Coffee, Tea, or RHCP

I have to travel quite a bit for work. Air travel for work is such a solitary experience, as I sit among leisure travelers at the gate, voyeuristically listening to their conversations, I get a little introspective. This hits me especially when I am flying at night and it is just me, the window of the airplane, and the overhead light. That overhead light, like a little spotlight on my person, makes me question everything. Who am I? Where am I going? What’s the meaning of life? What bad decisions have I made lately? I can’t take it. If I sit like this for too long, I’m thinking of ways to pry the emergency exit open to make a clean getaway. Therefore, I distract myself with music. Then my mind wanders to questions that are not so heavy, like which one of my favorite songs do I wish I would have written.

I prefer people watching to being distracted by other people’s conversations, so I put on my headphones and watch people with my own soundtrack. I am including a few songs that I like to use as my soundtrack for air travel. Try it, you’ll like it.

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Around the World
If I am sitting at the gate in the terminal, and it is an especially busy travel day, I like to listen to this song. I play and rewind the beginning of this song over and over again. The beginning of this song is proof that humans are animals. I think this is especially appropriate for business travelers because you know they are all a bunch of freaks but in the airport they’re all buttoned up and pretending to be normal. Deep down, all of them want to scream like Anthony Kiedis.

Frou Frou – Let Go
This song was on the Garden State soundtrack and that movie had such a great scene with an over-medicated Zach Braff sitting calmly on a plane with heavy turbulence, while everyone around him freaked. I don’t think this song was playing during that scene, but whenever there is turbulence, or I am feeling nervous about travel I put this on to relax and just go with it.

Quarashi – Stick ‘Em Up
This song cracks me up. It is part of the Orange County soundtrack and Quarashi is an Icelandic rap group that never really got any notoriety in the States besides this one song. Partially the notoriety was due to the video for this song which was a parody of the film Snatch, which played quite a bit on MTV2. I like playing this song during the beverage service. Here’s just a sample of the lyrics that make this song ultra-entertaining:

Like Darth Vader I surprise you with my skills.
I knock your ol' ass out like a bag of sleeping pills.
I got to rip things up like my name was Jack the Ripper.
There's a party at your house cause your mama is a stripper

Darth Vader, really? --J