Rush Hour Relief: 5 Tracks for Tolerating Traffic

Editors Note: This list is subjective and not intended to have any certifying value. 

It’s 4:27pm and I have a little over half an hour to jump on the interstate and trek two exits south to make it to the bank before it closes. This is going to be a risky maneuver. I know that the Atlanta traffic gods are against me, but to the procrastinator, living flush against the red line of time is business as usual.

As I enter the merging lane to get on to I85, one of Atlanta’s notoriously stagnant highways, the cars are already lined up and creeping at idle or not moving at all. The tension in my car is rising like a hurricane out at sea and I’m gonna need some soothing melodies to slow the synapses in my brain down to a mild rain storm.

Lezzzz Go!

1. Miami Horror – Real Slow (LDRU Remix)

First at bat is the downtempo remix of Miami Horror’s  “Real Slow”  by  LDRU. The Sydney local does a bang up job delivering a mellow future bass grind that matches perfectly with Miami Horror’s indie pop swing. This track always puts me in a tranquil state and offers just enough bounce to make the first mile of this trip tolerable.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/116533511″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

2. Flux Pavilion feat. Steve Aoki – Steve French

Alright. That back fired. I can see the flashing lights of ambulances, patrol cars and State Farm emergency vehicles a few hundred feet ahead, but the flow of traffic has completely stalled. This is when I get out the smart phone and get lost in a world of inter-webs. To satisfy this craving, I enlist the intoxicating track “Steve French” by Flux Pavilion and Steve Aoki. This number is perfect for wasting time in the car because it has one of the most visually stimulating music videos I’ve ever seen. We’re going to skip SoundCloud on this one, you have to see it to get the full experience.

3. Doctor P & Adam F – The Pit (Brillz Remix)

Cars begin to move and as I approach the accident, I realize that the lane ahead of me is completely blocked. I attempt to merge with the cars to my right but to no avail. I might as well not exist to these people. Now I am getting aggravated and am reminded of my youth, standing in the middle of the floor of a punk rock show and aggressively pushing the folks around me while attempting to make enough room to breath as other fans do the same.

Cue up a mosh pit song! Brillz always has what I need and his remix of Doctor P and Adam F‘s “The Pit” drops the perfect beat that keeps me in my car while curbing my appetite to bulldoze my fellow commuters.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/116372880″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

4. Wick-it the Instigator – Pump Fiction Theme

I am now passing by the accident, and by accident I mean hopeless teenagers with a flat tire. I am still not sure how this snafu necessitated so many flashing lights and emergency vehicles. It’s now 4:55pm and the bank tellers are probably locking their cash drawers. This mission was a complete failure and I want to go ape on every rubbernecking ATLien that contributed to my tardiness.

Any time of day is good for some Wick-It but in this moment right now, at the height of my frustration, I load up his “Pulp Fiction Theme” and fantasize about “executing every mother f*****g last” car on the road.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/31048561″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

5. SPL ft. Nathaniel Knows – The Future

I arrive at the bank ten minutes late and unable to complete my one errand of the day. Considering the tension built over the course of this post one would think I would be flying over the deep end, but no, all is well because there is a Chic-fil-a next to the bank that doesn’t close for five more hours.

I am reminded of a lesson my father attempted to teach me as a child, “we all have a finite amount of energy allotted to us each day, therefor it is futile to commit energy to things that we cannot change.” As these words pass through my mind I drop “The Future” by SPL featuring Nathaniel Knows on to the sound system. Every time this track plays I’m reminded that the present is temporary and the beauty found in this beat will be meeting me around time’s corner if I keep a positive attitude. When I left the house I never considered that in 40 min’s I’d be chowing down on waffle fries and fried chicken and bouncing to a new medicinally, therapeutic playlist. Traffic ain’t all that bad.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/100229827″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

What tracks do you bump when fighting the daily grime of traffic? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned next week when another YourEDM writer will take the reigns and offer their #RushHourRelief.

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