Jalopnik: Music

92 Pounds Of Junkyardy Glory: The Junkyard Boogaloo Boombox, Revisited!

Murilee Martin — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 14:00:00 EDT

Since I still get emails from boombox freaks who want to buy the Junkyard Boogaloo Boombox (sorry, can't part with it), three years after the original post went up, I've decided to drag the post from Murilee's Writing Wrecking Yard. More »

Yugo Nostalgia In Sarajevo: Zabranjeno Pušenje's Yugo 45

Murilee Martin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EDT

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After finding a reference to this song by Sarajavo punk band Zabranjeno Pušenje in Jason Vuic's Yugo book, I just had to share it. Enjoy. More »

Citroën DS Develops Huge Panel Gaps Due To Excessive Phrog Slammin'

Murilee Martin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST

You'll need to suspend your disbelief while watching this 2000 music video by Da Slammin Phrogz, because nodding-dog dolls wouldn't get enough bounce action to function while perched in a suspension hydropneumatique-equipped Citroën. Ditto for the gill-style door panel gaps. More »

The John Lennon/Marilyn Monroe Citroen DS3 Ads: Retro Is So Old Hat

Sam Smith — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST

Cool guy, sexy woman, two ads, one theme: quit mining the past and do something original. It's about time somebody pointed this out. More »

Connect An iPod To Your Beater's Theft-Deterring Radio With A Wired FM Modulator

Murilee Martin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:00:00 EST

The sub-$20 theft-proof stereo installation works pretty well, but let's say your local crackheads aren't desperate enough to bust your windows to steal a factory AM/FM radio, yet they will steal anything nicer? How will you listen to your MP3s? More »

Relive The Joys Of '76 Chevy Nova Beater Ownership, 1991 Reno Parking Garage Style!

Murilee Martin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST

Since I've already plugged all this crappy analog video hardware into my computer in order to digitize the glory of a '79 Ford Granada, we might as well continue to unearth car-related tidbits from the Murilee Martin Videotape Archives. More »

Ghost Ride The Whip Box Relies On Junkyard Goodness, Gets Thumbs-Up From Tigra And Bunny

Murilee Martin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST

The Ghost Ride The Whip 24 Hours Of LeMons penalty doesn't need much explaining: screw up on the track, you and your team dance your way around the paddock while on or around a LeMons Supreme Court Official Vehicle. More »

Music For Swingin' Transmission Swappers!

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST

After hearing the Datsun 710 Theme Song yesterday, I remembered that my old industro-noise band, Murilee Arraiac, recorded a song entitled "Chrysler New Yorker." More »

The Next Big Thing: Datsun 710 Theme Song

Murilee Martin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST

Sometimes a car speaks to you, and what it says moves you so profoundly that you must burst into song! Such was the case with the Datsun 710 and BABE Rally veteran Timothy Hansen. More »

Rust And Smoke, The Heater's Broke, The Door Just Flew Away: Da Yoopers' Rusty Chevrolet

Murilee Martin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EDT

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You know why it costs so much more to live in California than in the Upper Peninsula? That's right! More »

The Best LeMons Team Application Video Ever: Porsche-Driving Team Rooster Juice!

Murilee Martin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EDT

The majority of applicants for the West Coast 24 Hours Of LeMons races get rejected, so it's a good idea to get the attention of LeMons HQ with an outstanding team video. More »

Honda Honda Honda Honda! Madness Goes JDM To Pitch The '83 City

Murilee Martin — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT

What's the best way to sell the 1983 Honda City Hyper Turbo? Honda's Japanese-market admen figured that the ska popmasters of Madness would be just perfect for a series of super-frantic TV spots. More »

Meat Bees and Bad Craziness: Old Road-Trip Mix Tapes Resurrected For CA-to-CO Drive

Murilee Martin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:30:00 EDT

Did you know that the audio cassette tape is actually older technology than the 8-track? It's true! Also true is the fact that cassettes suck, but mix tapes sometimes overcame their medium's flaws. More »

Citroën GS: As French As it Gets

Peter Orosz — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EDT

Sometimes, the French are even more French than anyone could imagine them to be. Meet the Citroën GS, star of a great little music video. More »

Ancient Volvo Tractor Starts Second Career As Drummer In Country Band

Murilee Martin — Sat, 23 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT

Why not play music to the idle of a chugging old Volvo tractor? It seems like your typical funny-for-30-seconds gag, but these crazy Swedes prove that the idea really works! More »

Depeche Mode "Wrong" Music Video Has Right Taste In Cars

Wes Siler — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:30:00 EST

We're so used to seeing donked Gallardos in music videos now, we were convinced the video for Depeche Mode's "Wrong" couldn't be the right one. It is, and it's full of cool cars. More »

They Wanna F**k My Car, A Music Video

Andrew Didorosi — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:30:00 EST

Straight from the West Coast, The Scrayper Boyz bring us on an intellectual journey through the world of highly innovative automobile customization. Or a dirty donk rap video. You be the judge. NSFW. More »

A Mega-Gallery Of 80 Auto-Themed Album Covers

The Auto Insider — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:01:00 EST

Cars and music go together like coffee and cigarettes, peanut butter and jelly and water and white t-shirts. But how many musicians used cars as promotion? Here's 80 album covers indicating it's a whole lot. More »

Passionate Anti-Drum-Brake Activists Create Musical Statement To Enlighten, Educate

Murilee Martin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST

While many of us may feel that disc brakes are for cowards, the members of the German band Drogba Zwei Toilet believe that drums anywhere on a car- even the rear wheels- place that car squarely in the bowel-movement zone. More »

K.I.T.T.-Driving Werewolf Murders Mexican Cheerleaders, You Can Dance In Blood!

Murilee Martin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST

Near as we can tell, this video for the Sonido Lasser Drakar song "82 Pontiac Firebird" shows a wholesome-looking refrigerator-white 3rd-gen Firebird that turns into K.I.T.T. when the sun goes down; meanwhile, the car's driver becomes a werewolf, thirsty for the blood of the Badly Choreographed Cheerleaders. Thanks to Franzouse for the tip! More »

Honda's Musical Road To Be Paved Over

Mark Arnold — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EDT

This strip of road in Lancaster, California is one of only a handful of roads in the world that will "sing" as you drive over it. The music comes from the noise made by tires passing over a series of carefully cut groves in the road's surface. Now local residents want it all to be paved over, just because not everyone drives a Honda Civic at exactly the right speed. More »

Captain Obvious Of The Day: Teens Think They're Good Drivers, Like Loud Music

Travis Hudson — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:40:00 EDT

A recent study by Erie Insurance points out a lot of factors that anyone under the age of 60 probably already knows. The insurance company conducted a study surveying 2,127 licensed teenage drivers and came to the shocking conclusion that teens like to talk on the phone, text message and listen to loud music while driving. More »

What Are Your Ten Favorite Wrenching Albums?

Murilee Martin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EDT

We've talked about the Ten Best Driving Albums, but what about the albums you want to listen to while you're systematically removing all the skin from your knuckles on your Hell Project? The music that just sounds best when played on the oil-spattered beater boombox that lives in the garage? This question came to me last weekend, while working on the race car... More »

PCH, Tom Waits Edition: '58 Bel Air or Yellow Corvette?

Murilee Martin — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:00:00 EST

Here we are at Project Car Hell #100, and it even comes on a Friday! Yesterday we saw the Katrina-soaked '63 Bentley edge out a hairsbreadth victory over the not-so-complete '52 Benz, and today we're going to shift gears in the theme department and pick two cars referenced by Jalopnik-Approved™ musician Tom Waits. This idea comes courtesy of my brother-in-law, the owner of the deathless Toyota truck we saw a while back, so I guess I'll need to give him a PCH Tipster T-shirt in spite of the fact that he isn't even a Jalopnik commenter. I wasn't able to find a 1958 monkeyshit brown Buick Super, the Duster "trying to change my tune" has no year specified, and everyone thinks "Ol' 55" is an Eagles song... but not to worry- plenty of good choices left, including these two: More »

God Save the Queen... From Her Driving Music

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:45:00 EST

When you're the queen and you're tooling around in a Bentley State Limo, we're guessing you listen to whatever music strikes your fancy. While we think it would be awesome/meta if the queen listened to Queen or The Sex Pistols, we realize that this is not the world we live in. To drown out the sound of the twin-turbo 6.75L V8 Her Majesty listens to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards band. Which is awesome in its own way. More »

Around The Country In 22 Days: The Orange Mix Tape

Murilee Martin — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:30:00 EDT

After seeing all the excitement around the lunatic transcontinental driving record on Monday, I was reminded of a much slower (yet still a red-eyed marathon in its own way), much more low-tech circumnavigation of the United States I did with a friend back in 1995. Instead of a BMW, we had his beater '88 Toyota pickup. More to the point, I was reminded of the mix tape- yes, tape, well into the CD Era- that became the soundtrack for our journey. So, inspired by the Loverman's Ten Best Driving Albums Of All Time (and your insightful additions to his picks), here's the Legend of the Orange Tape. More »

What's the Second-Generation Camaro Anthem?

Murilee Martin — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 09:45:00 EDT

Sure, the Dead Milkmen references we all use when we're talking about the Chevy Camaro are fun and all, but "Bitchin' Camaro" is obviously about a third-generation Camaro. Recognizing that Friday's Tiny Bitchin' Camaro was modeled after a second-gen F-body, it becomes clear that what we really need to do is decide on the song that best speaks for the weltanschauung provided by the 1970-81 Camaro , particularly the later Malaise Era examples. So, we've selected some songs we think might be appropriate... and you get to vote! More »

Annoy Your Neighbors With the Project Car Hell Song!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:30:15 EDT

One Steering Wheel, Several Buttons and a Microphone

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:11:37 EDT

We're been big fans of gimmicky DJs from Eastern Europe since DJ Cossack first danced on his turntables. Well no, actually. And frankly, hooking up a steering-wheel videogame controller to trigger car-related samples is a tad precious. But it's probably the height of irony to Ukranian hipsters, so who are we to judge? [Thanks to woodpkr for the tip.] More »

SIRIUS Radio, Chrysler Group Take Over Times Square To Announce Live Backseat TV Service In Minivans!

Ray Wert — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 12:04:55 EDT

The above video by way of Gawker videographer Richard Blakeley is from an announcement made just a short while ago in Times Square by Frank Klegon, Exec. Vice President - Product Development for the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid. The scoop is the long-awaited news that Chrysler's taking it in the back...seat. The boys n' girls in Auburn Hills, MI will be offering SIRIUS Satellite Radio Backseat TV service in 2008 model-year vehicles, starting first with their new 2008 minivans available this year. The MSRP is $470, including the first year of service, and after the first year it'll be available for $7 per month on top of the $12.95 Sat-Rad fee. Here's the start of the press release:

"SIRIUS Satellite Radio and Chrysler Group announced today that Chrysler Group will be the exclusive automaker to offer SIRIUS Backseat TV in its 2008 model-year vehicle lineup. SIRIUS Backseat TV is a dynamic and pioneering TV service that delivers live TV from the best family TV programmers directly to the vehicles...

The Apocalypse Dudes: An Open Letter to Auto Designers

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:00:00 EDT

Last fall, after the Paris Auto Show, I hopped the Thalys train to Amsterdam. It was my first time on a TGV, and other than the fact that the loos stunk to high heaven and the whiny kid who caused the occupants off the carriage to cheer when he and his idiotic mother exited somewhere around Rotterdam, it was a wonderful travel experience. I grabbed a hotel room and set off in search of my pal Aziz. If in Amsterdam, Los Jalops recommend a visit to his shop, Independent Outlet, as it is simply the business. We spent the evening tooling around town on bicycles, hitting the city's rock 'n' roll bars. And then not an hour or two before the time bell rang, we happened upon a man with salt-and-pepper hair wearing a denim Turbojugend jacket. Aziz said, "Hey! Dave! That's Tony Slug!" Tony had written for Hit List, a punkzine I'd art-directed and written for back around the turn of the century. More importantly, Tony had penned the immortal line, "I'll fuck you in the ass with glazed ham, bitch!" More »

Ford Likes To Live On The Edge Of Vodcasts

Ray Wert — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:45:58 EDT

Wait, the Ford Edge has a music vodcast — and it's in the "Top 100" list of vodcasts on iTunes? We don't even know what to say other than we think we're going to go and cry now. – Ray Wert More »

Lighter Question of the Day: What Should Michael Stipe Drive?

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 17:45:00 EST

I returned to Pedro last night after three weeks in the sadly-arterially-clogged place of my birth. Over the last two months, I've regressed to the rock I loved from the ages of 18-24, then suddenly straight back to junior high. Other than Neko Case and Mates of State, I've been all up ons with Iron Maiden and early R.E.M. And it got me thinking. While Athens' most famous sons got their start tooling around in busted-ass vans; writing songs on matttresses out in the yard and gardening at night, they've gradually, quietly, emerged as paragons of some sort of rock 'n' roll righteousness; the Bizzaro-World version of Fugazi, as it were. And Stipe, of course, has always been a rather enigmatic character. We don't know what he drives, but we like to imagine an alternate-universe version of Stipe in anything that isn't that the Prius that the retard-safe money would put him in. Remember, they shot Smokey and the Bandit in Georgia. – Davey G. Johnson More »

Popper Popped For 111MPH, Vast Hidden Arsenal

Murilee Martin — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 07:30:35 EST

Blues Traveler singer John Popper was in a helluva hurry in his Mercedes SUV, mashing pedal to metal to the tune of 111 miles per. Members of the Washington State law enforcement community weren't all that happy about the 13 firearms stashed in various hidden compartments about the vehicle, and the discovery of cop-style siren/flashers, Taser, and reefer didn't lighten their mood any. Popper's statement that he needed all that gear in case of "natural disaster" was received with some skepticism. Is that slick slide-out rifle drawer a dealer-installed option? – Murilee Martin More »

Junkyard Cabbie Adventures: BMW Hindi Remix

Murilee Martin — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:45:30 EST

If you have a Crown Victoria and you want junkyard parts, you'll spend a fair bit of time crawling through beat-to-death junked taxis and marveling at all the weird cabbie detritus still in the cars. I found this CD label in a Crown Vic at Pick Your Part, and I've been studying it with confused fascination ever since. It's apparently some sort of collection of Bollywood soundtrack remixes (unfortunately, I didn't find the disc itself), but what's the connection with BMW? Why is there a scantily-clad woman about to get hit by a speeding BMW? Why does she walk with a cane? Has she already been hit by other BMWs? Is that her special kink? And what's up with that front license plate? – Murilee Martin More »

You've Heard Of Jalopies: The First Ever Rock-n-Roll Song

Murilee Martin — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:00:55 EST

March, 1951: A very young Ike Turner pens and records a fast R&B song about hooning it up behind the wheel of a big V8-powered Detroit chariot, the song is released under the fictitious band name of 'Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats,' and rock-n-roll is born, leading inexorably to Ted Nugent. Well, actually, some say that Ike ripped off the 1948 Jimmy Liggins song 'Cadillac Boogie' with his tune, but we'll leave that debate to the music historians. The important question here is: to which GM division is Ike's song dedicated? Sorry, this isn't the original 1951 recording, but there are some nice cars in the video. – Murilee Martin More »

Ain't That Thar My Eye On The Dashboard?

Murilee Martin — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 13:50:36 EST

'No, that's one of my ears!" replies the driver to crotchety old Uncle Josh, who wasn't sure about these newfangled kerosene wagons, after an apocalyptic wreck in this seriously twisted 1904 recording by Cal Stewart, entitled 'Uncle Josh On an Automobile.' A very early car-related song (think of it as the precurser to 'Highway Star') that will have you shoveling more coal into the firebox of your Stanley Steamer (as your passengers cringe in anticipated terror). Thanks to the nice folks working at the UCSB Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project (and the fact that 103-year-old recordings are public domain), you can stream and/or download the recording yourself- legally and for free even! – Murilee Martin More »

Jalopnik Weekend: Ten Best Driving Albums

Jonny Lieberman — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 02:11:00 EST

We're blasting the Brawlers disk off Tom Waits's new audio triptych Orphans and we hear Tom cough out, "It's a big old Lincoln Continental with the suicide doors." Reflexively, instinctively, naturally we stabbed the go-pedal of this week's Dodge Nitro (super review potential — wait for it), causing the 4.0L V6 to burst into life. And we started thinking. Driving music matters. Fine, if you are rich enough to listen to the "mellifluousness symphony" of an F430's V8, have at it. But for most of the people most of the time, a great album is what gets you through the long haul. Furthermore, in the age of iPod, albums are beginning to go the way of the straight eight. Everything is shuffle-this and Jack FM-that. Obviously, we had to rush right home and via the power of teh internets register our complaint throughout the world in the form of a list. And yes, we hope we're dating ourselves with these choices. Jump for the list. More »

MyGig Has A Hard Drive, How About Yours?

Ray Wert — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:38:52 EDT

One of our biggest beefs with most car stereos is the inability to hook up our beatiful black Video iPod. Unless it's got an aux input, the tangle of wires and fm transmitters we normally need to connect our tunes to our ride gets real old, real fast — especially when you're hooking up with a gal in the front seat and she starts to try to get in close — and gets caught in the wires or jams her elbow into your transmitter. Talk about a total mood-killer. Well, Chrysler has hit a new bar in trying to provide a way for us to get the Burt Bacharach tunes to drive the ladies wild pumping through our speakers. It's the MyGig — a 20GB hard drive embedded in the dashboard for ripping CDs, storing navigation data and all sorts of other fun stuff — including the necessary aux input. You'd expect this type of a system in a $40,000 luxury car — but you can have this in the new $25,000 Chrysler Sebring — as well as two other vehicles in the price range (the upcoming Dodge Nitro and the Jeep Wrangler) Check it all out after the jump. More »

Noooooooooooooo! Jacques Villenueve Song Up on Myspace

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 19:30:30 EDT

So for every 2112-and-earlier Rush, Maow, Million Dollar Marxists, DOA and Subhumans (CDN), Canada's got at least eight to twelve horrendously bad music acts. So to the ignominious list of Triumph, Alanis, The Tragically Hip, Celine Dion, Roll-the-Bones-era Rush, Sum 41 and Avril Lavigne, you can now tack on Jacques Villenueve. He's got his hottest new Number One Summer Jam posted on Myspace. Check it out at your own personal peril. More »