cycling soundtracks
OML #72
Welcome to Human Pursuits, the column that features need-to-know names and stories in media and other creative spaces. Today, a road bike record guide, plus updates from Friends of the Newsletter including Ian Wheeler, Ratboys, Alyssa Vingan, Dan Ozzi, and more.
I spent much of May on two wheels.
Biking.
North to my office downtown. East to meet Raeland Mendoza , Erykah Horan , and Hannah, at the Issues Magazine pop-up. West to Kits and home.
One of my only goals for the summer is to take advantage of Vancouver’s many bike lanes. To fully embrace my identity as a cyclist. It took longer than I care to admit, but I installed a back rack, and a milk crate, so that I can lug my stuff to and from the office. That’s right. Whilst you were sitting around, doing nish, I was out making moves.
While I don’t mind cycling in silence—letting the street noise and squeak of brakes wash over me like a wave of white noise—there is something romantic about biking to music. About soundtracking life in motion.
Some records are better to bike to than others. While it’s an inexact science, I find that I like stuff that sounds good in my AirPods even with noise-cancelling off (safety first; I also have a helmet, lights, the whole shebang).
Here’s what I’ve been spinning lately, scored on a range from zero wheels to two wheels ◯◯ .
Trouble Will Find Me - The National - ◯◯
A transcendent experience. I listened to this on my ride home from drinks with Alex and Goose. It was dark, but I had my lights on, and there was almost no traffic. The moon was hanging overhead, though I couldn’t say where.
Even at its slowest, Trouble Will Find Me has a discernible pulse, and this paired with the dual sensations of warm sweat and cold wind at my back had me feeling outside myself in the best way possible. I think I rode in seventh gear the entire way, up hills and everything.
While this record is great to bike to, and good to walk to, it sucks on transit. Best enjoyed in isolation.
Girlfriend - Grace Ives - ◐
Actually better on the bus than a bike. I really love this record, in part because the production is so intricate and considered that it constantly draws me in. Normally this sort of distraction is encouraged (especially on the 16 bus, where chaos abounds) but I found myself fighting to pay attention to the road and worried I would miss the sound of midday traffic. I was able to relax a bit once I passed Burrard Street and “Trouble” came on. Probably better for cruising aimlessly than commuting home, if that makes sense.
Middle of Nowhere - Kacey Musgraves - ◯
The best thing she’s done since Justified, certainly. Might be in her top three and it’s not three. Unlike Grace, the instrumentation and production are pretty straightforward, and so I was able to enjoy the record without feeling like I was recklessly risking my life. The first seven songs felt particularly good to pedal to. “Abilene” hit as I was climbing the Cambie Street bridge and there was sunlight reflecting on the water. Not a bad way to start the day.
Two Star & the Dream Police - Mk.Gee - zero wheels
Great record, but falls flat every time I try to enjoy it while driving, busing, or biking. I think the live performance of “Are You Looking Up?” captured by Mika Altskan has given me unrealistic expectations for how his music and motion will merge. Biking is cool but it just doesn’t have the same aura as playing a Jaguar with the wind in your hair.
Little Wide Open - Kevin Morby - ◯◯
It’s extremely rare that a record hits me on first listen. But critics far more tapped in than I have been singing Morby’s praises with this one, and it absolutely delivered on my bike ride to work Monday morning. While the songs are relatively straight-forward chord wise, they also build in interesting ways that surprised me without being distracting. The record also sounds really warm and comforting, which makes it fun to travel to.
Side note: I’d like to ride bikes with Aaron Dessner. I feel like he gets it.
Oh Messy Life
ICYMI: Last week’s interview was a special two parter with Christian Holden from The Hotelier. We discussed recording Goodness, drawing inspiration from nature, re-purposing old material, Chaotic Good, and why they’re optimistic (and frustrated) with music right now.
And the award goes to: Congrats to Ian Wheeler and the team over at Talkhouse. Their 12-episode series, Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, won a Peabody Award.
Grace Robins-Somerville ( Our Band Could Be Your Wife ) wrote about seeing Grace Ives (who I love even if she doesn’t write music to bike to) for a special all-guest edition of Maya Devika Rajan’s Show Notes. Read it here.
Daisy Alioto and the team over at Dirt Books have launched pre-orders for an exciting new book. Tattooed, Pierced, & Fucked-Up: A Scene Memoir 2004–2008 by Lauren Napier collects interviews, photos, diary entries, ticket stubs, call sheets, and other personal ephemera from the life in Los Angeles, Berlin, and the proverbial road, as she ascended from fan to music journalist to band manager in the shaky early decade of the New Millennium. Pre-order here.
Alyssa Vingan is celebrating two years of her wonderful newsletter The New Garde, which, for the unfamiliar, focuses on “the future of fashion and beauty industries — and the culture surrounding them”.
Return of the Rat: A few weeks ago I mentioned that Ratboys was recording a new session for KEXP. It’s now online!
Sable Yong is hosting a scent swap in NYC next month. It’s a great idea for a good cause! Details below.
The Paranoyds are teasing something—and playing a show at Permanent Records next month.
Oh, and congrats to Dan Ozzi and Kayleigh Goldsworthy, who recently tied the knot!!
Proper Chune
Flying over highways like we weren't butterflies
My next guest is…
Texas emo band Oakwood.
Meme machine
60 minutes? How about a tight five?
