The Soundtrack of Our Lives

The Great Anamitra Deb is going to put together a soundtrack for our trip. But in case he doesn't, I'd like you, the faithful reader, to do so. We'll call it Volume 2.

I remember my life through music. I associate songs with friends, places I've lived, meals I've eaten, even the most precisely recalled but meaningless moments. I've taken to listening to my iPod when I ride. As a consequence, I can recall the precise moment in LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends" when Sam and I came upon a long line of cyclists along Route 138, just east of Forestville on our way to the Trans-Lab highway.

I can remember, too, exactly what it was like riding out of Labrador City at 7 am, in a cold rain, and seeing a sign declaring it was prohibited to shoot caribou within 50 metres of the highway. I was listening to the Arcade Fire's "Keep the Car Running":

If some night I don't come home
Please don't think I've left you alone
The same place animals go when they die.
You can't climb across a mountain so high

Those lyrics will for a long time be tied to my trepidation that morning . If caribou could be shot on the road then they could also certainly come into our path. But they also remind me of how great was my feeling when we arrived for the ferry on time on a route others were convinced we couldn't beat the clock.

So, what songs are going to make the trip this time? They need only meet a few conditions. They should have a good beat, clever lyrics, and maybe geographic or travel references. You can email your suggestions and reasons at pjlwn@mta.ca, and I'll post all suggestions on the site.