2012 Summer Adventure... USA Road Trip Playlist

If you aren't aware already, I'm going to be heading off to the USA on the 21st of June for five weeks all by myself. I'm going to be travelling from Los Angeles in California all the way across the country to Manhattan in New York. I'm going to be hitting up major cities and national parks alike, and with the United States being such a huge country, some days I'm going to be travelling for up to eight hours, so naturally I'm going to need a fantastic playlist of songs which will remind me of the amazing experience in years to come. Here are just a few of the songs I was thinking of adding to the list:

*Venice Beach Los Angeles... I wanted my LA playlist to remind me of sunny weather, US teen dramas like 90210 and fun parties!*

Los Angeles

Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus

Californication by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Beverly Hills by Weezer

California Dreamin by The Mamas and The Papas

California Girls by The Beach Boys

California King Bed by Rihanna

California Gurls by Katy Perry

God Only Knows by The Beach Boys

Leaving Jesusland by NOFX

Route 66 by John Mayer

Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys

Hollywood by Madonna 

Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys

Hotel California by The Eagles

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air by Will Smith

Barbara Ann by The Beach Boys

Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison

California Love by Tupac

Help Rhonda by The Beach Boys 

Hey Hey We're The Monkeys by The Monkeys

California by Phantom Planet

Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys

Lala Land by Demi Lovato

Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys

*I always thing that San Francisco is quintessentially 'cool' so I picked some songs which strike me as suiting the city!*

San Francisco

San Francisco by The Mamas and The Papas

All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow

Under the Bridge by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N Roses

Don't Marry Her by Beautiful South 

Rock You Like A Hurricane by Scorpions

With Or Without You by U2

Fake Tales of San Francisco by Arctic Monkeys

Don't Stop Believing by Journey

Hey Soul Sister by Train

Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who

Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones

*For my Yosemite/Bishop playlist I've focused mostly on the fact that Yosemite is supposed to be one of the most beautiful and serene places in the USA. So I chose super-chilled yet remarkable songs.*

Yosemite/Bishop

Fireflies by Owl City

Hawiian Air by Friendly Fires

Coffee and Cigarettes by Michelle Featherstone

Jealous Guy by Gavin Degraw

God Bless the Child by Michelle Featherstone

Glad by Tyler Hilton

I Don't Wanna Be by Gavin Degraw

Hallelujah by Kate Voegele

Light Years Away by MoZella

When the Stars Go Blue by Tyler Hilton and Bethany Joy Lenz

Wish You Were by Kate Voegele 

Always Love by Nada Surf

The First Cut Is The Deepest by Sheryl Crow

For Blue Skies by Strays Don't Sleep

Lie In The Sound by Trespassers William

Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2

*Death Valley (so named because of its dangerously hot temperatures) is supposed to be boilingly hot. As I don't do well in super-duper hot temperatures, I decided to choose some fun and cheesy songs which will hopefully cheer me up...*

Death Valley

Feeling Hot Hot Hot by Buster Poindexter

La Bamba by Los Lobos

Fiesta Caliente by Los Illegales

Jump in the Line by Harry Belafonte 

Disco Inferno by The Trammps

Hot Stuff by Donna Summer

El Taqui Taqui by Los Illegales 

The Banana Boat Song by Harry Belafonte

*Las Vegas is known for being a 24 hour party. So I naturally chose a bunch of my favorite party/night out songs, and a few which will hopefully boost my confidence in the casinos!*

Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley

Leaving Las Vegas by Sheryl Crow

Luck be a Lady by Frank Sinatra

You Better You Bet by The Who

Sweetest Thing by U2

Benny and the Jets by Elton John

Paradise City by Guns N Roses

Love on Top by Beyonce

Who Are You by The Who

Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley

Waking Up in Vegas by Katy Perry

Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz 

Tik Tok by Ke$ha 

Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen

*I imagine myself standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon in awe of how small I am in comparison the amazing sites... so I chose some songs which make me feel on top of the world because of their awesomeness. Don't mock my choices.*

Grand Canyon/Monument Valley/Mesa Verde/Durango

Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World

Missing You by Tyler Hilton

Speed of Sound by Cold Play

The Good Kind by The Wreckers

Kill by Jimmy Eat World

Re-Offender by Travis

Fix You by Cold Play

Feeling A Moment by Feeder

23 by Jimmy Eat World

Everybody's Changing by Keane

Viva La Vida by Cold Play

Crystal Ball by Keane

Paradise by Cold Play

The Middle by Jimmy Eat World

*I'm totally aware that New Mexico isn't Mexico. However, as a half-Latina I wanted some Latin on my iPod, so I went ahead and put these tunes into my New Mexico playlist. Close enough!*

Taos/Santa Fe/Carlsbad

Bidi Bidi Bom Bom by Selena

Halo by Bethany Joy Lenz

Como la Flor by Selena

New Mexico by Johnny Cash

El Chico Del Apartamento 52 by Selena

Beautiful Day by U2

Baila Esta Cumbia by Selena

*I took the opportunity of being in Texas to play my first bunch of songs which remind me (but only stereotypically) of the Southern States. This playlist is just a bit of fun really :)*

Fort Stockton/San Antonio/The Alamo/Houston

Cotton Eyed Joe by Rednex

Karma Chameleon by Boy George

Is This the Way to Amarillo by Tony Christie 

Rawhide from Rawhide
Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond

Sweet Home Alabama by Lynard Skynard

Sweet Child O Mine by Guns N Roses

Sweet Home Alabama by Kid Rock

Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison 

*As I've never been to New Orleans before, I wasn't quite sure what to choose for this city. However, I just went ahead and chose some souly-dancy tunes because that's what I think I'll want while I'm there.*

New Orleans

Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows

Dancing in the Street by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas 

Flip, Flop and Fly by The Blues Brothers

Johnny B Good by Chuck Berry

Roxanne by Sting and The Police

Everybody Needs Somebody to Love by The Blues Brothers

Mr Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan

Gimme Some Lovin' by The Blues Brothers

My Blue Ridge Mountains Boy by Dolly Parton

Shake Your Tailfeather by Ray Charles and The Blues Brothers

Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits 

Jailhouse Rock by The Blues Brothers

The Saints Are Coming by Green Day and U2

*This is probably the playlist that I'll enjoy the most because the Memphis and Nashville are two cities which represent two of my favorite musical genres: Rock n Roll and Country.* 

Memphis/Nashville/Wytheville/Shenandoah 

Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks 

Jesus Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood

Stand By Your Man by Tammy Wynette

All Shook Up by Elvis Presley

Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash

Standing Outside the Fire by Garth Brooks

Don't Forget To Remember Me by Carrie Underwood

The Beaches of Cheyenne by Garth Brooks

Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley

Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash

Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood

Jolene by Dolly Parton
Small Town by John Mellencamp

Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley 

The Battle of Nashville by Johnny Cash

The Thunder Rolls by Garth Brooks
Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp

Wide Open Spaces by Dixie Chicks

Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley

Unanswered Prayer by Garth Brooks

Ballad Of A Teenage Queen by Johnny Cash

Country Roads by John Denver

Beautiful Memphis by Johnny Cash

9 to 5 by Dolly Parton

I Wonder by Kellie Pickler

That Summer by Garth Brooks

*My Washington playlist kind of hinges on the fact that I love so many bands that rebel against government! Not very patriotic to the USA but I can't help it. And, I included Crazy in Love by Beyonce because I saw Barrack Obama dancing to it on Ellen and loved him.*

Washington

Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 

60% by NOFX

We Didn't Start The Fire by Billy Joel

USA-Holes by NOFX

Crazy in Love by Beyonce

Seeing Double at the Triple-Rock by NOFX

Dear Mr President by Pink

The Marxist Brothers by NOFX

Mr Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra

The Man I Killed by NOFX

The District Sleeps Alone by The Postal Service

Benny Got Blowed Up by NOFX

Kissing the Lipless by The Shins

Leaving Jesusland by NOFX

Life in Technicolour Part 2 by Cold Play

Getting High On the Down Low by NOFX

Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day

*So many cool songs that mention New York City so I included some of them plus a few songs which I felt would be perfect to finish my trip on!*

Manhattan

I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie

Moving to New York by The Wombats
America by Razorlight
Waterfall by The Stone Roses

English Man In New York by Sting and The Police

Hey There Delilah by The Plain White T's

For the First Time by The Script

We Are Young by Fun

Baba O'Reilly by The Who

Angel of Harlem by U2

Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson

She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5

Alone by Heart

Buck Rogers by Feeder

The Mixtape by Jacks Mannequin

Mixtape by Butch Walker

So that's my provisional playlist of songs for my trip! I've literally spent the past three hours with my dad and sister coming up with these songs and I'm obviously going to come up with a bunch more over the next week and a half, but its good to have a provisional list. My blessed little sister has agreed to take care of my iPod for my in terms of loading all the songs on as its so time-consuming and she's doing it as a kind of 'going away' present. She'll add a few songs which she thinks I'll like too as a surprise, so I can't wait.

Can you think of any other songs which should be on my playlist? Are you laughing at my (so-called by my sister) 'terrible' taste in music? Have you ever been on a trip like I'm doing?

Love and snuggles

gabriellasofia

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