EXPRESS YOURSELF

Stand clear of the closing doors, please!” This refrain was repeated every sixty seconds over the loudspeakers of Martian Underground Subway Kinetic System (MUSKS). One of the most efficient transportation systems in the universe, everyone who rode the shiny silver tubes could cross the entire planet in under thirty minutes. So fast was the MUSKS that workers started to complain that they were always on time! Profits were up! Output was up! With corporations breathing down the neck of the Martian Transit Authority (MTA) and forcing the subways to run even MORE efficiently, the workers decided to put a stop to the backbreaking hours and the harsh working conditions. Enter Gelli Cereboni, a humble conductor on the Yellow Line. His job was to direct the train, open and close the doors, and make sure nobody lost a limb. What his supervisors did not know, is that Gelli moonlighted as a beatmaker along with his station manager Bricknack of Zarg. Their rebellious sonic attack pumped their funky, toe-tapping beats through the loudspeakers, preventing workers from entering and exiting. The trance they were in meant business slowed to an Earth-like trickle. The victory was short-lived, and a wave of redundancies swept across The Martian Transit Authority, including Gelli and Bricknack’s untimely firing. While new conductors and managers flooded the nearly two thousand stations nestled across the Red Planet, a record contract was being signed in secret. Taking the name of their former employers, the duo burst onto the scene in 3579 with their self-titled debut, serving up a tasty beat in their lead single Express Yourself. However, a lawsuit, alleging theft over their name, bankrupted the duo (they fought hard to keep it) and they mostly faded into obscurity. The impact of that record, though, sparked a wave of transit-inspired groups, including the Neptunian Electric Bus Gang and Centauri Cyclist Conclave.