This is a new weekly article I am starting. This is dedicated to those of us who spend hours a day stuck in the daily grind of getting to and from jobs that we may or may not completely despise. When you’re bumper to bumper and you have exceeded your monthly daytime minutes on the cell plan, you have only one friend…music.
Stuck in Traffic Song of the Week for 1/9–1/15 : “I Can’t Drive, 55” By Sammy Hagar
(This video should be watched before reading further… really, at least give it a minute…here it is live from Farm Aid 1985)
Keith’s Take:
Traffic makes me angry. My car has the ability to max out at a roughly 82 mph. So when I am forced to crawl along an interstate I get pretty frustrated, because I know my ’95 Mercury Sable has a lot more potential. With that said, this song gives the commuter something to relate to. All Sammy wants to do is drive fast, is that so much to ask? People in Germany do it on the autobahn, so why can’t we? You know who is cool, Van Halen, you know who sang for Van Halen when David Lee Roth split from the group, that’s right, Hagar. Hagar, while completely unrelated to the rock-star, also makes one hell of a pair of slacks. What’s not to love about this guy? He has a huge blonde, curly fro, and he dresses like famous professional wrestler Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. Take this song, turn up the volume, grip the wheel tight, and let it turn your hour and fifteen minute commute into a thirty second cruise around the block.
In the song Hagar is harassed by an unfriendly police officer. Any LA driver can relate to the hassles frequently associated with the LAPD and Highway Patrol. Sammy brings that pain to life in this majestic anthem to the road warrior. You may be forced to read some hippies bumper sticker for seven miles, but this sonnet for the speedster will allow your mind to drift to a place where orange wind pants are cool and Sammy Hagar is actually beloved.
Zach’s Take:
There are many 80’s hard rock songs that I like. I Can’t drive 55 is not one of them. Maybe if I was 16 all over again and I had a Camaro instead of a Buick and Ron Reagan was in office, I’d be all over this song but I’m not, so I’m not. Hagar needs to relax; the ‘man’ isn’t really keeping him down that much. But I know his viewpoint though; I speed from time to time. Not to be hypocritical but I’d probably speed even more if my ‘94 Buick didn’t violently shake at around 72 mph. Most times, if I can, I do speed around Los Angeles as you gotta get while the getting is good. I’ve never been in an accident so I’m not out there driving like a crazy person. And unlike Mr. Hagar, when I did get my lone speeding ticket, I didn’t fly off the handle and expect my face to be on a dead or alive poster. Just take it easy Sammy. You want to drive your fancy sports car around town, flaunting the posted speed limits, well, Johnny Law will get you. And let’s be honest you were going 125 for Pete’s sake! That’s a bit high. You will still have time to rock out when you get there ten minutes late. And guess what, you are a rock star; you can get there whenever the hell you want.
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