Playlist: Leaving Ohio

New feature on this blog! With each new state I visit, I will add to an ever-growing Spotify playlist that I have cleverly titled On the Road with Adie.

For each new state we enter, I will add anywhere from two to ten songs about that state. The rules are pretty simple and arbitrary:

1. The singer must say the name of a place in the state or of the state itself. So, the singer can say New York or Times Square. Either one works.
2. The place mentioned does not have to be the focus of the song. If the song is about New York, but they mention Maryland, I can choose either one.
3. No repeats. So, in the aforementioned example, I could not use a song that mentions New York and Maryland for each state.
4. Whenever possible, there will be a Bob Dylan entry. I am a fanatical Dylanite and plan to use the next fourteen months delving ever deeper into his catalog. The man loves to name places, so hopefully I can do him proud and get him on almost every playlist.
5. Each entry will get a short introduction from me. It might be trivia or some personal musing, maybe a justification as to why it sits on this list. Additionally, at the end of each entry, I will include a link to the list.

Now, without further adieu, here are the first few (and only non-place songs) for the playlist:

“On the Road Again”
This Willie Nelson song is a bit of a refrain for Miracle and me. Throughout our many adventures over the years, this song pops up again and again. We are friends before all else and we love seeing all the things we may never see again. It’s the perfect song to kick off any road-going adventure

“On the Road”
Buddy Guy cruising down the highway in a Mercedes with a snakeskin top and a built-in icebox? I’ll still take Adie any day of the week, but Buddy’s ride has got to be a close second. 

“Road Ode” 
Major points to Loudon Wainwright III for making so many literary references in this angst-filled screed against the touring way of life. He even manages to sneer at Willie Nelson. This song kicks off the amazeballs album, Career Moves, which never lets up and swerves between hilarity and tragedy. It makes me incredibly sad that I will miss seeing him in concert this fall (after the cancellation back in 2020). 

“New Speedway Boogie” 
Once you hit a good, long stretch of empty road and the highway lights just come on, put on this track. It’s hypnotic and it chugs along like lines on the road, like trees flitting past, like distant farmhouses. And by the end, the song makes a direct callback to Blondie.