Mystic Negro dot Com

So, yeah, this video will not change the world or save BMX.  It will not blow your mind or destroy your senses.  It has some technical glitches because I don’t know what I’m doing (and I’m doing my best to not go back and Lucasing the whole thing, although my OCD is a very tough opponent).  What it is is a guy having fun on his bicycle, which I think should be enough.

Also, buy Volbeat’s Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood.  It’s better than whatever crap you’re listening to right now.

Felt Bikes: Betley, Smillie, and Earley in Vegas from Felt BMX on Vimeo.

Decibel Magazine’s Deciblog has a new(ish) section up called “Justify Your Shitty Taste,” where their writers have to justify their love for an unlovable album such as Judas Priest’s Turbo or Metallica’s St. Anger or anything that Varg has ever done..  As far as ideas go it’s a fairly awesome one and one worthy of thievery, by someone else obviously, I’m way too lazy to follow up on this.  However, I offer out into the universe the following idea:

Justify the shitty music in your video part.

It’s no secret that BMX videos are often set to some of the shittiest music known to man.  It can be argued, in fact, that the only videos ever released in BMX that didn’t have shit music are, the handful of videos that use Refused “New Noise,” the original Macneil video which used Suicidal Tendencie’s “Thee Feeling’s Back” and Standard’s “Stronger Than All” which used Prong’s “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck” (although in that last case the song was edited so terribly that it almost loses points.  How did the Macneil folks manage to extend that ST track seamlessly and Standard couldn’t do the same to such an obviously re-mix ready track?  Is it because they’re in Iowa?).

Of course there are obvious problems with this idea.  Granted all I know about modern BMX “culture” I’ve learned from the comments on The Come Up, but there’s a good chance that asking a BMXer why their musical taste sucks will result in a poorly spelled, grammatically atrocious homophobic rant.  And, of course, the obvious answer is either “money” (good music isn’t cheap to license) or “youth” (hey, fuck you, I got Look What The Cat Dragged In for CHRISTMAS when I was 14, I know youth based bad musical taste).

Still, I think someone should get on this.  Stat. Defgrip guys, are you listening?

Non-shitty music follows

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I’ve always had a weird relationship with BMX, both as a rider and as a fan. I mean, I liked watching BMX videos, until all of the videos became about brakeless street riding. And I liked checking out industry news, until that became like the same thing over and over and over again. Eventually BMX became like the last season of Airwolf, you know after they shitcanned Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine and replaced them with Dick van Dyke’s son and a bunch of people with mullets. Not only did the long lost St. John (“Sinjin”) Hawke show up to replace the much more interesting Stringfellow, but production values went to shit with them apparently taping large portions of the show using commercial grade camcorders and…

What, too geeky? Off the point?

Well, hell, anyway. BMX has lost some of its luster for me, as a fan. Which leaves the part where I’m a participant. I finally figured that part out. Y’see, I went out to Settles Bridge with Steve on Saturday to get back on the horse as it were. I hadn’t touched my bike except to move it out the way since it got cold. And while I’ve been informed that this doesn’t count, since I don’t ride with the appropriate people, or at the appropriate events to satisfy the judges of acceptable BMX behavior (I hold grudges, folks, it’s a personal failing, I know) *I* enjoyed it.

Which is kind of the thing that I had to figure out.  You see, I don’t really look forward to riding.  I mean, every so often I get an itch to ride and I ride and I try to ride often enough that it becomes a habit/routine, because it really is good for me.  But it’s not like, say, playing guitar. I think about playing guitar all of the time.  I know that I love playing guitar.  Even after jacking my wrist I’ve played guitar until it just hurt too bad to keep going on.

I’ve gone to a skatepark, taken one good slam and packed my bags and went home.  Riding a bike is just not that serious to me.  However, it is fun for exactly how long I do it.  I never look forward to it, but I enjoy it while I’m doing it.  Which is kind of weird, but the most accurate way I can describe it.  So, now that I’m back on the horse I will, undoubtedly feel all “ugh” while I’m packing up the car and I’ll be tired and sore when I’m done.  but I’ll have a big smile on my face while I’m doing the thing.

And, y’know, I’m cool with that.