Hi everyone, As I currently sit writing this, the words on the page are little more than interruptions to one of the longest-running and most sacred of mid-winter rituals: chain-reading. The current book (and I am inclined to recommend!) is Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography Born to Run. Listen to the album too, while you’re at it. In celebration of this, I want to reflect on how much music filling the cabins of our cars can impact the trips we take. Whether it’s a favourite podcast, radio station, or personally curated playlist, the relationship between music and the road is a long and winding one. For me (and I suspect I’m not alone here), I almost always have music playing while I drive. I do enjoy a wide variety of tunes, from the intense ebb and flow of Mozart and Beethoven, to the hard-charging guitars and drums of Boston and Van Halen, to the poetic, narrative-based ballads of Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot. And everything in between! A song for every trip and a song for every mood.
I’m quite looking forward to the impending nice weather. Sure, it’s been a milder winter than average overall, but the investment-grade cars are still hibernating! The rest of us will trudge on through - queue Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska on a two lane highway after dark. Just the riiiiight amount of Fargo vibes, without worrying about Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare appearing in the rearview mirror. On the other hand, hitting the road for a pleasure trip after things have greened up, ears taking in the sun-soaked chords of Guns n Roses’ Paradise City, with the windows down and the dial cranked, is just as satisfying a drive as it is different. I wouldn’t want to deny either experience to myself!
So, what do you like to listen to behind the wheel of your Volvo? Feel free to share your favourite driving tunes on CVC social media! Now, I have a record to spin and a book to finish.
Matthew Boucher
President
Canadian Volvo Club
https://canadianvolvoclub.org/membership/presidents-message/2024/spring
