Snake Eats Tail

I just finished a bike ride, the fifth this week, making an even 100 miles of cycling since Monday. That’s a rare achievement for me, but the nice weather combined with a realization that such good riding opportunities are coming to an end gave me added motivation to get pedaling.

Unfortunately, many of those miles were ridden while suffering through that most inexplicable of self-inflicted maladies: the continual mental looping of a specific song. It’s one thing for that song to be something uplifting, like, for example, the chorus to Handel’s Messiah. Or, perhaps, a song that engages the mind in pursuit of its true meaning, like Richard Harris’ MacArthur Park. But such was not my happy fate. No, the lyrics and melody that has inhabited my thoughts during the past 60 miles of cycling is that paean to modern American honky-tonk culture, that theme song of the rednek version of Sesame Street, none other than Travis Tritt’s version of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

Well, hello, T-R-O-U-B-LE
Tell me what in the world you’re doing A-L-O-N-E?
Well, say hey, good L-double O-K-I-N-G
I smell T-R-O-U-B-L-E…

I have only about 10 country albums; it’s not like I’m lousy with ’em. I’ve got one each from Garth Brooks, George Strait, Alan Jackson (the album with the flawless She’s Got the Rhythym and I’ve Got the Blues) and Chris LeDoux (the rodeo cowboy-turned-musician whose “Best Of” album is the one I’d pick for a desert isle shipwreck experience); two by Brooks & Dunn (I know; and I’m sorry). I’ve got the Country-Salutes-The-Eagles compilation CD (which proves that good material will always shine through). Oh, and I’ve got Ronnie Milsap, Willie and Jerry Jeff on vinyl. But that’s it. So why would Travis be infesting my neurons like a teeming mess of audio cooties?

Well, you’re a sweet talkin’, sexy walkin’, honky-tonkin’ baby
The men are gonna love you and the women gonna hate you
Remindin’ them of everythin’ they’re never gonna be
May be the beginnin’ of uh world war three…

A blogger friend wrote about the creative process that empowers his writing, and asks others about their “brain grease.” [Link is sadly no longer active] Bicycling is mine. Once I’m out of the city limits and can go on autopilot (more or less), my mind is freed to run down rabbit trails that I fail to notice at other times. I’ve often found the solution to a tricky layout problem while riding, or had a design inspiration to end a creative block that had bugged me for days. I’ve composed complete posts in my mind while cycling (although they rarely seem as good in pixels as they do in my thoughts…does that happen to you, too?).

Scientists tell us that physical exertion releases chemicals — endorphins — that can stimulate the brain, and enhance creativity. I don’t know if there’s really a physiological explanation for what I experience while riding. I tend to think it’s more a matter of getting into a different environment, with different sensory inputs that jolt the mind out of its “in the office” rut. I think that’s why many people (myself included) often go someplace like $tarbucks to do some work, especially when wrestling with a creative cul-de-sac. The mind suddenly becomes more alert, on guard, ready to roll. Amazing things are then birthed.

Cause the world’s not ready for nothin’ like Y-O-U
Bet your momma must have been another good lookin’ honey, too…

Then again, sometimes they aren’t.

I smell T-R-O-U-B-L-E.