Aram Becomes Eclectic

Quatre-Vingts Neuf Points Neuf

Lots of the training around here is done solo. Matching the right music to how the legs feel or what workout is on the schedule can make or break a training ride (that, and the weather...). So a little blurb on what albums i've been listening to. No particular order...

The Decemberists-The Crane Wife

Tip top. The single "O Valencia!". The album works from beginning to end. Not big huge watts interval music, but exactly what I like to hear after the 3rd hour of a 4-5 hour tempo session. Standout tracks-All, but "O Valencia!", The Perfect Crime #2, and Shankill Butchers [Tracks 4, 5 and 7] go real nice on two wheels.

!!!-Myth Takes

I asked a French friend how to say "psychadelic" yesterday. That's how these guys roll. Amazing music that goes with any type of ride, particularly shite weather ones or after total depletion to give that extra juice to finish the ride and get home. Track 4, "A New Name" is mind blowing. The guitar work and other subtleties. And this band...seeing them live...it's akin to seeing tanlines for the first time...but far more pleasurable. DO IT. They have 5 shows in France coming up...not that I can go, but hey...I'm happier knowing they're in my country.

M-Qui De Nous Deux

French pop-funk that's not unlike Jamiroquai (whom i'm a huge fan of). Great basswork with crafty guitar fills and funny lyrics that I don't [yet] understand. His voice is ok, I guess, but the instrumentals ("Ton Echo", the album's closing track...ahhhhmazing) really shine the most. He even does a god-awful but hilarious cover of the Cure's "Close to Me." The weather has to be good for this one. Good for short recovery jaunts.

Girl Talk-Night Ripper

Ce fou! Track 5. Biggie samples used in the most tasteful fashion I've ever ever heard. I think I got teary the first time I heard it. Then track 3 has weezer samples, again, TASTE here is phenomenal. Hear it and you'll know what I mean. Some of the subtleties on the album have almost knocked me off the bike laughing. Terrific stuff, although it doesn't have much longevity because it's just too intense. Selective use of this one for riding.

System of a Down-Mezmerize

I listened to this album for the first time in at least 6 months. Mon Dieu! I'm not big into the genre, so don't have much to compare it to, but wow. I could be at the tail end of a 6 hour ride, click to this album...and put out a million watt sprint without thought. It gets the physical and spiritual juices flowing like nothing else I've heard in yeaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrs. The tone is set with the first track (Soldier Side), mellow, but with an underlying tension -like the legs prior to a really hard effort. Then it just explodes into a 35 minute session of %$#@%. "Radio/Video" gets the blood flowing...with the odd sensation of goosebumps to go with it. It's even got lapses of hilarity thrown in for good measure. Oui!

Tenacious D-The Pick Of Destiny

Stoner band of the ages. Ridiculous and dumb. Crude instrumentation and lyrics. Bush-league harmonization and vocal lines. But. I'm drawn in and addicted. The accompanying film to the album was all those aforementioned things and more. But amazing. Sum of the parts is greater!!! The track "Beezleboss (The Final Showdown)"....everytime the song climaxes, the legs do too...regardless of what they've felt like prior or what I have schedules. We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D We are the D. Video for the track here.


Allright, that's it. Music. Cycling. There are heaps more, but these have been getting the most circulation lately. I'd be really stoked if anyone actually gives any of these albums a try. I stand by them! I'm happy that I got this entry up so that that god-awful image of the tanlines wouldn't be the first thing people see upon visiting the blog. It's just pulp...Adieu!