Monday morning. Time to get up and go to work. I check my mailbox before I get into my car. I received some new Sloow tapes. Finding new tapes in my mailbox is always a good start of the week.

The first tape I put in my car cassette deck is These Wonderful Evils’ Vermilion Sands. I put my sunglasses on because the sun is low and it has been snowing all night. I feel like Johnny Depp in Dead Man; drifting in a small boat on a big lake. That’s probability because the first track on this tape reminds me of Neil Young’s soundtrack for Dead Man. I never understood why this record never got mentioned when they talk about Young’s best records. It’s one of my favourites. But back to These Wonderful Evils.

Track number two starts like a Sublime Frequencies record: a lofi recorded wah wah guitar solo that could be on a Group Inerane record. Than, strangely enough, the mood changes. Milk And Honey by Jackson C Frank is the first thing that comes to mind. Damm, It’s been way to long since I putted my Jackson C Frank record on.

The B-side than. American trucker sing along songs. I never drove on an American highway. I’ve never been in the US. I’ve never been inside a truck. I only know this kind of music from the tapes I could choose at truck stops when my dad had to make long drives with me as a kid. Those tapes kept me quit. Those tapes made me happy. Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Eagles. John Denver. Hell yeah! And, of course, These Wonderful Evils doesn’t sound like any of the artists mentioned here. His music just makes me feel great when I’m in my car, on my own, on snowy Monday morning.

I’ll be Antwerp in about 15 minutes. Get calm. Pull yourself together again. Good morning. How was your weekend? Fine. Thanks. How was yours? Eight more hours and I’m on my own again, in my car. King of the road, in my small Japanese second hand car. Eight more hours and I can put Vermilion Sands back on. What a great thing to look forward to. 8/10 -- Joeri Bruyninckx (2 February, 2010)