10 Songs to Keep You Company During Carmegeddon!

Not since the rapture has there been such contempt and dread for the eminent phenomenon happening this weekend in Los Angeles.

Carmageddon, the name as christened by Angelenos, is the planned shutdown of the 405 Freeway on July 16 through 18. Ten miles of the freeway’s stretch will be closed off due to the removal of an overpass bridge. Los Angeles is the automobile hub of the West. The last worry Angelenos need is having the road they both love and hate embargoed by the city. It may be just a weekend but no 405 will affect many business including LAX as well as bars in Santa Monica.

There’s a solution (or, at least an analgesic) for your traveling woes this weekend. Here are 10 songs that come from a funky, laid-back and anarchic playlist we here at The Vinyl District hope will raise your spirits some.

Joy Division – Isolation
With Ian Curtis’ sad, drifting bass-baritone voice it’s easy to be taken off the beaten path. “Isolation” swerves between upbeat instrumentals (synths and hi-hats) and somber lyrics. Still, Curtis paved a golden road for a new sounds in post-punk and alt-rock. Listen, but stay the course.

MiM0SA – Drippin
Since most people will avoid LAX this weekend. The Burbank, Long Beach and Ontario Airports will be there to save the needy jetsetter. From MiM0SA’s latest album, “Drippin” is Southern California travel music. It’s a bit of a jaunt to these dispersed airports, so don’t play it once. You can loop it so it sounds like one continuous jam.

Los Lobos – Cumbia Raza
The legendary East Los Angeles rock band lead by David Hidalgo is the heart and soul of tradition by way of the treacherous “Malfunction Junction.” So when you’ve cleared Koreatown, heading east of downtown to Alhambra, Riverside or beyond follow the pack of “wolves.” They won’t lead you astray. (Just stay on the I-10!)

Dâm-Funk – Mirrors
From Pasadena, you can look back in your rearview to see greater Los Angeles in all it’s glory – Elysium Park, Hollywood, Fox Studios, etc. In the summertime, the smog is like a coating of dangerous beauty over the Los Angeles skyline; and Dâm-Funk is the soundtrack! The Pasadena producer has unearthed a new wave of California electronic funk. Stay tuned!

Alaska in Winter – Berlin
This is the song you’d showcase, in your car, to your indie music loving friends. Brandon Bethancourt transcends the status quo of autotune pop to a sound stripped of platitudes. Driving on Alaskan roads in wintertime can be a trip (in all senses). So, why not have a soundtrack while on the go!

War – Where Was You At?
The greatest funk bands were cultivated just off the Interstate 105, in Compton. War is one of them. The fear of Compton has waned over time but one fact that still persists lies in the title of the band’s fifth album. The World Is a Ghetto. They ain’t lyin’! Their music was a mix of cultures: rock, soul, funk, Latin, all ghettoized into one sound. It’s all integrated, like society. This is, hardly, breaking news. I hope you knew; otherwise, “Where Was You At?”

A Tribe Called Quest – I Left My Wallet in El Segundo
On a weekend like this, this ATCQ song spells bad news. I can already see the panic in your eyes after your credit cards, ID and cash but the shutdown just raises the level to red alert. “El Segundo,” now over twenty years old, is virtually an oldwives’ tale of the inexorable ecosystem that is urban life; and, all the chutes and ladders that come with the lifestyle.

Social Distortion – Justice for All
Law enforcement ain’t easy in the big city. Everyone on either end of the system have their story to tell. From Fullerton, California, a college town in Orange County, Social Distortion was the alternate voice of American dream. But one rule is constant: You’ll pay in time when you do the crime or something like that.

Latin Playboys – Same Brown Earth
In this song you can feel the groove at the bottom of your gut. “Same Brown Earth” is low-key Chicano rock that creeps up on you like an LAPD stakeout car. It’s not long but the song will keep you on an even keel when the traffic gets outrageous.