Mix tape

13Nov15

Because I came of age in the age of mix tapes, I must mark the occasion of my second marathon with a mix tape. Or, as the kids these days call them, a “playlist.” Since I have to drive to Richmond and back, I needed something good for the road. Here are my selections:

1. Circuital, My Morning Jacket. My all time favorite energizing cool down song. Circuits, all in and out, connect my body, deep into the ground.

2. Sophia, Laura Marling. Negative splits in pop song form.

3. The Distance, Cake. Because, The Distance, Cake.

4. Get up and Get Out, Sharon Jones. Because I want to be Sharon Jones when I grow up.

5. 32 Flavors, Ani Difranco. See “came of age in the age of mix tapes,” above.

6. Take A Chance On Me, ABBA. Don’t take yourself too seriously, kid.

7. Don’t, Ed Sheeran feat. Pharrell. Because it’s actually Pharrell feat. Ed Sheeran, and Pharrell is an adorable genius.

8. Bills, Lunchmoney Lewis. Fun song about grinding it out. Aw damn aw damn aw damn aw damn oh man oh man oh man oh man.

9. Handle with Care, Jenny Lewis and Friends. Great cover of this already great song.

10. Take On Me, A-Ha. Shut up. You love it too.

11. On Top Of The World, Imagine Dragons. Because it makes the kids happy, and I’m on top of the world, hey!

12. Sedona, Houndmouth. Because part of my heart lives in Sedona.

13. Getting Ready to Get Down, Josh Ritter. Because if you’re not getting ready to get down, you should be.

14. Could Have Been Me, The Struts. Wanna taste love and pain, wanna feel pride and shame…never look back and say could have been me.

15. I’m Writing a Novel, Father John Misty. Writing a novel, going on a drug binge. Potato, potahto. That monkey might be right.

16. Bright, Echosmith. Planetary alignment FTW. What lucky timing that my season of marathon training in the predawn darkness coincided with a spectacular planetary conjunction. I was sad to see it go.

17. Get Lucky, Daft Punk feat. Pharrell. See #6 above. Also, this song makes me think of Stephen Colbert and a pantheon of A-list celebs dancing and being silly. Also, the Daft Punk guys are my age almost exactly, and have young kids and I assure you they are not up all night “to get lucky” unless by that, they really mean “to change diapers.”

18. I Lost It, Lucinda Williams. A great singalong. And if I can’t be Sharon Jones when I grow up, I’d like to be Lucinda.

19. Tongue Tied, Grouplove. Slumber party, pillow fight.

20. Erase Me, Ben Folds Five. Power angry anthem, massive piano playing, most musical use of the word fuck. Erased me, what the fuck is this, you’re crazy.

21. Tessellate, alt-J. Triangles ARE my favorite shape! And tessellations are cool, so I’ll just conveniently ignore the bloodshed and double entendre.

22. Someone New, Hozier. Worst.Boyfriend.Ever. But a really boppy fun song. The “The One I Love” of the 2010’s.

23. Best Day Of My Life, American Authors. But all the possibilities, no limits just epiphanies.

24. Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen. No road trip is complete without some Queen.

25. Let’s Be Still, The Head and the Heart. A reminder to just slow it down, and enjoy the moment.

By tomorrow afternoon, the months of preparation, and the years of anticipation will be over. I’ll certainly get beaten by, in no particular order, a joggler, someone in costume, and an octogenarian. But good for them! The exciting thing about running is that other people’s accomplishments don’t diminish my own, and I am proud of what I’ve done and what I’m about to do. I hope it is a great day for all the participants tomorrow!

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