Illinois-based Fall Out Boy jams out heartbreak-style to this punky number about missing the bright lights of their home city Chicago. The emo sound of this band is honest, real and just on the edge of pop-y. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe Big Three Killed My Baby\u201d \/\/ The White Stripes<\/h6>\n

The defunct, Detroit-bred duo calls out their city\u2019s crumbling economy in the caustic \u201cThe Big Three Killed My Baby.\u201d The Big Three are Detroit\u2019s former auto production companies, Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. Maybe you should have borrowed your dad\u2019s Subaru for this road trip.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cRide\u201d \/\/ Liz Phair<\/h6>\n

Long before Ariana Grande sang about riding a \u201cbike\u201d so hard and fast that it leaves your legs wobbly, Liz Phair advocated for one last ride before you die. The 90s singer-songwriter was raised in the Chicago suburbs, where she derived the Mayberry vibes in this flowing melody. Leave June Cleaver by the side of the road and pick up Phair singing about catching more than just rides.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cGreater Omaha\u201d \/\/ Desparecidos<\/h6>\n

Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst goes post-punk with his Nebraska-based band Desparecidos. An amalgamation of shrieking vocals and soft guitar scales spun together in a surprisingly satisfying cookies and cream-like combo, the track examines Omaha\u2019s attempt to transition from small town to Midwestern metropolis. It\u2019s not pretty, but it\u2019s definitely poignant. If head banging is a pivotal part of your gravel road aesthetic, Desparecidos\u2019 beats that feel like they\u2019re fueled by Red Bull may just give you whiplash.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDes Moines\u201d \/\/ Jeffrey Foucault<\/h6>\n

Blues, country and folk rock-dabbling singer-songwriter Jeffrey Foucault gives a melancholy shoutout to Iowa\u2019s capital in the opening track for his 2015 record, <\/span>Salt as Wolves<\/span><\/i>. With a soft-spoken drawl, Foucault sings about drinking a beer with a lover in Des Moines, as he strums a guitar as slowly as you\u2019d savor your favorite IPA.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYo\u00fc And I\u201d \/\/ Lady Gaga<\/h6>\n

Lady Gaga\u2019s \u201cYo<\/span>\u00fc<\/span> And I\u201d from her second studio album <\/span>Born This Way<\/span><\/i> is a twisted love song about a man\u2014but you can call him \u201cNebraska.\u201d \u201cThere\u2019s only three men that I\u2019m gonna serve my whole life,\u201d she belts as she slams the piano like a screen door. \u201cIt\u2019s my daddy and Nebraska and Jesus Christ.\u201d Same, Gaga. Same.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cTipsy\u201d \/\/ J-Kwon<\/h6>\n

Take your road trip from Honda to house party with this Billboard Top 100 hit. You\u2019ll have a hard time staying in your seat as St. Louis native J-Kwon\u2019s banging beats take you back to your last blackout. Make sure you hail an Uber on the back roads if you start to feel \u201cinspired.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDreamin\u201d \/\/ Wax<\/h6>\n

This witty rap song is part pulsing club beat and part Nintendo sound effects. The upbeat tune will have you tapping on your steering wheel to the beat of the thumping bassline. Rapper and songwriter Wax aggressively assures the listener that he won\u2019t take shit from anyone from anywhere. (Not even Des Moines.) <\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cHow We Land\u201d \/\/ P.O.S. with Bon Iver<\/h6>\n

Minneapolis underground rapper P.O.S enlisted indie folk band Bon Iver\u2019s Justin Vernon for the track \u201cHow We Land.\u201d With P.O.S.\u2019s verse and Vernon\u2019s mellow tone, the pair of Midwestern natives\u2019 collaboration offers commentary on the over-medicated youth of the 21st century in a slow hip-hop-esque track with pace that approximates smoke rolling out the cracked window of a car speeding down the highway.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cKandiyohi\u201d \/\/ The Honeydogs<\/h6>\n

With a country twang and a sound reminiscent to the rockabilly era of early rock \u2018n roll, Minnesota-natives the Honeydogs sing of their home state in \u201cKandiyohi.\u201d Bob Dylan-esque storytelling lyrics depict a not-so-favorable impression of Kandiyohi County juxtaposed against sugar-beet sweet melodies. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSmall Town\u201d \/\/ John Mellencamp<\/h6>\n

This veteran rocker\u2019s ode to his home town of Seymour, Indiana, helped solidify his place in the public consciousness. The pulse-steady strums of an acoustic guitar complement unshakable lyrics about about finding Jesus and devotion to small town life.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cKansas City\u201d \/\/ Hound Dog Taylor<\/h6>\n

In the 50s, songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller penned the bluesy song \u201cKansas City,\u201d about journeying to the heart of America in search of a new girl. The Beatles made the song a hit by covering it on their album <\/span>Beatles for Sale<\/span><\/i>, but no one can contribute to a true road trip experience quite like Hound Dog Taylor. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n