Music

I haven't been thinking about music much lately.  My iPod lies untouched, forlorn on my nightstand.  The truly ironic part of this is that a scant few days before my grand jeté, my mom sent me an iTunes card.  When I told her at the beginning of the month that I was going to reward my 100 miles in August with 10 new songs, she thought that was pretty skimpy.  So now I have $25 to spend. 

The 20 songs at the top of  my list are (sorry no YouTube links, but typing one handed is a drag--I'm glad I'm managing to post anything at all):

1. I'm Every Woman (Whitney Houston)
2. Groove is in the Heart--Dee Lite
3. Pleasant Valley Sunday--Monkees
4. Billy Idol Cradle of Love
5. Pink Floyd - One of These Days
6. Go-Go's We Got the Beat
7. Bangles Hazy Shade of Winter
8. Adele Rolling in the Deep
9. Barry Manilow Miracle
10. Hawaiian Roller Coaster
11. Flogging Molly - Devil's Dance Floor
12. The Killers Somebody Told Me
13. Queen - Don't Stop Me Now
14. Adam and the Ants - Goody Two Shoes
15. Romantics - What I like about you
16. Erasure Oh L'amour
17. Information Society I want to know what you're thinking
18. Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5
19. Coldplay - Every Teardrop is a Waterfall
20. The Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga

I said that I would get the songs when I hit 100 miles.  Now I think I'll get them to celebrate my first walk "after."

Dance to the Music

More like walk to the music, but you get the point.

I put some songs on the Wii, and it really does help. During my first walk with it, I finally broke the 3/mph mark, which has taken me surprisingly long to do. I didn't put a million songs on, because I'm trying to do this on a budget. I was very selective, only choosing songs that I thought would help keep me moving. This meant that some songs that I really love will never reach my MP3.

Sting's Fields of Gold? Not a chance. We'll be Together? Definitely. In addition to being pretty peppy, it was my go-to song when I was getting ready to go out when I was at Idaho State, so nostalgia puts it over the top. Disappointingly, it didn't really kick me into overdrive the way I expected. The two superstars in that area are Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation and Gloria Estefan's Everlasting Love. Apparently, I have a heart of glittery disco (shudder).

I also wanted to make sure I kept it as mixed up as possible, so no more than one song per artist (exception made for the Blues Brothers, because I already had those on the computer and didn't have to pay extra). So it was Revolution from the Beatles, but not Back in the USSR. Not yet, anyway.

I only have fewer than two dozen songs on so far, and that's a good start, but it isn't much variety. (and I still can't figure out how to set the thing to "random"--it's a Shuffle, so why does it keep playing everything in order?) I've decided that if I hit my walking goals every month, I'll reward myself with some new songs. This month's goal is 50 miles; I've done 19 so far.

I found an interesting web site that will certainly help me come up with ideas: jog.fm It lists a bunch of songs, including the beats per minute. For example, Queen's We Will Rock You has 90 bpm, but Hammer to Fall has 137. Guess which one goes in the "want" category? Again, it isn't because I think it's a better song; it's because it will keep me moving.

If I had more time, I'd go through all the CDs we have--I'm pretty sure I paid to download something we already own, and anyone who knows me knows that I can't stand the thought of that. But we're in a bit of a time crunch right now, so maybe next week I'll have some more time and make that happen.

It's A Bore!

Apologies to Lerner & Lowe.

It's a bore!
Just a chore!
Walking on the street
Thinking of what to eat

Trying not to trip
Sure that my feet will slip
It's a bore!
To my core!

See the flowers
Hear the birds
Same as I saw
Sam as I heard
Every single other day
Long before the month of May

It's a bore!
And a snore!

I could go on and on, because that's the tune that was running through my head when I went out walking yesterday, and it's been my attitude for a while now. I had an MP3 player from a long time ago, but it slowly died on me, to my severe frustration. I hinted to Jeff that I'd like a new one (read: "I really want a Shuffle for Mother's Day."), and of course he came through.

It's charging up right now, and I have to put a few songs on it before I head out, but I've already got a whole list of music I want that is strictly to get me moving and enjoying my walks more. More on that later. Right now it's time to get my playlist started!