Friday is National Ride Your Bike to Work Day, which, like Earth Day, is a chance for Americans to expunge their liberal guilt and, for 24 hours, feel that they are making a difference. All cynicism aside, the underlying intentions of The Day are admirable. But for many of us, it's just another day of saddling up the aluminum steed (or carbon, or steel), and declaring guerrilla war against the bustling and cranky tide of (sub)urban assault vehicles (at least in our fantasies). That's right, cycling is not just for the spandexed yuppies, but for the punks and revolutionaries too. If you look at the number of profiteers making money off our auto-addiction, riding a bike is one big "fuck you" to the insurance companies, rip-off mechanics, oil companies, DMV, Jiffy-Lubes, parking garages, cops, tire companies, car washes, and car manufacturers who have us in their clutches once we make that one big purchase. I am slowly weening myself off my addiction, driving only about one day a week to work. The ride there is a rough one through three different low income areas with several hills (8-9 miles each way), but like everything, it gets easier after a time. A handful of individuals won't change the world with a simple change of lifestyle, but examples can be set, and the personal benefits are numerous, as well.
So what will I be listening to on the way to work tomorrow? Among other things, the Awakening/Virginia Black Lung Split 7". This EP was one of the Sea of Steel series releases that Ed Walters Records put out, celebrating the political implications and pragmatism of cycling. You may know The Awakening from the
7 Inch Crust post a little while back, or from their excellent
discography LP, "Eternal Blizzard". This Ohio trio merges the form and content with two tracks about cycling: "Front Wheel" and "Back Wheel." Awakening's musical delivery is an invigorating blend of cleanly played, dark scandi-thrash, with a hint of thrash metal. The vocals are refreshingly coherent, but full of conviction. This band came and went, but they really deserve our attention regardless of their flash-in-the-pan existence. Riding tandem is Philadelphia's Virginia Black Lung. I don't know much about these chaos-mongers, but they impress the heck out of me here. It's tough to pin-point their sound, but I hear some Econochrist, and perhaps a bit of the more chaotic hardcore of bands like La Quiete or Orchid. VBL are much more political and sinister than the last two bands (that's a compliment), and discharge four ragers, and a direct yet stirring spoken word piece (about oil wars, of course). This disc is great, but if you can't
find it, I can't recommend
The Awakening's discography enough.
Download this split 
Bear with me dear readers, for I know your prejudices concerning "screamy" hardcore. I have my own, after all, mainly based on the pretentiousness of many of these bands. Today, you'll just have to trust me, or move on. This post shines the spotlight on a short-lived band whose frigid guitar sound and stifling rhythm section smashed my own prejudices, not unlike the violent collaboration of liquid nitrogen and a rusty sledge hammer. Armed with talent, a quirky sense of sound manipulation, and a deep acceptance of human despair, Welcome The Plague Year bowled me over in 2004, and continue to do so to this day. If you have a stomach for bands like One-Eyed God Prophecy, Raein, early Envy, Gasp, Joshua Fit For Battle, Shikari, or the band's split mates, Funeral Diner, then definitely look into WTPY. I'm also including the bands split 7" and one-sided 7". There's one track missing that is on their CD, but you'll just have to seek that out elsewhere or shell out serious cash on ebay...
