I ride my bike everywhere. Chicago is a great town for bicyclists, and its streets become more and more littered with bikes as the weather warms. Now some Chicagoans ride their bikes mainly for recreation; they can take advantage of our beautiful lakefront, leisurely pedaling hybrids of all shapes and sizes down the LSD trail. And then there are folks like me who ride a bicycle as the major mode of transportation (I don’t own a car. and I don’t need to. and I don’t want to.). We ride our fixed gears and street bikes to work, party, and everywhere in between. We love our bikes. You’ll be pressed to find a bicyclist in Chicago who doesn’t love the city’s little bike culture with all their heart and soles.
Another love of mine is music. So here, in this post, is the culmination of two of my great loves: Bicycles and Music! The following music videos reveal the intense coolness of bicycles when ridden into the world of rock and roll. check the proof:
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Bat for Lashes – What’s a Girl to Do? (video)
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You probably saw this video last year sometime, because it really was the best video produced in 2007. But that’s what animal masks on stunt bikes will do, undeniably excellent. Bat for Lashes has a myspace too.
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The Cool Kids – Black Mags (video
I’m definitely not anywhere nearly as cool as these fellas, but this video really makes me happy. These guys are just riding around the city and feeling good about it. (oh, their EP, The Bake Sale, officially came out recently too. check it out)
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The New Year – End’s Not Near (video)
The handles are there so we can hold on to something while we ride, they give us some security. Sometimes it’s fun to let go of the handles though, see how long we can keep our balance without them. The New Year provides a shoe-gazing soundtrack for this adventurous style of riding.
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MeWithoutyou – Paper Hanger (video)
Oh doesn’t Aaron just look so full of joy on his bicycle? Of course he does, it’s because bicycles and rock and roll go together like chocolate and peanut butter. They’re good on their own, but put them together and the result is pure joy. This old mewithoutyou song has always been one of my favorites. They’re recording a new album this summer too. after all these years I still get excited about this band.
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If anyone knows of any other good bicycle music videos that come to mind, feel free to post link. These are the ones that came to my mind first.
Happy riding!
| Dylan Peterson is a recently married bicyclist from Chicago. He provides internal help to National Public Radio’s Sound Opinions. And he just made an official muxtape for the Relvant Music Blog. |
