Bicycle 🚴‍♂️ | 3BOPS

1. Leon Bridges, “Motorbike”

💿 Gold-Diggers Sound • 🏷 LisaSawyer63 / Columbia • 📅 2021

“On the back of my motorbike / Write your name in the sky, ooh / It’s whatever you like / We can ride, ride, ride.” ✅ 🎵 “Motorbike” marks not only the second track from 💿 Gold-Diggers Sound, but also the second advance single. 🏆 Grammy-winning R&B singer 🎙 Leon Bridges sounds classy and refined vocally.  He effectively sings sans gospel histrionics giving this love-centric number a chill, fitting vibe.

“Motorbike” was penned by five songwriters (including Bridges), all of which capture that universal four-letter word.  As far as the production, 🎛 Nate Mercereau and 🎛 Ricky Reed construct a solid, respectable backdrop for Bridges.  There’s nothing flashy per se, but it successfully recalls the soul of old while sounding fresh in 2021.  It’s chill, soulful, and romantic.

“Girl, go ahead and leave ya keys on the dresser
You ain’t gonna need them tonight.”

Why? #Motorbike!

2. Vampire Weekend, “Obvious Bicycle”

💿 Modern Vampires of the City • 🏷 XL Recordings • 📅 2013

“Oh, you ought to spare your face the razor / Because no one’s gonna spare their time for you.” Well, that’s depressing, isn’t it? 💿 Modern Vampires of the City marked one of the best albums of 2013.  Furthermore, the LP by 🏆 Grammy-winning alternative collective 🎙 Vampire Weekend marks one of the best albums of the 2010s.  Notably, Vampires is chocked-full of spiritual and religious references, with the sublime 🎵 “Obvious Bicycle” featuring some as well.

“Obvious Bicycle” begins abruptly and a bit off-putting at first.  As the listener adjusts to the groove established by percussion and piano, things fall into place and the magic is revealed (even if it’s sad).  “Why don’t you spare their world a traitor?” 🎙 Ezra Koenig asks, continuing, “Take your wager back and leave before you lose.” Deep! Besides awesome, thought-provoking lyrics, another highlight of “Bicycle” is the effortless falsetto by Koenig, which is incredibly ripe on the chorus:

“So, listen, oh
So, listen, oh
Don’t wait
Don’t wait.”

“Obvious Bicycle” is a hypnotic opener that makes the listener hinge on every lyric and the minimalist instrumental ideas. It sets the tone of Modern Vampires of the City.

3. Queen, “Bicycle Race”

💿 Jazz • 🏷 Hollywood • 📅 1978

“Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle!” It’s iconic – a must-have on any bike-themed list.  That’s right, there’s no way we could omit the beloved 🎙 Queen classic, 🎵 “Bicycle.”  Here, Freddie Mercury sings, “I want to ride my bicycle / I want to ride my bike / I want to ride my bicycle / I want to ride it where I like.” Of course, the big question is, is the bike that he references an actual bike or a metaphor?

It’s a metaphor, of course!  While the song was inspired by cycling (Tour De France), ultimately, Mercury wants to live his life the way he wants to live it. Would it be far-fetched that living the life the way he wants could be a nod to sexuality? Of course not, but it should be noted that the bisexual musician didn’t come out during his life time… Nonconformity and differing opinions regarding a host of issues is the bigger takeaways: “You say black, I say white / You say bark, I say bite.”

Also, worth noting, “Bicycle Race” references the simultaneously released single from 💿 Jazz, 🎵 “Fat Bottomed Girls”:   

“Bicycle races are coming your way
So, forget all your duties, oh yeah
Fat bottomed girls
They’ll be riding today
So, look out for those beauties, oh yeah.”