I am not typically a fan of “live” CD’s, and usually prefer the studio cuts, but
this “live” version rocks. It has just the right amount of crowd in the background
and newness to the tunes. We have been jamming up a moderate climb in my
class to Sting’s (If You Love Someone) Set Them Free, from his All This Time (Live)
CD. The cadence is 68 and the song lasts 4:57 minutes. It builds beautifully at
2:40, 3:15 and blasts wide open at 4:00 to a huge “Sting freestyle”! This concert
was recorded in Italy on September 11, 2001 and Sting dedicated the concert to
all that lost their lives that day in the New York terrorist attack. Here he is that
night doing his thing:
Two other great cycle class tunes on the All This Time (Live) CD:
If I Ever Lose My Faith In You RPM 60, 4:31. Great horns and strings!
Brand New Day RPM 60, 4:47. Kind of a “Big Band” rendition. I am definitely
using this soon.
See you all next Friday!
Here's this weeks free tracks.
Both of these are off a new release from the band Blame Sally and I can hear using them back to back as a nice climb and then a fun downhill recovery.
Just last Saturday I taught my regularly scheduled 7:15 am class and my faithful regular 20+ were there. We were all disappointed that it was, again, cold and rainy/snowy on April 30 and that we could not be training outside, but were thankful for our gym membership.
I yelled out my good morning greetings, popped in some pre-class music, checked in with everyone and set about preparing class. Once on my bike, I changed music and engaged the class to start. At this very moment, a class member I did not recognize turned on her i-pod and plugged in her ear buds. Seriously?!?!?!?!?!? I gave her the “instructor hairy eye ball” (you know the look), hoping she would get the clue to remove them, but, alas, she did not. Throughout the entire anaerobic threshold one hour class, she did the exact opposite of my cueing. When we were in the saddle, she was climbing ferociously out of the saddle (and not in spectacular form). When we were climbing out of the saddle, she was pedaling at 120 rpm’s in the saddle. It was like her ear buds were Bose Quiet Comfort Noise Canceling (me). In fact, every once and awhile, she would remove her ear buds and take a listen and then go back to doing whatever it was she was doing on her own. I continued to give her “the look” to no avail. She was doing her own thing regardless of what the rest of us were up to. Why in the world did she come to a class? (Please keep in mind, this was a far cry from “modifying” due to injury, or a difference in a training schedule!) Has this ever happened to you? How did you handle it? I would love your feedback on this.
As I multi-tasked (taught, “hairy eye-balled” and assessed the situation), I figured I had a few options:
1. Ignore her and her rudeness
2. Address her in front of the class (assuming I could get her attention through her sound proof ear buds)
3. Talk with her after class
4. Leave it this time, but if I see her in class again, talk with her before class starts and ask her to please be respectful of not only me, but the other 20+ people in the class that are there to work as a group. I will also mention to her that the cycling studio is available for her to use anytime there is not a class in session.
5. Ask another class member to speak with her, using peer pressure.
It’s fairly obvious I chose #4. I actually wanted to do #3, but she bolted out of class, so I had to default to #4. I will update you if she and her i-pod pop into class again anytime soon and let you know how our conversation goes.
When I cannot decide whether I like the re-make or the original song better, then I know that it is a great re-make – and this is one of those songs. I have been using this for a kick butt out of the saddle climb in my anaerobic threshold interval training class lately. We all know it and sometimes it is nice to hear an old classic with a new twist like Fergie doing “Barracuda”, or just and old classic like Ann and Nancy Wilson with Heart doing it.
Take a look/listen at both and decide which you like better:
Either way, the rpm is 68 and your class will know it, love it and easily reach and hold threshold for 4:40 with Fergie’s version and 4:23 with Heart’s. Gotta love the1970’s video! Have fun with it and have a great weekend everyone.
Honestly, pretty much anything that came across my headphones today would be enjoyable because it is 50 degrees and sunny here in Minneapolis on St. Patrick’s Day. But, I love this Italian American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist with multiple Grammy Award nominations. Tom Scotto and Gene Nacey from Cycling Fusion like to use an instrumental track in the warm up. I think this is a great idea. It gives us an opportunity to coach through the necessary introductory information without having to compete with lyrics. Joe Satriani ‘s, “Is There Love In Space?” CD, released in 2004, has 10 not only usable, but really great songs on it. “Up In Flames”, with a cadence of 90 will get your class in the mood to kick some butt if you have anaerobic threshold intervals planned for them. “Is There Love In Space?” is a bit more mellow, but still has a cadence of 90 and I use it to start one of my aerobic base building classes. “Just Look Up”, cadence 88 is a nice last flat. It is nice and mellow. “Searching” is 10 minutes long and has a cadence of 80. I love it for load building. I have my class really focus on holding their cadence and add a bit of load each minute and watch their heart rate climb from mid zone two up to threshold by the time the song ends. Check out this video of Joe live in Tokyo doing “Searching”
“I Like The Rain” cadence 64, has some funky vocals in it. “Souls of Distortion”, cadence 64, “If I Could Fly”, cadence 68, “Lifestyle”, cadence 68, “Hands In The Air”, cadence 80 and “Gnaahh”, cadence 64 are all good, with different flavors for different approaches to climbing. Watch the vocals on “Ghaahh” though. A bit racy… Enjoy!
I was rear ended this past January and my beloved Acura TL was totaled. I only had one problem with this car….the CD player didn’t work. Plus my oldest daughter had blown out the stereo speakers, so any volume above 2 put out a very annoying buzzing sound. You get the picture. And, if you are anything like me, music is on your mind a lot as we are always looking for new, cool ,different, hip exciting music for our classes.
Well, I got a new (used) Acura TL. Very cool…6 speed manual transmission, faster than a speeding bullet, etc., etc., BUT the coolest thing is the XM radio that the previous owner was nice enough to extend for me. OMG!!!!! If you do not have it, but can activate it in your vehicle, DO IT! I am discovering new bands, new genres, new tunes by bands I had forgotten about, old tunes from bands I had never heard of and artists I didn’t even know existed. All while just JDA – Just Driving Around. Rock stations, current stations, country, drum, Christian, dance, R&B, big band, electronica, blues stations…you name it, and no commercials. Best of all, if you have a smart phone and hear something you like, just “Shazam” it and all the song information is saved so you can download it later when you are safely not behind the wheel. XM Radios Starting at $29.99
I am so excited because my music library is growing like crazy and just tickled to be sharing my new finds with you in the “Friday Favorites” so stay tuned!
Blame Sally
“Countdown” (mp3)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
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