If you know me, you know I am an audiophile. There is art in all styles of music. And my children would tell you that we are just as likely to queue up some clean hip hop (emphasis on clean) as we are a gospel track or indie ballad. With nearly 80 hours of drive time each summer, we have plenty of time for discovery.

In playlist 1, we went a little introspective and low-key. The emphasis was on the lyrics and poetry.

Sometimes you just need a pick-me-up while driving. Sometimes the lyrics don’t matter nearly as much as the feeling the song conveys. This playlist has a bit of that. (But, some of the lyrics are still spot on.)

Enjoy a smattering of uptempo indie rock, a touch of hip hop, even an instrumental track. Give it a listen.

American Authors — “Bring It On Home”
“I’ve run the highest wire; I’ve laughed, smiled, cried and been called a liar; I thought to myself, win, lose or fail; I won’t let this train derail; And when I find myself, I’ma bring it on home.”

Andy Grammer — “Back Home”
“So here’s to the cheap sunglasses; Red Bull and minivans and; People who had your back when; The world didn’t understand.”

Saint Motel — “Move”
“Head, shoulders, knees, toes; Look alive, it’s time to go.”

Royal Rizow, Ty Reynolds — “I’ll Find a Way”

If you’re looking for some amusement, pull up the lyrics to this track and let the kids try to keep up with the words. I don’t know how some artists can move their mouths that fast.

“So i ain’t no tripping, Never got laid up; Just like back seat, Gotta keep my head up; My mind seizes try not to get fed up; Gotta go hard, I gotta go harder.”

Judah & The Lion — “Quarter Life Crisis”
“This whole record might be a quarter-life crisis; I need my family to come and help me fight this (Oh!); I can’t do this all alone”

TeamMate — “We Belong”
I wasn’t old enough to appreciate Pat Benatar. But, why not a fresh cover of a classic?

“We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder; We belong to the sound of the words we’ve both fallen under; Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better; We belong, we belong, we belong together.”

Sofi Tukker — “Drinkee”
This song is in Portugese. According to the artist, the song isn’t really about… anything. The lyrics simply convey a musical rhythm.

But, if you were literally translating, the first lines are: “With God I lie, with God I stand up, I shut up myself, I sing with me…”

Yep. Sounds like nonsense to me. But, I’ve been known to queue up some Spanish, German or even K-pop to keep my brain awake.

Alan Gogoll — “Owl’s Friend”
Instrumental

Judah & The Lion — “Kickin’ da Leaves”
This song is one of the reasons my wife and I became huge fans of Judah & The Lion. They were bound to show up twice on a playlist at some point.

“In these trees I feel alright; I think I finally found light; ‘Cause in these woods I’m free inside.”

Fly By Midnight — “Vinyl”
“Back in the day we would stay up late; Let the boom box play; But now in the night we all swipe right; Oh what a shame.”

Do you have an amazing track I should check out? Leave it in the comments below or send me an email from the “contact” link on the menu.