Singing Loudly In My Car

I grew up on a farm in Alberta, a fifteen-minute drive to the nearest town and just under thirty minutes to where I went to high school. It was just far enough away that none of my friends would drive to visit me. Thirty minutes wasn’t too much for rural kids, but townies made it sound like it’s literally an eternity (insert dramatic eye roll). Essentially, if I wanted to go anywhere, I needed to beg my parents for a ride or to let me borrow a vehicle to make that happen.

Everything changed when I turned 17. My nana gave me a 1989 Chevy Tracker for my birthday. It was the car she’d towed behind her motorhome, but now it was mine. She told me I didn’t get it for my 16th birthday because she didn’t want me to be too spoiled (I got a cow and calf for my Sweet 16 - farm kid, remember?).

Tracker was practically a red box on wheels and I loved everything about it. It was a gutless stick shift with no air conditioning, four-wheel drive, practically no blindspots and a custom-installed stereo that my dad wired in (I helped). That little car was four wheels of freedom.

And freedom came with a soundtrack.

Old School

In the late 90s when my friends started mmm'bopping and backstreet's backing, I was still rejecting pop and listening to classic rock with my parents. I loved Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Kiss and so much more.

I started to like some more recent alternative rock, The Tragically Hip (Canadian icons) and Live, come to mind, but then, my parents listened to them, too.

The Offspring

The Offspring was different.

My dad hated, could not stand, would not tolerate any of this loud shouting music. I couldn’t get enough of it. It might sound cliche (okay, it is definitely cliche), but this was the beginning of me trying to find my individuality.

Gone Away - because you need an emotionally charged ballad of regret

Listen to that intro! The drums hit something deep in my very soul (that's a resonating joke). Whenever I hear that, I stop and crank the volume.

I liked a few of the singles I’d heard on the radio (Original Prankster is easily the worst Offspring song out there) and I had listened to the whole Americana album so I considered myself a fan. A friend invited me to an Offspring concert and I was subjected to a whole other world that I didn’t know was there - and I wanted more. The audience knew the words to every song, I felt like a poser. So much yelling! So much emotion! I went home and bought every Offspring album I could get my hands on. And then I sang along.

As a side story, I saw The Offspring in concert again in 2013 at Rockfest. This was the most punk-rock weekend of my life. The news reported almost criminal mismanagement and literal lakes of urine (true, and disgusting). This time when I saw Offspring on stage I knew all the words. I got down to the edge of the mosh-pit, threw some elbows and sang until my voice was gone. It was the best time ever.

Singing Loudly in my Car

There is something truly cathartic about singing as loudly (and as badly) as you want in relative privacy. That thirty-minute drive to school was my release, I used that time to de-stress and pour out any big emotions into loud music and lyrics that spoke to me. I wholly believe that this made a huge difference in my life. I wasn’t an anxious teen. Yes, I was terribly shy, but not at all nervous. I had a small and fantastic group of friends, popularity was never a concern of mine. I liked what I liked, and I didn’t really care what anyone thought about it. Liberating.

These are a few more songs and bands that made regular rotations in my confidence-inspiring, trying to be an individual, singing at-the-top-of-my lungs while driving in my car playlist.

Green Day

During my high school days Green Day’s song, The Time of Your Life, was hugely popular. It made an appearance at graduations and funerals alike. I had a feeling that there was more to Green Day that I somehow had missed, just like Offspring. And then I found Dookie.

Basket Case - because I am one of those melodramatic fools

Have you ever come across an album that every song just makes you want to turn up your volume even more? I would love a song, and the next one would be better, and the next one would be even better! That was Dookie. I could listen to that on repeat for weeks at a time. And, of course, singing as loudly as possible.

Green Day did eventually become wildly popular and so mainstream, but I will always love them for this album.

NOFX

I know that The Offspring and Green Day aren’t considered punk by hardcore punk purists. However, they are gateway punk bands.

Linoleum - because we've all been there

One year for Christmas I gave my younger sister a CD with all of my favourite Offspring and Green Day songs. She loved it, and then went down the rabbit hole. My sister introduced me to bands like Rancid, Anti-Flag and NOFX. She even took me to see Henry Rollins speak once, so good.

While I was never truly that hardcore, I like to think that I was punk adjacent.

Rob Zombie

Dragula - because this video is a trip

When I started grade nine (in Alberta that was the last year of junior high, grades ten through twelve are high school) I dyed my hair black with a wash-out box colour. The colour didn’t really wash out. The first week of school somebody asked me if I was Goth. I wasn’t, but it sounded like a good idea, and I rolled with it.

So I became Goth. Sort of. It’s not a lot of fun being the only Goth person, I didn’t at all understand the nuances behind wearing all black and the lighter concealer started giving me a rash. As a look, it didn’t last long, but the music stuck with me. I found Rob Zombie after Dragula was featured in The Matrix soundtrack. It’s the song playing when Neo meets Trinity in person. This banger was a definite fit in my mornings.

Eve 6

Inside Out - because sometimes I just want to tear it off the wall

This is my breakup song, the one that I went to whenever relationships didn’t go how I thought they would. I loved the flow of the words and, as per my style, would essentially shout them as loudly as possible.

SoCal is where my mind states

But it’s not my state of mind

I’m not as ugly sad as you

Or am I origami

Folded up and just pretend

Demented as the motives in your head

Totally deep, right? Sing it with venom and get those negative vibes out!

Ozzy Osbourne

Ready for a story about the single most rebellious thing I did at school?

I didn’t stop being a fan of classic rock music when I branched out, so when the radio station announced that Ozzy Osbourne was coming to play a show, I lost my mind a bit and yelled, “Ozzy Fucking Osbourne!”

Because I am that cool, a friend and I went (with my parents) to the show. It was insane! Ozzy did not have a lot of pep in him, but the energy from the crowd was just amazing. I knew all the songs and was not afraid to sing along.

Crazy Train - because I really do think we should forget how to hate

When we passed the merch table, there was a shirt that said Ozzy Fucking Osbourne on it - so I bought it - and then wore it to school the next day.

Not at all surprisingly, I got called to the principal’s office after first period. I made some ‘storm the PTA’ comments about censorship and the double standard of the apparent acceptance of t-shirts with photos of women in thongs on them, but ultimately just changed my shirt. Rebel, rebel.

Limp Bizkit

Nookie - because you can take that cookie

In my seeming tradition of yelling words of songs, Limp Bizkit’s Nookie is a ringer. This song was wildly popular in my high school and ended up being played at every school dance. I honestly have no idea why.

For me, I suddenly knew (and cared?) who Fred Durst was. I laughed when I saw him in other videos and I excitedly watched for him in magazines. While I was later than most of my peers, this was my first brush with an interest in a celebrity.

Nickelback

Nickelback has taken a lot of flak over the years. You might not know this, but Nickelback is from a small town in Alberta, just like I’m from (near) a small town in Alberta. I didn’t know them personally, but my friends and I definitely liked them before they were famous!

Leader of Men - because it reminds me of home

The acoustic version of Leader of Men was one of the last songs on The State. Blasting this and crooning along has always just felt so good. The words really resonated with teenage me, I felt so deep.

So turn the television off

And I will sing a song

And if you suddenly have the urge

You can sing along

Much later in life, Nickelback released the single Photograph. I have a photo that fits the song as if it was written about my friends, from the first time I visited home after moving away. The lyrics seem to fit so perfectly:

We used to listen to the radio

And sing along with every song we know

When did we stop singing along with songs on the radio? I didn't realize that would be a part of growing up.

Driving in my Car

If you're looking for something akin to primal scream therapy, I've got just the music. The following is my playlist in its entirety (with a few extras)! The perfect mix for the freedom of driving in your car, singing as loudly as you want!

As a bonus, this is a picture of my cows. The one looking like she’s about to come at you is Crazy and the calf is Goldie, the sweetest baby imaginable.

Hello! If you've enjoyed this article and random trip down memory lane, please consider leaving a ❤️ or sharing it! Thanks! -Christina