Tried cranking 'Fast Car' by Tracy Chapman and got emotional at a red light

Normally I’m all about heavy guitar riffs when I’m driving, but last Tuesday I was stuck in afternoon traffic on Interstate 95 near Richmond and decided to switch it up. I put on 'Fast Car' from a random 80s playlist, and I swear I cranked it to max volume without thinking. Something about that opening guitar riff and her voice just hit me different. I was sitting there at a red light with my windows down, tears actually streaming down my face, and this guy in a pickup next to me gave me a nod like he understood. I learned that the song you blast doesn't have to be loud to be powerful, it just has to connect. Has anyone else found that a quieter song hits harder when you turn it up?

3 comments

3 Comments

patriciap521mo agoTop Commenter

What got me about your post is I was the same way for years? I always thought loud music meant heavy guitars and pounding drums. Then last month I was driving late at night and "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley came on the shuffle. I turned it up way louder than I normally would and it just wrecked me. That quiet voice filled the whole car in a way that felt bigger than any distortion pedal ever could. @carr.brooke mentioned "Landslide" and that is another one that proves this point. I had to pull over on a country road and just sit there for a few minutes. It changed my whole idea of what volume actually means.

carr.brooke2mo ago

That nod from the pickup guy says everything, man. I had a similar moment with "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac last spring, just sitting in a parking lot crying my eyes out. It's wild how those softer songs cut right through all the noise when you give them the volume they deserve.

campbell.tara2mo ago

Yeah, that's exactly it. For me it was "The Night We Met" by Lord Huron. I was driving home from a rough shift and just pulled over in a grocery store lot. Sat there for a solid ten minutes, letting the whole thing wash over me. It hit me how much I'd been holding in, and @carr.brooke you're right, those quiet songs are the loudest when you finally let them be.