In which we take up a useless challenge

The useless challenge to the self was to pick songs with car references, and do it fastly and furiously. There is no point making a best of list, just fast list. And, It has nothing to do with the Singapore GP, I promise. These were the first 12 that came to my mind in less than a minute.

1. Roadhouse Blues – The Doors
2. Red Corvette – Prince
3. Take it Easy – Eagles
4. Highway star – Deep Purple
5. Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett
6. Drive my Car – The Beatles
7. Fast Car – Tracy Chapmpan.
8. Stolen Car – Sting.
9. American Pie- Don McLean.
10. Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin
11. Hotel California: The Eagles.
12. Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell

Gym Tracks

I was running this morning and realized that music completely changes the way I work out.. Frankly, most of the songs I listen to during normal hours just don’t work in the gym. I mean, imagine listening to Belle and Sebastian during a workout as opposed to listening to a pop-remix. I need a steady rhythm, a certain kind of repetitiveness that only pop or hip-hop can offer. And then I wondered if every rock-junkie has their hip-hop indulgence in the gym.

My absolute gym indulgence, off late, is Black Eyed Peas’ Pump it. While I can’t claim to remotely like Black Eyed Peas and I certainly don’t want to be caught dead in the “Hip Hop” circle of the Venn Diagram, I must admit the energy of this song always gives me an adrenaline rush. With every subsequent Pump it (louder), I feel every muscle in my body wanting to push it to the brink, losing complete control by the time they spell Bee-el-ay-see-kay-eee-wy-ee-dee-pee. To the ee. To the ay. To the ess. I stop to catch a breath when Fergie goes La-da-di-da-da-di-daa on the stere-ere-ere-ereo. When it plays you shake your ass.In fact, you would probably see me grooving on the gym floor when the speakers blow my mind, and I let it go. Since the track doesn’t have a distinct outro/fade out, I can just go on and on as it loops. (I once did nearly 40+ knee-pushups with this track on, for me it is a big deal)

Sampled from a very old Surf Rock track called Misirlou by Dick Dale and the Del tones, it was made famous to our generation by QT’s cult Pulp Fiction. Watch the video below, and do check out the guy next to the girl doing the twist. Seems so et cetera types, but he’s funny nevertheless:

Apart from that, the other tracks apart from the ones that play in the gym, have been some other Bolly remixes, and for a long time Jay-Z/Linkin Park’s Numb/Encore. Another major one over the past few months has been Jimmy by M.I.A. Jimmy, aaja – yes, that one. I am a huuuge fan of Bappi Da, but the M.I.A version works wonders in the gym or even while running.

Out with it all you gym rats and lonely-long-distance-runners, tell me, give me a list of songs, your fitness charts, the songs you love to work out or run with.