Like state-dependent learning, state-dependent listening really must determine how we hear things, so I can relate to your experience with favorites for the car. Do you like cello? I've got an older Dave Holland recording called Life Cycle (again on ECM) where he plays solo cello, arco and pizzicato, that somehow works on dreary, rainy days on the commute to work. It was released in 1983...superb recording quality; I've got a well-worn cassette, but I think it's available on CD. The music walks the line between jazz and classical, never completely one or the other, and a complete departure from Dave's other projects/groups. Not sure how it would go down in a car on the LA freeways or the carnivalesque atmosphere of Venice..

I will definitely have to check out the Gavin Bryars piece you mentioned...maybe we can compare notes.

Until then,if not sooner,

Gene