In Which I am Characterized by Repeating Unpleasant Events
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
There is the small matter of that half marathon that I ran with Sean a couple weeks back. I'm not sure I can do it justice (the good kind) in such a quick post, but I can share one strong memory of the event with you. My iPod nano (which I hastily procured prior to the event b/c running with my Touch seemed annoying despite the fact that I've done it numerous times, and which prompted me to have to upgrade to Snow Leopard the night before we left omg stabby stabby evening) nearly crapped out on me in the middle of the race. I'd never run without music before - I consider it necessary for any race - and the prospect of running without it left me cold. So I stopped waking up the nano to switch songs, and just let it play itself out.

That was right before I realized that the shuffle feature was not enabled. Seriously?! Stupid new nano. It was, admittedly, a hasty oversight on my part - in starting up my Nike+ workout, I must have neglected to turn the shuffle feature on within my new "Disney Half Marathon" playlist. As a result, my half-marathon consisted of every song I had from A to roughly K.

It was weird and distracting - even though, by the end of the race, I was laughing at Elton John popping up where I would normally need Rihanna, it could have been better. Argh. So instead of listing all the random crap I had to endure, I'll give you my top 25 songs to run to:

(in alphabetical order, OF COURSE)

Eat the Rich - Aerosmith
Magic (feat. Rivers Cuomo) - B.o.B.
She's No Good (feat. Eli "Paperboy" Reed) - Basement Jaxx
Intergalactic - Beastie Boys
Break Ya Neck - Busta Rhymes
The City is at War - Cobra Starship
Fresh - Devo
'Til I Collapse - Eminem / Nate Dogg
Freak (feat. Kardinal Offishall) - Estelle
Jesus or a Gun - Fuel
Get Involved (feat. Timbaland & Missy Elliott) - Ginuwine
Sexy! No No No - Girls Aloud
Vacation - The Go-Go's
Tightrope (w/Big Boi) - Janelle Monae
Give a Little More - Maroon 5
Heartbreaker (feat. John Legend) - MSTRKRFT
Gifted (feat. Kanye West, Santogold, Lykke Li) - N.A.S.A.
Super Freak - Rick James
Filthy Gorgeous (Original Radio Mix) - Scissor Sisters
Talking in Your Sleep - Space Cowboy
Feel It Now - Tonic
Giving Up the Gun - Vampire Weekend
Panama - Van Halen
Blue Orchid - White Stripes
Check It Out - will.i.am & Nicki Minaj (ed. note: Buggles sample FTW!)

I rounded out the half-marathon with my new favorite song, a rediscovery of sorts, "Can You Feel It" by the Jacksons. I don't care who you, where you come from, or what your age is - if this song doesn't make you feel like you conquer the damn world, then your heart is made of stone. It's only a matter of time until someone huge in the hip-hop world smartens up and uses this as the sample track behind their newest song. Nerdy as it might sound, this song literally sends goosebumps down my spine. That's why I'm naming this song as the 26th on the list - the best song to which a person can cross a finish line. Running.