I’ve always wanted to use this really out there almost unrecognizable Amanda Palmer number for a cool down and I finally got a chance. It did not disappoint! As long as you’re a fan of AFP.
Tag Archives: punk
Build a Workout Mix: Successful Mix 10
If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.
For my tenth successful mix, I’ve changed things up significantly! The worst enemy of working out is of course: not wanting to work out. And the number 1 reason for me: Its boring!
That means I have to change up my methods from time to time. Its all well and good to run 7 days a week but if by day 3 you hate it, you’re not doing it right. If you cant make exercise new and exciting, you WILL give up. It happens to me all the time. In an effort to stop that, this week I’ve added a serious workout section in-between to short runs. When it comes to lifting weights, just find some music that gets you pumped. Here, I’m going to focus on those 2 small runs that go hand in hand.
10 Minute Warm Up Run
1. Returns a King – Tyler Bates
2. J-E-N-O-V-A – Nobuo Uematsu
3. Those Who Fight Further – The Black Mages
The main idea here is start off you pre-workout with a ten minute warm up run. The format here being Warm Up – Stride – Burnout, and then heading into your physical workout.
10 Minute Burst Run
1. Start Something – Lost Prophets
2. Jesus Walks – Kanye West
3. What’s the Use of Wond’rin? – Amanda Palmer
The burst run has no warm up! In fact, it starts with a Burnout, then Stride and Cool Down. At the end of a workout I always have pent up energy. I think its adrenaline do to the fact that I just used my body to its full potential. The first few minutes of this burst run are meant to be met at full speed to drag out any left over energy in your body before a final rest.
My warm up run started off slow. It had been a while since I heard this song so after the initial choir section, I thought it would pick up immediately. My body felt ready to spring but the music was still chugging along in a second louder choir section. Just when I was ready to accept this song as a failure of a warm up, the song burst forth letting me pick up the pace. Use this as long as you’re prepared for and extended walking period for the first two minutes.
Something about boss battle music in Final Fantasy games is just perfect for running. While most end up as burnouts, “J-E-N-O-V-A” has a more steady pace that lends itself well to a stride.
Speaking of Final Fantasy… This excellent reworking of the Final Fantasy VII boss battle theme by Nobuo Uematsu’s prog metal band The Black Mages is a great burnout. I think it succeeds for me mostly on the merits of the organ part at 0:24 that repeats throughout the song. My feet land with such conviction when that organ plays.
All in all a great warm up run that got me ready for the heavy lifting and woke my body up from a lazy slumber.
My warm up run was more soundtrack oriented so I decided to make my burst run full of modern influences.
I knew I wanted to run full speed for this section so I pulled out the insanely rageful “Start Something”. That guitar riff that leads into the “1 2 3 4!” combined with some pretty heavy rhythm guitars turn this into a great burnout as long as metal and screaming motivate you. And it gives you a bit of respite at the end with some beautiful piano.
The marching nature of “Jesus Walks” provides the perfect momentum for a relentless stride. I cranked up the intensity on this one when the rest of my body was begging for rest and it got me to keep going full power. Not to mention, as a christian, being reminded that “Jesus walks with me” while on a difficult walk… You get what I’m saying. Empowering.
I’ve always wanted to use this really out there almost unrecognizable Amanda Palmer number for a cool down and I finally got a chance. It did not disappoint! As long as you’re a fan of AFP.
So there you have it! Another successful run that brings something different to the table to keep things interesting. Thanks again to anyone who reads these. I hope they help and inspire you to create your own workout mixes!
Build a Workout: Successful Mix 1
If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.
This mix was built off of Failed Mix 3 which you can read about HERE
This mix isnt perfect but it definitely got the job done without any hiccups! Let’s start with the playlist.
1. Akatsuki – Takanashi Yasuhara
2. I Get Around – The Beach Boys
3. Bloody Mary – Lady Gaga
4. Prayer for the Refuge – Rise Against
5. Seventeen Years – Ratatat
6. Toreador – Apocalyptica
7. Liberi Fatali – Nobuo Uematsu
8. Ringa Ringa – A R Rahman
9. Forever Young – Alphaville
I changed a couple things around for this one. I removed the second warm up at the beginning of the mix for a stride, in this case “I Get Around” and then coupled that with a second stride to keep me going longer. I moved up “Bloody Mary” to keep a familiar song at the beginning of my run. “Prayer for the Refuge” was moved to the burnout position followed by newcomer stride “Seventeen Years” and warm up “Toreador” replacing “Americano”. I put my burnout staple “Liberi Fatali” towards the end of my mix followed by the comfortable “Ringa Ringa” and closed out the mix with a new cool down: “Forever Young”
Lets start at the beginning. “Akatsuki” has been doing a great job as a warm up and today was no exception.
I was a little nervous about using “I Get Around” as a stride but the songs happy-go-lucky nature helped get me in the mood to run and its simple straightforward pacing provided excellent motivation for a steady continued run. I guess surf rock can be used for running too.
“Bloody Mary” worked well as a second stride as its beat continues to keep my legs pumping.
I first used “Prayer for the Reduge” as a stride but the jump in energy from the verse to the chorus didnt really help my body maintain a consistent pace. The songs hardcore punk sound definitely work well to get my blood pumping for another 4 minutes as a burnout at the end of a 6 minute stride. The song is definitely lighter than some of my other burnouts as the slower verse sections allow a bit of leeway in terms of pacing while still providing the all out fire necessary for a burnout during the choruses and the excellent guitar solo and final rush!
Ratatat’s “Seventeen Years” turned out to be a perfect stride! It bursts out in full on electric guitar pop beats and drums early on and keeps things fresh with some fun guitar solos. The longer a stride song is, the more you want there to be a bit of variety so your brain doesnt grow board from hearing the same basic beats. Here this is accomplished by the sheer variety of guitar riffs as well as a subtle shift in the energy of the song about halfway through. This “taking it down a notch” affect allows for your body to adjust accordingly either remaining at higher speeds or slowing down with the music to save some breathe. I can definitely see “Seventeen Years” used to anchor the center of a workout allowing for a quick cool down embedded in the stride before the next warm up.
Apocolyptica doesnt seem like the ideal work out music since it is performed by a band of all Cello’s with absolutely no drums. Thankfully the power of said cellos is more than enough to both keep the beat and encourages those muscles to build some adrenaline. Im a huge fan of stringed instruments and they always make me feel like I’m in some epic fantasy land. “Toreador” is actually a perfect warm up! It starts off very slow and deliberate. With each minute, layer upon layer is added to the song as it starts to grow a bit faster with each minute. By the two minute mark, your feet will be moving and the cello solos will keep you on your toes. This warm up is great if you want a bit more of a gradual build that still leaves you sweating by the end of it.
At this point, you’ll notice the familiar “Liberi Fatali” and “Ringa Ringa” combination. I did this because it’s important that the songs near the end of your run are the most solid. When you’re tired and ready to quit, you’ll want to make sure you have songs guaranteed to rescue you from that place. Thats why I’ll always faze songs towards the back of my mix and add new songs towards the front.
I guess it all depends on how you feel about the genre but 80’s pop ballads are almost guaranteed to work as cool downs! Something about their cheesy synth pop nature and addictive over the top choruses just really works to make you feel like you had a successful run. “Forever Young” is no exception and it was the perfect endcap to a great run.
Overall I’m happy with my mix and my run today! I took a couple days off to visit my brother in Ann Arbor and celebrate Memorial Day with my family. It’s always tough to get back into a running mood after you’ve had a few days off. Unfortunately your body can also give up earlier due to lack of practice. I’d like to say it was partially due to this mix that I made it through todays run and still kept my time and distance up. Cant wait to run again!
86. Rise Against – The Sufferer and The Witness
Rise Against is my prime example of the importance of live music. I first heard about Rise Against when I got tickets to see Billy Talent and found out they were the headliner. I tried to listen to them a little before the show, specifically The Sufferer and the Witness, and nothing really wowed me. Straight forward rock music. I went to the show and was depressed to find out that Billy Talent went on first and then three other bands I didn’t care for. Billy Talent was absolutely amazing(GO SEE THEM LIVE!) but then the next two bands were these boring whiny emo bands who screamed a lot and acted like they were tough. It was really sad. Still a friend of mine liked Rise Against and convinced the rest of us to stay. What followed was something awesome. The band is dubbed Hardcore Punk and what I want to emphasize here is their punk nature. They carried such a rebellious and raucous sound on stage, and all I wanted to do was mosh! In contrast to these lame emo bands, Rise Against had this raw power and energy that in my mind, capture that rebellious energy of punk. The screaming is never ridiculous and singer Tim McIlrath has a rough dirty sounding voice that still somehow succeeds in being melodic. He has a way of transferring what he’s feeling into you. Rise Against’s song writing on The Sufferer and The Witness also happens to be great, with some cool bridges, and great melodic sing a long(yell along?) choruses that invite listeners to sing, dance, head bang and jump along to. Not that I’m OLD, but Rise Against has the ability to make me wish I was a raging high schooler again.
What does it make me feel like?
Some misunderstood punk high school kid in ripped skinny jeans and converse moshing away my life in the pit and having the time of my life doing it.
What to Listen for Track by Track
– The first of many big sing a long choruses, at about 2:20 into Chamber the Cartridge.
– Big Chorus sing a long at 1:51 of Injection
– The screaming in Ready to Fall. Oh and it’s big chorus number 3.
– How punky Bricks sounds.
– EVERYTHING about Prayer for the Refugee. The perfect example of everything that’s great about Rise Against. Especially the way the slow verses lead into the fast yelling choruses. I love the adrenaline rush you get that builds during the verse while you wait for that chorus to come back so you can jump around singing along to it all over again. The joy that comes from singing this song with a group of people who also know it is just… so cool. Oh and I love the guitar solo that mirrors the chorus and ushers in the final sing a long.
– I love McIlraths vocals in this song, especially in the verses even more than usual on Drones.
– The talking verses on The Approaching Curve and its sing a long chorus.
– The way that Worth Dying For starts off to let the listener know, they have no intention of slowing down.
– Oh Behind Closed Doors… Have I mentioned how much fun it is to sing along to this band yet?
– And then Roadside finally relaxes things a bit to give us a bit of rest.
– Another sing a long chorus in The Good Left Undone
– I was going through one of the toughest times in my life, and I was driving home late at night, and Survive came on randomly. Those intro guitars came in and I started to feel chills. I hadn’t heard the song in a long time and I just started listening to the lyrics (still some of my favorite lyrics in any song) and it single handedly picked me up out of a deep depression. I still went through a huge grieving process but this song lit that spark of hope in me. I like that he hardly curses the entire album, which makes his cursing in this song feel all the more necessary. At three minutes I finally started crying. The way he yells “All Smiles and Sunshine!” The way you can tell he doesn’t really believe it at the moment but its necessary in order to survive. This song always reminds me that life being painful and hard is normal. In this world we will have trouble. That encourages me because it reminds me that pain and suffering in life doesn’t mean you’re a failure, its how you react to pain and suffering that brings out who you are.
Example Track
Song of the Day 01/11/13: Sum 41 – All to Blame
Two of my siblings and a friends from New York were over the house last night and my sister decided to play Sum 41 while we cooked and cleaned. It succeeded and doing two things. The first is that it reminded me how much Sum 41 can be. The second is that it showed all of us how awkward Sum 41 is for dinner table music. Picture us all relaxing and eating breakfast foods for dinner while some guy just screams in the background. It was a very entertaining evening.
Song of the Day 11/01/12: Mindless Self Indulgence – You’ll Rebel to Anything (As Long as It’s Not Challenging)
Ive posted about my love for Mindless Self Indulgence in the past. Mostly I love their insane beats and industrial punk/rap stylings full of non-sensical offend everyone kind of lyrics. It’s kind of like South Park, with the make fun of everything and everyone including yourselves to effectively nullify any real complaints. In a rare instance, this Mindless Self Indulgence song actually has a message that isnt mindless. This is a stab at any group of whiny middle class rich kids who join together to show how messed up their lives are while bonding over common musical interest (most likely directed at scene kids based on the time of its release. Ok seriously, its directed at scene kids.). I love the lyrics and the insane way the song kind of unwinds over time. To understand what kind of band MSI is, you must also realize that a large part of their fan base, was these exact kind of people. So this isnt a band writing a hate song towards say, teenie boppers who listen to Britney Spears; This was the band actively attacking their own fans. Brilliant. You either love ’em or hate ’em.
Song of the Day 03/01/11: Children 18:3 – Time and Wasted Bullets
A perfect distraction from my House of Heroes obsession is the wonderful christian pop punk trio of Children 18:3, whos name is derived from the verse in Matthew 18:3. Three siblings who are homeschooled and strangely wild and fun.
Songs of the Day for 10/18/12 and 10/19/12: Czeslaw Spiewa – Jezyk Weza and Mieszko i Dobrawa
So, I thought that I posted some Czeslaw Spiewa months ago and Ive just realized that I havnt! Thus, he deserves two songs of the day in a row. The first, is the one I intended to post today, Jezyk Weza. This song is super quiet and subtle. I will say that this song is much quieter than most of his work so it wont give you a full picture of his musical variety. It is definitely a track that took longer to grow on me on the album because of how quiet and subtle it is. However, after multiple listens, it is one of my favorites.
Ok. So hopefully you listened to the quiet one first. Because then this one will really shock you in the difference in style. This is the song I thought I posted months ago. This song is a little bit faster paced than most of his work, but between the two songs us where most of the rest of his music lies. The first time I heard this I laughed out loud in a public place. The song right before it ends on a quiet note and when the “Glee” sounding vocals come in followed by the yelling Polish man, it just had me so shocked I couldnt help myself. I highly recommend you check out this rest of his work. Thank you Jacek for turning me onto the best Polish Cabaret Punk artist Ive ever heard.
Song of the Day 01/28/11: Ghostland Observatory – Dancing on My Grave
So everyone knows I’m always looking for awesome dance music, with a weird twist. What’s better than a band that uses 80s synth and a Freddy Mercury style shriek? Plus, this guy’s dance moves are amazing. I’ll post a link of his tight, white pants wearing, dance moves just for you. You should watch it so you’ll understand just how fun it is to dance to Ghostland Observatory.
Song of the Day 07/31/12: Children 18:3 – Cover Your Eyes
Are you one of those people who says, “Man, there just aren’t any good punk bands anymore…”? You’ll be happy to discover that Children 18:3 exists! This Christian punk band, of 3 siblings, is really good at classic pop punk stylings and their singers are both really amazing. The male singer definitely provides that Offspring feel, and their female vocalist is a cut above the rest in the genre. All their songs clock in at 2 to 3 minutes and pack a serious punch. They are a breathe of fresh air for their genre.
Song of the Day 01/25/11: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Supernaturally
Amanda Palmer’s new album came out last week and she covers a Nick Cave song on it. I’d never really known much about him, but Amanda wrote this long blog about how she’s obsessed with him and finally got to meet him in Australia. So I started listening to him and now I’m obsessed too. I don’t really know much at the moment, considering the man has 14 albums in a variety of styles, so I’m attempting to listen to them a little at a time and savor it. For you, I present “Supernaturally”, because it’s just that awesome!
Song of the Day 01/22/11: Mindless Self Indulgence – Planet of the Apes
Mindless Self Indulgence is exactly as described. Mindless and ridiculous. ITs completely self indulgent both for the band and the listener. I first listened to them while working at Silver Barn when i was 15 and i would just jam out in the milk room to the whole album and dance around where no one could see me. Its like a music version of south park, and by that i mean that its crass, racist, offends just about everyone, and can be pretty funny. Its important to note the tongue in cheekness of the whole thing. Frankenstien Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy, of which Planet of the Apes is a track, is an extremely addictive album and i really recommend you listen to it in album form, not one track at a time, but since this is a song of the day, i picked one i found particularly catchy and not too dirty. Most songs on the album top out at like 2 minutes but change styles within song, sometimes every 20 or 30 seconds. ITs completely chaotic and yet somehow AMAZINGLY catchy. You’ll find yourself singing along to all the melodies in no time. Its not for everyone, AGAIN, this album can be VERY OFFENSIVE to some. Just wanted to express that. If thats not a problem, go find it right away.
Song of the Day 01/05/11: The Offspring – Gone Away
So I was in the mood to sing along to something loudly, wildly and passionately about stuff. Luckily for me, The Offspring wrote this song “Gone Away” that’s perfect for just such a desire. Join me if you will.
Song of The Day 11/10/10: Yellowcard – Believe
Maybe it’s because I was in New York on 9/11. Maybe it’s because I know people who fought those fires and through all that wreckage. Whatever the reason, there’s no denying the power and impact of 9/11.
Yellowcard succeeded in paying tribute to those heroes without being disrespectful, or cliche. On top of all that, the electric violin was perfected for Ocean Avenue. Yellowcard may be a one album wonder, but their one album is one of the most well put together pieces of music I own. “Believe” is a song that will always pull on your heart strings. Whether it’s listening to the firefighter tell victims everything is going to be alright minutes before buildings collapse on them, the bridge about telling his wife and kids he loves them and wanting to make the heroes sacrifice worth while, or hearing Ryan Key screaming, “Think about the chance I never had to say; thank you for giving up your lives that day,” this song is nonstop perfection. As is the rest of the album. So grab that too (seriously, what other band writes a song about how their father positively affected them?).
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