I'm currently listening to an excellent series of 15 minute programs on radio 4 extra. The series of 10 programs is called "On your bike" and is to all intents and purposes a history of the bicycle from the 1880's, covering the transition from ordinaries ( "penny farthings" ) to the safety bike and the eventual adoption of the bicycle in modern society. The series so far has been a nice,relaxing and informative piece of radio. Anyone with a general interest in the bicycles evolution may well wish to visit the Radio 4 Extra web page and listen online to the series so far ( the BBC only put them online for a week or two as far as I'm aware, though this policy may have changed ). Listening to this series also made me think of other cycling oriented documentaries and films I've had the pleasure to watch as well as some non cycling curveballs with a common link in the form of music. I've listed some of these below with a little background to what they're about. Not all are still available to view but a little internet searching sometimes turn's up a copy ( quite often on youtube etc ). Otherwise the usual sites such as Amazon quite often have DVD's/CD's to purchase, musicwise I've found Grooveshark to be an excellent site for listening to soundtracks and albums, and so far without excessive adverts! I gave up on Last.fm and Spotify for this very reason.
Here's my brief list of programs etc, hopefully someone reading this may find something of interest that they've not seen/heard before.
A Day Out
This Alan Bennett play is set in Yorkshire and centres around an early twentieth century group of cyclists. The cyclists all riding machines of the era meet up one by one to go on a group ride from Halifax to Fountains Abbey( I think it may have been an early CTC ride ). The play is nice in the way it portrays how the bicycle brought together people from all classes and walks in life. I've only seen the play shown on television once which is a great shame as it is true quality. It is available on a DVD, Alan Bennett at the BBC which I found recently. The final scenes of the play are very poignant ( I shall not say why, best to watch it ) only going to underline the statement about people from all walks of life above. I'll leave the reader to find out more, very much worth doing.
Death on the Mountain-The Story of Tom Simpson
This one hour documentary is the background to the tragic incident on Mont Ventoux that befell one of Britains greatest cyclists. Its a very well made documentary combining film footage of Tom Simpsons early victories and how he rose to prominence from a working class upbringing. It doesn't vilify him for having had amphetamines on the day he died climbing one of the tours toughest ascents. Its a level above this and it sort of infers that it was a problem within professional cycling that tended not to be talked about. Anyway enough of the negative. As I've said its beautifully made and the sadness of it all is emphasised in much of the soundtrack, this being taken from Philip Glass - Solo Piano. Very haunting and worth watching if you're able to find it, I think it may be viewable on youtube in 10min sections.
Breaking Away
This is a light hearted feature film about a group of teenagers from a mid-west town in America. The group come from a University town where the divisions between working class locals and incoming students all too often end off in conflict. No different to the UK, damned students! ( I was one :-) ) Anyway the main character above is an avid cyclist ( in fact he wishes to be an italian - don't we all ). The film is stress free entertainment, sometimes perhaps stretching reality but overall sticks to the central characters passion for the bicycle and romantic interests. One of the main scenes that's really uplifting is when he gets to draft a big rig to the accompaniment of Mendelssohns symphony No 4 ( correct me if I'm wrong ). I've always wanted to do this (without the music obviously ) but reacting to sudden brake lights is nerve wracking! Check out further detail on IMDB.
The Ride of My Life
This one hour documentary was shown on BBC4 and follows the author Robert Penns journey to build a bike to see him out the rest of his cycling days. A bike that he'll ride every day, so it becomes quite a special pursuit. The program follows his visits to various component manufacturers to acquire the parts from frame to groupset, wheels and tyres etc. Throughout theres also snippets of cycling history as well as its engineering and many interviews with interesting people on route to Mr Penns aim. The book the documentry is based on is a good read too. I'm sure many who watch may criticise the end result or the presenters sometimes excessive enthusiasm but step back and go with the flow its an enjoyable documentary. We'd all have a different bike at the end of a similar project I'm sure. Worth watching whichever way you'd choose to do a similar project.
Bicycle Music
This was a radio broadcast by Graeme Fife. Its 30mins long and was originally on Radio 4 extra. The program covered the bicycle and associated music as well as interviews with eminent cycling advocates and athletes. Its an eclectic mix from "Daisy Bell" to Kraftwerk. Its listed on Radio 4 Extra's web page but hasn't been broadcast for a couple of years. It may be available from another source if not its a waiting game. The broadcaster Graeme Fife has many other cycling related productions and publications to his name that may also be worth looking into.
Kraftwerk Tour de France Soundtracks
I've loved Kraftwerk since the early 80's in my youth. My sister purchased the Man Machine as it had the track "The Model" which had become a UK No 1. As it was I became the fan and from there on I was hooked always eager to see what would be released next. In 1983 Kraftwerk released the original "Tour de France" track. I would listen to the Radio One chart show hoping to tape it ( those were the days ) but sadly it never rose high enough in the charts for it to be played often enough. Chart positions 22 and 24 for 1983 and 1984 respectively. I had to wait until recent years to hear the current Tour de France album, its very good and it made me revisit the two albums shown above, Radioactivity ( my original cassette album no longer plays ) and Computer World ( a sixth form favourite alongside music by Joy Division ). These are brilliant and its good to see Kraftwerk so popular today, sadly though not the original members( only Ralph Hutter ). The music fortunately stands the test of time even if group members come and go. I like to remember the 1982 line-up for nostalgic reasons. If you never heard them search them out and see what you think.
Road Dreams
This series was first shown on Channel 4 in the UK in around 1994. It comprises 6 episodes of 30 minutes each. The series was created by Elliot Bristow who had travelled to America in 1968 for a holiday. During this time he was unfortunately mugged in New York and in doing so had to stay on for the subsequent legal proceedings. This stay lasted until 1981!, what an adventure. and this series covers the road trip, places and people he meets along the way. Again it is a documentary enhanced by the soundtrack including Leo Kottke and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Some film clips from it were used in a recent BBC music documentary ( "How the Brits rocked America" I think ) but to watch the original series is highly recommended. I was very fortunate to purchase a video from Elliot Bristow in 1999 and he put a soundtrack tape in with it - a real bonus. Definitely worth searching for but it may be possible to acquire via purchase from Tortworth TV productions( I think this link will give you a thorough background to the current state of the project and purchase options Road Dreams ). Makes you want to cycle across America and why not!
Koyaanisqatsi
This film was created by Godfrey Reggio and has a soundtrack by Philip Glass. Theres no narrative and it is a time lapse film of America and its landscape, cityscapes and so much more. It has a prophetic message and an environmentalist one at that. This film triggered my love of Philip Glass music when I saw it at about 12pm on BBC2 in 1983 ( it wasn't targeted at mainstream viewing by the Beeb ). My friend could never even pronounce it so it became the butt of many jokes when I'd mention it. Its actually part of a trilogy of films, the others being Powaqqatsi and Nagoyqatsi( these came later ). For me personally this is the one that stands out with stunning cinematography and soundtrack. This is easy to find at Amazon etc as DVD film or simply Philip Glass soundtrack. It's message is still completely relevant today if not more so.
The Thin Blue Line
This is a curveball but connects to the above film by having a Philip Glass soundtrack. This haunting music enhances the Errol Morris documentary about the conviction of Randall Dale Adams for murder of a police officer. The other person involved David Harris seemingly escaped conviction but the film follows both individuals, the lawyers and police officers in seeking the truth of what happened on the night of the shooting. It is very well made and draws you in to the final outcome. An excellent documentary film but also a tragic real life story, very much worth watching, more on IMDB. Alternatively you can listen to the soundtrack online which includes statements from the main suspects and officials.
Well that about concludes my small'ish list of cycling and music related programs I feel worth viewing or listening to. We all have different tastes but I hope that these suggestions may open new avenues to listening and viewing pleasure for anyone reading this. They certainly did for me.
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