Summer In Stereo #17

In March 2014, HERC took a road trip across seven states. On his second day out, he woke up and started driving in a heavy, wipers on full speed rain across east Texas.  Despite the heavy weather (which would last well into Arkansas and the early evening), traffic was surprisingly moving along at more than 90 miles an hour on the turnpike.  As he often does, HERC spent the first half hour or so driving in silence, contemplating the day and mentally reviewing his to-do list while concentrating on the road and the rain.  Once he turned on the Blueberry's iPod, the first song he heard that day was Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down A Dream", a long time favorite driving song.  Using the steering wheel mounted controls, he upped the volume to 16 which is about as loud as he can handle without getting a headache.  By the time Mike Campbell's end of song extended solo was still echoing in his head, HERC happened to glance down at the digital speedometer in the center of the Blueberry's cluster of gauges and was surprised to see he was going 110 MPH in a torrential downpour in rural Texas AND STILL GETTING PASSED by giant wheeled four wheel drive trucks.  Good times.  Flash forward to a hot, hot day in June 2014.  HERC and MRS. HERC are driving home after briskly walking a few miles around a park.  On their way home, they decide to grab some Wendy's salads for dinner and as HERC turned onto a recently re-paved road, "Runnin' Down a Dream" once again popped up on The Blueberry's iPod.  HERC noticed three motorcycle cops with radar guns a little too late and when he looked at his speedometer he saw he was doing 54 in a 40 MPH zone.  One of the cops pulled him over, gave him a ticket and three weeks later HERC completed his online four hour defensive driving course.

Tom Petty has at least a dozen or more great driving songs, including a few off his latest album.  Both "Runnin' Down A Dream" and "Out In The Cold" happen to be Number One Rock Songs co-written by Jeff Lynne and featuring extensive guitar riffery and shreddage from Mike Campbell.