Somewhere in Orange County, California there is a man, who is a drummer, who plays in a band that goes by the name Thrice. This man is Riley Breckenridge who also writes a cool little weekly blog for OC Weekly called Riley’s Three Things. Basically Riley writes about things in threes on various topics from Blake Griffin to Noisy Neighbors. Sadly, about 4 months ago Riley’s Three Things went on hiatus due to personal issues. So to fill the void left by Mr. Breckenridge’s lovely blogs I have decided to pay homage to him by making the theme of this blog in Threes. Alright lets get started….
THREE ALBUMS TO LISTEN TO WHEN TAKING THE BUS/PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Not all of us are blessed with wheels. Some of us are restricted to the use of public transportation whether by circumstances of location or otherwise. Now i don’t know about you, but i, a NJTRANSIT regular, feel denied from wonderful joy riding tunes, or basically, fun songs to listen to when you’re in the car. Lets face it, bus users are denied the experience of say, racing down rattlesnake speedway with bruce springsteen or the fun of rollin down the street, smokin indo, sippin on gin and juice. If you think differently, and that you can bump to hyped up joyriding tunes the same way on the bus, then you are mistaken and either is that girl blasting the latest overproduced cover from Glee for everyone on the bus to here through her poorly abused ear buds (i love you Glee but lately the production value on you’re recordings are horrible) or that guy rapping out-loud to his ipod rather poorly, mumbling in between in every N word. For the most part these albums are instrumental/visual since i don’t think there are any songs with lyrics that convey the feeling of taking public transportation. Please note that these albums are picked from my experience taking the bus and may not transition to trains the same way.
1) Explosions In The Sky – How Strange, Innocence 
How Strange, Innocence captures the feeling of a commute perfectly, the morning rush as well as the dull waiting moments. Explosions in the Sky, known for their narrative musical style and guitar work, are able to portray the everyday hustle and bustle of the morning rush. Through a mix of mellow guitar leads and fast paced drum rolls the band captures the camaraderie of a working force waking up every morning and struggling to make the paper chase almost as if it were a sacred daily ritual.
2) Eluvium – Similes 
When i think Eluvium’s Similes i think “zombie mode.” Now what’s “zombie mode”? Zombie mode is that state of being when you’re half asleep walking in between bus transfers or trying to work a power nap on the train while that same evangelist guy is doing that same sermon that he does every single day. Before you know it, you’re at your last stop of your commute ready or dreading to begin your work or classes. It’s like a self-induced mini ambien. I can’t explain this feeling further, except with a quote from Similes’ first track “The Motion Makes me Last,” where Mathew Cooper, the mastermind behind Eluvium, croons “What is it that has my mind so hypnotized?/When shapes are for looking at/ And their colors create my mood/ I’m a vessel between two places I’ve never been.” Topped of with Cooper’s mastery of the piano keys, Similes creates that ambient feeling that simulates that ambien feeling.
3) Sigur Ros – Takk 
This past winter was a cold one, with enough snow storms to make me, a spry young twenty year old, feel middle aged lower back pains after multiple days of shoveling. The past cold harsh winter did not make my commute any easier. All the disdaining aspects of the commute were amplified, waiting for the bus outside, carefully walking in between bus-stops avoiding black ice, and that very uncomfortable feeling when your jeans are wet and sticking to your legs. But when I put on my ear-buds and play Takk, the post-rock band from Iceland makes me see the winter wasteland as a winter wonderland. The walk through the snow is instead an adventurous trek. Maybe it’s because there’s something magical about lead singer, Joni’s voice spewing Icelandic gibberish (listen to his work and try tell me different), or Sigur Ros’s mastery of bells and whistles as well as all instruments that “click” and “clack” and “ding” and “dong” that enables them to make track after track, some of the most beautiful modern day compositions to listen to. Eitherway, Takk has the ability to alleviate the experiences of even the most dreaded commutes.
nattywestside 