broken bicycles (the spoke card)

horsemouth was over at pete's yesterday working up possible tunes for a new set. broken bicycles by tom waits featured largely (the tune reminds horsemouth of how much is that doggy in the window?). 

'broken bicycles,

don't tell my folks;

there's all those playing cards

pinned to the spokes...' 

get carter was also revisited. 

this morning an internet outage. horsemouth went up the powerscroft road book box to make a donation (passing all the mums and dads on bicycles and all the children on wheels). a boy ran out into the street and into a slow motion bike collision. (this is the effect of concentrating children and bikes in the streets around schools - a funneling effect). everybody parted amicably.

horsemouth is unclear about the reason for fixing a playing card the frame of the bicycle (so that it is played by the spokes of the wheel). he assumed  it was as some kind of luck generator (playing cards = luck get it?. horsemouth's research (a quick search on google) says that it is to emulate motorcycle noises. 

horsemouth supposes he could have asked. 

there is a separate habit of placing laminated cards in the spokes of the bicycle wheel  (the spoke card). laminated cards are inserted in spokes with numbers used to identify competitors in competitive races held by bicycle messengers, in official competitions and in unofficial alleycat races (so claims wikipedia).

'spoke cards have evolved to serve such diverse functions as memorials for fallen messengers, as artwork, and as political placards in bike messenger association elections, and even in the 2008 united states presidential election.'

today horsemouth is due round catastro/FILLE's - they want to work up a version of dog and bone, horsemouth wants to retrofit more of his patent african guitar stuff to the tunes (catastro/FILLE would probably prefer more pixies style stuff. the tune horsemouth refers to as creepy (but in a good way) they won't be playing (which is a pity because it is strong and distinctive). le terroir is starting to come together (now horsemouth has been reminded of the guitar part he played on it).

when horsemouth mentioned that he had retired somebody suggested this was to work on the music. this doesn't seem like a bad plan.