To paraphrase John Gierach, when I go fishing I’m usually looking for two things: wild trout and solitude. Living in NYC, finding these means traveling a decent distance, usually through lots of traffic. I typically listen to new and old music, but have also started getting back into German, which, if nothing else, makes me feel like I’m putting the time to use. For those of you who regularly spend a few hours traveling back and forth to your stream of choice, what do you do to pass the time?
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I travel extensively and have curated a number of playlists on my iPhone that I listen to depending upon my mood at the time.
About 50% jazz… old and new…
The rest is wildly eclectic
But it is all music. Travel is tough enough, music you love makes it not just less tough but actually enjoyable.
Arrive happy… that’s my motto…
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I’m a big jazz fan as well! Art Blakey or some Coltrane and I’m good to go 
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I also enjoy jazz. Being a guitarist (+mandolin & tenor banjo) for local “live theatre” orchestras got me interested in popular music, showtunes, and novelty tunes from the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
There is a local 100% listener-supported low power AM-FM station that bills themselves as a “music museum” that I am real fond of. It has the most diverse and eclectic music catalog I have ever heard. I often find myself chuckling while admiring the musicianship and arranging at the same time. Fortunately the FM side can be heard on trips to two of my favorite local streams. They also stream on Shoutcast from KBRD.org so I can listen to them wherever there is cell coverage.
When I fish streams in the Cascade or Olympic mountains where cell coverage is sketchy at best, I can play albums, or genre and “collection” playlists from the ~1400 mp3s on my phone. But for several years when travelling alone I’ve also enjoyed listening to dozens of free classic public domain audio books downloaded from Librivox.org with an audiobook reader on longer trips. I also have another audiobook reader that I can use for checking out audiobooks to play offline from the local public library.
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Audio books are at the top of my list of things I need to start doing on my trips. Will give the free collection you provided a try. Thanks!
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Since most of my streams of choice are deep in the wilderness, I hike. If I do have a lengthy drive to the trailhead, I’m usually just thinking about my gear, hydrating, charging batteries, checking weather reports, and teasing my buddy that I’m going on a backpacking trip and he has to work.
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I drive a lot, and I’m constantly churning through audiobooks from Audible, free audiobooks from my local library (through the Libby app), lots of podcasts (especially Spanish ones; like you, I find it a good time for language learning), and audio from downloaded YouTube videos (YouTube Premium membership required to make it easier). Music probably makes up less than 5% of my listening time.
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I like the idea of downloading audio from YouTube (that gives me a lot of ideas!). That could potentially make a Premium subscription worth it for me.