You know - those guilty musical pleasures that are best enjoyed with the windows rolled down and the world whizzing by in an emerald and azure blur.
So in honor of this week's road course race at Watkins Glen, I've come up with a few tracks that are best enjoyed behind the wheel. And it doesn't hurt that these selections just happen to be inspired by some current NASCAR happenings ...
"Shut Up and Kiss Me" by Mary Chapin Carpenter - When fans found out NASCAR fined drivers Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman for comments that were damaging to the sport, cyberspace lit up like a bug zapper in July. The general consensus is that NASCAR has adopted that age-old admonition, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Or, as some fans are claiming, "Kiss up or shell out."
"Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode - This is what a lot of us have been trying to do this week. Because silent is what Twitter has been since Hamlin told the press his fine was due to a few ill-conceived tweets.
A handful of drivers are still tweeting on a regular basis (Scott Speed and Kevin Harvick come to mind). However, since Finegate, fans haven't seen the much-loved smack talk that has made Twitter such a great medium for the sport. More's the pity.
"Fighting Side of Me" by Merle Haggard - Although Haggard's anthem is more about runnin' down the great U.S. of A. than runnin' down another driver, the chorus is just too good to resist. I offer this selection in honor of the recently renewed Kurt Busch/Jimmie Johnson feud. Have at it boys!
"Love Shack" by the B-52s - Perhaps I should say "Love Shaq," because that's what lots of NASCAR fans are doing after last night's season premiere of "Shaq vs.". Fans loved the fact that O'Neal was such a good sport when he went head-to-head with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Concord Speedway. It appears that the show may be a rare bright spot on the wasteland that is summer television. And Shaq's repeated praise of NASCAR didn't hurt my opinion of the big guy (or his show) either.
"Stickshifts and Safetybelts" by Cake - Although the boys of Cake decry the necessity of safetybelts in this 1990s nugget, Elliott Sadler is thanking his lucky stars right now that his belts held true. And so are legions of fans.
"Chevrolet" by The Derek Trucks Band - I realize that the new Ford F9 engine is getting all the hype after Greg Biffle's win at Pocono. But at Watkins Glen, my money is on a pair of Chevys - Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon, to be exact. After all, they are the road course kings.
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" by Michael Jackson - Every now and then you've got to go old school. And no feud has captured the old school feuds of yore like the Carl Edwards/Brad Keselowski saga. Those two are starting something alright. I just hope they finish it on the track.
"This Ol' Wheel" by Shooter Jennings - We get it. In NASCAR years, Mark Martin is old. But the fact that he's got a few years on the rest of his competition doesn't keep him from rollin'. Sure, he hasn't had quite the year so far that he had in 2009. But ol' Mark is still poised to make The Chase. Consider also that Martin did score three wins at Watkins Glen in the mid-nineties.
Headline note - a spin on Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" or translated - "A Little Serenade" or "A Little Night Music".
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