Seattle singer/songwriter Tinsley calls out all those playing love games and sending mixed signals in “Good Ride (Mechanical Bullshit),” a tender, sun-kissed reverie with a healthy dose of heartache, fringe, and indie twang.
for fans of Kacey Musgraves, Faye Webster, The Chicks
“Good Ride (Mechanical Bullshit)” – Tinsley
You’re a good time, you’re a good ride, but that’s all you are…
Call me an anxious, avoidant over-thinker – but what anyone sees in the mechanical bull, I still can’t say.
You already know how it ends; one way or another, you’re getting thrown off, tossed to the wayside. Hopefully you don’t get knocked around too much while you’re riding it. Hopefully you don’t hurt yourself on the way off.
Still, thousands annually climb on top of a giant steel bull-shaped contraption, knowing full well their fate, and choosing to ride anyway. It’s a short, cheap thrill; a laugh; a story to tell your friends; a good time, not a long time. How someone hadn’t already made the connection between mechanical bulls and wishy-washy relationships, I can’t say, but Tinsley’s new single aches in all the right ways. The singer/songwriter calls out all those playing love games and sending mixed signals in “Good Ride (Mechanical Bullshit),” a tender, sun-kissed reverie with a healthy dose of heartache, fringe, and indie twang.
You’re the life of the party
Got everybody
In this bar’s attention
You’ll be here all night
‘Cause you love the spotlight
Gotta give everyone a spin
You’re a good time
You’re a good ride
But that’s all you are
You’re not going far
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Good Ride (Mechanical Bullshit),” Tinsley’s second single of the year (following this February’s “Distract Me.”) Hailing from Seattle, Washington, Olivia Tinsley has been releasing music mononymously since 2018, releasing two EPs (2020’s Tinsley and 2023’s Love Songs) alongside a slew of singles that highlight her golden voice, her emotive, immersive lyricism, and her multi-faceted artistry.
While the bulk of Tinsley’s music falls under the “indie pop” header, “Good Ride (Mechanical Bullshit)” is a sonic left turn embracing more of her country roots.
Citing Kacey Musgraves, Faye Webster, and The Chicks as some of her musical north stars, Tinsley describes her track as “indie twang meets country pop.” It was produced by Jesse Field at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle.
“‘Good Ride (Mechanical Bullshit)’ is my take on a country song,” she tells Atwood Magazine. “I pretty much exclusively listened to country music in high school, and Taylor Swift’s debut album was what inspired me to learn guitar and start writing my own songs, so I wanted to explore the genre.”
In much the same way that Taylor Swift is a storyteller, Tinsley paints a vivid scene in “Good Ride,” crafting a picture around the song’s would-be antagonist – in this case, a love interest with a larger-than-life personality, who would seemingly rather entertain the masses than focus their time and energy on Tinsley. “You’re the life of the party, got everybody in this bar’s attention,” she sings in the first verse. “You’ll be here all night, ’cause you love the spotlight, gotta give everyone a spin.“
There’s inherently some excitement about being the one with the life of the party – so long as you’re still in the mix. But it’s a temporary high; like a fair-weather friend, they’re often in it for the highs, and not the lows. You can’t necessarily trust them to show up for you when life gets hard, and Tinsley says as much in her song’s cathartic and catchy chorus: “You’re a good time. You’re a good ride, but that’s all you are; you’re not going far.” A flood of raw emotions accompany her pained voice as she sings hot on the mic alongside tender pedal steel cries and warm acoustic guitar strums.
I’ve gotta detach
You gave me whiplash
From all the ups and the downs
Never meant to last
You made sure of that
You knocked me right on the ground
You’re a good time
You’re a good ride
But that’s all you are
You’re not going far
“I love how a lot of country songs have clever plays on words or double meanings, so I wanted to do the same,” Tinsley says on writing the song. “One day when I sat down to write, I was envisioning a typical country dive bar scene, and the phrase ‘Mechanical Bullshit’ popped into my head.”
“I started to wonder what mechanical bullshit would even mean, and then I realized how the back-and-forth movements and intention to throw you off of a mechanical bull is similar to someone sending you mixed signals and playing games romantically. The lyrics started pouring out from there.”
Tinsley ultimately gets dizzy from all the emotional tossing and turning; that will-they, won’t-they uncertainty and constant self-doubt can wear a soul down, to the point where, if they’ve not already been thrown off the mechanical bull, they let go willingly: “We spin and spin and now I’m sick of your mechanical bullshit,” she declares emphatically and on repeat, channeling the red-hot passion in her veins out through an instantly memorable crescendo – the song’s heated emotional climax.
Some rides aren’t worth the turbulence.
We spin and spin and now I’m sick
Of your mechanical bullshit
We spin and spin and now I’m sick
Of your mechanical bullshit
We spin and spin and now I’m sick
Of your mechanical bullshit
We spin and spin and now I’m sick
Of your mechanical bullshit
That said, “Good Ride (Mechanical Bullshit)” is one bucking bronco we can get behind 100% of the time.
Tinsley’s latest single is cathartic country-pop at its finest: A gentle twang, an exposed heart, and an unabating sense of yearning and wonderment make for a dreamy, cinematic song that hits hard and leaves a lasting mark on the first, the tenth, and the fiftieth listens.
Stream Tinsley’s “Good Ride (Mechanical Bullshit)” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and find it on all streaming platforms this Friday, June 7th, 2024!
You’re a good time
You’re a good ride
But that’s all you are
We’re not going far
You’re a good time
You’re a good ride
But that’s all you are
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“Good Ride (Mechanical Bullshit)” – Tinsley
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© Kyla Mae Cantillo
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