About a month ago my iphone car cable stopped working. We always listen to itunes or pandora when we are in the car. My kids and I just love all types of music and that is a big part of our driving routine. Without our usual tools, we were forced to actually listen to the radio. lol! We tuned into Rock 103.5 (The Arrow) which is a local station here in Salt Lake City, Utah. It happened to be 5:00 p.m. and we discovered “Five for the Drive” where they play 5 songs selected by the DJ and then listeners call in to guess as to what the 5 songs have in common. We were intrigued. I don’t remember all the songs that day, but I do remember that the common thread was that all the bands or artists were from Canada.
I had a “Lightbulb” moment and realized that I could create this game myself to challenge my kids and hubby. We had an upcoming car trip to Cedar City, Utah so I thought that would be the perfect chance to try it out. I bought a replacement car cord because I needed my iphone (or an ipod) It took me a few hours of researching, buying some needed songs on itunes, and preparing, but it was totally worth it. It was easily the best car trip we’ve ever taken! We all loved this game!
I put together 10 different “Five for the Drive” playlists. Some are sort of easy to figure out. A few of them are really hard. We had to make a rule that you couldn’t guess until the 5th song started playing, because you really need to hear all of them first. One time my son guessed it on the 2nd song and it wasn’t very fun to finish out that set. Before each song started, I announce the title and performer. Then we all listened to the songs together and started making our guesses during the 5th song. It was funny sometimes because my kids were literally bursting to guess. A few times everyone was stumped. There was only one set that I really had to give a TON of clues before anyone could figure it out. I do have to tell you that it’s much easier to figure them out if you see the names of the songs and artist written out. It is much trickier to do this in the car as a listening activity. My daughter wrote them all down as I announced them and I think it gave her an advantage.
Here are the lists. I will include the answers lower down in the post, but see if you can guess the common thread for each group before you read the answers.
Playlist One:
- Don’t Stop Believin – Journey
- Ramble On – Led Zeppelin
- America – Simon & Garfunkel
- Life is a Highway – Rascal Flatts
- I’m Going to Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
Playlist Two:
- Lips Like Sugar – Echo and the Bunnymen
- I Ran (So Far Away) – Flock of Seagulls
- Ordinary World – Duran Duran
- Eight Days a Week – The Beatles
- Over the Hills and Far Away - Led Zeppelin
Playlist Three:
- Under the Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Rock Lobster – The B-52’s
- Short Skirt/Long Jacket – Cake
- I Want Candy – Bow Wow Wow
- No Rain – Blind Melon
Playlist Four:
- King of Pain – The Police
- Beat It – Michael Jackson
- I Want it That Way – Backstreet Boys
- Piano Man – Billy Joel
- Money for Nothing – Dire Straits
Playlist Five:
- The Lion Sleeps Tonight – The Tokens
- Africa – Toto
- Witchy Woman – The Eagles
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Playlist Six:
- Another Brick in the Wall – Pink Floyd
- Purple Rain – Prince and the Revolution
- Don’t Fear the Reaper – Blue Oyster Cult
- Yellow – Coldplay
- Against the Wind – Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
Playlist Seven:
- All I Want – Toad the Wet Sprocket
- Hotel California –The Eagles
- Crocodile Rock – Elton John
- Joy to the World – Three Dog Night
- Octopus’s Garden – The Beatles
Playlist Eight:
- Graceland – Paul Simon
- The Climb – Miley Cyrus
- Sweet Home Alabama – Lynrd Skynrd
- Carolina In My Mind – James Taylor
- Southern Cross – Crosby, Stills, and Nash
Playlist Nine:
- Superman (It’s not easy) – Five for Fighting
- Two Princes – Spin Doctors
- I Fought the Law – Bobby Fuller Four
- Three is a Magic Number – Blind Melon
- Life in One Day – Howard Jones
Playlist Ten:
- I’m a Believer – The Monkees
- Kentucky Woman – Deep Purple
- Red Red Wine – UB40
- And the Grass Won’t Pay No Mind – Elvis Presley
- Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond
It really says something about our family that we enjoyed every one of these songs. We have a wide and varied range of taste in music!
So do you have any ideas on what the common thread is for each playlist? Should I give you the answers now? I thought about toying with you and waiting to post them until tomorrow, but I decided to be nice and tell you now. I just want there to be a little text to scroll through before you see the answers.
Ok, here’s the answers:
- All songs or performer names have to do with traveling. I thought this was the perfect road trip set.
- All the performers are from England.
- All song titles or performer names are about food.
- All of those songs have been parodied by Weird Al. Yes, we love Weird Al too!
- The Wizard of Oz. (Lion, Toto, Witch, Yellow Brick Road, Somewhere Over the Rainbow)
- All song titles or performer names are about color. (Bog Seger and the SILVER Bullet band is a bit tricky)
- All song titles or performer names are about animals.
- All songs or performer names have to do with the Southern United States.
- All song titles or performer names have numbers in them.
- All of these songs were written by Neil Diamond. Really!
This really was a fun memory for us! I hope someone else out there can enjoy it as well. It certainly makes a car trip go by a lot faster!
