Thursday, May 8, 2008

DJ G-Funk* needs inspiration

I'm one of those runners that needs a constant soundtrack in the background to keep pace. And since it's such an integral part to my training, I'm very meticulous with new playlist creation. My whole process is somewhat akin to John Cusack in High Fidelity as he pores over mountains of vinyl records, creating the perfect mix for his girlfriend. A custom playlist is highly personal and allows glimpses to facets of personality.

Well, my running playlist is a far cry from being an accurate editorial of myself, but it serves it's purpose as a technical pace setter. I usually compensate for what kind of workout it's intended for: speed, distance, outdoor/indoor, or the actual race. There's just something about a well-picked, high energy song that can give me the extra boost to run that extra hill as fast as I can. It doesn't matter if I'm bone tired. The familiar back beat starts pumping and I start balling my fists. Then the lyrics will kick in and all of a sudden I'm Rocky Balboa, racing up the steps of Philadelphia.

Now, what kind of music facilitates that for me? Well, for the most part I prefer Hip Hop, Reggage, Rap, and embarassingly the occasional Pop. I know that last choice probably makes me "uncool" now, but sometimes you just have to leave Britney alone, folks. Don't hate. Anyway, today happens to be "New Playlist" day, but I seem to be lacking inspiration for new high energy songs. Do you lovely people have good suggestions?

And to give you a better idea, some of my best running songs were:
Janet Jackson - All Night, Don't Stop
Janet Jackson - Feedback
Lil' Mama ft. T. Pain and Chris Brown - Shawty Get Loose Remix
Christina Aguilera - Fighter
Madonna and Justin Timberlake - 4 minutes
Flo Rida ft. Timbaland - Elevator
Baby Cham & Akon ft. Alicia Keys - Ghetto Story Remix

*Note: I've acquired my fair share of nicknames in the past. My favorites are: "Porkchop", "Manapua Head", "Ninja", "Button", "Bone Bone", and "G-Funk". I thought DJ G-Funk sounded better than DJ Manapua Head.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

ok, dj g-funk aka manapua head:

one song i really like lately is "pile of gold" by the blow. it's fun and silly and woman-empowering at the same time.

there's this other one i heard recently on KCRW, but i can't remember the name of the song OR the band. there's a lot of electronica and nonsense words. the chorus repeats something like "bom-tiki, bom-tiki" over and over again. but it's a really fun song and seems like it would be a good running song. if i hear it again i'll remember to check the name and let you know!

i also like that rihanna "SOS" song. oh! and "road block" by janice joplin.

i don't know that some of these match the style of your other choices, but hey, variety is fun. :)