Look out look out look out look out!

Car accidents are gruesome horrific tragic things. I hope you never have to experience one, and if you already have, I hope your neck has fully healed.

One winter several years ago I lost control and slid across four lanes of interstate highway. Fortunately I didn't hit anybody. Also fortunate was the location of the soft ditch that stopped me. Just a little ways down the road was a bridge. I don't know if I could've handled being airborne just then.

But from the life-changing event that is a car wreck stems great music. In the early sixties there was a whole genre of teenage tragedy songs, most of which revolved around fatal car crashes. "Last Kiss," "Tell Laura I Love Her," and "Dead Man's Curve" all immediately come to mind. "Leader of the Pack," "Teen Angel," etc.

But as cars got safer and radio stations became less-interested in the macabre, the death-by-automobile songs waned. Now we have to look hard for those unfortunate car tunes.

Dead Poetic - "Glass in the Trees"
This might also be Dead Poetic's best song.

Thursday - "Understanding in a Car Crash"
"Spinning hubcaps set the tempo for the music of the broken window." Nice.

dieradiodie - "The Bartender"
Drinking + driving = not coolness.

The Gloria Record - "Ascension Dream"
An over-remorseful song about hitting a deer. "Tell them I'm sorry that I ever learned to drive."

Damien Jurado - "December"
This one gives me the chilly willies.

Ghoti Hook - "Never"
Ghoti Hook had several serious songs, but they only had a couple ultra-serious songs.

Beulah - "A Good Man is Easy to Kill"
Easily the catchiest upbeat car wreck song ever made. Interestingly I once heard this song used as background music in a TV commercial.

You can probably listen to these songs while driving without any severe repercussions, just remember to buckle up, check your blind spots, and don't close your eyes while singing along.

take two

I've decided I like blogger more than I like wordpress.
The handful of old entries will still be there.
The handful of new entries will be right here.

Stick around while I get my crap together.