I am a confessed co-dependent runner. I really like to have a partner to distract me from the run itself. Alas, there are times when I must run alone and for those times I depend on my tunes to keep me going. Over two years ago I created a playlist based on beats per minute. Apparently if you run between a 9 and a 10 minute mile you should be running to songs between 140-160 BPM*. So Mike and I sat around with a metronome and our music library and put together the ultimate running playlist, which I loved. Again, I do most of my runs with a partner and don’t use my ipod shuffle too often, still two+ years of the same old playlist was enough to eventually leave me ready to toss my little ipod shuffle into the road and watch it get run over again and again and again and again.
So this week after much research I created a new playlist that meets all my music requirements:
1. The aforementioned BPM thing
2. Music I actually know and like (IE No Taylor Swift or Kenny Chestnut)
3.Songs that I wouldn’t quickly tire of
This time I didn’t even have to do the metronome thing as, lo and behold, other people in the world have already done it and have been kind enough to place their songs on the good ol’ net. So, I thought why not share these jazzy beats with you,my loyal followers (and take credit for other people’s hard work), and help you get off and running (if you aren’t already). And of course if you aren’t a runner you might enjoy this playlist for other activities such as cleaning your house, driving in your car, making dinner, hosting a super fun party, dancing in the shower or dancing in the shower while making dinner and hosting a super fun party. Yes!
And while I’m at it I’ll post the tunes on my previous list, which I used to love, but now can’t bear to listen to and will likely poke someone’s eyes out if they ever play them in my presence. Yippee! It is important to note that some of these songs have (gasp) explicit lyrics. Yes, even a clean living girl like myself enjoys hearing a naughty word here and there while running.
Of course I cleverly title all my playlists. This new one is called…wait for it, wait for it…
“It’s Gotta Good Beat 2012”
Alone Together –The Strokes
American Music-Violent Femmes (not sure if this is in the BPM range, but it’s a necessity)
Blue Orchid-White Stripes
Change Your Mind-The Killers
Come Dancing-The Kinks
Crazy-Gnarls Barkley
Dog Days Are Over (which incidentally I thought were the Dark Days-oh well)-Florence & The Machine
Dream On –Aerosmith (you didn’t think I’d skip a classic did you?)
Float On-Modest Mouse
Funky Boss-Beastie Boys (I never run without my Boys)
Get on Your Boots-U2
I Melt With You-Modern English
I Ran (so far away)-Flock of Seagulls –Oh yes I did my friends!
It’s On The Rocks-The Donnas
Jacqueline-Franz Ferdinand
King of Rock (this is an exception to the BPM, but still too fun to overlook-put it in the beginning for warm up or end for cool down)
Lady Killer-Flash and the Pan
Like Clockwork-Boomtown Rats
Lump-The Presidents of the United States of America
Nine in the Afternoon-Panic at the Disco
No Rain-Blind Melon-honestly one of my all time faves-judge away
Ooh La- The Kooks
Piece of My Heart (this is slightly over the 160 BPM, but whatevah)
Rehab-Amy Winehouse
Strawberry Swing-Coldplay (sorry Coldplay haters)
Stronger-Kanye West (another not quite 140 BPM but had to throw it in there)
Talk to Ya Later-The Tubes
Veronica-Elvis Costello
We’re Going to Be Friends-White Stripes (again one of my all time favorite tunes)
What I Like About You-The Romantics
Approx 1:45 mins.
Playlist # 2 "Fall to the Beat" (Named after the Season it was created and not after my well-known grace and agility)
Animals-Nickelback (don’t judge it has a good beat-not for innocent ears please)
Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown-Jim Croce
Beat on The Brat-Ramones
Beautiful Day-U2
The Beautiful People-Marilyn Manson
Born to Run-Bruce Springsteen
Dropping some NYC-Blues Traveler
Everlong-Foo Fighters
Fight For Your Right To Party-Beastie Boys
Hard Day’s Night-Beatles
I Get Around-Beach Boys
I Wanna Be Sedated-Ramones
Longview-Green Day
Looks That Kill-Motley Crue
Love Shack-B-52s
Material Girl- Madonna
Mr. Jones-Counting Crows (I pretty much hate this song, but there it is)
Peggy Sue-Buddy Holly
Pretty Fly-Offspring
Pump It Up-Elvis Costello
The Red-Chevelle
Runaround Sue-Dion
Shake it Up-Cars
Sugar Magnolia-Grateful Dead (one of my happy songs :))
Sweet Leaf-Black Sabbath
25 or 6 to 4- Chicago (least favorite Chicago song ever btw)
Approx 1.5 hours
So there you have it, friends. Enjoy….
*If you consistently run faster than a 9 minute mile I’m too jealous of you to give you playlist advice. I suppose you could google it and I guess I can give you the hint that you want songs around 160 BPM and faster
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Say What?
As a general rule human beings aren’t too fond of aging. Well, here’s a tip to staying young my friends, watch your language. Different words and slang can be attached to different generations, right daddy-o? So adopting a few catch phrases from the younger generation could possibly give you some youthful bliss. But before you decide to swap chillax for settle down, you better think long and hard.
Take the 40 something woman from Greenwich, Connecticut who decides to spice up her vocabulary with a phrase like, True dat. To this woman, actually this whole club of women, I say, Sweetheart this is the equivalent of wearing a bright green belly shirt and a pair of Victoria Secret sweatpants with hotty written across the butt. You’re too old. It’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed for you. When confronted with the urge to emphatically agree with someone please, try these phrases- I emphatically agree or if you want to go more casual I hear ya or even an amen sister, if you must. If you are in your twenties and have ever been out of Whitesville, USA true dat to your heart’s content, otherwise, it’s off the table.
I understand the urge to speak like the kids, believe me. I work with a twenty-two year old who has some great little phrases. But they belong to her and her generation. When she says “I like that guy, he’s chill.” It means that guy is relaxed, laid back, good temperament etc. , if I said “That guy is so chill” it means I’m 38 years old, I’m teetering on some kind of middle life crisis and I desperately want you to think I’m cool, but obviously I’m not. And frankly I don’t really like that guy, he’s kind of lazy.
I also notice she says things like that’s kind of sketch…where in my generation we say that’s kind of sketchy or he’s kind of sketchy. I know it’s only the difference of the letter “y”, but apparently that y goes a long way. Again, if you are of the sketch generation it makes perfect sense to be Y free—but if you are my age, dropping the Y is just some delusional anti-aging mechanism, like I can’t drop these love handles I acquired in my thirties, but I can drop the Y in sketchy and sound like a hip chick. (and here’s your problem –a hip chick? What are you your mother?).
Speaking of mothers, somewhere along the line my mom heard a particular word which was a combo of a strong swear word and the word ugly, and got the gist of what it meant, but didn’t realize its exact meaning. She used it a lot when referring to things that were unattractive-cars, outfits, hairdos. Eventually we had to let her in on the details (the deets as my younger friends would say) and she dropped that from her vocabulary like a hot potato. She then buried that hot potato and probably forgot about it until her darling daughter brought it up in this blog—sorry mom.
So you need to beware of using too many words from the younger crowd, but you also don’t want to sound like a granny. So you have to pay attention. There are words that are outdated, but somehow we hang on to them anyway. I am fond of dude, and I hear it now and again, but I think it might be one of those words that people aren’t really saying anymore, yet no one quite has the courage to tell me. Kind of like when no one told me scrunchies were out of style. I’m still bitter, about that and you know who you are, but that’s a complaint for another day. There are regional colloquialisms & oopses, too, my wicked awesome friends, but again, I’ll leave that for another day.
Maybe you are reading this and finding you say all sorts of things that don’t quite suit you, and maybe you want to crawl into a hole right about now. But before you burrow into that fissure of language embarrassment, allow me to let you in on some good news. Words they sometimes make a comeback and sometimes they cross the ages. Take super. When I was in elementary school super was a word of our parents’ generation. Think Leave it to Beaver- “Gee, that’s super, Wally.” It was also a teacher word, reserved for spelling quizzes and history tests. 100%-Super! Super was not a word we would use out on the playground. “Oh gee, Lisa, your jelly shoes are super!” Nope, that would never happen. But now Super is everywhere. It rolls off my tongue with such enthusiasm you’d think I was born to say it. And, here’s the great part, it’s a cross-generational phrase. It’s relatable whether you are 6, 16, or maybe even 60. Your hair is super-cute! Your sister is super-nice! That party was super-fun! You get the picture.
Language is both simple and complicated. It’s a good indication to where you are from, how you were educated, and your place in time in space. Language is fun and words are great to play around with. I think you should take risks and toss a new word into your vocab(ulary) here and there. But remember the rules of moderation my friend. Too many words from the past make you seem like you should be walking around with blue eye shadow and teased hair. Too many words from the younger generation cry out “I’m having a midlife crisis, but can’t afford a sports car.” It’s all about balance my language touting friends. And if you have to look it up in the urban dictionary before using it, it just might be better left for the kids.
Take the 40 something woman from Greenwich, Connecticut who decides to spice up her vocabulary with a phrase like, True dat. To this woman, actually this whole club of women, I say, Sweetheart this is the equivalent of wearing a bright green belly shirt and a pair of Victoria Secret sweatpants with hotty written across the butt. You’re too old. It’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed for you. When confronted with the urge to emphatically agree with someone please, try these phrases- I emphatically agree or if you want to go more casual I hear ya or even an amen sister, if you must. If you are in your twenties and have ever been out of Whitesville, USA true dat to your heart’s content, otherwise, it’s off the table.
I understand the urge to speak like the kids, believe me. I work with a twenty-two year old who has some great little phrases. But they belong to her and her generation. When she says “I like that guy, he’s chill.” It means that guy is relaxed, laid back, good temperament etc. , if I said “That guy is so chill” it means I’m 38 years old, I’m teetering on some kind of middle life crisis and I desperately want you to think I’m cool, but obviously I’m not. And frankly I don’t really like that guy, he’s kind of lazy.
I also notice she says things like that’s kind of sketch…where in my generation we say that’s kind of sketchy or he’s kind of sketchy. I know it’s only the difference of the letter “y”, but apparently that y goes a long way. Again, if you are of the sketch generation it makes perfect sense to be Y free—but if you are my age, dropping the Y is just some delusional anti-aging mechanism, like I can’t drop these love handles I acquired in my thirties, but I can drop the Y in sketchy and sound like a hip chick. (and here’s your problem –a hip chick? What are you your mother?).
Speaking of mothers, somewhere along the line my mom heard a particular word which was a combo of a strong swear word and the word ugly, and got the gist of what it meant, but didn’t realize its exact meaning. She used it a lot when referring to things that were unattractive-cars, outfits, hairdos. Eventually we had to let her in on the details (the deets as my younger friends would say) and she dropped that from her vocabulary like a hot potato. She then buried that hot potato and probably forgot about it until her darling daughter brought it up in this blog—sorry mom.
So you need to beware of using too many words from the younger crowd, but you also don’t want to sound like a granny. So you have to pay attention. There are words that are outdated, but somehow we hang on to them anyway. I am fond of dude, and I hear it now and again, but I think it might be one of those words that people aren’t really saying anymore, yet no one quite has the courage to tell me. Kind of like when no one told me scrunchies were out of style. I’m still bitter, about that and you know who you are, but that’s a complaint for another day. There are regional colloquialisms & oopses, too, my wicked awesome friends, but again, I’ll leave that for another day.
Maybe you are reading this and finding you say all sorts of things that don’t quite suit you, and maybe you want to crawl into a hole right about now. But before you burrow into that fissure of language embarrassment, allow me to let you in on some good news. Words they sometimes make a comeback and sometimes they cross the ages. Take super. When I was in elementary school super was a word of our parents’ generation. Think Leave it to Beaver- “Gee, that’s super, Wally.” It was also a teacher word, reserved for spelling quizzes and history tests. 100%-Super! Super was not a word we would use out on the playground. “Oh gee, Lisa, your jelly shoes are super!” Nope, that would never happen. But now Super is everywhere. It rolls off my tongue with such enthusiasm you’d think I was born to say it. And, here’s the great part, it’s a cross-generational phrase. It’s relatable whether you are 6, 16, or maybe even 60. Your hair is super-cute! Your sister is super-nice! That party was super-fun! You get the picture.
Language is both simple and complicated. It’s a good indication to where you are from, how you were educated, and your place in time in space. Language is fun and words are great to play around with. I think you should take risks and toss a new word into your vocab(ulary) here and there. But remember the rules of moderation my friend. Too many words from the past make you seem like you should be walking around with blue eye shadow and teased hair. Too many words from the younger generation cry out “I’m having a midlife crisis, but can’t afford a sports car.” It’s all about balance my language touting friends. And if you have to look it up in the urban dictionary before using it, it just might be better left for the kids.
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