There are few things I hate more than inane conversation when I’m driving. I feel bad about it, but there hits a point two hours into a cross-country drive where I just don’t want to hear what my husband is thinking. I love the man, but I am probably already annoyed at traffic or weather or one of our bodily functions or something, and I want to tune it all out. I want music.

I grew up that way. We weren’t really a “conversation in the car” family. We were a “throw on the mix tape and enjoy the music, not each other’s company” family. The louder, the better. If I rode with anyone else who didn’t put on music so loud you can feel it in your teeth, I’d listen to my iPod.

When I bought my first car, that was My Place. I’d find new music on Spotify, download it, and then go out for a drive. It felt like that was the best way I could appreciate it. I’ve grown enough to appreciate a soft soundtrack that allows me to hear, y’know, the tires on the road. But there still has to be music when I’m behind the wheel.

It was a massive shock to my system to realize that there are people out there who don’t put on a carefully curated playlist when they get in the car. Some people turn on the radio. Some people listen to talk radio. God, some people even listen to podcasts.

This is not me judging you. I just don’t understand it. I like driving because I like that I do not have to talk to anyone. The last thing I want to do is listen to other people having a conversation. I don’t want to listen to some pundit’s thoughts on the news. My car is my little bubble where I make the rules as long as I’m behind the wheel, and if you don’t like it, find a new ride.

But I’m trying to expand my horizons. I doubt I’ll ever be a “podcast in the car” person, but if I have strong feelings about what I listen to behind the wheel, other people probably do, too. So, what’s on your stereo when you hit the road?