“Running in place will never get you the same results as running from a lion.”
And THANK GOD that didn’t happen today, because I probably would’ve been eaten in a heartbeat. The weather was at a sweltering 98F, and the entire time I was starting to glaze off.
Lately, I have been noticing my tempo has been at an unusual pace. Mind you, I don’t listen to music while I’m running anymore–I have found that it throws me off kilter, and I end up running waay faster than I should. But sometimes…
You know when you watch a movie or listen to the radio, and an earworm gets stuck inside your head?
The cure is to listen to any song by One Direction.
Well, going to work my mom has a tendency to play her USB card in her car. Really cool, I can’t complain, except for the glaring fact that she has not updated the playlist with any new songs SINCE SHE BOUGHT HER FIRST IPOD EIGHT YEARS AGO last month. If I didn’t catch an earworm in that car of hers, it was probably because I was deaf. Sadly Fortunately, I am not–but there are some songs that I can tolerate, and even as it plays in my head now I must say that Yanni has had some catchy tunes in the past 18 years since he performed his concert live from the Acropolis.
Yes– The great and powerful Yanni. The mustachioed, soft-spoken man with black hair and a mustache that God shows off to his friends when he has them over for dinner. Don’t you remember that awesomeness playing on PBS? Two and a half hours of this Greek god and his muses playing some of the most philharmonic music that few have seen since Beethoven, except Beethoven did not have a rocking mustache.
Or the windswept hair of Jesus.
Well, there was this one particular song, a medley comprising of Acroyali and Standing in Motion, which is essentially one step short of becoming a Daft Punk live mash-up (awesome, if you get my drift). I failed to realize the impact that this would have, hearing the flutters of violins and the crescendo of drums, brass, and strings until realizing one night run that I was actually running to the beat consistently for an hour (If you haven’t clicked on that link before…WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? Admire the man’s flowing locks!). Then again, after hearing this song twice a day in my mom’s car to and from work, I suppose it was only natural that this song would end up burrowing deep into my ear like a Ceti Eel. But apparently, there is more to this song than I actually had thought.
According to an article from Epilepsy Action in the UK, Yanni’s composition is one of only three songs that have been scientifically founded to have the “Mozart effect” upon his listeners. That means that if you’re doing something that requires some serious focusing, like running for an HOUR IN 98F WEATHER, the song will have a major beneficial impact in improving your mental focus.
So finishing up this article, I decided to list some of the earworms that have wriggled recently into my brain as I go into running mode:
1. Yanni – Acroyali/Standing in Motion
Seriously, man, this is the third time I’ve linked this youtube video. CLICK IT. The beat is just so perfect to run to, with or without an ipod.
2. Michael Nyman – The Other Side
Six simple notes, all played on string, just drives you to go onwards. Gattaca, by the way, is the movie that this song is from, and the scene has the most inspiring exchange that I have ever heard.
“You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton– I never saved anything for the swim back.”
3. Randy Edelman, Trevor Jones – Promontory
If you watch Last of the Mohicans, there is a long, continuous scene of our hero, Hawkeye, and his adoptive Mohican family in hot pursuit of a pack of Inuit warriors, armed to the teeth, who have his lover and her sister captive. The scene is a master stroke of action and suspense, and the music is a thrilling sweep of emotion, perfect for working out. The tune gets stuck in my head, consistently, when I face a bitchin’ steep/long hill.
4. Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
Why should I even bother playing it? It’s probably on the radio now. CONFESSION: I sing it as I’m running to make sure that I’m running at a manageable pace. I know you’re judging. SHUT UP.
5. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard – Molossus
Oh COME ON, HOW CAN THIS SONG NOT get stuck in your head? Batman probably listens to this song in his Tumbler. Oh wait, no he listens to #4.
Does anyone else have an earworm that they have in their head as they’re running..out there? Comment your favorites or your hated ones!
A Bowl of Fried Race 