Dirt Bike: Trumpets, Cults, and Broken Vows

“All hail the dirt bike.” A They Might Be Giants song about cults and devotion reframed my own story of marriage and personal identity.

Sep 02, 2025

∙ Paid

A black-and-white image of a CD face showing a skull lying on the ground among leaves. The word “THEY” is painted across the forehead of the skull. Text around the disc edge identifies it as the 1994 Elektra release of They Might Be Giants’ album John Henry. — The CD face of They Might Be Giants’ 1994 album **John Henry**, featuring the iconic “THEY” skull artwork.

Dirt Bike is a song that I forget how great it is until I’m listening to it again. I don’t know why it’s like that because it’s SUCH a good song. For some reason, it escapes my schema as if it were never there.

The Congregation Assembles

The song comes in…

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Chase Roper.

Or purchase a paid subscription.