I am glad to be back this week. The gremlins in my computer touch pad mysteriously disappeared after I turned it off for 18 hours. I bought a USB mouse now for emergencies. Computers…love them and hate them all at the same time.
On to the Free Friday Favorite…Our oldest, Abby, played on the MN State winning softball team a few years ago and their “team” song was by this band. Their sound is just a bit country and may remind you of Fleetwood Mac from days gone by. This is a great 3:47 motivating, down and dirty 74 rpm fast climb. Try using the pause at 2:36 to your advantage and add a little something of your personality there that keeps your class engaged. I usually do a quickly inserted cue like, “Ready sprint”, “Go strong”, or “Catch that guy”. Once in a while, I will even just do a guttural “huh” and my class gets a laugh out of it. (We used to have an instructor at our club that overused that cue when teaching, and many in my class remember him).
I hope you have some fun with Little Big Town’s “Bones” from the HBO series True Blood.
Thanks to John, and his great mid-week surprise release for us to use in the beginning of our classes, the pressure is off me. However, we still need a great Friday Favorite, so here is something a little different to try for a quick and dirty climb at 63 rpm’s. I have been interjecting this as a change from fast intense climbing at 72-76 rpm’s, as a bit of a “break”. This American alternative rock duo is due to release a new album next month and I am looking forward to it. In the meantime, this 3:33 tune from Helio Sequence has their trademark ethereal sound with a nice strong beat. Enjoy “Can’t Say No” from the Keep Your Eyes Ahead album and keep your eyes open for their new album, out September 11, 2012.
Sometimes, something old, but updated becomes something new and cool. That’s what this week’s FF is all about…our 21 year old daughter loved it and so does my class, so hopefully you and your class will too. A perfectly orchestrated flat at 90 rpm’s, and I really do mean fully “orchestrated”, this English singer, songwriter and flautist released this album of previously recorded songs in 2011. The fun thing is, “In Your Eyes”, by Peter Gabriel from his New Blood CD, is recognizable, both in tune and vocals, but also different because of the orchestration and idiosyncrasies he introduces. At 7:14 with intermittent quiet periods, it works well as the first song out of the gate for an intro, or as a flat in the middle section of a ride, where our riders can get a bit introspective. There is a nice build at 4:45. I hope you like it. Happy weekend everyone!
This is a versatile 91 bpm song that can be used for the first road out of the gate, as a nice recovery flat in the middle of your ride, or as one of the last roads heading toward recovery and cool down. This Grammy award winning female British vocalist has always been a favorite of mine with her smooth vocals and great band. From Dido’s third album, Safe Trip Home, “Don’t Believe In Love”, is 3:51. Here’s hoping you will keep it in your play list and find it useful in many places in your ride.
 
Here's a great live version of Don't Believe In Love from the Tonight Show. Two options you could use to trim off Jay Leno's intro; trim it in MixMeister or if you use iTunes you can Right Click the song title > Get Info > Options Tab > tick the start time box and set it for 0:14 to begin during the applause. Or you could leave it and see what happens 🙂
Potholes, potholes everywhere!!!!! At least here in MN again this summer. So rather than get mad, we are simply riding to them outside… because we have to, and inside… because we can. Inside we get to use music to help motivate us through the hard stuff. This tune just begs for us to work in and out of the saddle, strengthening us mentally and physically for the potholes that are thrown our way. Daryl Hall just keeps getting better and better with age (lucky dude!) Even without his sidekick, John, his latest CD, Laughing Down Crying, is fantastic. The song specifically chosen for today is “Problem With You”. At 59 rpm (4:39), it has a great bluesy feeling, great Daryl Hall vocals and guitar licks and well….I just like it a lot for lifts on a climb. Hope you do too. Check out the whole CD. Lots of good stuff.
