In the July/August 2008 issue of Road King (a magazine dedicated to truckers and trucking), there's an article about actual road music. I'm not talking about FM, satellite, CDs, or your iPod... I mean sounds made by the road itself. It was accidentally invented in Japan by a man who inadvertently scraped some pavement with a bulldozer. When he drove over the grooves, he noted that it made specific sounds.
Researchers took the concept to the next level and there are now roads in Japan that are specifically grooved to create 30-second "music clips". Such roads are marked with a big musical note on the pavement, as shown in the picture.
Let's see... I-40 would definitely be a country-western highway, I-95 would be pop/dance, I-5 most certainly the hard rock road....
What do you think? Would this work in the US, or would hearing such "music" drive you nuts on a road trip?
Songs and albums that somehow cause your right foot to press harder on the go pedal, in no particular order:
- ZZ Top Greatest Hits
- Brian Setzer Orchestra: The Ultimate Collection
- these three songs played in a row: Rock the Casbah (The Clash), My Sharona (The Knack), and Jumping Jack Flash (Rolling Stones from the Flashpoint live album)
- the live version of The Devil Went Down to Georgia by the Charlie Daniels Band, with the extended bridge ("Johnny's cuttin' up tonight, ain't he?" - Charlie Daniels)
- You Really Got Me, Destroyer, and All Day and All of the Night by the Kinks
- Louie Louie - only the original
- Neutron Dance by The Pointer Sisters (just visualize the truck chase at the beginning of Beverly Hills Cop), followed by I'm So Excited
- What is Hip by Tower of Power... classic 70s horns
- Get Away by Earth Wind & Fire (the original)
- Money for Nothing by Dire Straits, the live version at Wembley
- What'd I Say by Ray Charles, parts 1 and 2
- All Time Greatest Hits by Barry White (especially if you're on your way to see that special somebody)
- Westbound and Down/Eastbound and Down by Jerry Reed from the original Smokey and the Bandit soundtrack
- Idol Songs: 11 of the Best by Billy Idol
- Shout by the Isley Brothers, parts 1 and 2
- Twist & Shout by the Beatles (think Ferris Bueller)
What songs put your clean driving record at risk?
