Racer Ready… GO!

Back in the day - the high school and early college days, to be specific - I was an alpine ski racer. It was not the most easygoing existence, with a lot of early morning wake-up calls, and a great need for getting amped up to conquer race courses that would, at times, intimidate.

(That’s a picture of me, back in 1989, racing the downhill at Sun Valley, Idaho: 70+ mph of fun on two planks!)

One thing that my coach used to help us get ready to go out and win was mental training, which involved deep relaxation, then visualization of the race courses, all done while listening to music. While the relaxation part involved placid, classical music, the racing simulation was backed with hard-charging music.

And many of us dragged our old Sony Walkman units up on the hill with us, the poor little AA batteries straining to play the overused cassette tapes in sub-freezing weather. I tended to favor rocking songs from The Beatles - as well as the Floyd song that leads this list, which my coach used (on my recommendation) for the race simulations.

Since then, I still listen to motivating songs - either from the beat, or from the lyrics - to get me motivated to conquer things. And it doesn’t matter if it’s skiing, or cycling, or doing political work, or simply getting out of bed in the morning - I’m still a sucker for motivating tunes.

1. “One Of These Days” - Pink Floyd
   As I said, this is one of the songs that my ski coach, Olle, used for our mental training sessions. Granted, the version I gave to him had the swirling winds and false starts edited out, so that it started on the ever-repeating bass line. But this is a great song: pulsing bass, a quote of the Doctor Who theme, Nick Mason’s sole turn at lead vocals on a Pink Floyd song, and then guitar and drum chaos added to the mix. It’s a wonderful song for getting a move on!
2. “In Step” - Girl Talk
   One of my favorite albums of 2008 is Feed The Animals by Girl Talk, the stage name of Greg Gillis, a disk-jockey-cum-remixer who sampled hundreds of songs, beats and sounds to create what both Sam and I call one of the best workout mixes ever put to tape (or, in this case, hard disk). Gillis lists his instrument as “laptop,” and the magic he works with one is great. This song made the “Hangover” disc that went out with the “hard copy” version of my Last Call 2008 compilation, and while it was very tough to pick a single song out of the constant flow of the Girl Talk album, this song represents just some of the joyous mess that is Feed The Animals.
3. “Immigrant Song” - Led Zeppelin
   This song seems a bit more my style, no? Now that I’ve come to appreciate Led Zeppelin (I wasn’t much of a fan until after high school), this song has become a motivating fave. This is also one of the few Zep songs that seldom strayed from its album arrangement and duration. Zep often jammed on stage, stretching songs like “Dazed And Confused” into half-hour meditations on a theme (or four). Not so with “Immigrant Song,” whose immediacy is perfect for this mix.
4. “Chelsea Dagger” - The Fratellis
   To me, this song is a “fire ‘em up” drunken bar swagger, and I think The Fratellis would appreciate the description. I love this song because it’s bombastic, yet simple, and touches a primal nerve in the adrenaline producing areas of my psyche.
5. “Rip It Up” - Little Richard
   Speaking of primal, Little Richard is the original, and this song still kills more than fifty years after its recording.
6. “Boss Of Me” - They Might Be Giants
   Most will know this song as the theme to “Malcolm In The Middle,” the long-running sitcom on Fox. But the whole song fits the same paradigm as the short, TV version: independence means getting up and moving!
7. “Never Going Back Again” - Fleetwood Mac
   I’m slowing down the mix here at the end for songs that are lyrically motivating. And this Lindsey Buckingham-penned song from Fleetwood Mac’s epic Rumours album is one that I always turn to when I think of falling back into old habits: “Been down one time / Been down two times / Never going back again.”
8. “The World Ain’t Slowing Down” - Ellis Paul
   A tip of the hat to sprite for pointing out the motivating factor of this wonderful Ellis Paul song, one that asks the listener to take life by the horns and live it up, because “the world ain’t slowing down for no one.”

Download: “One Of These Days” - Pink Floyd (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “In Step” - Girl Talk (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Immigrant Song” - Led Zeppelin (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Chelsea Dagger” - The Fratellis (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Rip It Up” - Little Richard (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Boss Of Me” - They Might Be Giants (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Never Going Back Again” - Fleetwood Mac (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “The World Ain’t Slowing Down” - Ellis Paul (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)