Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Day 16

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) Go Go Gadget Flow -- Lupe Fiasco
2) Long Nights -- Eddie Vedder
3) Sense of a Spark -- Finger Eleven
4) Lipstick -- Imperial Teen
5) Dragonfly -- Fuzzbubble
6) Unknown -- Mint
7) Don't Come Around Here No More -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Day 15

Here are the songs I listened to while excercising today:

1) Caroline -- David Gray
2) Secret -- The Rosenbergs
3) Whisper at the Top of My Lungs -- John Faye Power Trip
4) Everyday I Write the Book -- Elvis Costello
5) Save Me -- Marc Broussard
6) Unknown -- 40 Ft. Ringo
7) Repeat Offender -- Teenage Bottlerocket
8) No Ceiling -- Eddie Vedder
9) You Made Me Like It -- 1990s
10) Dick -- Holiday With Maggie
11) Come Dig Me Out -- Kelly Osbourne
12) My Big Mouth -- The Posies

You know, listening to my MP3 player with crappy, broken headphones really sucks. I don't hear the lushness in Marc Broussard's "Save Me," the fun in Kelly Osbourne's "Come Dig Me Out," or the sweeteness of Elvis Costello's "Everyday I Write the Book". I really think it is uninspiring me. Next time, I bring my new free headphones.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Day 14

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) Long Nights -- Eddie Vedder
2) Happy in the Meantime -- Lit
3) Lit Up -- Buckcherry
4) Sweetness -- Jimmy Eat World
5) Mr. Golden Deal -- Tonic
6) Alison -- Elvis Costello
7) Too Late -- Digby
8) Blue Period -- Smithereens
9) Where Were You Last Night -- Traveling Wilburys
10) Blood Bath at Burger King -- Teenage Bottlerocket

So my MP3 player isn't broken. Just the headphones. But they were crap anyway. I dropped my MP3 player in the melting snow beside my car when I arrived for work in the morning and didn't find it until I went to lunch. Then it wouldn't work at the Y. Then it did. And then it sounded like crap.

Thank goodness it was just the headphones. I found some free ones!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Day 13

I think I broke my MP3 player. :(

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Day 12

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) Department Store Girl -- The Rosenbergs
2) So Cool -- 19 Wheels
3) Wednesday Week -- Elvis Costello
4) Woods -- The Rosenbergs
5) Lucy and the Train Back -- The Fletcher Pratt
6) Low Life -- John Eddie
7) Talking to the Walls Again -- Finger Eleven
8) Ball and Biscuit -- The White Stripes
9) Only Me Fair May -- Seth Swirsky
10) Grant Park -- Marvelous 3
11) Ordinary Man -- Seth Swirsky
12) The Devil's Been Busy -- Traveling Wilburys
13) Mrs. Robinson -- The Lemonheads
14) Dead! -- My Chemical Romance
15) Slow Down -- Wycleaf Jean w/T.I.
16) 7 Stars -- The Apples in Stereo
17) Daylight -- Better Than Ezra

What a great assortment today. The standbys such as Marvelous 3 and The Apples in Stereo came through. Seth Swirsky snuck in two more songs, as did The Rosenbergs. John Eddie, The Lemonheads, The White Stripes, My Chemical Romance, and Finger Eleven made rare appearances. All while watching the NCAA Tournament! Hey, exercising is fun.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Day 11

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) Sweetness -- Jimmy Eat World
2) Mr. Golden Deal -- Tonic
3) Alison -- Elvis Costello
4) Too Late -- Digby
5) Blue Period -- Smithereens
6) Where Were You Last Night? -- The Traveling Wilburys
7) Blood Bath at Burger King -- Teenage Bottlerockets
8) Caroline -- David Gray
9) Secret -- The Rosenbergs
10) Wonderwoman -- Fuzzbubble
11) Any Other Day -- Wyclef Jean w/Norah Jones
12) Off Broadway -- Ryan Adams
13) Mrs. Robinson -- The Lemonheads
14) Popstar -- Excentrics
15) Little Weapon -- Lupe Fiasco w/Bishop G
16) Fast Asleep -- The Rosenbergs
17) Beating Heart Baby -- Head Automatica

So where do we stand 11 days into the new workout routine?

Well, Butch Walker is the clear leader. In solo projects and with his Let's-Go-Out-Tonites band, Butch has made seven appearances on the MP3 player. Add in four more with the Marvelous 3, and Butch is lapping the field with 11 appearances, a very easy to figure 1:1 ratio of songs to workouts. That's the way it should be, as more Butch Walker songs are in the MP3 player than any others. Still, 11 out of 151 Songs I've Listened to While Exercising is 7.2% of the songs I've heard. If Butch had 7.2% of the songs in the MP3 player, he would have 76 songs in there. He's got around 20. So not only is Butch Walker the most awesomest, supereast, most fantastically rock-and-roller around these days, but he even rules at the shuffle.

Next up is OutKast, which has hit the player seven times. That's pretty good for a band that I haven't heard from in five days.

Fuzzbubble and The Apples in Stereo have each popped up six times. Then there's Ryan Adams, Saul Zonana, and Lucinda Williams with five listens.

We'll see if Butch can maintain his lead in the days ahead!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Day 10

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) These Girls -- Ryan Adams
2) Girl Next Door -- Saving Jane
3) Every Monday -- Marvelous 3
4) Maybe It's Me -- Ingram Hill
5) Put You on Game -- Lupe Fiasco
6) Lipstick and Bruises -- Lit
7) Hey There Delilah -- Plain White T's
8) Contradiction -- Kelly Osbourne
9) Place You Go -- John Eddie
10) The Taste of Red -- Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites
11) Under Pressure -- Joss Stone (Queen cover)
12) Holding Pattern -- The Rosenbergs
13) Counting the Days -- Saul Zonana

I'm down 10 pounds so far. That is, if I know how to work the scale, which is one of those that you have to slide the weight back and forth until the arm balances perfectly. Might as well ask me to fix a carburetor as to use that scale. But it looks like the MP3 player is working it's magic.

So thank you, Ryan Adams. And thank you, Saving Jane. And thank YOU, Marvelous 3 (and especially you, Butch Walker). Thank you, Lupe Fiasco, Lit, Plain White T's, Kelly Osbourne, and John Eddie. Thank you, Queen, for letting Joss Stone cover your song. Thank you, Rosenbergs. And thank you, Saul Zonana. (Oh, and thank you, Outkast, even though you haven't been around for a few days.)

If after 10 more trips to the Y I'm down 20 pounds, there will be a lot more thanking. They'll have to play the orchestra music to get me to shut up next time.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Day 9

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) Beautiful -- Marvelous 3
2) Hemmorrhage (In My Hands) -- Fuel
3) Bad Day -- Fuel
4) Take Off Your Clothes -- Morningwood
5) Dragonfly -- Fuzzbubble
6) Everybody Knows -- Ryan Adams
7) This Is It -- Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
8) Mixtape -- Butch Walker
9) Best Thing You Never Had -- Butch Walker

Congratulations to Fuel, Ryan Adams, and Butch Walker, all three of whom scored the cherished double-double. It's hard enough to get one song onto the playlist, so to manage two is a feat. But for each of them to get on back to back? This is like the United States over the U.S.S.R. in Olympic hockey. Even more impressive for Fuel is that they have only three songs out of the 1,500 in my MP3 player. Some MIT professors are currently working on what the odds of that happening are.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Day 8

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) Kill the Headlights -- Nicole Atkins
2) Last Night -- Traveling Wilburys
3) Something Unusual -- Saul Zonana
4) Juicy -- Better Than Ezra
5) What If -- Lucinda West
6) Energy -- The Apples in Stereo
7) Joan -- Butch Walker
8) Death on Two Legs -- Rooney (Queen cover)
9) Open Up Your Eyes -- Tonic
10) City Song -- Imperial Teen
11) Waiting For Someone -- Fuzzbubble
12) Can You Feel It? -- The Apples in Stereo
13) Oh My God -- Kaiser Chiefs
14) Cold Hard Bitch (live) -- Jet
15) I Need to Know -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
16) Highway 1 -- The Foxboro Hot Tubs


Now we have Lucinda Williams and Saul Zonana duking it out for longest streak. Each popped up on today's playlist, giving them both a three-day listening streak. Better Than Ezra's right behind with a two-day streak. And The Apples in Stereo and Butch Walker might not get on every day, but they get on almost every day.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Day 7

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) No Better Place -- Fountains of Wayne
2) Lost in the Rain -- Alex Lloyd
3) Everything Has Changed -- Lucinda Williams
4) Setting Forth -- Eddie Vedder
5) You're So Yesterday -- Marvelous 3
6) Be My Fix -- 40 Ft. Ringo
7) I Believe in Me -- Rooney
8) Cult Stars From Mars -- Fuzzbubble
9) On Your Own -- Kelly Osbourne
10) Nth Degree -- Morningwood
11) Same Old Drag -- The Apples in Stereo
12) Sick Day -- Fountains of Wayne
13) Special -- Better Than Ezra
14) Repeat Offender -- Teenage Bottlerocket
15) Guaranteed -- Eddie Vedder
16) Counting the Days -- Saul Zonana

Am I officially addicted to exercising? Or maybe it's just the MP3 player? I went to the Y and realized I forgot my ID. Instead of giving up and going home, I went home, got my ID, and returned. I'm addicted to something all right.

Kudos to both Fountains of Wayne and Eddie Vedder for popping up twice. Not easy when you have OutKast fighting for a spot a day. Actually, today was a day for new people. Well, except for The Apples in Stereo. But I heard Teenage Bottlerocket (the new Ramones), some of Alex Lloyd's Australian wonder, Eddie Vedder, and FOW.

I'm addicted enough to one of these things to go back tomorrow and do it all again.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Day 6

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) Untitled -- 40 Ft. Ringo
2) The Rooster -- OutKast
3) High Fidelity -- Elvis Costello
4) Borne On the FM Waves of the Heart -- Against Me!
5) My Happy Ending -- Avril Lavigne
6) Thinking of Not Going -- 1990s
7) Sugar, We're Goin Down -- Fall Out Boy
8) A Song For Finland -- Holiday With Maggie
9) Celitc Aggression -- Tonic
10) Superstar -- Lupe Fiasco
11) Margarita -- Traveling Wilburys
12) West -- Lucinda Williams
13) Bette -- Saul Zonana
14) Stupid Girls -- Pink
15) Shimmer -- Fuel
16) Modern Way -- Kaiser Chiefs
17) Sleep -- My Chemical Romance
18) Here Comes My Girl -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
19) Wonderwoman -- Fuzzbubble
20) If I Am A Stranger -- Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
21) Lucinda -- Jesse Malin

Quite a list today, which is appropriate after snow and car maintenance kept me from hitting the Y since Friday. Yes, snow shoveling was a bit of a workout over the weekend (take that, you snowblowers!), but the sweat wasn't rolling down my face and dripping down my chin from clearing the walk.

While today I pressed it more than I have to date, the music wasn't inspiring. Good tunes all or they wouldn't be in my MP3 player. But only a couple were the type that would make Rocky run up the steps of an art museum. They came at the right time though. Avril Lavigne's "My Happy Ending" (written by Butch Walker) popped up for early motivation. Fall Out Boy's "We're All Goin' Down" gave me a push in the middle. Fuel's "Shimmer" came at the very end of my last mile. Jesse Malin's "Lucinda" -- a repeater -- was a lovely casual song to end the day. And of course, OutKast made yet another appearance. Butch was shut out, save his connection to Avril.

I'm happy that the music was more relaxed than normal. Even the Against Me! and 40 Ft. Ringo songs that popped up were toned down. If it was all balls to the wall I might have pushed myself a bit more than I should have after four days away from the gym.

Maybe my Sandisk knows exactly what I need. Sometimes there seems to be a telepathic link established between my ears and my MP3 player when I stick the headphones on. We'll see what happens tomorrow when I'm going to need some harder music.

Oh, by the way, Avril Lavigne = HOT! I think my new goal is to race Avril Lavigne. If I win, she has to sing me whatever song I choose. It just might very well be "Sk8ter Boi."

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Day 5

Here are the songs I listened to while excercising today:

1) '39 -- Ingram Hill (Queen cover)
2)'Til the Morning -- Digby
3) (Don't Go Back to) Rockville -- R.E.M.
4) (I Don't Want to Go To) Chelsea -- Elvis Costello
5) Same Old Drag -- The Apples in Stereo
6) Ivanka -- Imperial Teen
7) Goodbye -- The Moog
8) Bust -- OutKast (featuring Killer Mike)

When the near-blizzard has ended but all the YMCAs remain closed, the options become limited. No workout equipment at home. No clear sidewalks to run on. No clear roads for that matter, what with every other car that tries to turn at the corner getting stuck. There remains one option -- a snow-shoveling workout.

Yes, you can get your heart rate going and build up a good sweat shoveling snow. An MP3 player almost makes it fun. At least when this collection of music comes pouring out of it.

At least OutKast overcame the snow ban. And apparently back in the late 1970s and early 1980s it was very cool to write a song about a town and then put part of the song title in parentheses (but not the actual name of the town itself). Congrats on setting the trend, Elvis Costello and R.E.M.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Day 4

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) Zero Superstar -- Fuzzbubble
2) Candy -- Ash
3) Touch Your Button Carnival Jam -- Wyclef Jean featuring will.i.am
4) My Pretend -- The Apples in Stereo
5) On The Run -- Kelly Osbourne
6) Born For This -- Paramore
7) Stop! -- Against Me!
8) Barbara H. -- Fountains of Wayne
9) Learning How to Live -- Lucinda Williams
10) When Canyons Ruled the City -- Butch Walker and the Lets-Go-Out-Tonites
11) Jetsetter -- Morningwood
12) Let Me Go -- Marvelous 3
13) Alternative Girl -- Holiday With Maggie

I can thank the MP3 player for getting me to the Y today. It didn't wipe the snow off the car, it didn't plow the streets, and it didn't drive, but it sure inspired me to go out in this nastiness where everyone's driving half the speed limit.

Perhaps Seth Swirsky was a casualty of the winter weather as his three-day appearance streak came to an end. Wyclef Jean played the Ken Keltner to Seth's DiMaggio, popping up with a 13-plus minute song that any aeorbics instructor would be proud to play in class. I couldn't let Wyclef down by quitting. But his filibuster did keep some others off the playing field.

Today's shuffle was very rewarding for someone braving blizzard conditions. Some balls-to-the-wall music -- Against Me! (man, they love exclamation points), Morningwood, Paramore, Fuzzbubble, Kelly Osbourne, they all just rocked out with their cocks out. Even the girls.

And the MP3 player has revealed more goods. My internet searching reveals Fuzzbubble has brand-spanking-new material! This is like finding $20 in your dirty jeans on laundry day.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Day 3

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) I've Been Waiting -- Matthew Sweet
2) Skyway -- The Apples in Stereo
3) Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely) -- Pink
4) Butterfly on Jupiter -- Seth Swirsky
5) Be My Fix -- 40 Ft. Ringo
6) Smile Like You Mean It -- The Killers
7) Who Knew -- Pink
8) No Such Thing -- John Mayer
9) Sleep -- My Chemical Romance
10) Homecoming -- Kanye West

My music is the only sugar now allowed in my diet, and tonight provided plenty of it. Matthew Sweet, The Apples in Stereo, Seth Swirsky, 40 Ft. Ringo (now Stereo Fallout) -- that's four tablespoons of some sugary pop music. Even Pink leans that way with the songs off her underrated "I'm Not Dead" disc from last year.

It was a good overall diet, as The Killers and My Chem brought the mean and potatoes rock, John Mayer the side dish, and Kanye the dessert.

Meanwhile, Seth Swirsky stealthily makes a name for himself, popping up during my workout for the third straight time. He's the Joe Dimaggio of my MP3 player. Outkast still holds the overall lead, but Seth Swirsky is the only everyday player.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Day 2

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) Spread -- Outkast
2) Lucinda -- Jesse Malin
3) It's Still Love -- Seth Swirsky
4) Lying Through Your Teeth -- Head Automatica
5) A Girl Like You -- The Smithereens
6) Talking to the Walls -- Finger Eleven
7) Bellingham -- The Drowners
8) Teacher's Pet -- Imperial Teen
9) Spread -- Outkast
10) Titanic Vandalism -- The Go! Team
11) Flip Flop Rock -- Outkast
12) Rescue -- Lucinda Williams
13) Romance -- R.E.M.
14) The Wolf -- Eddie Vedder
15) Bethampetamine -- Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites

Congratulations to Outkast! Gentlemen, not only did you get the same song TWICE on tonight's playlist, you managed three overall. "Spread" made it twice with the space of nine songs, and then Flip Flop Rock popped up two tracks after Spread. Now Outkast is on top of the leaderboard with five songs in two days.

Wonderful to hear "Bethamphetamine" by Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites. This is the second five-star song to make the playlist. (The first would be Butch's own "Maybe It's Just Me" which popped up yesterday.) Five-star songs are special. Consider the universe of my 1,044 songs as all MLB players. Now, to even make my MP3 player you've got to be really, really good. Even the space fillers are better than just about anyone else you can find. But just as MLB has All-Stars, so does my MP3 player. "Bethamphetamine" is one of those All-Stars. I guess that kinda makes Butch Walker the MVP of my MP3 league.

Great mixture tonight of power pop, hip hop, and some light stuff. Blast-from-the-past Smithereens check in with one of the great power pop songs of all-time, "Girl Like You." What a pleasure to hear them between Head Automatica and The Drowners. Old-school R.E.M.'s appearance with "Romance" makes this an A-list list.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Day 1

Here are the songs I listened to while exercising today:

1) Hey Ya! -- Outkast
2) I'll Keep Your Memory Vague -- Finger Eleven
3) Behold A Lady -- Outkast
4) I Should've Been After You -- Rooney
5) That's What You Get -- Paramore
6) Handle With Care -- Traveling Wilburys
7) Lemon Parade -- Tonic
8) Best Intentions -- Excentrics
9) Edinburg -- Seth Swirsky
10) Funny -- Saul Zonana
11) Maybe It's Just Me -- Butch Walker
12) Get Back -- Buckcherry
13) The Air Near My Fingers -- The White Stripes

It's like the future was calling me on the treadmill tonight.

Good for Saul Zonana to make today's shuffle. He'll be appearing at The Beachland Ballroom Friday night, opening for the Adrian Belew Trio. I've been waiting years to see Saul live.

And Tonic's lead singer, Emerson Hart, is now out on his own. He'll be at the Cambridge Room at the House of Blues Sunday night. Yes, I do want a Tonic song or two.

Impressive feat for Outkast to make the shuffle twice in three songs.