The automobile is a popular subject in rock music. So popular in fact, that car song playlists are best when filtered by genre.
For this one I selected songs about cars as performed by classic alternative rock bands like The Violent Femmes, R.E.M., Big Country, Adam Ant, Echo & The Bunnymen, The B-52s and others. I also had to include The Cure song "Mint Car". Even though the overtly-happy love song sounds like it has nothing to do with cars on it's face, the story behind the song title qualifies it for this list.
According to lead singer and songwriter, Robert Smith, "Mint Car" is so titled because whenever Cure bassist Simon Gallup got a new car ("mint", as in brand new) he'd be euphorically happy, and so the band came to associate the phrase "mint car" with being drunkenly happy. Since the song is affirmingly upbeat in both tone and lyrics, the title "Mint Car" worked perfectly. So really, it's an inside joke.
Although rockabilly, classic rock, hip-hop and metal have more car song penetration than most other genres, this short, but sweet classic alternative set plays homage to the early MTV generation.
Classic Alternative Car Songs Playlist
1. Three Car Jam - The Minutemen
2. Cars (Original Version) - Gary Numan
4. Devil In My Car - The B-52's
5. Gimme The Car - The Violent Femmes
6. Get In The Car - Echo & The Bunnymen
9. She'll Drive The Big Car - David Bowie
10. Cars And Girls - Prefab Sprout
12. Locked In The Trunk Of A Car - The Tragically Hip