The Running on Empty album was Browne's grand experiment: a set of all-new songs recorded onstage, in hotel rooms and on the tour bus. The title track was actually written while Browne was driving to the studio each day to make The Pretender. "I was always driving around with no gas in the car," he said. "I just never bothered to fill up the tank because — how far was it anyway? Just a few blocks."
It's Saturday, the day set aside to work on cars. Or at least it used to be, back in the pre electronic-everything era when you could still lift the hood and work on the engine.
Get it tuned just right. Adjust the valves, set the points and well, gap the plugs, re-jet the carbs, set the timing. Fill the tank with hi-test gasoline. Wash and dry, then wax it with Blue Coral.
If you were a bit mechanically inclined, the mufflers were changed out with glass packs. And maybe the stock camshaft was replaced with a hotter cam that you ordered from Iskenderian, and a new intake manifold with a bigger Holley carb sitting high atop it.
The old radio in the garage was tuned to the AM station that played your favorites, an most of them were car songs. Songs about driving, dragging, hanging out, even about specific cars. Rocket 88 or 409, or T-Bird or Deuce Coupe. Great music in the pre-British Invasion era of pop music.
It's Saturday. Here's a compilation of great car songs. Add your favorite in the comments section. For full effect, you should be wearing shoes with pointy toes and Cuban heels, have a duck's ass haircut, and a pack of Lucky Strike rolled up in the sleeve of your tee shirt. Or a poodle skirt, loafers and frilly blouse, depending.
Rocket 88. Ike Turner singing the first recorded car song.
