Earlier this week, BMW announced that it had partnered with renowned composer Hans Zimmer to develop bespoke soundscapes for its new 7 Series. It all sounded a bit over the top, but it did get us thinking: If you were to have a composer craft songs to soundtrack your driving, who would you chose?
To get to the bottom of this, we asked you that very question. Here are some of the best answers we saw.
“I have a Volvo, so ABBA?
“More befitting the mood of Volvo, however, would be Röyksopp. They’re Norwegian, so still Scandinavian.”
Swedish car, Swedish band. It works out, right?
I actually saw an ABBA tribute band at a festival once, and Benny Andersson’s keyboard was made out of the front of a Volvo. So this all checks out with me.
Suggested by: majordawlish
“Uh... if you really need a customized sound track for your car, I highly suggest doing it the old school way... DIY. At least that’s what I do.
“Ain’t for everyone, but I’m involved in the writing, playing and recording. That’s my personal sound track, made by me and my friends. It’s not rocket science, it’s rock and roll.”
If you’ve got the skills, then give writing your own tune a whirl. And, if you do just that, fire your bespoke soundtracks into the comments for us all to enjoy.
Suggested by: negativeed
“I have a 2017 Caravan GT, and it’s already been written.”
Sure, The Offspring might have sung about a Pinto every now and then, but the band’s music also works with a big Dodge minivan according to this poster.
Suggested by: 89islander
“If he was still alive, I’d want James Horner (Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Apollo 13, Field of Dreams, Aliens, and especially The Rocketeer) to compose the soundtrack. Considering all the music of action movies that he handled with complete aplomb, he would’ve been my choice for the big block ‘69 Charger soundtrack.
“Too bad that he went flying and did a John Denver — such a huge loss to the music world.”
If you want your drive to sound epic, James Horner is the man to go to. His workings have appeared in films like Apollo 13 and Avatar. So he’s sure to be able to craft a catchy tune to improve your commute.
Suggested by: the1969dodgechargerguy
“Phil Collins. Disney asked him to make a few songs for Tarzan and those things rock. Image what he could do for a song to pump you up for a cool drive?”
Duh duh, duh duh, duh duh duh duh duuuh duuuuh.
Suggested by: mike937
“Resurrect Joe Strummer so The Clash can write songs about my Civic!”
Correction, resurrect Joe Strummer to write songs about everything, please.
Suggested by: Nick Fee (Facebook)
“I went from owning a Dodge Charger and a 1970 Buick Wildcat to (briefly) a 2004 Mercury Sable wagon and now a 2009 Mazda 5 after being unemployed for over 18 months, so my car’s theme song should be written by someone who shone brightly for a time then came swiftly crashing down.
“Amy Winehouse comes to mind, although her story is more tragic than mine.
“Maybe Sinead O’Connor whose career came to a crashing halt after tearing up a picture of the pope on SNL.”
There’s some sound reasoning behind this choice of Amy Winehouse. There’s actually a rumor doing the rounds that her track (There Is No) Greater Love is about a Buick Wildcat. A car famously never sold in her native United Kingdom.
Suggested by: earthbound-misfit-i
“Every car is badass when Supercharger Heaven is playing.”
If you ask Jalopnik’s own Elizabeth Blackstock, she’ll point out that almost every song from Rob Zombie makes for a great car soundtrack. Here’s her reasoning.
Suggested by: smalleyxb122
“I can always listen to Mike Ness when I’m driving. I especially love listening to his solo albums when road tripping in the American West. Older Social Distortion is good when on the road in the mornings. That being said, one the first songs I listened to after I bought my Camaro was Five Iron Frenzy’s song Phantom Mullet because they sang the opening line “cruising down town in a Camaro” and I finally owned a car that was a part of pop culture. I didn’t relate to any of the other lyrics of this tongue in cheek song though.
“That being said I do feel that powerful driving (pun intended) music would be fitting for a soundtrack to my Camaro, something with a cool and short very American guitar riff would be great in my Camaro.
“My other car is a BMW and I can’t get the stereo to sound good playing any punk or ska but when I listen to classical it sounds amazing. I’m actually pretty upset because I feel they specifically balanced the cars speakers to sound amazing for only one type of music. I suppose that because of the John Williams would be able to create a nice soundtrack befitting of that car.”
Some great suggestions here for a host of different cars. Give them a go while you’re driving this weekend and let us know how they fit.
Suggested by: rocknroll-jeph
“As much as everything new Weezer puts out makes me question if I ever really liked Weezer, would you be surprised to see any of those four men getting out of a Mazda2? Plus, I hear those half-Japanese cars do it to Rivers Cuomo every time.”
Weezer are, without doubt, the Mazda 2 of the music world. I will take no further questions on this matter.
Suggested by: maymar
“I’d have none other than Mighty Car Mods’ Moog do the soundtrack for my Celica.”
Well, you learn something new every day. I had no idea that Moog, real name Blair Joscelyne was a composer. Some of his music would fit the Celica down to a T.
Suggested by: seancurry
“Really depends on the car.
“Mercedes G-Wagen? Wagner, for sure.
“Miata/S2K/Supra? I’d say...Dave Rogers (think Eurobeat Intensifies)
“Any bland crossover/mom-mobile? Taylor Swift or Harry Styles (it’s what’s playing, anyway)”
I’ll agree, the soundtrack you want depends on the car and the kind of drive you’re talking. But that hasn’t stopped Taylor Swift from soundtracking most of my drives over the past few years. Well, her or Arcade Fire.
Suggested by: itsyourboyhobbes
“For my ‘03 Tundra I’d like Colter Wall or Billy Strings to write the soundtrack. It’s an old truck. It gets up to some shenanigans and has a good time. It’s also really durable and comfortable. For me, that’s modern bluegrass/country-picking music.
“For my ‘22 Crosstrek, someone like the Avalanches maybe. They do ambient with bursts of excitement well. They’re great at putting dissimilar sounds and beats together, and they write great lyrics. Plus, they provided the soundtrack to the best ski film ever made.”
Bluegrass and a pickup truck is a combination like biscuits and gravy. Something wholly American that sounds a bit strange to anyone else you tell about it.
Suggested by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy
“Drive a truck for your job? — Merle Travis, ‘16 Tons’
“Drive a brodozer? — LMFAO, ‘Sexy and I Know It’
“Drive a retired police vehicle? — M. Mussorgsky, ‘Night on Bald Mountain’
“Drive a Firebird? — the Fairbrass brothers: Right Said Fred, ‘I’m Too Sexy’
“Drive any car that a rental agency would classify as ‘economy?’ — Composer unknown, but the Carolina Hurricanes at one point used a ditty titled ‘Penalty Box Song’. It’s on Youtube.”
Right Said Fred have had number one singles in 70 different countries and writing credits for countless famous singer songwriters out there today. So I’m sure they could pen something pretty fitting for any car you asked them to.
Suggested by: northbx
“The people behind the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack for the GR Corolla/Yaris. (Marcin Przybyłowicz, P. T. Adamczyk, Paul Leonard-Morgan).”
The music of a video game is something under-appreciated, but a great shout here. It helps set the vibe, build tension and can really alter the mood of any setting. Another good suggestion for people to soundtrack your commute.
Suggested by: skipp
“I’m pretty sure that I want the Presidents of the United States of America to do the soundtrack for my Miata.
“Nothing but happy riffs for my car!”
Happy riffs and a happy car. That’s what we like here at Jalopnik.
Suggested by: dolsh
“Anyone with a Citroën? Definitely Daft Punk.
“Have a BMW 2002? Kraftwerk already recorded your sound track with ‘Autobahn’.”
Have you heard the Tron Legacy soundtrack? What about Homework? Or Human After All? Daft Punk can soundtrack whatever they God damn please in my mind.
Suggested by: majordawlish
“My brown 2015 Toyota Camry LE: Bored by Billie Eilish.”
Billie Eilish seems set on world domination at the moment, with number one singles, festival headline slots and a bond them all to her name already. Clearly, soundtracking your commute to the office is the next logical step for her.
Suggested by: regnis78