Tuesday, April 2, 2013

And Now, For Something Completely Embarrassing

I'm going to share something with you that is really embarrassing. Something that the Grige doesn't even know (I mean, I think he suspects, but he respects me enough not to ask too many questions...). But first - a short product review. It's related, I swear.

A while ago, I wrote a little gear roundup. I shared that I use an iPod shuffle for running. With 1.88 GB of storage and no real selection functionality besides forward, back, on, off, and volume, it's about as basic as they come. Mine, however, is more basic yet. A few weeks after I bought it, I discovered that NOTHING worked on it, except the on and off buttons. I thought about returning it or getting a new one, but since it still played music, I decided to stick with it. Someday, I'd like to upgrade to the waterproof version, so that I can swim laps with it. But for now, I kind of like my broken little guy.



The product review portion of this post is meant to show that you get what you pay for. The iPod shuffle is cheap, and probably not built for the amount of sweat, rain, heat, and cold that I expose it to regularly. However, it's a load off my mind to know that it's only $40 to replace if I break it.

Now, for the embarrassing stuff. Since I can't skip songs, every song I put on my little iPod shuffle REALLY needs to work for me during a run. That's right, I'm going to share my running playlist.

I want to stress that this is mostly a tempo thing, and shouldn't be seen as a comment on my overall musical taste. If you're looking for tunes to keep you moving at about 10 min. mile pace, grew up in the  90's and have really wacked out taste, these jams are for you. You're welcome.

The Good

Girl - Beck
Danger: High Voltage - Electric Six
1901 - Phoenix

Rehab - Amy Winehouse
Down to The River - The Duhks (that's right, bluegrass)

Rich Girls - The Virgins
Here It Goes Again - OK Go

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
Morning Sun  - Shayna Zaid
Locked Out Of Heaven - Bruno Mars




The Ridiculous

Cowboy - Kid Rock
California - 2 Pac
Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy - Big and Rich
Little Bad Girl - David Guetta
Sugar - Trick Daddy
867-5309/Jenny - Tommy Tutone (yep. TOMMY TUTONE)
A Change Would Do You Good - Sheryl Crow
Where the Party At? - Nelly
Get Low - Flo Rida and T-Pain

Country Grammar - Nelly
Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5


A few thoughts on this list:

1. There's some good stuff on here, and believe me, it's really hard to find "good" music that is at proper running tempo. I can tell almost immediately if a song is not going to work, or if it is. Like, let's say it's 2011 and I'm watching a Ford Focus commercial. Somehow, I know I can run to that stupidly catchy song, and it ends up on the rotation.

2. If it's not good, chances are it's RIDICULOUS. I don't even know how I own some of this stuff, but I suspect a lot of it is left over from sorority bid day mixes from college. Most of this music, if I heard at a bar, I would turn around and walk right out again. Funny how that works, huh?

3. This is obviously not two hours of music. For long runs, I rotate on the B sides - songs that are fast paced, but not my ideal running speed/flavor. I won't list them here, but it's a lot of The Black Keys, some Rage Against The Machine (a good pick for speed work), and plenty more trashy 90s club music.

4. The only artist who makes it onto the permanent list more than once is Nelly. I don't like to spend too much time thinking about what that "says" about me, but I suspect it's one of two things: A) All of Nelly's songs sound EXACTLY THE SAME and happen to have a good beat for my running pace or B) I really am a St. Louis girl at heart.


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