February Collective Collaborative Blog: Songs about Transportation

Photo credit: Max Tarkhov on Unsplash

For the February edition of the collab blog, T&E partnered with the Tucson Living Streets Alliance (LSA) to provide a soundtrack for their Cyclovia group ride event. The playlist highlights songs about transportation - biking, walking, running, skating, and public transport. Stream it below, and read our interview with LSA coordinator Tricia Schwartz to learn more about Cyclovia's vision of repurposing public streets to be more inclusive for all!

The playlist moves in themes of biking, walking, running, buses, trains, subways, skating, planes, and general songs of rides, highways, etc. Let's get movin'!

Curated by A. Iwasa, Alex, Parisa, Noa Martucci, Kurt B. and Joanna.

Some background on the playlist curation:

A.Iwasa - I started with a couple of songs that play in my head when I ride my bike.  But then I thought about the songs that play in my head when I would hitchhike, or wash dishes at work and fantasize about hitchhiking, then the floodgates were open. My song selections are either tracks that either get me hyper focused when I'm riding, like “Pump the Breaks” or completely transport me into another place like “A New Wave” by Sleater-Kinney.

Alex - Have you ever gone for a walk while listening to “Walk” by Pantera? It’s hard to not feel determined about whatever it is you’re about to do. Skate music has to be some kind of punk, of course. Tyler, the Creator has a few cool songs about biking so I had to throw those on. Finally, I also had to throw in a couple of classics from the Bay Area’s Hyphy Movement - I was in high school during those days and people weren’t just ghost ridin’ the whip, they were ghost ridin’ EVERYTHING, especially heavily modified, candy-colored scraper bikes (which helped keep kids from disadvantaged backgrounds in East Oakland from falling into dangerous lifestyles during that time, by the way). Look up the video for the Trunk Boiz song when you get a chance. It’s life changing.

Parisa - For our “Songs about Transportation” theme, I was very inspired by KEXP’s Transit Operator Appreciation Day programming they did on March 18th of last year. For the entire day, they played songs about buses, trains, etc. while splicing in interviews with local Seattle public transportation workers and stories submitted by listeners about their memories and thoughts on public transportation. It was so fun to see the way the music and the stories all came together for a cohesive feeling of community and shared experiences.
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Interview with LSA Coordinator
​Patricia Schwartz

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What got you into cycling, and how long have you been with Living Streets Alliance (LSA)?

I’m Patricia. (pat, tricia, patri, whatever). I’ve lived in the Sonoran Desert most of my life and I’m so fond of exploring it. I also like fruit, dogs and critical theory. I’m coming up on 7 months with LSA, so this will be my first Cyclovia working behind the scenes. Though far from my first as a participant. It’s wild that this is part of my job now!

Full transparency, I didn’t actually know how to ride a bike until I was like, 18 and I’d developed a bit of a complex about it by then. I credit patient friends and Tucson’s general bikeability for getting me there. 

Give us a little background on LSA and Cyclovia. What is the organization’s mission statement, and what is your role within the group?

Living Streets Alliance’s mission is to advocate for a thriving Tucson by creating great streets for all of us. In many cases that means reclaiming them as places for people instead of the cars our cities are primarily built for. 

That’s the overall goal of the Open Streets program, where I focus a lot of my energy & advocacy: reimagining our largest swaths of urban, public space into places that work and are safer for everyone–no matter how they get around–and that respond to urgent needs for advancing racial and economic equity, adapting to climate change and fostering community connections after 2+ years of unprecedented isolation.

What are some factors that go into consideration when planning for a Cyclovia route?

Over it’s 10-year history, Cyclovia routes have touched a lot of Tucson streets. It’s a way to see the city from a different pace & perspective, and there’s a lot to see. We’re working on an October event in the 85705 zip code and hope to cultivate the first-ever Westside route soon. 

With folks participating on foot, bikes, scooters, in wheelchairs, walkings dogs, waving from the sidelines and everything in between, planning a route that’s as enjoyable to explore in small pieces as it is to traverse in its entirety throughout the day is important.  & always try to avoid streets with Tucson streetcar tracks…because those are hazardous on two wheels.

​What songs have been on your bike ride playlist lately?

I should have better prepared for this one, coming from y’all.
I’ve been enjoying riding to the album Tokonoma Style by Shinichiro Yokota of late. There are trusty tracks that seem to permeate a lot of my bike/walk/stroll/skip playlists…artists like Parliament Funkadelic, Depeche Mode, Bjork, and Bad Bunny.  99 Luftballons by Nena, always.  


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Tell us about the upcoming 10th Annual Cyclovia event and what you’re most looking forward to about it.

The event on March 27th is exciting because it’s the first one in two years, and it passes some dope spots. This route (Downtown to South Tucson & back again) was originally planned for March 2020 and cancelled for obvious, unfortunate reasons. There is already so much energy & organization going into activating public space on this route year-round, so it’s special to get to peek into those efforts–evolving art pieces, creativity and neighborhood quirks. Lots of fun surprises, family activities, local artists and performers, and the best of Tucson’s food trucks await. Cinco for Cyclovia Bingo is a day-long scavenger hunt for prizes. And I hope we’ll have more dogs in attendance than ever with treats at every activity hub.  

Finally, what advice would you give someone outside of Tucson that would like to organize something similar in their town or neighborhood?

It’s definitely a lot of trial and error (I swear I didn’t do that on purpose), so probably just go for it. Mobility is a human right! Identify a group of people who are able to envision Open Streets actually happening, draw on the strengths and resourcefulness of neighborhoods and local businesses. 

For this March event, South Tucson organizations like Avenidas, Inc. + a large group of artists, residents, business owners and community leaders have come together to make it happen.The majority of the original Cyclovia champions in Tucson are still involved with these events, though from different positions. There’s an ever-iterating ‘Cyclovia manual’ that we’re happy to share and co-evolve with others looking to do this. It’s a big goal to widen the pathway here in Tucson to make (mini) Cyclovitas more accessible/feasible for neighborhoods who want to get together and reclaim their streets. 
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Learn more about LSA, Cyclovia and stay up-to-date with events in the Tucson area:
www.livingstreetsalliance.org
https://www.cycloviatucson.org
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