“Open Road Song” by Eve 6
Matt Madurski guest posts about a great driving song.
It's the end of the week, and I want to send everyone off into the weekend with the best vibes possible. That’s why the Daily Music Picks newsletter features a weekly segment called Fun Song Fridays! Regardless of era, genre, or style, the criterion is simple: it must deliver the joy and excitement we all need in our lives.
You can access the entire Fun Song Fridays archive here. While you’re at it, add the companion playlist to your favorite streaming platform.
Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Best Music of All Time newsletter!
Today’s music pick comes from
, who writes the terrific newsletter. I recently guest-posted about one of my favorite Cure songs on his Stack, so it made sense to have him hop on and drop some knowledge on one of the great road trip songs for your summer drive. Enjoy!
Genre: Alternative rock
Label: RCA Records
Release Date: April 28, 1998
Vibe: 🚘🎤🤘
“Open Road Song” finished 2022 in my Top 10 tracks on Spotify Wrapped. When I posted that list on my social media, I had at least three or four people tell me that they didn’t realize Eve 6 had more than one song (presumably, they never got any deeper into the band’s prodigious catalog than “Inside Out,” which is a stone-cold classic in its own right).
I feel bad for those who tapped out on the band after their initial single took over radio airplay charts for most of the summer of 1998, as the follow-ups from their eponymous album were just as good, if not better. But for Fun Song Friday, you’d be hard-pressed to top the vibes generated from “Open Road Song,” which is all about the exhilaration and cathartic bliss that comes with speeding down the highway, music blasting, with no destination and no responsibility.
When this song came out, I’d just completed my first year of college, and my life was full of these random adventures, singing along with songs like this while I drove myself anywhere and everywhere the winds took me. And I think Max Collins spoke for everyone who lived this type of experience:
“I don't need a girl
Don't need a friend
'Cause my friend, lonesome's unconditional
We're flying forever bored
For a moment
I love everything that I see and think and feel.”
Sometimes, there’s nothing better than being on your own and just … going.
As you get older, these moments are fewer and far between. Still, there’s something about this track that transports me back to those days of free-spirited drives in a crappy Chevy Corsica, singing along to all the biggest hits of the time, songs I sang louder than the actual artist, “but that's O.K. 'cause I sounded better than him anyway any day.” Yeah, my voice is sweet as salt.
“Open Road Song” topped out at a pedestrian (no pun intended) #23 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in June 1999, one year after the song’s instrumental was used during the opening credits of the movie Can’t Hardly Wait. I tend to link the song to the movie, as both are good reminders that life is full of great moments and unique experiences and that you’re only one highway on-ramp away from having the next adventure anytime you want.
If you’re still young or looking to recapture your youthful indiscretions, you could do much worse than “Open Road Song.”
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈
 | A guest post by
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I remember this song really well. There was only one other person I knew who actually bought their album (we even went to see them live together... Wheatus opened for them! Remember those guys?! I guess Teenage Dirtbag went viral kind of recently) and this was my second favorite song. I haven't thought of them in years.