In one week I’m lucky enough to be going up to Saltspring Island to hang out on a 13-acre farm with some good friends and a donkey named Chico. Why a donkey? It seems they keep cougars away, or at least some kind of predatory animal that might eat the sheep at the farm next door. I kid you not.

Anyways, this post isn’t about donkeys. I was mentioning my impending trip to someone who asked if I had “already started compiling the perfect roadtrip soundtrack?” My response was simple, “i do already own 5 days in july“. But we all know that’s not a serious answer cause that’s a great cottage cd but only a good summer road trip cd (unless your road trip involves stalking Jim Guthrie). None the less, since my friend Matt (who’s family has the Saltspring cottage in question) and his friend Aaron are roadtrippin’ from Toronto to Victoria I thought it best to comment on summer roadtrip music.

Now, any mixtape conversation is bound to stir up merd controversy. So before we go any further, everyone pop your Vicodin, calm the fuck down, and wipe the impending foam of superior music taste from your mouths

I’m not here to suggest anything of a “perfect summer roadtrip mixtape” as if it exists. I’m merely going to submit 3 songs from new releases which should get serious consideration for a 2005 cross-Canada summer roadtrip mixtape. So, with some further ado, in no particular order…

AWARD TOUR DISCLAIMER
1. All the songs suggested are easily classified as “mellow” and are, of course, not for play in the “long haul, middle of the night” section of any road trip.
2. All 3 vocalists featured definitely fall in the category of “not for everyone”.
3. No tracks from the New Pornographers upcoming release “Twin Cinema” were mentioned as they would fall under “stating the obvious”. Any cross-Canada road trip mixtape to not include any of songs from said album would be considered “foolish” and/or “ridiculous”.
4. As usual, If I’m violating your copyrights, please let me know and this will be removed with a sincere apology.

  • Jason Collett – Fire
    Idols of Exile [Arts & Crafts]
    The pop force is strong in those BSS kids. Jason Collett’s follow up to Motor Motel Love Songs is a quality summer release. One could easily find themselves using it to pass a humid summer day in Southern Ontario (preferably by some body of water). Fire also features the oh-so smokey vocals of Ms. Amy Milan of Stars-fame (so there’s no need for that vocalist warning here). Some other summer roadtrip worthy tracks on the disc include Hangover Days (which features Emily Haines), I’ll Bring the Sun, and a very fitting Almost Summer
    When to queue up: at high noon amongst a sea of wheat in Saskatchewan right after filling up a new tank of gas
  • Matt Mays – The Plan
    Matt Mays + El Torpedo [Sonic Canada]
    Yet another single from yet another Canadian featuring yet another Canadian female vocalist from yet another sophmore album. Really, I didn’t plan this. Matt Mays isn’t for everyone but he’s got the alt-country-Canadiana-storytelling sound down good. Sam Roberts with an east coast twang (is twang really a word?). If you weren’t fortunate enough to hear So Distant off his first release, you should also check that out. Either way, The Plan is a solid track and the mix of Kathleen Edward’s “what if Tom Petty was a woman” vocals with Matt’s equally raspy vocals makes for a catchy hook.
    When to queue up: early evening, around the time old people start going to bed, somewhere in the middle of Alberta*
  • Math and Physics Club – Weekends Away
    Weekends Away EP [Matinée Recordings]
    Gotta rock the Seattle indie just a lil’ bit. And what better way than with some very Belle & Sebastian, “is he gay or metro?”, pop music. And since Matt & Aaron are secure in their hetero lifemate status (or unabashed gayness, your choice) they’ll be more than comfortable cranking this tune. “i’ll read the map while you do all the driving”
    When to queue up: The part of the cross-Canada trip that brings you from Vancouver to Seattle.

*I say this cause I think I once heard Matt say at a show that he wrote the song while staying at a retirement home out west. He was on the road with Kathleen Edwards and was too poor to stay in a hotel and, for some reason, he was able to sleep in a room at a retirement home on the cheap.