DJ Dabble: Dorky Cardio Edition/Nike + iPod

 

So, I've been trying to get back into the exercise mode lately. Recently my gym installed these very exciting individual television monitors on the cardio machines, enabling one to watch E! True Hollywood Stories while burning calories. At first, I found that I would work out longer just so I could see what happened to Pink and her dirt-bike racing boyfriend (they got married). But then Time Warner took over the cable company and deleted all the good channels, and all we seem to get now is C-Span and Eric Garcetti holding court on the LA City Council. Not really stuff that inspires you to push yourself to extreme physical limits.

Thankfully, Nike and iPod have teamed up to give us what more or less amounts to a really high-tech pedometer. With the 'Nike +' adapter for the iPod Nano, a pair of 'Nike +' compatible sneakers, and some good tunes in your music library, you can have your own personal trainer in your ear. Additionally, the device allows you to keep track of your workouts and load all the information on to Nike's website, setting calorie, distance, time and speed goals if you choose. At the end of a workout, If you've run faster than usual,Lance Bass Armstrong might congratulate you and encourage you to keep up the good work. Pretty nifty, even if it's just a gimmick. God I'm such a sucker (and consumer).

Of course, Nike and iPod have compiled some of their own personal-training/music combos that one can download for a fee. But I've browsed through the selection and the music is just not up to DJ Dabble's standards. Which is to say, the music is just too damn good.

When it comes down to it, I want to work out to terrible pop music. And if I'm getting tired , the music should be all that cheesier. Luckily, this gadget has a special function: at any time I can simply press the center button on my Nike enabled Nano and it will jump straight to my 'power song', which currently is set to a Linkin Park anthem: nothing quite says 'sprint' like soft-metal-rap-fusion.

What follows is the mix I've been jogging to lately. Criterion for inclusion? A song must have a more than fair chance of appearing on the soundtracks of TV shows such as The OC, Grey's Anatomy, or Laguna Beach. For the more dated music, I should probably also include The Real World New York (second edition) and Las Vegas. I'll leave it up to you to guess which songs might appear on which shows, though suffice it to say Grey's Anatomy, with its KCRW taste, is on the under-represented end of the spectrum, and MTV's Laguna Beach is there in full force. Yay for Kelly Clarkson!

Without further ado, here's the mix which you can purchase at the iTunes Music Store (or, as always, write me and maybe we can work something out):

1. I Write Sins Not Tragedies, Panic! At the Disco
2. Crawling, Linkin Park
3. Semi-Charmed Life, Third Eye Blind
4. Move Along, All-American Rejects
5. Hips Don't Lie (featuring Wyclef Jean), Shakira
6. SOS, Rihanna
7. Here It Goes Again, O.K. Go
8. In the End, Linkin Park
9. Bring Me To Life, Evanescence
10. Hung Up, Madonna
11. Miss Independent, Kelly Clarkson
12. Soundtrack to Your Life, Ashley Parker Angel
13. Diry Little Secret, All-American Rejects
14. Steady as She Goes, The Raconteurs
15. How To Save a Life, The Fray
16. What's Left of Me, Nick Lachey