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BRITTANY HOWARD<br />
“As a<br />
driver,<br />
I’m 60%<br />
offensive”<br />
A drive across the US inspired<br />
the Alabama Shakes singer’s<br />
solo debut album. Here, she<br />
shares four road-trip classics<br />
Brittany Howard has been the<br />
lead singer/guitarist of rootsrockers<br />
Alabama Shakes since<br />
2009. Formed at high school in<br />
Athens, Alabama, the band went<br />
on to record two <strong>UK</strong> Top 10<br />
albums and win four Grammys.<br />
Last year, following severe<br />
writer’s block, Howard decided<br />
to move to California and launch<br />
a solo career. <strong>The</strong> songs on<br />
Jaime – her debut album, on<br />
which she displays a soft spot for<br />
psychedelic funk and hip-hop<br />
loops – were conceived during<br />
a road trip from the Pacific<br />
Northwest to Los Angeles via<br />
Nashville. Here are four songs<br />
that inspire the 31-year-old when<br />
she’s behind the wheel…<br />
Brittany Howard’s album Jaime<br />
is out now; brittanyhoward.com<br />
Mal Waldron<br />
All Alone (1966)<br />
“I really enjoy listening to this<br />
track by [jazz pianist] Mal<br />
Waldron when I’m in the car,<br />
because it’s so dreamy. My<br />
mind can just kind of float off<br />
and wonder and think, and<br />
that’s always nice. When<br />
driving, I like to listen to music<br />
that doesn’t have any words –<br />
it’s nice to focus on just the<br />
music and the arrangement.”<br />
Nina Simone<br />
Lilac Wine (1966)<br />
“This song is so sad, but really<br />
beautiful, too. <strong>The</strong>re’s this<br />
little [tom-tom drum] played<br />
throughout the track that I’m<br />
absolutely in love with. It’s<br />
only a tiny detail, but I’m like,<br />
‘Wow, I feel like I’m in a jungle<br />
at dusk somewhere and<br />
I’m depressed.’ I just love it.<br />
I wouldn’t put it on in the Los<br />
Angeles traffic, though.”<br />
Betty Davis<br />
<strong>The</strong>y Say I’m Different (1974)<br />
“I would say that as a driver I’m<br />
60 per cent offensive, 40 per<br />
cent defensive. In LA, you’ve<br />
got to be, right? Sometimes<br />
you’ve got to be an animal out<br />
there. And you need something<br />
kind of upbeat, so that you feel<br />
better about sitting in traffic.<br />
In those situations, I would<br />
listen to this [funk] classic.<br />
It’s a good one.”<br />
IDLES<br />
Danny Nedelko (2018)<br />
“My moods change and sometimes,<br />
when I’m feeling like a badass,<br />
I’ll listen to some metal music.<br />
I really like AC/DC and that English<br />
band IDLES. I love Danny Nedelko,<br />
because it’s perfect for our<br />
interstates. OK, so [the law] says<br />
you have to drive at 70 [mph], but<br />
really you can go 80. It’s like an<br />
unspoken [agreement], and if we<br />
do go 80, they can’t stop us all.”<br />
BRANTLEY GUTIERREZ MARCEL ANDERS<br />
16 THE RED BULLETIN
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