Play That Funky Music, White Boy....

For me music is one of the most important parts of a Spin workout. Having done Spinning classes for over a year now, I have taken classes that have used a variety of types of music…some are good and some, well not so good. For me, choosing the music for a Spin workout is probably one of the hardest parts of putting together a workout. I like for the song to match up with the workout I have planned. One thing I enjoy about teaching SPINNING is that I get to choose the music that gets played. I think part of it is that growing up I was a music buff and I told my parents I was going to be a radio DJ when I grew up and had to get a job( I think the other was a professional comedian). Now during my Freshman year of college I did train to be a DJ with the college radio station but after I finished and was certified I got so busy with classes and other activities that I never really pursued it any further. Now that I am a Spin instructor I can "DJ" to a semi-captive audience.

So the other night I was subbing the evening class at the gym and the workout was supposed to be a reenactment of the Pinebush bike route and I was just going to "go with the flow" on the music since I use my Ipod instead of burning a CD every time. Now I appriiciate most music…not a big fan of Rap or current Top 40 music, I tend more towards the current "Alternative" music plus the 80's and 90's cheese music holds a dear place in my heart (have ~2 gigs of 80's and 1 gig of 90's music currently on my Ipod).

So we were a over half way through the class and as we did the ride I told the class about my experiences during the triathlon. I was doing a recovery and the song I chose was Dinosaur Jr -Feel the Pain, yeah not a widely known song but a nice low key song for a recovery. About half way through the song one of the students said "You need to play happy songs"…so I found a happy song (Jump Jive and Wail – Brian Setzler Band) on the Ipod then proceeded to embarrass myself by finding the cheesiest songs in the collection.

So I subbed again this morning and spent an hour and a half last night putting together an Endurance ride with the following playlist:
Tarzan's Boy –Baltimora (80's)
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - Flaming Lips (2000s)
Land of Confusion – Disturbed (2000's)
All Over You - The Spill Canvas (Current)
Can't Get Enough of You Baby – Smashmouth (90's)
Goin' Down to New York Town - Counting Crows (90's)
Future's So Bright I Got to Wear Shades - Timbuk 3 (80's)
Pork & Beans – Weezer (Current)
One Step Closer - Linkin Park (2000's)
You Get What You Give - New Radicals (90's)
Rescue Me - Hawthorne Heights (New Release)
I Want A New Drug - Huey Lewis and the News (80's)
We Can Be Heroes - The Wallflowers (90's)
The Underdog – Spoon (Current)
Great DJ - The Ting Tings (New Release)
And We Danced - The Hooters (80's)
Swing Life Away - Rise Against (Current)
Country Roads - John Denver (70's)* probably going to be in every playlist

So it's a bit schizophrenic but it was a fun playlist…hmmm better start working on the playlist for Monday night…thinking Interval Workout