Two of my favorite topics are 1) bicycling and 2) rock 'n' roll music (going all the way back to the '50s). That's why I'm making it a personal mission to compile a list of rock 'n' roll songs that delve into the subject of bicycling. But I need some help, because so far my list is woefully short.
There is, of course, Queen's over-engineered and overly dramatic (IMHO) 1978 anthem "Bicycle Race." Another well-known one is the title track off Livingston Taylor's album Bicycle. It's a little closer to jazz-folk than rock, but I'll include it anyway. Then there's "Bike," a really bad song (again, IMHO) on Pink Floyd's 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
And this just in: A Canadian band named Sloan on November 23 released its new digital EP album called Hit & Run. The title is based on an experience band member Chris Murphy had last summer, when he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle. I'm not sure any of the five songs on the EP are cycling-related, but I'll include this one on my list, too.
Other than that ... help me out here. There have to be songs I'm not thinking of.
Meanwhile, maybe I'll compose my own bike-rock song. I already have a title — "RAGBRAI Rag." Now all I need is lyrics and a melody.
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BIKING WITHOUT BORDERS is posted every Monday by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling’s field editor, and highlights a little bit of this or a little bit of that — just about anything, as long as it’s related to traveling by bicycle.
Monday, November 30, 2009
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"Idiot on the Bike" by Aveo
ReplyDeleteMight not classify under "rock', but IMHO they all rock.
ReplyDelete"Sci-Fi Wasabi" Cibo Matto
"Broken Bicycles" Tom Waits
"Bicycle Song" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Dracula from Houston" Butthole Surfers
"Professor Booty" Beastie Boys
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ReplyDeleteNot intended as a bike song, but how about George Harrison's The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp, known by the refrain, "let it roll."
ReplyDelete"Me and My Gang" Rascal Flatts.
ReplyDeleteNot rock and probably not intended as a bike song, but I think the refrain, "We live to ride, We ride to live." qualifies it.
"I’ve Got a Brand New Pair of Roller Skates" contains references biking.
ReplyDeletehttp://dadintheheadlights.wordpress.com/2008/02/26/the-worst-song-ever/
How about "GrandBob's Bicycle," my cycling song which I wrote and which was used in the movie "Jackass No. 2." As I sang it, two "jackasses" rode their penny farthings into a snow bank, fell off and uttered an obscenity. The song was published originally in my children's album "Giggle and Grin With GrandBob." You never know how a sweet little children's song will turn up. You can hear snippets of it on my website, www.grandbob.com.
ReplyDeleteBob, that's great. The 'Jackass' franchise is definitely not where you'd expect your children's song to show up!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite bicycle song is kinda sad (about a friend's bike being stolen while in his care): The Decemberists, "The Apology Song".
ReplyDelete