Writing Life

Definitely a punky feeling and some 70s nostalgia.

• Anarchy in the U.K. – The Sex Pistols
• Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones
• Crimson and Clover – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
• School’s Out – Alice Cooper
• Wild Thing (live) – The Runaways
• Land – Patti Smith

Had a great six mile run today and a perfect soundtrack, thanks to Apple’s Genius option. I seeded it with the first song below.

Zero [Yeah Yeah Yeahs]
Cheap and Cheerful [The Kills]
Ghost Town [Shiny Toy Guns]
In One Ear [Cage the Elephant]
Connjur [School of Sevel Bells]
Great DJ [The Ting Tings]
Bull in the Heather [Sonic Youth]
The Good Ones [The Kills]
The Beginning of the End [Nine Inch Nails]
Gold Lion [Yeah Yeah Yeahs]
Wild International [One Day as a Lion]
Push It [Garbage]
Gouge Away [Pixies]
Rock & Roll Queen [The Subways]
Hang You From the Heavens [The Dead Weather]
Five String Serenade [Mazzy Star]

On Sunday morning (October 19th), I ran my second 5K Race for the Cure up in Hunt Valley, Maryland. This year, Diane treated me to a timed race: an extra $5 for a chip that would give me an official run time based on when I crossed the start and finish lines. The money’s for a good cause (fighting breast cancer), so the extra $5 was well worth it on many fronts. My unofficial race time, based on the clock at the finish line, was about 26:02. Today I found the official results. N.B. My chip time differed from the starter gun time by 5.7 seconds, which is about how long it took me to get from where I was standing to the starting line once the gun fired. Approximately 32,000 people walked, ran and jogged on this beautiful and crisp morning.

My iPhone playlist for this year’s run:

I’ve officially been running for over a year now. I’ve been quit smoking for over a year and a half. Woohoo! And yes, the two are tied together. I was in good shape when I smoked, working out three times a week, but there’s no way I could have run 5.3 miles three times a week through trails and woods. I’m very excited. Quitting helped my running but I couldn’t have accomplished it without my tunes. Here’s today’s list that really helped me slog through this nasty humidity!

1. (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone – The Monkees
2. White Room – Cream
3. Pink Cadillac – Bruce Springsteen
4. Block Rocking Beats – The Chemical Brothers
5. Cheap and Cheerful – The Kills
6. Mercy – Duffy
7. Mon Opinion – Iron Sy
8. Too Many MC’s – Public Domain
9. Fried My Little Brains – The Kills
10. Wargasm – L7
11. Treat Me Right – Pat Benatar
12. Tales of Brave Ulysses – Cream
13. Scrap – L7

Here’s what I listened to while running my first 5K:

1. Chinese Burn – Curve
2. Titanium Exposé – Sonic Youth
3. Blues Before and After – The Smithereens
4. I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
5. Boom (The Crystal Method Remix) – P.O.D.
6. Stick ‘em Up – Quarashi
7. Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A.
8. Though Shalt Always Kill – Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pip

I thought this was a pretty eclectic mix, drawn from a random sampling of a playlist I put together for a friend’s party this past weekend. It was a great mix to get through a good workout this morning!

1. Paranoid – Black Sabbath
2. Yeah! – Usher featuring Lil’ Jon & Ludacris
3. Miss Lucifer – Primal Scream
4. Living After Midnight – Judas Priest
5. Pump It – Black Eyed Peas
6. Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A.
7. In the Air Tonight – Nonpoint
8. Whip It – Devo
9. Wild Thing – Tone-Loc
10. Boom (The Crystal Method Remix) – P.O.D.
11. Good Riddance – Green Day
12. Truth Or Dare – N.E.R.D. featuring Kelis and Pusha T