This might be out of place on this blog, but just to show that I'm not wholly anti-car, I will fess up to craving one lately. But not for what you might think: not for the usual getting around, and certainly not for getting caught in Jo'burg traffic, but only to listen to music and drive fast. There's a Kanye song that's been stuck on repeat in my flat, and with every listen, I feel an urgency that can only be sated by a car window full of summer air and fast speeds. There is absolute perfection to be found in that one moment where the music and the road harmonize to remove everything else from your mind in a blast of sensation-seeking satisfaction. Yes, what should be on your mind is driving and paying attention to the road, so it's probably good that I am not getting my fix. And I really don't recommend this for city roads -- God knows the last thing Jo'burg needs is more dangerous, distracted drivers. But I've had such memorable drives accompanied by iconic soundtracks: my senior year of college and the whole of OK Computer (sorry Josh), the Thailand coast set to the Decemberists (sounds incongrous, but it was magic), Mexico and Ween. For me, driving fast into a song is a bit like riding a roller coaster -- similarly, cars are fun, but I don’t want to own one. So for my day-to-day, it's happily feet and buses, but for my fantasy escape, between you and me and Kanye, it's Runaway and wheels.
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