Music Monday posts are back! Since the days of my Care Bears tape player, music has been a huge part of my life. This series is my way to share something I love with all of you. An added part is that the first Monday of the month is covers related post.
I’ve been a Phil Collins fan as along as I can remember. “In the Air Tonight” starts with an intro that is so simple and mellow. While the song itself is quite mellow, there is that part about 3 1/2 mins in when there is a bigger kick tempo wise with the drums. When I first heard the Nonpoint cover I was pleased that while they do kick it up a notch in general, that kick still is recognizable.
The original song has been used in various movies and TV shows. The Nonpoint cover was in the more recent movie version of Miami Vice.
I’ve been a long time fan of Grey’s Anatomy. It was actually a Rilo Kiley song in the beginning of the second episode that first caught my attention. Prior to that night, I was never one for medical dramas. I’d seen an episode or ER here and there but overall it wasn’t my thing. However, due to that one song, I didn’t change the channel.
Time and time again it is the music that really makes the show. I’ve muted certain scenes when I’ve been all stuffy since I knew that the moment the song for that scene kicked in I’d be a goner. Sobbing at the TV isn’t beneficial when you can barely breathe due to a cold or allergies.
This past week it wasn’t a sad moment that caught my attention but a beat. Serena Ryder’s Stompa was featured. I always love a bluesy rock song that you can actually stomp your feet to and this time it was a cleverly named one.
This is my current earworm and also added to my hooping playlist.
I recently got back to the gym. I had been busting my butt and shoulders and arms and legs working in the yard and knew if I did both it wouldn’t end up well. Plus literally having my head stuck in the plants did not help with allergies at all. Wahhhh-chooing at the gym would most likely be frowned upon even though I wipe down my machine once I’m done working out.
While I’m still figuring out my way around the gym, I’ve found a good default – the arc trainer. I felt a bit silly on it in the beginning but that was just being somewhat self-conscious in general. I got over that and then it was easy to figure out – get on, move, keep moving. I haven’t played with all the “buttons” but there is time for that later.
The key element though is I feel like I get a decent workout in a short amount of time. I’ve been trading off visits between the full version with the scary arms that fight back and the lower body one with the pedals that still fight back. I’ll go in with either a set time or a set distance depending on how I’m feeling.
One thing that really helps me is having a good batch of music. I’m a music person. I have some playing now. I listen to it for a good chunk of each and every day. I’m also extremely eclectic. A good example of this is that I’m seeing Dispatch, Linkin Park/Incubus, and Kelly Clarkson/The Fray this summer. I’m the same way with music at the gym. Some songs/bands/singers work and some just don’t. I have a Fergie station on my Pandora account and that usually works. I end up with a tiny amount of skipping and the tempo works for me. The last time it was just not working and right when I’d get into it the next song would be a buzzkill. Good thing I didn’t start muttering “Seriously!?!?!” since other people near me didn’t have on headphones.
My plan is to hunt down a bunch of music I think might work and then try it out. If it makes the cut then I can put together a long and short playlist. So far I have two songs that have already made the cut: Blow by Ke$sha and You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon.
While I am not part of the “Nickelback is the worst band ever” camp or maybe it’s Creed though I think it should be Rush, I’ve never been a huge fan. Maybe I have a CD but at the same time I have so many that have been kept in storage tubs I forget what I do own. I have a tendency to get hooked on songs with a decent beat, and by beat I usually mean drumbeat.
So this was the song she kicked out butts to recently, When We Stand Together
So take the beat. Got it? Ok, then add squats to it. No, not quite, lower squat. Got it. Don’t forget slow squats too. Mix in those wide step out jumps when you land one foot then the other. (Liking my technical terms yet?) Throw in those hatchet chop/standing crunches with some “wheels on the bus” hand/arm movements. Add a bunch of other stuff and you are done!
Clearly this isn’t the exact routine since I don’t want to post routines online. It was fun and I forgot how hard I was doing some of the chop crunches. I felt it the next day though it was probably from the entire class. Even through my minor ouch-ing, I was still happy.
One thing I love more and more about the studio is that they play a variety of music. During one class, JLo might be followed by Flo Rida followed by a latin song. I find myself doing routines when I hear one of the songs on the radio. Luckily that has happened at home and my toaster doesn’t care if I am doing side lunges and if it did I would be terrified.
If you take group classes, do they stick with a certain style or do they mix it up as well?
While I enjoy various kinds of music, I find from time to time they all fall back to several categories: 80s/early 90s based pop rock, female fronted groups/solo acts with some sort of indie rock or ethereal element, punk/ska, industrial, and electronic. It is almost like reverting back to my audio childhood and when something new reminds me of it I’ll find myself kicking the old back alongside the new.
The recent kickback has more of an electronic base. I can still remember when The Crystal Method & Filter’s “(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do” was played on repeat – ie rewinded the cassette tape that I had used to record the song off the radio. (Now I have the MP3.) The local record store used to call the house giving heads up when the latest Plastic Compilation was out. I never headed out to the raves but I knew people who did. I channeled my inner Acid Burn and Trinity. This kind of music almost totally carried me through four years of computer programming.
Now I do a lot of design work to electronic based music .(I say electronic based since there are so many subcategories that I would need to do proper research and there are many I do not know about that well.) This is also music I enjoy hooping to as well. The bleep blip tempo kicks and changes work extremely well for stops etc.
By chance I was looking through hooping videos on YouTube and found this video of a hoop dance to Zed’s Dead remix of “Eyes on Fire” by Blue Foundation. I LOVE the remix.
I mean LOVE the remix to the point where I had to buy it and the MP3 has been on repeat numerous times since. When looking for the track dubstep mentions came up as part of the results. I had heard this before but in discussion mostly with a bit here and there. I was on more of an indie rock kick then so it was a “oh cool” and that was it for then. While I know referencing Wikipedia on any subject can lead to varying levels of truthdom, it gave me a good place to start.
The elements work well for me and my brain responds to it. By saying responds to it I see it as each element has some sort of reaction. Perhaps it is from my years of college radio but I can see the levels flicking in my mind and elements swirling together. (No I’m not on drugs. I never touched that stuff.)
So what I am taking as the dubstep elements have become a new way to reset, be it in the morning or the evening. It also seems to work extremely well on headphones when Darth Husband has the XBox running. I have added a dubstep station on Pandora and have been checking out Skrillex lately. He does various styles but that is included. I’ve read a little about him so far but mostly it’s listen and zone out or listen and hoop.
I found out about Povi years ago via a compililation CD purchased at a local music store that I absolutely adored. They were great people and clearly loved and knew their music. They would even call at times to let us know something we wanted or might like had arrived.
I think this is a great driving, as well as hooping song.
Despite years of musical training, classical doesn’t always sit well with me. Piano makes me want to break things after awhile. Anything heavily dependent on strings however has me captivated. I adore covers done that way as well.
If you have never heard of Vitamin String Quarter, I highly recommend checking them out. They cover a ton of different songs and styles.
While a lot of hooping is often done to more mellow or more jam band style music, I like adding some harder rock to the mix. If there are misc tempo changes, even if just slight ones, it adds to the fun as does any sort of a kick where I can add a turn.
As I’ve mentioned before, I am not a great singer. However, I’ve had my share of time singing into a hairbrush in front of a mirror. A good eight times out of ten there’s a bit more of grit to the music. Sorry Celine Dion, “My Heart Will Go On” is not my style.
This included one that I’ve belted out numerous times (second song) by two women who I think have amazing voices.
