When I started my current job in 2003, I was pleased to learn that I’d have access to the office building’s gym. And access it I did. In fact, I accessed the frig out of it – I got down to about 210 pounds at one point, and was looking pretty twatting svelt if I do say so myself. I like going to the gym. Once it’s in your routine, it’s easy to make time for and you even miss it when time does not allow. But it is so, so easy to fall out of step. And oh how the svelt have fallen.
With a little effort, my body gains and drops weight like Barbapapa in a trailer park meth lab. A lot of my friends have started back after long hiatuses – even DVS has been going daily – so I think it’s high time I joined the let’s-get-physical-fray. I went down to City Sports at lunch, got me some socks, a cool Under Armor water bottle, a pair of lacrosse shorts and tonight will be spent creating an audio steriod mix. During my last gym phase, I had a crappy 20 song 128MB MP3 player. I had to choose my workout tunes very carefully, lest I go crazy listening to the same songs for a week on end. Now I have a 60GB iPod, so I’m going to compile the biggest, rockingest gym mix derived from all iron pumping playlists of the past.
With no further adue, I will now share my top ten favorite gym mix songs of all time. There’s not a lot of rhyme or reason here, and it has nothing to do with BPM. These are simply songs that get me fired-up for whatever reason. I’m not going to write them all up, as I do actually need to actually get to the gym this evening.
- Where the Rose is Sown – Big Country
- Humbolt County Massacre – Frank Black
- There Goes the Fear – The Doves
- 100 Miles and Running – N.W.A.
- Acquiesce – Oasis
- You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar But I Feel Like a Millionaire – Queens of the Stone Age
- Springtime in Vienna – The Tragically Hip
- House of Pain – Van Halen
- The Queen is Dead – The Smiths
- Irish Pride – House of Pain
A lot of houses, and a lot of pain, I just noticed. But then, isn’t that what a gym is? Regardless, if you wish to know more about any of these songs or artists, Google them or simply trust your friend. Your big, fired-up, sweaty, dry-heaving, dead-on-an-elliptical Canadian friend.
My iPod gym songs:
1. Flirting with Disaster-Molly Hatchet
2. Seven Nation Army-White Stripes
3. Shout at the Devil-Motley Crue
4. Everybody Wants Some-Vah Halen
5. Master of Puppets-Metallica
6. Straight out of Compton-N.W.A.
7. Tom Sawyer-Rush
8. Civil War-Guns N’ Roses
9. 2 Minutes to Midnight-Iron Maiden
10. Thunderstruck-AC/DC
If I weren’t so fat and lazy these would be mine…
1) Iron Maiden — Caught Somewhere in Time
2) Ghetto Boys — Gangster of Love
3) Pearl Jam — Porch
4) Led Zeppelin — In the Evening
5) The Clash — Police on My Back
6) Godsmack – I Fuckin’ Hate You
7) Jim Carrol Band — It’s Too Late
8) N*E*R*D — Lap Dance
9) Pixies — U-Mass
10) Suicidal Tendencies — I Wasn’t Meant To Feel This (Asleep At The Wheel)
Please share the “Humbolt County Massacre – Frank Black” song, I don’t know it. (Is it on the new Honeycomb disk that I still don’t have yet? Maybe its time for a walk down to Virgin. Need to get that new Harry Potter anyway…)
Nano tunes:
1. Go!- Common
2. What you waiting for?- Gwen Stefani
3. My Doorbell – White Stripes
4. Mr. Brightside – The Killers
5. Hung Up – Madonna
6. Dare – Gorillaz
7. The Boogie that Be – Black Eyed Peas
8. Always – Blink 182
9. Be My Escape – Relient K
10. Break Stuff – Limp Bizkit
11. Rockstar – N.E.R.D.
12. Down – Blink 182
13. Pearl Jam – Once
Sam – I emailed you the MP3.
Aubs – Big up to Dare. I made a lens on the Happy Mondays here:
http://www.squidoo.com/happymondays
Greg – Gangster of Love was a high school favorite. I will have to see how it plays in the gym.
DVS – You truly are from West Concord.
OK, the West Concord thing? What gave it away? Molly Hatchet?
Back in the day I used to work out in a gym located in the basement of the seminary where my mom worked. Every day the same three Korean students would come in and start working out to a cassette mix of the theme songs for all of the Rocky movies. It was really hard to keep a straight face, watching a 110 pound bible major do leg lifts to “Eye of Tiger”.
Back in the day, I used to work out in the basement gym of the seminary where my mom worked. (It was free!) Almost every day there would be three Korean students who would come in and work out to a cassette tape mix of all of the theme songs from the Rocky movies. Eventually I gave up going because it became too difficult to keep a straight face around a 110 pound bible student doing leg lifts to “Eye of the Tiger”.
Thanks Dave. Dare is a current favorite. My gym tunes definitly change bi-weekly if not more often. How about songs for my more mellow work out days and yoga…
1. Comfortably Numb – Scissor Sisters (amazing cover!)
2. Edge of Seventeen – Stevie Nicks
3. Footsteps – Pearl Jam
4. Ring of Fire – Johnny Cash
5. Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve
6. Breathe Me – Sia
7. Caring Is Creepy – The Shins
8. Forever My Friend – Ray LaMontagne
9. Fugee-La – The Fugees
10. Given up on You – The Samples
11. I’m Ready – Jacks Mannequin
12. Lately – David Gray
13. More than a feeling – Boston
I need mindless pop when I workout:
1. A Little Respect – Erasure
2. Happy Sad – Pizzacato Five
3. The Bizness – De La Soul
4. Evil Woman – ELO
5. Happy – Fisherspooner
6. Come Into Our Room – Clinic
7. Idioteque – Radiohead
8. Wanna Be Startin’ Something – Michael Jackson
9. Drop the Leash – Pearl Jam
10. Rehumanize Yourself – The Police
You people and your fecking Pearl Jam.
Come on, Dave. Nothing gets you more pumped for Tae Bo than Eddie Vedder’s call to arms. “Get out of my fucking faaaaace!”