This band has a pretty funny name, but the music is a lot better than the band name, in my view. While I wouldn’t recommend trying to grow one, I would recommend listening to their music!

Made up of members of John Brown’s Body, 10 Foot Ganja Plant is a modern reggae group with a good instrumental sound, and great studio productions. This track is a mix of spacey reaggae, and a steady groove music that keeps it plodding along all the way through. It reminds me of commuting home on my bike from Arlington to DC along the Custis and Mt. Vernon Trails.

Enjoy the  vibes – and if you like it, check out ”Invincible Butcher,” “Shake Up the Place,” and “Hillside Airstrip” by these guys, among others.

Yonder Mountain String Band is a great outfit transitioning from traditional string-pickin’ bluegrass to a more appealing mix of jamband, great songwriting, and maybe even folk – all the while increasing their accessibility to new audiences, in my view.

This song is a very upbeat track, a mixture of chord progressions moving up the scale, plus hard-pickin’ banjo, plus gleeful upper-register strings. It reminds me of running down the National Mall on a chilly midday jog in winter – energetic, calming, and triumphant all at once.

Off the same album, I’d also highly recommend “Belle Parker,” “Fine Excuses,” and “Steep Grade, Sharp Curves.” These are the standouts in the album, in my view. Well, that, and “Midwest Gospel Radio”!

At the risk of dating myself, I remember listening to Green Day’s Dookie in my 7th grade years – around the same time as I was trying to figure out alot of things, including rebellion and girls, if I remember correctly. So Green Day has always been a bit of a throwback for me. Like, “Ha ha, remember the Meat Puppets? They were awesome” – that kind of reminiscing.

But even as they will ever be imprinted in my high school brain, Green Day has consistently put out some really top-quality quality through the years since then, and I really respect their versatility. Sometimes they sound a lot like their old selves, and to a certain extent their music is a bit formulaic. And sometimes they invent something new and great, like Boulevard of Broken Dream. But despite the repeat formulas, I am totally drawn in to their music every time – something so infectious, so upbeat, that it just makes you want to get up and go. American Idiot, for example, I thought was really good.

This track, Troublemaker, is a pretty simple punk song with a super irresistibly high-energy drum part. The chords are basic, but their timing and interspersal with the drums is addictive. The well-blended harmonies a third-up only makes it more upbeat.

This is a great get-pumped tune, with a bit a of 7th-grade nostalgia thrown in for good measure.

Green Day is apparently releasing a bunch of tracks in sequence – uno, dos, tres. Looking forward to the next!

When people find out I ride a bike to get around, and to get to work, they often respond with some mix of incomprehension, wonder, or even awe – like as if I am performing some impressive feat of stamina or courage. “More power to ya, man!” I hear, or “Wow, that’s great for you, keep it up!” Or my favorite, “wow, but you must be crazy!” Sometimes, I take some perverse pride in comments like this. I think, “yeah, I am really tough, all right, go me.” Or “it’s a great way to stay in shape“

But on the inside, I know it’s all a sham. Because bicycling to get around a city is yes, one small part craziness, and yes, part really fun, but mostly? I’m just kind of lazy. Biking is simply the quickest, cheapest way to get from point A to point B, while expending the least amount of energy. Walking is kind of slow and tiring, but riding takes like a dozen pedal strokes and you’re at the next block already. Appealing to people’s inner laziness may be the genius behind Bikeshare’s short trips. Most utilitarian city bike riding is not hardcore, not masochistic, and not a crazy feat of courage. It’s just the easiest, laziest way.

When I walk out my door to go somewhere – to work, to get a gallon of milk, to run to the hardware store – the main question I ask myself is, “what’s the easiest way to get there?” Stopping global warming or racking up the miles doesn’t really enter the picture. The bike is sitting right there: it’s faster and requires much less effort than walking, it’s free, there’s unlimited free parking basically everywhere, I can carry anything on it, and there’s no traffic ever.

There have been many times when I have errands and meetings and I just don’t have time to travel any other way – only biking can get me to so many places fast enough.

There are days when life happens, and I don’t have time to both commute and exercise – so I ride and get to do both simultaneously. I’m not trying to win the do-gooder award, I’m just trying to economize the hours in the day – since at heart, I’m kind of lazy.

I have been known to hop on and ride a quarter-mile to the Harris Teeter to get some butter, just because it’s a few minutes faster than walking. I’m not ashamed to say I’ve ridden a Bikeshare bike a whopping 2 blocks to get Dunkin Donuts coffee, out of sheer, unbridled laziness.

So, next time you think that riding a bike around the city is some unattainable achievement reserved for crazy hardcore people, think again. Most riders are probably far from crazy. In fact, they may be bicycling because they’re a little bit lazy.

 

Soulive is one of my favorite jazz outfits – frenetic, jazzy, intricate, and complex. Here they team up with Talib Kweli for a nice jazzy rap tune. The acidic improvisation takes a back seat and (mostly) vamps underneath the vocals, and the result is a steady jazz groove, with an almost–walking quarter-note bass line.

Tonight’s track is a fantastic blend of reggae and rap. I admit to not really knowing much about Nas’ other stuff, but I really like this one. Damian Marley is, of course, son of Bob Marley. This track is a slow mellow groove that you kind of have to slouch into, with a sharp-edged rhythm guitar. The bullhorn effect on the chorus vocals works pretty well against the rapped verses. The tempo seems to struggle to restrain itself, moving forward purposefully but always holding a little back… beseeching patiently.

What do you think?

Meandering along the Mall in the Midwinter

Sometimes work can drag on me, especially in winter. Long hours, pitch black darkness for the commute home, wondering what’s it’s all for. Two things help – exercise and music. In winter I usually re-jigger my schedule to go for a lunch-break jog on the Mall, and then work late into the evenings. And when I do run, I admit I often don earphones for an accompanying soundtrack. (I try my best not to be a zombie, though, #bikedc-ers!) This song is a new addition to my running mix, and is a perfect antidote to wintertime blues.

This track by Eric Hutchinson’s is lilting, airy, boppy, and happy. I stumbled across this guy because iTunes said he resembled Jason Mraz. Kind of like bubble gum, or a Coke.  In any case, it’s “lite” in every way – upbeat, not too deep, and puts a quick in your step. Reminds me of jogging aimlessly around the Mall and hoping the sun will never set.

As the days grow very short and the temperatures drop, the opportunity and allure of long bike rides seems to fade.  The stretch of cold and dark from November to March, about “Fall Back” to “Spring Forward” is the toughest part of the year for me, especially during the week. Does anyone else have trouble this time of year?

• I am a year-round cyclist, but I tend to withdraw into my shell a little bit between now and March. My daily riding sometimes retrenches back to a 6-mile round trip commute, and no more.
• To motivate, I tell myself I have no excuse but to ride to work anytime the high temperature is above 40. If the high doesn’t crack 40, I cut myself some slack. The top left corner of the Washington Post front page becomes my “commute horoscope.”
• Winter is a time to focus on other pursuits – reading, music, analysis, work, cooking. The holidays are a welcome distraction.
• Good gear helps. Someone wise once said (probably) “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing” – or something like that. So I try to bundle up for winter riding when temperature and sweat regulation are key.
• Lights help.  I’m in the “Christmas Tree” school of thought when it comes to bike lights. I don’t care how silly I look, or how many batteries I have to change or recharge, I want as much visibility as possible.  Especially in the winter if you want to ride after 4:45pm. I run two front handlebar lights, two rear blinkies on the seatpost, glow-lights stuck into my spokes, and a ReelLight rear blinky at the axle.
• Cold toes and fingers, especially on long rides. I hate, hate ‘em. On my short commute, no proble, but on long rides, everything else can be icky sweaty but the tips of my toes and fingers can be numb. Has anyone found a good solution to this problem? Moose Mitts? Toe warmers?
• Cold-bike whistling. Whistling a song as I pedal definitely helps keep warm. Singing also works.

Once you’re out, biking in the dark and cold can be a peaceful, calming thing. Pedestrians and other cyclists have thinned out, and you have the trails and lanes to yourself. The creak of a chain and the rattle of a pannier can seem downright loud on a cold dark ride home. Dark and cold brings it own kind of quiet, which I have trouble putting into words. Ride up the Mount Vernon Trail as the moonlight glints off the Potomac, cruise along the Mall on Jefferson or Madison, or pedal down the W&OD under the stars, and you’ll know what I mean.

The trick is just getting up the motivation to get the right gear, and get out there.

Sometimes, Pandora serves up a song at work that really seems to click with me, and I give it a deeper listen later that night. I admit to knowing nothing about Natalie Walker before today, nor the extent of Thievery Corporation’s influence on this remix, except that the chill groove on this track is captivating. Cathedral-like organ plus a plodding bass line, and the singer’s melancholic voice.  The song is contemplative to start, seeming unsure in the middle, but finishes strong and confident.

Some evenings, you just want to sit still and let the noise and chaos of the day sort itself through, like a mental sort-through and cleanup. This song helps do just that.

Potomac River

On Sunday, K and I struck out for a day-long bike ride to do a Washington classic – the loop to Leesburg, Virginia via White’s Ferry and the W&OD trail. With a small detour planned for a winery.

• The weather was amazing; we couldn’t have asked for much better. Mid-60s, and hardly a cloud in the sky. This was October weather at its finest.
• Route: MacArthur Blvd. was flat and quiet on a Sunday morning, and then we switched to the C&O towpath at Falls Road to avoid some of the trafficky segments of River Road near Potomac, MD. I was nervous about riding the unpaved towpath on skinny road tires, but we took it slow, and were rewarded with 10 car-free peaceful miles with spectacular views along the banks of of the Potomac River. As an added bonus, we were now fully awake and could ride side-by-side and chat. We slogged back up to River Road after Blockhouse Point, and took that all the way around the White’s Ferry. On the Virginia side, we rode through Leesburg to pick up the W&OD trail.
• Food: Had great sandwiches and coffee at West Loudoun St. Cafe in Leesburg.
• Wine: After lunch, we made a stop at Dry Mill winery, just a quick jaunt off the W&OD. We had wanted to go to Fabbioli, but the biking conditions on Route 15 north of White’s Ferry looked pretty bike-unfriendly. After a tasting, we lazed on their sun-drenched back porch, sipped Chambourcin (just a little bit!), listened to a guitarist, looked at photos from the incredible scenery on the Maryland side, and relaxed. It was a great spot – we hardly wanted to leave! But we still had 45 easy miles on the trail to go, so we bought two bottles for the panniers for dinner.
• Foliage: the leaves are just about to peak here inside the Beltway, but outside the city, the colors were amazing.
• Total – 96 miles, according to my phone, with 7 hours moving in the saddle, and 3 hours spent sitting still for lunch, wine, and sightseeing.  I like that ratio!

A Washington classic…

Watching a hunt, complete with horses and dogs and stuff, on the dirt segment of River Road

A crucial mid-ride pitstop at Dry Mill