This Journey song was already a bit over the top in the 70’s, but this particular cover just cracks me up. I used it in my Monday morning class as comic relief (and physical relief) after a 20 minute AT climb. I have been teaching this time slot for years, so the class and I know each other well. As we were recovering, I said, “for recovery back to T1 (low zone 3) and a good laugh, here is the cast of Glee with their version of “Don’t Stop Believin’”. Oh goodness…talk about over orchestrated and over sung. But good for a few laughs just the same. You know how sometimes something is so bad; it almost swings the pendulum to good? The tune is 3:19 and 68 bpm, so we took our climb workload back down towards T1 and laughed and talked amongst ourselves- just for 3:19!
Kind of a bonding moment. Hope you enjoy it and get a good chuckle. I found this little gem on the Grammy Nominees 2011 CD. Next week it’s back to serious business. J
Taking a break from my fight with Agent Smith (from the Matrix), I thought I would post my Free Music Friday track. It actually comes courtesy of ICI/PRO member Marc Schlosberg who shared it as part of a Spotify Playlist.
English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding's song Lights is a fantastic 70 RPM climb all on it's own. But Marc and I aren't the only one's who like it. There are (9) remixes of Lights available on Spotify 🙂
And here is another remix of Lights for your free track. Click the little down arrow on the right edge of the player to download.
This week’s FF is nice and long. I love to use it as my opening song. It gives my class members plenty of time to warm up and allows us time to discover both our T1 (and sometimes T2) without a music change. Having a consistent rpm to work with is very helpful, even for those of you lucky enough to work with power/cadence meters on a daily basis! (John and I are still anxiously waiting for that day at our gym).
This singer/songwriter is well known for the “Theme from Shaft”, if you are old enough to remember that movie and song. BUT, that is not the FF….because today’s FF is 9:42 and the rpm is 89. It is “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic”, by Isaac Hayes, off his Hot Buttered Soul vinyl, vintage 1969…CD now of course!
As a side note, I am “playing” with the terminology “threshold discovery” vs. “threshold assessment”. It sounds a bit less clinical and more user friendly.
What do you think??
Here is Isaac Hayes (RIP) and “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic”:
And here's a re-mix of “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic”. Wouldn't that make a great Spelling-Bee word?
John had Pandora on one day in the office and I was mesmerized by the song that was playing. It had a great vibe and I really wanted to use it in a class, so here it is for today’s Friday Favorite. The first 15 seconds start out with simple guitar, but the 63 rpm beat is nice and strong and firms up with keys and drums 15 seconds after that. Snow Patrol’s “Shut Your Eyes”, from their two disc Up To Now album is one of those songs that I ask my students to shut their eyes to (if they are comfortable doing so) and feel their body as they ride up the climb. I only wish it was longer than 3:18! The tune will stick with you for a while. It’s catchy.
Here's a slightly longer (4:07) cover of Shut Your Eyes as your free track.
Today I am featuring a cover by a Canadian-American, singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and actress. It is a rare day when I like a cover as well as the original,
but this 53 rpm climb at a total of 3:41 rocks. Seal’s “Crazy” mixed up by Alanis Morissette is great. She opens up her vocals and gives it a whole new feel. The
beat stays steady throughout and I use this 45 minutes into class when energy may be waning just a bit. It tends to pick class right up again.
Update: this was a very popular track and we reached the download limit much quicker than normal. In it's place please enjoy this remix of another great Seal song – Amazing
