Tales From The Gym: Part One

alright. so it's not like i've actually been GOING to the gym. at least, not in the last two weeks. (in fact, NJ06 took quite an unfortunate turn when February hit a fever pitch, but we have gotten back to basics as of March 1. in case you were wondering.)

but i do PLAN on returning to the gym at some point in my life. and anyway, my observations are valid regardless of frequency of gym attendance. thus.

for my first Tales From The Gym, i would like to respond to a comment left by an IIF (and i'm sorry i can't find it right now), who asked me what i listen to while i work out.

and here is where i remind everyone that there is no accounting for my taste in music.

allow me to digress:

my whole life i was surrounded by music. i was in chorus throughout grade school. i started piano lessons when i was about 8 years old. i played the clarinet from 6-12th grade. i was (i know, i know) in the marching band and was even the drum major. i was in the school musicals. i was paid to sing in church choirs*. i was in community theatres. i started college as a voice major. my sisters did the same things. my dad still plays the piano. my mom's father was a professional musician.

you get the point.

anyway. you would think that all this "being surrounded by music" MIGHT have led me to having breadth and depth in my knowledge of, appreciation for, and collection of music.

and i am here to tell you, it did not.

my range of Favorite Music can pretty much be traced to What Was Playing On The Radio In My Formative Years. unfortunately for everyone who knows me, this essentially means i own pop hits from the late 80s and early 90s. and almost nothing else.

i do say "almost" because THANKFULLY my parents DID drill some classic stuff into my head, which seeps out regularly and influences my musical taste (limited though it may be). so in addition to pop of the late 80s/early 90s, i also have a pretty decent working knowledge of broadway (classic and newer), as well as the whole sinatra / ella / louis / billie (etc.) canon.

i know most of what would be considered "standards." and i can't help but love martini lounge music.

and i also love "new" stuff that involves the "old." for example, there are few songs that make me so happy as Frank Sinatra dueting with Jimmy Buffet on Mack the Knife. seriously. it's awesome.

even newer, we have stuff like this.

so! what do i listen to at the gym? well, i will give you a sample, straight from my iPod. it's very Jock Jams-y. and i make no apologies.**

• Bad Girls - Donna Summer
  
• ABC Remix - The Jackson Five
  
• You Shook Me All Night Long - ACDC
  
• I Saw The Sign - Ace of Base
  
• Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-a-Lot
  
• Boom Boom Boom - The Outhere Brothers
  
• Come Baby Come - K7
  
• Dancing Queen*** - ABBA
  
• Different Drum - Me First & The Gimme Gimmes
  
• Tubthumping - oh, like you need me to tell you. it's embarrassing enough as it is.
  
• Jump in the Line - Harry Belafonte
  
• Let's Talk About Sex - Salt 'n' Peppa
  
• Macho Man (remix) - The Village People
  
• YMCA (remix) - "
  
• Pon De Replay & Don't Phunk With My Heart, because i can't avoid ALL songs that came out after 1995
  
• Whoomp, There It is - Tag Team
  
• A Little Less Conversation - Elvis (don't ask, i don't know)
  
• OPP - Naughty By Nature

and, well, what can i say? OPP? yeah, you know me.





*there is probably a joke in here about the only way to get me to go to church would be to pay me. uh, which i guess isn't so much a "joke" as it is "true."

**though i probably totally should.

***i made it a personal rule of mine that the song Dancing Queen MUST be put on any/all mixes i ever make, even if totally not in keeping with the mix theme, e.g., Christmas.