What do you listen to on road trips?

Music is the only thing that will help me stay alert on solo road trips. Many of my friends and colleagues swear by them for entertainment and making the time fly by on long trips. One friend missed not just one exit, but three on a long trip home to State College from Illinois while she was listening to one of the Harry Potter books (I forget which one). I've tried listening to audio books, which I have enjoyed while walking, but they haven't worked for me when driving. Maybe I haven't tried the right ones, but listening to an audio book for more than 10 minutes in the car makes me drowsy.

So that leaves music to keep me awake for long drives. And not just any music will do; it has to be something that I can sing along with. No classical or jazz, and nothing that's slow; it has to be upbeat. Any music in the rock and roll genre from the 1950s through the present is a candidate for me, although when my husband's along I have to eliminate rap and heavy metal, both of which he passionately dislikes. On a recent solo trip to Fairport, New York, this was my playlist:

Pink. The Truth about Love. Almost every song on this 2012 album is good; these are my favorites:

• Are we all we are
• Blow me (one last kiss)
• Try
• Just give me a reason
• True love
• Slut like you
• The truth about love
• Beam me up
• Walk of shame

Leonard Cohen. I'm Your Man (Soundtrack). I had never listened to Leonard Cohen before 2009 when I watched the documentary about him called I'm Your Man. It's an excellent film and features a lot of well-known and lesser-known artists singing his songs and speaking eloquently about how much they were influenced by his songwriting. I love the whole album but my favorite songs are:

• Tower of song, sung by Martha Wainwright
• Tonight will be fine, sung by Teddy Thompson
• I'm your man, sung by Nick Cave
• Chelsea Hotel #2, sung by Rufus Wainwright
• Everybody knows, sung by Rufus Wainwright
• The Future, sung by Teddy Thompson

The Killers. Sam's Town. Every song on this album is excellent.

Lenny Kravitz. Greatest hits. All good songs, but my favorites are:

• Are you gonna go my way?
• Fly away
• It ain't over til it's over
• Can't get you off of my mind
• American woman (I might even like this version better than the original by The Guess Who)

Mark Ronson. Uptown Special. This is one that I can't listen to with Mike in the car, but it's really growing on me. It first came to my notice when I saw the video for "Uptown Funk" which features Bruno Mars. Then I read an article about the album and learned that one of my favorite authors, Michael Chabon, co-authored some of the lyrics (although not the lyrics to "Uptown Funk"). That was enough to convince me to give it a try.

King Crimson. In the Court of the Crimson King. I love this album but I had to switch to something else after listening to the first song "21st Century Schizoid Man." The rest of the album can be slow and melancholy and just not good for the car.

Imagine Dragons. Night Visions. I like every song on this album, especially "Radioactive" and "Demons." I'm astonished that a band's first album could have such a stellar lineup of songs. I've listened to this one so much that Mike's a little sick of it.

Metallica. Metallica (i.e., The Black Album). This is another one that I can't listen to when driving with Mike, but it's one of my favorites. When this album came out 24 years ago, I was working at the University of Pittsburgh, doing copy cataloging. I listened to this cassette on my Walkman and sometimes attribute my high statistics to listening to thrash metal while working. Just listening to this is like drinking three cups of coffee!

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The Heist. Another album that's only for my solo drives. I first became aware of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis during the 2014 Grammy Awards show when they performed "Same Love" with Queen Latifa and Madonna and staged a group wedding for dozens of couples, most but not all of them same-sex. You can see the video of that performance here. Here are some of my favorite songs:

• Ten thousand hours. Perhaps the only song ever inspired by Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers?
• Can't hold us
• Thrift shop. As a big fan of thrift shops, I particularly enjoy this one. Check out the video here.
• Thin line
• Same love
• Make the money

What do you like to listen to when you're driving?