Lose Yourself – Eminem (it’s goosebump time – every time I hear the song)
‘Cuz I can – Pink (awesome obnoxious song – hysterical)
A Woman Wouldn’t Be A Woman – Eartha Kitt (yup. I’m nuts. Great song. You must shake your hips when you hear it)
The One – Foo Fighters (from the Orange County soundtrack – one of my favorites of all of their songs)
Vogue – Madonna (this always comes up when I get to “the hill” – it gives me motivation)
Sk8er Boi – Avril Lavigne (again: motivation – one MUST move when one hears this song)
The Night Before – The Beatles (“we said our goodbye-eeeeees – the night befo-ore …” – this is where I take it down a notch – works perfectly)
… Baby one more time – Britney Spears (love it. always will)
She-Bop – Cyndi Lauper (those first chords? If you don’t pick up the pace when you hear those first chords then there is something wrong with you)
White America – Eminem (angry!! angry song! Keeps me going! There’s a lot of Eminem on this mix you will find. Anger is very helpful for me)
Holiday – Green Day (see above in re: anger – this has to be one of my favorite songs written in the last 10 years.)
The Origin of Love – Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtrack (another sort of “slow it down” song – wonderful – works perfectly)
Everything for Free – K’s Choice (I found this on a random Lilith Fair compilation – it is such a hard freakin’ rockin’ song – reminds me of Evanescence – I ADORE IT)
Gone – Kelly Clarkson (bad ass)
Extraordinary – Liz Phair (it’s mainly the beginning of the song that keeps me going)
Ray of Light – Madonna (it cannot be stressed enough – this chick knows how to put together a dance song)
Til I Collapse – Eminem (angry. Keep it going)
Elephant Love Medley – Moulin Rouge soundtrack (around here I start to get really exhausted … and sometimes my emotions start to flow out … this medley helps me to cry and run AT THE SAME TIME!! Keep going!!)
Rape Me – Nirvana (back to the anger. Enough tears. Rage!)
A Little More Love – Olivia Newton-John (don’t laugh. This song has an insistent eerie beat that is very helpful when you are a sweaty beast thinking of giving up … “will a little more love make YOU stop preten-diin … will a little more lo-ove bring a happy ending …” etc.)
Cream – Prince (yowza)
Strong – Robbie Williams (I love this song so much. It’s cheese personified. But … so so so catchy!!)
Wish Liszt – Trans-Siberian Orchestra (a ridiculous instrumental – classical – hard rock – stupid – but motivational!)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered – Stevie Wonder (fuggedabout it – one of my favorites of all of his songs – transports me)
Dear God – XTC (a perfect way to come on down … and flop onto my front stoop, praying for mercy)
SHE BOP!!! I have that on my ipod, just not on my workout mix. I love that song. That chord that she opens with…whoa. You must move your body. Have you heard her version of Roy Orbison’s ‘I Drove All Night’? It’s not bad. I like the original better, but she does a pretty good version.
Dear God is just a wow song anyway. When I listen to it as I’m running, I notice I go faster. Two parts in particular get me every time:
Did you make disease, and the diamond blue? Did you make mankind after we made you?
Shivers.
And then:
I won’t believe in heaven and hell. No saints, no sinners, no devil as well. No pearly gates, no thorny crown. You’re always letting us humans down.
Hoo wee. That makes me vault up the hill in Rosslyn.
Madonna is just the bomb for running. I love Ray of Light but for workout purposes I revert to the very old stuff: Dress You Up, Like A Virgin, Causing A Commotion… That’s the stuff. : )
I can’t run to Nirvana for some reason. It’s too ‘thinky’. I have to follow it too hard – which is odd because I can run to the angry Pearl Jam stuff which is just as thinky.
Eminem. Oh yes. He’s very motivational. I never thought to try and run to Olivia Newton John but… I will tell you a secret. Today I put ‘Stayin Alive’ on my mix. I defy you to try to sit still while that song is playing in your ear.
:)
hahahahahahahahahahaha
Olivia’s awesome!!!
Dear God is, in general, a goosebumpy song – but I love it when his anger kicks in. He holds it back … but when it comes? It’s full-blown rage – and justified, too – it’s not random rage, it’s OUTrage. And yeah – that “no saints, no sinners” part … He’s amazing.
I love Drove all night – yup – she’s got such a KILLER voice. she just opens her throat and lets it out – it’s a voice that goes on forever.
I know what you mean about the thinkyness Nirvana – very very good point. I agree with you. Rape Me, for me, has always been my favorite of theirs (well, that and Lithium) – and it makes me want to trash my apartment when I hear it. hahahaha Uhm, is that a good thing???
I love that Rape Me is actually not addressed to a woman – it’s addressed to MTV. hahahaha But he writes it like it’s some kind of messed-up love song!
Material Girl is another really good groove-ing song – maybe I should put that one on here as well.
red,
thanks for sharing…truly a definition of MIX. I’m gonna have to post mine. Love the slow down at the end with songs like “Cream”…and I haven’t heard XTC in YEARS!!!! (“Mayor of Simpleton” had such a great hook!!)
Hope all is well
Best song when you get to that “OMG I’m going to die” stage:
Push it – Salt and Peppa. Terribly hokey, but still who doesn’t need someone saying push it in your ear when you get to that horrendous hill?
Also, Sk8er Boi doesn’t make me move. It makes my ears bleed. (In my defense my first exposer to Avril was at my friends house during a sleep over… 26 hours of STRAIGHT avril. On the house intercom. It was horrible. Cant listen to that song without remember the horridness that was that day.)
alli – oh no!! 20 hours straight of anybody would make me crazy!! (Maybe not Metallica – but I’d rather not push it)
And yes, indeed, push it is an AWESOME song. Love those women!!
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered” is such a killer workout song. My spin instructor used it and “I Wish” as staples in his weekly mix rotation.
I don’t know about you, but for an instructor-led class like that, the music has to be good or I become unmotivated and want to leave. In fact, I HAVE left before. One night, a sub took over for the regular guy, and her music sucked so much that I literally stopped pedaling, walked out, came back with the cleaning stuff, wiped the bike off, and waved goodbye. After 15 minutes.
Another time, I almost walked out when, during the last 10 minutes of a lackluster class, another instructer played “Jenny From the Block.”
Anyhow, what sucks most is that the cool instructor quit and moved to cali 3 weeks ago. On the upside, he brought in a spindle of his mix CDs…every single one…and let us have them. I took 5. They rule.
Metallica- unless it was a few different albums 20 hours would drive me crazy.
Figured I’d join in the party so I posted mine… here.
If you like dance type music for working out you can subscribe to Podrunner at iTunes. It’s free and updated weekly.
I can’t believe that. Seeing your first song? When I used to run, I always used to like starting out with “Lose Yourself” [clean version, I know, I’m a freak to buy edited Eminem cds] or “Business” [yes, yes, also clean].
and of course, i must now post my current workout mix.
Hey, with all this affection for classic metal, Metallica, how about the original boy bad? “ACDC” No love for this Aussie band?
excellent mix!
I love ACDC! They’re just not on the ol’ workout mix.
Neither is Metallica, come to think of it – they’re a bit too heavy for running. Just my preference.
Metallica is good for CLEANING. I always blast them when I’m overhauling my apartment. I’m sure Hetfield would dig that.
I have that Lilith Fair compilation! I remember almost not taking the free CD they were giving out and ended up loving so many songs on it – especially Dido’s “Thank You”. I googled her at the time and couldn’t find any info, then was shocked when I heard the song as part of Eminem’s.
Sarah Mclachlan does a really good cover of “Dear God”.
Oh yes, I have plenty of AC / DC for beating on the heavy bag. It’s good for beating on people, too, but I’m getting to old to let other people use my head as a target.
Great mix, but I must take exception to this bit:
It’s a great song. One of her best. But William Orbit knows how to put together a dance song. Madonna simply knows enough to hire him. Not like I’m knocking her or anything, it’s just that her pattern over the years has been to hire good producers to improve her work. Her reinvention schtick would simply not be possible if not for other people and she’s smart enough to know when she needs help to get what she wants.
You “take exception” to something I jotted off in literally 20 seconds while staring at the Playlist on my iPod? Wow. Shoulda put more thought into my word choices then.
I didn’t feel like writing an essay about Madonna in the whirlwind of this post – as a matter of fact it never even occurred to me to do so because like I said: I wrote this in 20 seconds – but yes. Of course. She’s always surrounded herself with good people who are tapped into the dance-club trends. This has always been true with her – one of the reasons for her longevity.
However I do have to say – and I feel kind of disloyal – the photos I’ve seen of her most recent tour – her on the cross, the thorny crown – it just … It looks desperate, and she looks too thin. Just my opinion!!
I liked Madonna when she had a sense of humor about herself. I know it’s tough to grow old – especially as a rock star – I mean, God!! – but still. I wish she would lighten up.
However: that being said: Loves me some Borderline! Loves me some Material Girl!
Oh, don’t take me too seriously, please! For whatever reason, I just worded it that way. Didn’t mean to tick you off. ;) I’m just of the opinion that William Orbit deserves much more credit for ALL of his work, not just the stuff he did for Madonna, than what he currently receives.
I know what you mean about the whiff of desperation that seems to surround her nowadays. But it gives me reason to have high hopes for the next couple of years when it comes to her work, because she’s gone through this before. I think that’s one of the reasons why Ray of Light was such a phenomenal success for her. It’s just my opinion of course, but it seemed to me that from the publication of her sex book, to the following albums, she was just trying too hard. Ray of Light was all about letting go, and that’s why it was so good. I don’t know that it’s healthy for her to go on these huge emotional binge and purge fits, but I have to say, I appreciate the purge more than I appreciate the binge. ;) If that makes any sense whatsoever.
I loves me some Borderline, too, but it’s really odd: I find it almost hard to listen to it nowadays. Her voice has evolved so much over the years, that it kind of grates on the nerves to listen to it. Not to be disloyal or anything ;)
Since you are an Eminem fan, I wanted to suggest the song “Without Me”. I always find myself driving a little too fast when I play it in my car.
Personally, I think it is IMPOSSIBLE to stay still while “Butterfly” by Crazytown is playing… and also find “Elevation” by U2 and “Bodyrock” and “Honey” by Moby incredibly motivating when working out.
Sheila!! Went to the Madonna concert in Miami two weekends ago and she did Ray of Light. It was INSANE, the best song of the concert. I’ve never danced so much in my life (or sweated- seriously, the bitch doesn’t like air conditioning). There are a couple choice songs on the new CD that are great for running too.
Shari: I LOVE elevation from U2 but I cannot have it on when I workout… I end up stopping and singing that “whoo hooo” part… every damn time.
And Butterfly from Crazytown was too overplayed for me… (yay high school) when it came out. Boo to overplayage.
Kathy – no worries!! :)
I love to talk about Madonna. I admit it. It’s a fascinating subject.
Sex book was the beginning. I agree – she was lost. What was interesting, though – was that she let herself be lost – in PUBLIC. Maybe that’s not clear. She floundered. She did her Erotica album (which I really liked) – she went way too far with her sex book – but – she was willing to put herself on the line. Of course she wants people to talk about her – that’s part of her thing – but it was a huge misstep – and so many stars (uhm – Barbra Streisand??) forget how to take risks once they become successful. I listen to Barbra’s first album and her sheer fearlessness in her voice is stunning. But she plays it safe now – WAY too much to lose. Also, she’s 83 years old, maybe she just wants to rest already!! … but still. I did think it was cool that Madonna just kept going, and taking risks, and never winning Grammys and doing her thing.
Maybe you’re right that what’s happening now is a precursor to some new … wonderful-ness. I wish she would ditch the Kabbalah. I think the Kabbalah water has sapped her of her sense of humor.
I love her new dance song – it gave me a lot of hope. Like: Madge, I love ya – but PUT. DOWN. THE GUITAR. No one cares. I hope you care, and Guy cares – but we do not!! PUt it down!!
And you are so right ON about the change in your voice – it’s quite amazing. My friend Mitchell has a very good analysis of what’s happened to her since those first albums … she’s basically learned how to breathe and learned how to sing. She hits notes in that Ray of Light song that are like: huh??? That only comes from breathing. It’s pretty cool.
Shari – I loooooove Elevation. Great great beat.
Let me just add one thing about Barbra Streisand:
I thought she was an absolute HOOT in Meet the Fokkers. I was like: THERE she is!! She was so funny, and that whole part was self-deprecating – it was totally believable – I mean, it was a dumb movie – but MAN, I have missed “funny Barbra”. It was awesome to see her just go for it.
Jen – wow! What other songs did she do?
La Isla Bonita, Hung Up, Get Together, I love New York, Forbidden Love, Let It Will Be (which apparently she forgot the words to…but I was too busy dancing to notice), Music, Vogue, more that I can’t remember. It was quite a spectacle. I think you could appreciate it just for the music and choreography, despite how she is in real life with all the Kabbalah crap. I’m no music critic, but it really was amazing, even if only for a good time. And her voice did sound really good.
P.S. I agree about the guitar. That part was boring. Put it down and keep dancing, Madge.