Pop Music…
My love affair with pop music ended about the same time as Debbie (oh sorry, Deborah) Gibson’s career. I was totally in love with Debbie and Tiffany and Paula and to some extent NKOTB (New Kids on the Block) but that ended in the 9th grade when I discovered classic rock. Why would I choose to listen to “Out of the Blue” when I could rock out to “Carry on My Wayward Son”? Seemed like a no brainer. Until I realized I had memorized every single song on the classic rock radio station. Bummer. Then I moved on again. This time to music with meaning (stop rolling your eyes) like Indigo Girls, David Wilcox, Jack O Pierce (R.I.P.), Nancy Griffith, so on and so forth. It was music that spoke to me or about me or about someone I knew or something I might go through, yadda, yadda, yadda. After that came work which successfully pretty much stripped me of all time or energy to investigate music.
But then came Justin. Ah, JT. You single handedly (okay with Timbaland’s help) brought pop music back. To me at least. After a year of running to whatever VH1 or MTV were showing at 5:30 am, my delightful husband bought me an IPod. The greatest invention since the wheel…or at least since the Walkman. I was suddenly able to select the music I wanted to listen to in the morning. And I listen to a lot. I need about 60 minutes of different songs 3 or 4 days a week (the other 2 I do the elliptical so I can watch ESPN). So I started slow with some JT and JLo and even some Beyonce. Then I expanded to old school Janet and Michael Jackson. Then came Will Smith and even some Stevie. I even bought songs I’m pretty sure are far worse than “Like a Virgin”, the only song my parents wouldn’t allow me to listen to, like “Shake Your Money Maker”, “Stronger” and “Hollarback Girl”. The day I purchased my first (seriously, my first) Britney song was difficult. Chris and I stared at the computer as he said “You realize you’re giving her money, right?” but I had no choice. “Toxic” is addictive and has a gosh darn good beat.
Now my pop music selection expands like wildfire. I get tired of songs fairly quickly. I have like 10 “Workout” playlists and with the exception of one entitled “Football Workout” they’re all labeled the same thing only with a different number. Kind of like the queen of England. She’s Elizabeth II. Thankfully, ITunes (another modern miracle) makes suggestions for me based on my prior purchases and since I use the IPod exclusively for running, the only music I have purchased is pop. That keeps things simple. My latest playlist includes Paula Abdual’s “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow”. Love it. Listened to it 3 times this morning. I guess we can credit Randy Jackson…and reality television…for bringing Paula back.
My love affair with pop music ended about the same time as Debbie (oh sorry, Deborah) Gibson’s career. I was totally in love with Debbie and Tiffany and Paula and to some extent NKOTB (New Kids on the Block) but that ended in the 9th grade when I discovered classic rock. Why would I choose to listen to “Out of the Blue” when I could rock out to “Carry on My Wayward Son”? Seemed like a no brainer. Until I realized I had memorized every single song on the classic rock radio station. Bummer. Then I moved on again. This time to music with meaning (stop rolling your eyes) like Indigo Girls, David Wilcox, Jack O Pierce (R.I.P.), Nancy Griffith, so on and so forth. It was music that spoke to me or about me or about someone I knew or something I might go through, yadda, yadda, yadda. After that came work which successfully pretty much stripped me of all time or energy to investigate music.
But then came Justin. Ah, JT. You single handedly (okay with Timbaland’s help) brought pop music back. To me at least. After a year of running to whatever VH1 or MTV were showing at 5:30 am, my delightful husband bought me an IPod. The greatest invention since the wheel…or at least since the Walkman. I was suddenly able to select the music I wanted to listen to in the morning. And I listen to a lot. I need about 60 minutes of different songs 3 or 4 days a week (the other 2 I do the elliptical so I can watch ESPN). So I started slow with some JT and JLo and even some Beyonce. Then I expanded to old school Janet and Michael Jackson. Then came Will Smith and even some Stevie. I even bought songs I’m pretty sure are far worse than “Like a Virgin”, the only song my parents wouldn’t allow me to listen to, like “Shake Your Money Maker”, “Stronger” and “Hollarback Girl”. The day I purchased my first (seriously, my first) Britney song was difficult. Chris and I stared at the computer as he said “You realize you’re giving her money, right?” but I had no choice. “Toxic” is addictive and has a gosh darn good beat.
Now my pop music selection expands like wildfire. I get tired of songs fairly quickly. I have like 10 “Workout” playlists and with the exception of one entitled “Football Workout” they’re all labeled the same thing only with a different number. Kind of like the queen of England. She’s Elizabeth II. Thankfully, ITunes (another modern miracle) makes suggestions for me based on my prior purchases and since I use the IPod exclusively for running, the only music I have purchased is pop. That keeps things simple. My latest playlist includes Paula Abdual’s “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow”. Love it. Listened to it 3 times this morning. I guess we can credit Randy Jackson…and reality television…for bringing Paula back.
I have several songs on my ipod for the purpose of exercise. Toxic is one of my favorite. But a tragedy occurred. When I was in the hospital we had the laptop with us and in loading the car something bumped and destroyed the screen. Apparently I was synced to that computer and when I tried to sync to the desktop.... well I now have 12 songs on my iPod thanks to the i tunes card in my stocking. Maybe that is why I haven't had the motivation to exercise!
ReplyDeleteHey! Maybe Santa will bring you a new one. You never know! I know it must be hard finding the motivation to work out. I'd rather play with Noah than run any day. The music REALLY helps. If I have something fun and new to listen to, then it's easier to jump on the treadmill.
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