring a hip hop verse courtesy of Melle Mel from the Furious Five and Stevie Wonder on harmonica - along with samples Wonder's 1963 hit 'Fingertips'.
The song would later win Grammys for both Kahn and Prince and while being an international hit (reaching #2 in New Zealand), it was ironically kept from topping the charts by Prince's 'Purple Rain'.
