Even though I have been happily married for 23 years, it occurred to me that some of my favorite songs are based on the common frustrations men have in their relationships with women.
Am I alone here fellows?
This post started as a Friday Favorite, but now I think it would make a great community effort. But first I felt we needed an an anthem for the category. A song that captures the stress and anxiety many of us feel in our quest for a meaningful relationship with a women. After careful deliberation I have decided that there's really only one choice…
Some of my runner-ups included just about any song from the Gin Blossoms. Great music, but these guys must have had some really rough high school years 🙁
OK Guys. I need your help here so we can all express our feelings through music.
Feel free to add your favorites below.
This guy’s voice pretty much rocks my world. Plus, most of his lyrics are awesome and safe, so I don’t feel like I have to audit through the entire CD reading and listening for things that will offend my class…a big time saver. His style is best described as “Bayou Soul”, which translates to a combination of funk, blues, R&B, rock and pop.
The artist I am talking about is Marc Broussard, and my Friday Favorite song is, ” Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)”, originally by Marvin Gaye. I love, and have used, both versions. It makes the best “feel like moving” flat. I have an avid cyclist that simply cannot help himself when this song comes on – he just has to move on his bike, and move he does. Someday he and I are going dancing! Here are both Marc and Marvin performing ”Inner City Blues”. The cadence is 90. Marc’s CD version (SOS: SaveOur Soul), is 5:14 and Marvin’s is off the Zodiak CD is 5:29.
As always, I want to call out other great songs on Marc’s SOS: Save Our Soul CD:
“Yes We Can, Can” ( It’s just a great party feeling flat ) 90 rpm, 4:39.
“Come In From the Cold” 90 rpm, 3:50
“Love and Happiness” 100 rpm, 4:38
“Respect Yourself”( A nice re-make) 60 rpm, 4:30
“Let the Music Get Down in Your Soul” 64 rpm, 3:50
“You Met Your Match” 60 rpm 2:39
Enjoy and happy May Day!
I love when I pull a song from an old playlist and remember instantly why I liked
it so much. This is one of those songs that really moves me, and seems to move
my classes as well because I have been getting a lot of great feedback about this
tune. At exactly 5 minutes, and 90 bpm, it works extremely well for a focused flat
road-at, or just under, threshold. Here is Annie Lennox singing, “Money Can’t
Buy It” from her “Diva” CD
The song has a consistent, driving beat for an established cadence (for those of us
still riding without power and cadence meters!), but starts out softly and builds.
At 2:20, Annie drops back and gives us a wonderful cueing opportunity. I whisper
my cues here, as I am into mixing up my voice cues these days. The song then
builds like crazy, only to pull back at 4:18 until the end, once again giving us nice
cueing entrances as the road finishes.
I also just plain like the lyrics. Let me know what you think.
Other good tunes for cycling classes on the “Diva” CD:
Stay By Me 6:29 90 bpm
Legend In My Living Room 3:46 60 bpm I’ve also used this in the past and love
this one too. Just for the title alone! This, too, has a great distinctive beat,
without being obnoxious. I always wish it was longer because I like it so much.
Walking On Broken Glass 4:13 64 bpm
I think Annie may actually be the first official white female rapper, since
the “Diva” CD dates back to 1992 and she does a kind of rap in “Money Can’t Buy
It”.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Amy
OK, here's what you really came for…free music!
As I was sorting through the new free music available this week, in the back of my mind I was looking for something with a big interruption in the middle. A song that as it builds it takes your students to a place inside themselves. You see focused concentration from everyone. You remain quiet, letting the music do the work. And then BANG! Something unexpected happens that brings everyone back to reality – In my class that would typically mean the chase is on 🙂
The Free song for this week is Fly Away from Julius Dobos. If you're into “Tune Mapping” a song like Doug Rusho you are in for a treat! I can see using this song to simulate a Criterium race.
Song slowly builds
@1:53 in is a big push to close a gap for 17 seconds then maintain a time-trial pace…
@2:43 brief recovery while everyone assesses each other until the 3:30 WAKE UP – LOOK AROUND – but we don't go yet…
@3:47 the chase is on
The week's free music Friday is actually two tracks that I can hear stitched together to make a great long climb. Have I ever mentioned that I love longs climbs in my classes? Cycling to me is all about endurance and that means enduring the effort until you get to the top/end/finish/summit/puke point.
The band is Phantom Kicks and they just released these two new tracks:
Cut From A Different Clay (Feat. Cameron Spies) – 72 RPM. I would use this first to get the gearing correct and HR solidly in the middle of Zone 3 / 95% of Threshold Phantom Kicks “Cut From A Different Clay” (mp3) from “Tectonics EP” (Glass Box Records)
Eyes Familiar – 78 RPM. Transition to a faster, yet manageable, cadence. If your student are doing it right this additional leg speed should have them up near threshold for the remainder of this climb. Phantom Kicks “Eyes Familiar” (mp3) from “Tectonics EP” (Glass Box Records)
Based in San Francisco, Phantom Kicks took its roots from disbanded local indie favorites Raised By Robots, incubating their first group of songs in practice spaces, lofts, bedrooms and the occasional live show, as ideas were traded on hard drives and in sketches before the band’s lineup solidified. Tanner Pikop and Phil Pristia share guitar and vocal duties, with additional keyboard work from Pikop, and Mike Rieger on drums.
So fire up MixMeister and see what kind of climb you can create with these two free tracks. Cut From A Different Clay has a bit of crashing drums at the end that you may want to remove when you are mixing these together. UPDATE: I've done this for you. Here is the mix 6:48 long – Right Click > Save File As. I over lapped the beat matching more than normal so now at 3:08 it transitions from 72 RPM to 78 RPM – enjoy 🙂
I have received quite an education about improving the acoustics of a room from Ryan Gibbons, an Applications Specialist with Auralex® Acoustics, Inc. In the interview posted below Ryan describes the typical problems that may exist in your studio and offers some suggestions on solving them. If after listening to this interview you would like more information they have a very comprehensive online resource available at http://www.acoustics101.com/
If you would like a free acoustical analyses of your studio, that includes their detailed recommendations for making improvements, you can contact Ryan directly:
Ryan Gibbons
Applications Specialist
Auralex® Acoustics, Inc.
6853 Hillsdale Court
Indianapolis IN USA 46250
317-842-2600 | 1-800-959-3343 rgibbons@auralex.com | www.auralex.com
Auralex doesn't sell direct, instead they use distributors like GuitarCenter.com
“Shine”
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