Such an important question, especially for a music motivated person such as myself. There is a soundtrack to my life with different mixes for everything I do. Boston's Greatest Hits can make me clean my house. Todd Warren's Breakthrough is what I make my bed and get ready for the day to. U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind is my loud road trip track. If I have to use headphones, Bon Iver is my favorite of all times. If it's a roadtrip with kids, we mix it up with Jet, Country Bears, Destiny's Child, The Proclaimers and The Darkness (child-safety cap ON, of course) and a family staple: John Mark McMillan's, The Song Inside the Sound of Breaking Down. This is serious business to me.
Obviously, running (or even walking fast) needs a soundtrack. It's never the same for me. Different days have different listening needs.
LISTENING NEED #1: If it is a day where the run is a get away but I am calm-hearted enough to receive something meaningful, I choose speakers. If I am really pressing in to what I am listening to, running feels like the best physical sign of it. I trained for my first half-marathon (on the days I could tolerate speakers) to Jack Frost, From Slavery to Sonship. Oh my worrrrrrd, you can't listen to this and absorb it without needing to run....to run away from slavery, to run towards sonship! This time around, I am a Sheasby girl. John & Beverley Sheasby, that is. The message that is coming out of them is transforming my heart, mind and perspective and I keep his podcasts synced up to my iphone. Also, if my spirit needs to engage but I would rather hear a beat, Misty Edwards keeps me moving. It's awkward to listen to Misty on the treadmill at the gym though, as her music usually pulls a yellish "yessss" out of me every few minutes. That, and I can't listen to it without singing it. Loudly. And periodically punching the air.
LISTENING NEED #2: If it is a day where I need not to pay attention to anything (usually due to an excess of paying attention) then music it is. Loud music. Foo Fighters. Kings of Leon. Tegan and Sara. Eisley. Claire Galloway. The Killers. Arcade Fire. Audioslave. Anything that inspires me, moves me, captures me. Even folk music, if I realllly love it can keep me running. Patti Griffin. Esther Sparks. Swell Season. Gillian Welch.
WHAT NOT TO LISTEN TO: Per my own accidental experience, these are tracks I, myself should not dial up while trying to cover some miles. Sigur Ros. Are you kidding me? I am too dumb for this. I go into a coma. Maybe good music for sleeping or thinking but not for moving. Flight of the Concords. Too hard to run while choking on laughs and bladder clamping. Rap music of any sort. Now, let it be said, aggressive rap is what works for Tamy Tale. It makes her tough and fight like. It makes her kick that mile's butt. It makes me anxious. I feel like a gang with terrible intentions is going to jump out from behind the next corner and kill me. I avoid rap running.
So, what's on YOUR ipod? I am in need of some new musical running motivation, so hook me up and comment back with your favorite running sound track.
My dad will be having pretty serious surgery for prostate cancer next week, so I will skip blogging and resume the following week. During the week I am blog-absent, I will be running 7 miles with my homies so that should make for great blog fodder.
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