Good Music for Driving on a Snowy Night

My playlist for my blizzard-ridden drive from Buffalo to Cleveland.

1) Beyond Words - Bobby McFerrin (2002). True to its title, this album has no distinguishable lyrics. Exploring the voice as an instrument more than simply as a deliverer of lyrics, McFerrin creates dozens of moods and textures alongside his slyly arranged jazz group. Is that a bass guitar, or is it Bobby? Is that a pipe organ or a choir of Bobbys? An excellent way to start the drive because you can easily mold your thoughts into the folds of the most incredible voice known to man.

2) Homogenic - Björk (1997). The next two are from the land where winter was invented: Iceland. Homogenic is a masterpiece, plain as that. It's winter, and an elfin princess is trapped inside a computer while she recovers from the love that left her the summer previous. Yeah, that's exactly what this sounds like.

3) Takk - Sigur Rós (2005). Really anything by Sigur Rós would be perfect, as they always achieve their goal of bringing the beauty of Iceland to the world through music. Takk is very, very beautiful. Glaciers listen to this album and sigh.

4) Kid A - Radiohead (2000). I almost put OK Computer here, which makes sense because it is their 1997 analogue to Homogenic (unintentional I'm sure, but the similarities are numerous). However, Kid A fits a dark winter's night more appropriately. There is no blizzard that can match the maelstrom of "The National Anthem" and no frozen tundra that can convey the emptiness of "How To Disappear Completely (And Not Be Found)". This album is a constant battle between the cold of your frostbite and the warmth of a fifth of brandy in your stomach.