And long before I knew you, I've got the scars to prove it.

So, as many of you know. I've taken up running again. It's beeen almost 10 years since I was a good athlete in high school. I ran cross country and track. It was time for a change. Figure I eat pretty healthy, but still have a problem gaining that extra weight up the middle. I've been running off and on for the past 6 months, but have really kicked it up a notch over the last 3 months. I discovered how much more fun running is with an iPod. I've never really been able to run with music in the past, as cd players tended to skip, and making cassette tapes always just seemed improbable. And mini-disc, never quite worked either. I found the unit would skip too much and wasn't quite conducive to the shaking involved. So, then came the iPod. I am not sure why I never tried this before. It seemed ideal really. You could even use the clock feature to time yourself. It changed the way I run. If you're going on a nice casual run, just load up some mid-tempo jams. If you're going on short timed runs, go with something faster paced. It totally revolutionized the way I run.

To top it off, I recently purchased one of those new iPod shuffle units. It's a featherlite item with a capacity of 1GB, or about 250 songs. 1000 if you're loading it up withy Misfits, Mclusky, NOFX or Descendents songs. It's great for those long runs and a good mix loaded up. The two things I really hate are no display feature showing songs or a clock. The other thing is the ability to only synch it up with one computer. Which sorta makes it worthless for taking it to and from work unless you want to keep loading it up at each place and then erasing when getting to the other location. But for $79, you can't really beat it's convenience and portability.

Here's a nice little iMix I made for a short 4 or 5 mile run. I think it works well it getting the heart rate up and keeping it pretty steady in the middle, and kicking it up right at the end, when I find I need it most. A good mix of bands and songs, including Bloc Party, Placebo, Editors, Mew, Muse, and some make sure to check out the first band, 78 Saab band. They kill and I love that song, "Saviour". Seemed like the best song to start off a good run with. I think their bio on myspace describes them most appropriately,
78 Saab are a beautiful rock and roll band like no other. Distinctively husky, yet lustrous vocals accompany psychedelic guitars and cruise effortlessly with the rhythm section across a soundscape of emotive and endearing songs that range from gently textured trippier moments to unrestrained rock.
The band are currently preparing to record their third album. I cannot wait to hear this. Maybe we'll get lucky and they will come to the US and play some shows for us. I have read some live reviews, and they are supposed to be great live.

Listening Pile
I've really been diggingJudah Johnson lately. He first came to my attention about 5 or 6 years ago, through his early demos, when the band was pretty much just known as frontman, Daniel Johnson. I always thought he seemed like a good singer with some interesting music and arrangements. Well, for obvious reasons, he went with the Judah moniker and has now released his 2nd full length, BE WHERE I BE I love the carefully constructed soundscapes, with tightly wound drum machines, deep bass grooves, washy guitar tones, sweeping melodies and gently layered vocals. It's a great treat, and while the band hasn't fully hit it's creative peak, there are some miscues here, this album touches on some serious promise for future releases. Check out some his of tunes at their myspacepage. Or go straight here and listen to "Little Sounds", possibly my favorite song right now. And I'm totally bummed I missed them live during CMJ, but it looks like they are touring a bit on this new release.