The Coasters with "Down in Mexico"

The Knockaround office is literally a twenty-some minute drive from Mexico, which means we’re closer to Tijuana than we are to Encinitas (for you non-locals, that’s about 20 miles north). Sure, crossing the border might add a little time to the trip, but we promise you the culture and community is worth it.

Fergie with "London Bridge"

Ahhh London, A.K.A. the place where Harry Potter ran through a brick wall. The city is good at a lot of things—cultivating fashion, hoarding artifacts, having an absurd number of soccer football teams—but keeping bridges standing isn’t necessarily one of their strong suits. After the longstanding “Old” London Bridge deteriorated to the point of public outcry, a “New” London Bridge was unveiled in 1831. Unfortunately it wasn’t Nostradamus who designed it, because maybe then they would have predicted the introduction of the car. Bustling traffic led to a bridge-widening project in the late 19th century, but shortly thereafter studies showed that the bridge was actually sinking into the Thames river at a rate of 1 inch per eight years (though they probably used centimeters or whatever). Decades later, London just said “bloody hell” and decided to...sell the bridge. Sell it. To a city in Arizona. If you haven’t heard, Arizona isn’t in England. They disassembled the bridge stone by stone and barged it across the pond, where it was finally reassembled in Lake Havasu City (what up neighbors!).

You can thank Professor Fergie for this history lesson.

Camila Cabello and YG with "Havana"

If you find yourself in Cuba’s capital city and want to partake in the local spirit (which is a large part of the national identity), don’t ask for a rum and coke. A “Cuba Libre” is basically the same thing, and it might just get you some brownie points with the locals. ¡Refrescante!

George Ezra with "Budapest"

Knockaround is a compound word. Turns out, so is Budapest! Back in the day (waaaay back, like pre-phonograph) there were three cities where Budapest is now: Buda, Pest, and Óbuda (which meant Old Buda). After a little monarchical reconstruction in the mid-19th century, the cities were combined and the resulting metropolis was aptly named Budapest. They must have thought long and hard about that one.

Van Halen with "Panama"

Palindrome alert! A man, a plan, a canal; Panama.

Glass Animals with "Tokyo Drifting"

Speaking of Tokyo Drift, this year we finally got to live out a company dream—sponsoring a Nascar. Granted, our guy is doing laps on a controlled track, not flying through the streets of Japan’s ultramodern capital in high-stakes underground races (if you’ve seen the movie, you know what we’re talking about). But hey, four wheels is four wheels.

Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah with "Midnight Plane to Nairobi"

Red-eyes are one of those double-edged swords of travel. On one hand, you get to leave after work and save some PTO, or if you’re a college student trying to pinch every penny while studying abroad, save a night’s worth of hostel fees. On the other, the sleep is subpar at best, so you’ll probably end up a little zombified the next day. Good thing airports sell coffee!

Magic Man with "Paris"

Knockaround actually once made a collaborative pair of shades with Paris Saint-Germain, a French team that plays le football (you wouldn’t guess it, but that means soccer in French). You can’t find the pair on our website, but come on, it’s 2020, you know how to Google things.

The Bangles with "Walk Like an Egyptian"

Ever want to feel confused? Listen to the lyrics of this song and try to make sense of them. It’s not quite on the level of I Am The Walrus (now that’s a song with an interesting history), but you can tell the The Bangles kind of just went, “screw the lyrics, this is CATCHY!”

Toots and the Maytals with "Funky Kingston"

Ever want to feel confused? Listen to the lyrics of this song and try to make sense of them. It’s not quite on the level of I Am The Walrus (now that’s a song with an interesting history), but you can tell the The Bangles kind of just went, “screw the lyrics, this is CATCHY!”

Bonus: Daft Punk with "Around the World"

One of these days, we’ll be able to explore the world safely again. Until then, continue doing what’s best for your community, wear your mask, and keep your head up. Positivity and pulling together will get us back to the airport before we know it.