How lucky are we to live in a state that has almost every type of terrain: the mountains, the ocean, the valley and the desert? If you're like me, the high desert feels its truest form when I'm headed out east on Highway 31: The instant smell of sage brush when you roll down the windows; the overlook of planes as low as sea level and the peaks that reach the sky; the ancient rocks and canyons covered with orange and green lichen nestled next to juniper groves and rabbit brush; the way the colors change over the seasons from warm yellows and golds in the summer and fall to the silvers and blues in the winter; the endless stars; hardly any light pollution. We're truly so lucky to have such a thing. The Oregon Outback is right in our backyard and meant to be cherished.
When I road trip, I crank up the dial (and am most likely damaging my ear drums every time). Here are a few nostalgic staples that I'd like to share with you:
#1. Blue Skies - Ella Fitzgerald
Every time I hear "Blue skies, smiling at me. Nothing but blue skies, is all I see." I am instantly taken back to my days living out at Summer Lake Hot Springs during Burning Man pre-parties and after-parties. Duane Graham, owner of the hot springs resort, would bring artisanal vendors from all walks of life; a colorful cast of characters. One particular man named Sateesh once had Blue Skies blasting out of his van during the middle of some crazy desert winds in the blistering hot desert summer sun. There were sheets flying everywhere and you could hear the song blowing in the wind. It was a hilariously chaotic and cinematic moment and I can't help but add this iconic song by Fitzgerald into my Outback playlist.
#2: Poor Little Critter on the Road - The Knitters
The Knitters were a country rockabilly group formed by the LA punk band "X" in 1985. Its first record, "Poor Little Critter on the Road," would play on CD repeatedly in my Dad's 1984 420 turbo diesel Mercedes when we'd drive out to Prineville, where he'd sell advertising for Cascade A&E Magazine. I was like, 12? And singing to lyrics about "drinkin' all night in a tavern." My childhood was nothing but interesting. And so were the tunes.
#3: Comment te dire adieu (It Hurts to Say Goodbye) - Françoise Hardy
There's something oddly "Frenchie" about the desert for me. I think it derives from my days in the garden living out there and the cute old farm houses with big cottonwood trees. It's romantic. Françoise Hardy's beautiful voice should be added to your queue wherever you're headed. Try it for a backdrop in the desert.
#4: Another Country - Shadowfax
If you know anything about Windham Hill artists (such as Pat Metheny, Shadowfax, Michael Hedges and Alex di Grassi, to name a few) you know that every sound coming from the San Francisco-based record label was hard to define. Call it ethereal or otherworldly — the unique array of classical, folk and jazz instrumentals created its own genre: New Age. Shadowfax received the first Grammy for Best New Age Performance for Folksongs for "Nuclear Village" in 1989. New Age music will give you a new age of experiencing the wind beneath your wings.
#5: The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove - Dead Can Dance
Formed in 1981, Dead Can Dance is an Australian neoclassical darkwave mind warp that brings heavy Ashland mom energy meeting a deep lucid dream in a sound bath of global percussion and hypnotizing chants and vocals. Turn it on and you're in for an enchanting ride. Just promise me you won't eat any wild plants on your hike afterward.
#6: Ah Ways - Kelsey Beck Kuther (Local Artist!)
I can't help but add my significant other's incredible multi-layered masterpiece, "Ah Ways," off of his 2021 EP "Centerpiece." He and I shot its music video in the Oregon Outback between Silver Lake and Paisley. The song will forever take me back to those two golden October days on Highway 31. And almost getting hit by semi trucks just to get the shot.
#7: Nigh at the Museum - MOsley WOtta (Local Artist)
Off of its 2020 album, "This Is (Not) All There Is," the second track, "Nigh at the Museum," has an opening line that goes, "from the Oregon organics. To the origins original." Something about local poet Jason McNeal Graham's lyrical flow always brings its way back to high desert roots and understanding, appreciation and acknowledgement of where we live. Which is what I feel most powerfully in the desert; the history and origin of the land.
