This week is oppressed by nostalgia. The conjuring powers of tequila. The words “I miss you like crazy” cut through radio static. Memories of other states. The most popular truck in America.
Drive safe.
Get the full 2023 playlist here.
“The Two of You” by Lindsay James
Ex-boyfriends and tequila go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Tequila might not be the most cited alcohol in country music — probably counting in below whiskey but above beer. Still, Jose Cuervo is the patron saint of bad choices. Not that I would know anything about that but it sounds like Lindsay James does.
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
“Other Side of the Radio” by Mike Ryan
A truck song for anyone who has ever sent a Spotify link in lieu of that long block of text. For those of us who are terrible at saying what we mean and who communicate with songs instead.
If country music is commodified nostalgia then the line “The frequency of a memory comin' in clear” might be the best single characterization of country radio to date.
There’s a little glimmer of genre disruption when Mike Ryan randomly namechecks Third Eye Blind instead of George Strait or Tim McGraw. Strange choice but it situates the timeline of the story so neatly in a particularly cultural moment.
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
“Out of State Plates” by Logan Mize
Conceptually, a truck song is one that you listen to in a truck. It’s a distinction of vibe rather than of content. Still, they regularly feature trucks, and, in fact, a large percentage of them are set inside trucks, including this new single from Kansas-born Logan Mize. God bless a truck song about a truck.
Here, out-of-state license plates become a tidy little synecdoche for a uniquely American peripatetic lifestyle. Kind of makes me miss my Nevada plates.
Features a Chevy of unspecified model, which means implied Silverado, given that it has been the bestselling truck in America for 33+ years and is, therefore, the default Chevy — maybe even the default truck.
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Also, two big thank yous 💕
To Graham, since truck songs is basically just our iMessage thread, verbatim.
To Jacqui, for hyping this unhinged concept from the jump. If you’re interested in non-insane music, check out Dinner Music. It’s the one Substack that I actually read and truck songs wouldn’t exist without it.
One of my faves from Rancho Deluxe, an authentic truck (or in my case, VW) album, and a nod to dear departed Jimmy: River gets deeper, not shallow/The further you move down the stream/Wonderin' if I can keep her/As I race to catch up with my dreams