Earlier in the week, Herald reporter Stephen Maher wrote an interesting story that drew surprisingly little attention, given that what it reveals could dramatically affect municipal politics in Halifax. He reports that Sackville-Eastern Shore MP Peter Stoffer is openly musing about running to be mayor of Halifax. The veteran NDPer hasn't announced his candidacy. But Maher quotes him saying a lot of coy things like "I’ve always liked Mayor Kelly... I’ve always thought he was very decent, but I just think our council can do much more than talk about cats."

What do you think? Should Stoffer challenge Peter Kelly in the next election? Will he?

Although Jazzeast is best known as the force behind July's annual Atlantic Jazz Festival, the organization actually promotes the music throughout the year. And recently, it announced plans for an exciting spring festival. Here are the details, from a press release.

OUT LIKE A LION: SPRINGTIME'S TRIUMPH
 A New Halifax Music Festival Featuring 16 Concerts in 5 Nights

JazzEast Concerts presents a Roman-style triumph in honour of Springtime's anticipated win over cold dark Winter.  From March 25-29, Halifax will host a feast, two picture story shows and 14 other concerts. 

"Musicians playing jazz or jazz inspired music in Halifax should have a time of their own outside of the summer jazz festival," says Laura 'Lulu' Healy, JazzEast's Artistic Director.  "I wanted to hang a spotlight to illuminate the talent that is here and fight back the Winter blahs.  Out Like a Lion stands for a release of pent up energy as well as a roar of the new."

 With 16 concerts, JazzEast covers a great deal of musical and entertainment ground.  Canadian super-entertainers and well-connected indie group, Torngat (with opening local guest Paper Beat Scissors) infuses the groove into the vast universe of instrumental glory on Sunday, March 28 at The Paragon.  Never common, always spontaneous multi-instrumentalist and composer Sageev Oore presents two acoustically grand and visually glorious silent film and live piano concerts--one matinee for the families and the farmer's market masses featuring fun Chaplin and Keaton shorts, and one night-time fest for adults featuring Chaplin's "The Circus" and some surprise shorts--at St. Paul's Anglican Church (facing the Grand Parade Square), on Saturday, March 27.  His music will be jazz influenced, but mostly a mix bag of styles.

 For a feast of fancy, Silvio Pupo's C.O.D. quartet will serenade the guests of Onyx Restaurant on Spring Garden Road during their special three-course Cuban dinner on Friday, March 26.  On Saturday, March 27, experimentalists and improvisers Zokugaku (guitarist Geordie Haley, pianist Tim Crofts and drummer Doug Cameron) expand the meaning of sound exploration with their refurbished Casio keyboards, ancient synth-guitar and other instrument delights at 1313 Hollis.  Their brave ventures will have a visual element as well with the inclusion of Susanne Chui, a contemporary dancer whose choreography is at once moving and playful.

 OUT like a LION has a constant eye on the jazz cubs, too.  Jazz for Dummies, with former St. Francis Xavier music professor and renowned bassist Skip Beckwith, runs through the evolution of jazz, touching on each point of revolution in the history of the genre.  Various student ensembles take to the big stage for a matinee at The Paragon on Sunday, March 28 to show off their chops and fresh attitudes.  Then, immediately after, Halifax's lovable saxophonist and NSCC music teacher Jeff Goodspeed invites his pride of young lions to Stayner's Wharf Pub & Grill.

For opening night, a rare and special treat is planned.  Many of Halifax's jazz aristocracy will join saxophonist and Dalhousie music professor Chris Mitchell on stage at the home of JazzEast's Thursday night jazz, Stayner's.  Lisa MacDougall (voice), Geordie Haley (guitar), Danny Martin (trombone), Jamie Gatti (bass) and Rick Waychesko(trumpet) will make-up the all-star Jazz Journeys group featuring music by greats, such as Mingus, Miles Davis, Bird and Billie Holiday, as well as some originals  This is the night to begin OUT like a LION's mighty roar!

 Mixed in with all of these special performances are: Upstream's presentation of Ken Aldcroft at 1313 on March 25; Tom Collins at Stayner's on March 26; John M Gray at Stayner's on March 27 and Rachel Fado at The Carleton on March 28.

 "The festival line-up highlights different takes on jazz, " says Healy.  "We wanted to make it accessible for kids and adults."

Tickets for a select number of the OUT like a LION festival are available through Ticketpro, including a limited fan package for $35.  Prices range from $5 to $65.  For more information and a complete schedule, please visit www.jazzeast.com <http://www.jazzeast.com>  or call 902 492 2225.

 --30--

Thanks to everyone who has Tweeted me over the last couple of days to suggest blog posts. You offered a lot of good ideas that I'm going to address over the next few weeks. But first, I wanted to share something interesting with you. The following is a preview of a Q&A with concert pianist Simon Docking. (Look for the complete interview in the print edition, on newsstands this weekend.) An Australian expatriate, Docking has some very interesting thoughts on Halifax and its music scene.

Performing solo and in ensembles Simon, Docking is one of the city’s busiest musicians. In the next few months, he plays four major shows in Halifax, with the Saint Cecilia Concert Series on March 12, The Music Room Chamber Music Society on March 31 and two with the Scotia Festival of Music in June.

***

How did you end up in Halifax?
I married a Canadian. We were both studying in New York and we met there. After some negotiation we married and moved to Toronto, where she’s from. After about three years there, Jennifer was offered a job at Dalhousie, so we decided to move to Halifax.

How does Halifax compare with what you expected before you came here?
I didn’t know what Halifax would be like. I had no clear ideas and no real preconception of the city, so I came in with quite an open mind. And with all honesty, we love it. There’s a wonderful sense of place here.

Did moving to a smaller city require much adjustment?
We both grew up in big cities—me in Sydney and her in Toronto—and then live in New York, so Halifax is really the smallest place we’ve ever lived. And we love living in a small city. We don’t own a car and we can walk everywhere we need to go. We have a five-year-old daughter; Halifax is a great place for kids. There are a lot of opportunities for them, a lot for them to experience.

Do you find as many opportunities here for you as an artist?
In a way, Halifax feels bigger than it is because it’s the capital for the whole region. Things happen here that wouldn’t happen in other cities this size. I remember the first year we were here, going to the Atlantic Film Festival and being so impressed with a world-class event like that in a city this size. And the music scene is great—so much going on, and so many visiting artists. And it seems to keep expanding. There are so many concert series and festivals.

How does the level of support for music here compare to what you’ve seen elsewhere?
Funding and support for the musical community are as good here as they are anywhere. Funding is no more of a pinch than in big cities. Here you can make your own opportunities and build things more than you can in other places, where everything seems to be very entrenched.

What do organizations like Saint Cecilia mean for the musical scene?
It’s hard to put into words how important Saint Cecilia and those organizations are. We’re not on the big touring network here. Saint Cecilia works hard to bring in people we wouldn’t otherwise see, which is great for students.

Do you consider Halifax to be your home now?
We’re settled here. My parents are still in Australia but they visit often and think it’s a great place—and they’ve been here in every season!
 

Canada's post-gold medal hockey euphoria is by no means over, so today, a special top five: the greatest hockey goals of all time. Yes, this is a highly biased and subjective list. Disagree with my picks? Post a comment.

• Alexander Ovechkin walks through the Coyotes. Ovechkin may be the most exciting player in the league today. Exhibit A.
• Bobby Orr's 1970 Stanley Cup winner. The greatest defenceman of all time had arrived.
• Paul Henderson's Summit Series winner in 1972. This isn't the prettiest goal ever, but it may be (until about 24 hours ago), Canada's most iconic.
• Sidney Crosby scores the gold medal winner at the Vancouver Olympics. If you need to be sold on this, you've probably been living under a rock. And may be an American.
• Mario Lemieux gives Canada the win in the 1987 Canada Cup. Maybe it's just because I was a highly impressionable 11-year-old, but this always stands out for me as the most incredible goal ever. Two great players, at the height of their careers.

Thanks once again to readers who suggested events for the Weekend Guide. If you know of a cool event we've overlooked, post a comment and share the details.

Friday

• 7pm: It's pro hoops with an international flavour, as the Puerto Rico Capitanes meet the Halifax Rainmen at the Halifax Metro Centre. (Update 3:30pm: Apparently the typhoon outside has kept the Capitanes' plane from landing, so the game has been postponed.)
  
• 8pm: The Waterfront Winterfest kicks off tonight at the Waterfront Warehouse with Olympics on the big screen, a live DJ and more.
  

Saturday

• 7:30pm: Symphony Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra join forces to perform three Romantic works, including Rachmanioff's towering Symphony no. 2.
  
• 8pm: It's your final chance to see Theatre Arts Guild perform Thirteen Hands by Carol Shields.
  

• 7–9pm: Head to Argyle Fine Art for a steamy (and hilarious) good time, which also happens to support a good cause: The Rated R For Romance fund-raiser for Adsum House. Hali-famous readers will share hot and steamy passages from some of the best (and worst) romance novels. There will also be live Flamenco music and more. Seating is limited—call 425-9456.
  

Serious readers should check out "Free Range Reading," the blog from Halifax Magazine contributor Mark Sampson ("What Haligonians like," Dec. 2009). Currently, Mark and his readers are taking the Retro Reading Challenge.

Pick a book that you read and adored years and years ago, then reread it now and write a review of it to capture your impressions. Did you still love it? Did you see flaws (or strengths) that you missed the first time? Did you have an “Oh God, what the hell was I thinking?” moment?

The partially-crowd-sourced Weekend Guide returns. Thanks to the readers who suggested events. Know something cool we omitted? Post a comment.

Friday

• 7pm–930pm. Get your drink on in style: The Savour Rare & Fine Wine Tasting showcases vintages not normally available in Halifax. Windows at the World Trade Centre.
  
• 730pm. Sweet soulful chanteuse Jenn Grant (right) takes the stage with Symphony Nova Scotia and debuts a new collaboration with Buck 65. Dalhousie Arts Centre. 

• 8pm. It's your last chance to see the Dartmouth Players perform Alan Ayckbourne's dark comedy Woman in Mind. 33 Crichton Ave., Dartmouth.
• 10pm. Bluesman Garrett Mason and his band return to familiar turf, performing on the same stage where his legendary father played his last shows. Bearly's House of Blues & Ribs. 

• 10am–3pm. Interested in all things canine? Check out Doggie Expo 2010. And yes, you can bring the dog. Halifax Forum Multipurpose Centre. 

Halifax singer/songwriter Thom Swift drives music reviewers a bit buggy. See, reviewers (and especially their editors) like to be able to peg musicians to a specific genre. Swift has recently won several awards as one of Canada's rising musical stars, but his music isn't easy to categorize. His own marketing material practically needs a paragraph to describe it: "vividly truthful story telling and... distinctive blend of acoustic roots, blues, folk, country and rag style."

His new album, Blue Sky Day brings his diverse styles and influences together in one tight little package. The opening track, "Stand Tall," is solid guitar-driven blues, as is the destined-to-be-a-road-trip mainstay "El Camino." Meanwhile "Seafoam" reflects a folksier sensibility. Swift's original works hold their own, but the album's sleeper hit may be the roots classic "No Depression in Heaven," originally recorded by The Carter Family. Bluesy and evocative, it showcases the best of Swift's diverse styles and abilities.

Tonight, Swift launches Blue Sky Day at the Vancouver Olympics. Specifically, he's launching it Atlantic Canada House, where the East Coast is showing off its cultural strengths and reminding Olympic visitors that there's a bit of Canada east of the Rockies.

Are you a fan of Swift? Seen him perform before? Share your thoughts...

It wasn't supposed to be like this for Darrell Dexter. When the NDP formed the government in Nova Scotia for the first time, it was supposed to be a fresh start—no more "Liberal, Tory, same old story." Instead, Nova Scotia gets this MLA expense-account scandal, showing that NDP MLAs have been every bit as greedy and corrupt as their Liberal and PC peers. Day by day, more information about the scandal emerges. And the more we know, the more questions we have. In his column in today's Herald, Dan Leger sums it up.

In the interests of public trust in our legislature, all minutes and records of the the internal economy board must be made public...That way we can trace how it happened and who made it happen. Who proposed the changes that opened up the cookie jar? Who set up the technology allowance that paid for all those toys? The legislature has a constitutional and moral responsibility to make that information public... We need to know all the details so we can understand what really happened and how to prevent it from happening again.

Your elected officials don't think you're too bright. How else can you explain the ridiculous lies they've been telling you lately?

The most recent outbreak of silliness began with Stephen Harper, who prorouged Parliament to avoid hard questions about torture in Afghanistan. And to rub a little salt in the wound, Harper and his cronies then spent two weeks playing the Excuse of the Day game, trying out a different reason each day.

Depending on when you tuned in, Harper shut down Parliament so we could all chill and enjoy the Olympics, to prepare his budget, because he'd accomplished all he intended to do legislatively, because the Senate was blocking legislation, or because he needed to focus on the economy. Those lies all have one thing in common: they're really bad lies, of the sort you'd tell a dim-witted child.

Not to be outdone, Nova Scotian politicians quickly found a new opportunity to annoy us. It turns out that MLAs from all three parties have been merrily pilfering their expense accounts, making thousands in excessive and inappropriate claims. Premier Darrell Dexter treated himself to, among other things, a $2,150 camera. He can't really explain why it cost so much, except that he needed a "durable" and "robust" camera.

Like their federal peers, the MLAs decided that a few half-truths, lame excuses and bad lies are the remedy.

Another example: Tory MLA Richard Hurlburt, who grudgingly confessed to having an $8,000 generator installed in his home, but neglected to mention that he was also the guy behind a $3,000 bill for the purchase and installation of a big-screen TV (also in his home). And it turns out that Tory leader Karen Casey knew about the TV when she spoke with media last week about Hurlburt's generator. She neglected to mention it, she blandly explained yesterday, because it was an "excessive" expense but not an "inppropriate" one.

Seriously.

I could go on and on with this stuff, but you get the gist. Why does there seem to be so much of this foolishness these days? Why are our elected officials getting caught in so many lies? Have they always lied, and we just didn't notice or mind as much? Has Canada's political culture become sleazier?

Update 11:58am: I just can't resist adding this doozy from Finance Minister Graham Steele. Today's Herald quotes him saying "But the amount we’re talking about is quite small."

Perhaps to a politician with an expense account, it's quite small. The thousands of Nova Scotians who live below the poverty line, and don't have expense accounts to buy them TVs, generators and cameras, might see it differently.

From time to time, readers contact us with questions about Halifax. We're gratified to be seen as an authority, but there are some questions that fall outside our areas of expertise. But someone must know the answer, so today's I'm going to share those questions with you.

• If I'm a civilian driving on a regular city street like Windsor Street and a military police officer tries to pull me over, do I have to stop? 
• Who owns that giant ugly concrete house on the Northwest Arm across from the Dingle? How were they able to build such a monstrosity?
• Is there any way to fire HRM Councillors for failure to attend meetings?
• Is anyone actively working to bring a CFL team to Halifax? 

Our municipal government keeps telling us how much they care about downtown Halifax. They insist that schemes like HRM by Design will revitalize the city's core. That's kind of hard to reconcile with last week's decision by Halifax Regional Council to transfer $3.2 million in committed funding from downtown projects to provide funding for alternative HRM projects within the municipality. The Capital District Business Improvement Districts, collectively representing over 2,700 businesses, conveyed their dismay in a press release on Friday. Here are the highlights.

• Bernie Smith, manager of the Spring Garden Area Business Association: “The Business Improvement Districts were neither informed nor consulted on the decision and it came as a complete surprise.”
• Tim Olive, executive director of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission: “The commitment has the potential to infuse in excess of $100 million in partnership funding into the capital city’s urban core. The initial HRM commitment is crucial to demonstrate to other levels of government that HRM is capable of setting priorities, committing appropriate funding and securing a long-range plan of economic development, based on completion of the selected projects.”
• Karla Nicholson, general manager of the Quinpool Road Mainstreet District Association: “We were led to believe that the $2 million in streetscaping would go towards building a streetscaping fund and what is essentially being said is that HRM is not willing to build up the funds necessary to undertake streetscape projects in the Capital District.”
• Paul MacKinnon, executive director of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission: “The Capital District is the lifeblood of the municipality, the province and the Atlantic Region. Its tax-generating ability funds much of HRM’s overall budget; it provides the showcase for the province; and represents a significant amount of its economy.... How can we, as a city, demonstrate to other levels of government that we believe in the core, if we are unwilling invest here?”

If you're a fan of Nova Scotian seafood and local wine, we have a contest that's going to interest you. Thanks to the genorisity of the Winery Association of Nova Scotia, we're giving away two tickets to Sip n' Shuck, a seafood and wine at the Delta Halifax. Running from 5–7pm tomorrow, the event features 12 Nova Scotian wineries plus seafood prepared by the Delta's chefs.

To enter, post a comment telling us what your favourite Nova Scotian wine experience: a particularly good pairing, a memorable winery visit, an unexpected discovery... Everyone posting a comment will be entered into a draw.

For more about the event, click here. 

Update: And our winner is... Steve Dinn. Congrats!

When a major disaster hits, people expect the U.S. to leap to the aid of those who suffer. And to that nation's credit, it always does. Rivers of American money are flowing into Haiti right now. In field hospitals and on naval ships, American doctors are working feverishly to save limbs, restore orphaned children to health and bring healing. American troops and engineers are working, as we speak, to build some kind of functioning infrastructure in that shattered country. Many other countries are doing their parts too, but in Haiti right now, America is—by dint of size and proximity—doing the bulk of the heavy lifting.

So, how does the international media respond? With overwhelming carping and negativity, of course. At the front of the chorus are the Italian and French media, along with, predictably enough, Al-Jazeera.

Al-Jazeera's criticism particularly rankles—where is the Arab world (the bulk of Al-Jazeera's viewership) in this crisis? How many Saudi engineers are working to bring clean water to Port-au-Prince? How much money has Kuwait donated to this cause? How much food has Dubai contributed?

I'm not an American apologist. The country has the force to do great good in the world and too often does too little (or, as in Iraq, the wrong thing entirely). But as bad as the situation in Haiti is right now, I can guarantee it would be much worse if there were no Americans (or American money) there. Criticize the U.S. when it does wrong, certainly, but don't overlook the great good it is doing right now. And perhaps, as long as those media outlets are casting about for someone to criticize, they could turn their gaze to the many countries that are doing too little.

What do you think?

It's time once again for our Weekend Guide. Thanks to the readers who suggested events. If we overlooked something cool, post a comment with the details.

Friday

• 7pm—Halifax Rainmen at the Metro Centre. Atlantic Canada's only pro hoops team hits the court to take on the Oklahoma Calvary.
• 7:30pm—Symphonic Swing at the Rebecca Cohn.  Symphony Nova Scotia celebrates the big band era.

• 8pm—Live Art Dance at the Dalhousie Arts Centre. Montreal Danse performs On the ice of Labrador.
• 8:30pm—Oxjam for Haiti at the Coconut Grove. Live music with Michael Redden and special guests. DJ Junior takes over at 11pm. Minimum $5 donation. All proceeds support Oxfam's Emergency Relief work in Haiti.

• 2pm and 7:30pm—Sexy Laundry at Neptune Theatre. Ribald and risque, this comedy is already drawing enthusiastic reviews.

In power less than a year, Nova Scotia's NDP government already shows a keen understanding of the fine art of dodging political responsibility. Last week, the government announced plans for finance minister Graham Steele to tour the province this winter, holding some 23 public meetings to get voters' inputs on budget priorities. "These meetings will engage Nova Scotians in a dialogue about the financial challenges the province will face over the next number of years," says Steele. "Together we can develop a long-term, multi-year plan to address our fiscal reality and ensure we live within our means."

That's a pretty impressive bit of spin-doctoring, disguised as grass-roots democracy. This government was just elected. During the campaign, the NDP had a detailed platform, which a majority of Nova Scotian voters clearly endorsed. That should have made it very clear to the government what Nova Scotians want. This government knows some hard financial decisions are coming and Steele and his ilk aren't wild about the reactions those cuts will elicit. But if they go through this time-consuming consultation exercise, they can push the blame back to Nova Scotians—"We consulted with you, after all."

Governments are elected to govern and take responsibility for the hard decisions. After all, who is more qualified to develop the budget? The finance minister or some retiree from Canso? Exercises like this just allow the government to deflect blame for hard decisions, while wasting time and money.

What do you think?

Some local music-industry types have organized a fund-raiser for Haitian relief. Here are the details from a recent press release.

Halifax, NS—The Halifax for Haiti benefit concert featuring Halifax-based Drum and an array of the region’s finest artists is confirmed for the Halifax Metro Centre, Monday, February 8 at 7:30 p.m. All tickets are $20 and go on sale at 11 a.m., Tuesday, January 19 through www.ticketatlantic.com, at the Ticket Atlantic box office, charge by phone at 451-1221 or at any of the 17 participating Atlantic Superstore outlets. Proceeds from the event will go to the Canadian Red Cross, to support their relief efforts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

The event, featuring a solid line-up of East Coast headliners along with a segment from the electrifying music, rhythms and dance of Drum, will be produced by Brookes Diamond Productions.  “Our Drum team wanted to do something to help the people of Haiti in their time of greatest need and the music community jumped in immediately offering their services," said Diamond. "As well, we are so thrilled that our friends in the business community are sponsoring this and local media are jumping on board to help pull this together so quickly.”

“We wanted to lend our support in the best way we know how—with the expertise of our people who make things happen behind the scenes in a facility capable of holding what we very much hope will be a large crowd,” said Scott Ferguson, president and CEO of Trade Centre Limited, the provincial crown corporation that operates the Halifax Metro Centre. “Nova Scotians are known for their huge hearts and generous nature. Now is the time for all of us to join together and show our generosity in support of those who need us so much right now.”

Update Jan. 20:  Joining Drum, the line-up now includes: Anna Ludlow, Bruce Guthro, Charlie A’Court, Christina Martin, Classified, Joel Plaskett, Lennie Gallant, Linda Carvery, Nova Scotia Mass Choir, Rhapsody Quintet, Scott Macmillan, Sung Ha Shin-Bouey, The Stanfields and Thom Swift. Brookes Diamond indicates there are more to come.

Looking for something cool to do this weekend? Here are a few of my suggestions (with some handy input from readers).

Friday

• 7:30pm—Jon Lajoie at the Rebecca Cohn. Comic/song satirist/YouTube sensation. Hits include "I Kill People" and "Show Me Your Genitals."
• 9pm—Afrika Bambaataa at the Paragon Theatre. A rare chance to see the Bronx legend DJ, with Universal Soul.

• 4pm–8pm—Joe Murphy and the Water St. Blues Band at Your Father's Moustache. I defy you to find a better blues matinee in Nova Scotia.
• 7pm—Halifax Rainmen vs. Vermont Frost Heaves. Pro hoops action in the Premier Basketball League (which apparently exists).
• 7:30pm—The Dream Continues: A Musical Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King at the Rebecca Cohn.

For years, Nova Scotia's leading NDPers called for electoral reform. They argued, quite rightly, that a riding-based parliamentary system like ours is an inherently unjust way to choose a government. (Case in point: our current situation in Ottawa, where a party with the support of about one-third of Canadians, led by a man only voted for by citizens of one riding, is able to dismiss the very legislative body he's supposedly beholden to.)

NDPers, and other likeminded sorts, argued that a proportional representation system is much fairer. There are many variants of "rep by pop"—in its simplest form, electoral seats are allocated based on the percentage of the popular vote garnered by each party. The knock is that it tends to produce more minority governments. That's true, but it's only a problem for our politicians, who would have to learn to compromise and work together, without engaging in poisonous partisanship. In many parts of the world, such governments are both common and effective.

But now that the NDP has gained power in Nova Scotia, and could actually effect some sort of electoral reform, the party has been noticiably silent on the subject. Perhaps mastering the unfair riding system has awakened them to some of its charms.

What do you think? Is electoral reform necessary? Can it start in Nova Scotia?

These frigid winter days lead to wistful thoughts of sweltering summer road trips—the sun glaring, the windows down and the stereo turned up loud. Today, escape the cold weather and post a comment with your favourite road-trip songs.

10. "Drinking in L.A." by Bran Van 3000. Just once, I'd like to start the day with a friend busting in, yelling "Get your ass out of bed / I'll explain on the way."

9. "Cocaine Blues" by Johnny Cash. The Man in Black extols the virtues of cocaine, domestic violence and going on the lam to Mexico. Politically incorrect but a darn fun song.

8. "Rocketman" by William Shatner. Too weird to describe. Want your road trip to take a surreal turn? This song pretty well guarantees it. Oddly hypnotic.

7. "I'm in Love with My Car" by Queen. Even by Queen standards, this is an odd song. In a rare turn on the lead mike, drummer Roger Taylor gets hot for his automobile.

6. "Movin' On" by Dutch Mason. The Prime Minister of the Blues spent decades playing pubs and dance halls all over the country. The best part of life on the road? Quick getaways.

5. "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. If there's a better song about wanting to just get up and go, I can't think of what it might be.

4. "Exodus" by Bob Marley. OK, the song is actually about reversing the African diaspora but still, it works.

3. Gin and Juice by Snoop Dogg. Smokes, spirits and people pairing off—Snoop strips road tripping to its basest pleasures.

2. "Sittin' On The Dock of The Bay" by Otis Redding. So smooth, so mellow, so good.

1. "King of the Road" by Roger Miller. Not exactly an edgy choice, but this is the song that inspired every road song that followed. Never has riding the rails sounded so pleasant.

And what are your picks?