A couple weeks ago I wrote about how my friend Barb had chastised me about missing out on a “window into our culture” by not listening to radio. Well, two things. First, the FM in my car doesn’t work, so I’m limited to CD’s and AM. Second, I get so much great music from Dave and Jeffro, why should I listen to the crap on the radio? Anyway… I’m now at Dave’s place in St. Charles, IL, but over the past couple days, I have been on the road between Chicago and Milwaukee and have tuned in. Wow. Barb was right. There is something about spinning the dial and hearing what’s playing and what’s saying. The DJ’s were a trip. One favorite moment was when a hip-hop DJ did a big hip-hop slang intro for the traffic guy who could not have been more white and vanilla. It kinda ended with “So wha’s sup, man? Well, Diddy, there’s about a 3 mile backup…” What a hilarious transition!

The trip North on I94 is pretty boring, but a couple highlights include the picture here which speaks for itself and the “Mars Cheese Castle.” Oh, how I wish I could have stopped in there… So, the music. I was all over the dial from NPR to Jazz to a healthy selection of God talk… Christian God talk, of course. Some of the musical highlights included:

  • Sounds of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel
  • With or Without You – U2
  • Here I Am (Come and Take Me) – Al Green
  • Signed, Sealed, Delivered – I’m Yours! – Stevie Wonder
  • Some Hip Hop Songs I don’t know but had me rockin like the guys in the AVIS commercial
  • Can’t You See – Marshall Tucker Band
  • WXRT 93.1 – Chicago
  • An AC/DC “Twofer:” Girls Got Rhythm and Honey, Whaddaya do for Money?
  • Band of Gold – Freda Payne
  • Bennie and the Jets – Elton John
  • Slip in to my Sleeping Bag – ZZ Top
  • 92.9, “The Hog” in Milwaukee
  • A little Mozart
  • Bullet With Butterfly Wings – Smashing Pumpkins

Yeah, it was a magical mystery tour up and down I94… Up in Milwaukee, actually Waukesha, I was holed up at the Country Springs Hotel while Southern Wisconsin was under a tornado warning. Down in the pub, I discovered they had a selection of 100 bottled beers on tap! I mean, if you’ve got to suffer through a tornado warning, it’s cool to be in a place with 100 beers. I went local with 3 from the New Glarus Brewing Company:

  1. Spotted Cow
  2. Fat Squirrel
  3. Totally Naked

Yep, and that’s a good way to end any night.