Better Git It In Your Soul!

Thank you Charles Mingus for composing such a great piece of work.

I have recently taken up jogging. From my last blog on the subject I have been taking this thing rather seriously since I have a new toy to play with. Mainly my GPS blackberry thingummyjig. It tells me where I've gone, how fast (and sometimes how high) I've gone in my last run. With every run, my speed tends to get faster though it has never been the same journey twice.

I did attempt to make the same journey twice last night but after my little comment on Cuzzer's blog about getting lost whilst running, I seem to have been blessed with instant karma. Yes. I got lost. In Peckham. Again. Mainly due to the music I've been listening to on my mp3 player. Perhaps I need an upgrade to a bigger iPod. The music I tend to like is usually of the more soulful variety - Joni Mitchell, Ray LaMontagne, David Gray, Aimee Mann and such the like. Not ideal running partners as most of them are in a minor key or with quite an al dente bpm (having said that The Beat of Black Wings is a great running song, though Vietnam war anti-heroes talking about being a pawn in a war don't make for great enthusiasm!) 

However You Get What You Give (The New Radicals) is amazing. It does cause sudden bursts of euphoria while running which are great as suddenly I start running faster almost to sprint levels, bypassing shoppers with that 'what de bway gwan teft?' look.

I did have to raid my flatmate's cds for running music and the cds that I seem to be given for birthdays, Christmasses etc (that weren't on my wishlist). I must say, having given it a go for 3 listens Madonna's latest 'album' is rubbish. The writing is just so bad. If anyone ever wanted a reason for women over 45 to not do dance music, this album is it. Though her Anna Friel song is another euphoria-inducing track from 'Ray of Light'.

The only problem with tanzmuzik while running is that at traffic lights, I tend to dance. And running while doing 'big fish, little fish, cardboard box' is a sight to behold. Yeah, I went clubbing in the early 90's.

What I have enjoyed this week is the inclusion of Charles Mingus' 'Ah Um' album. Recorded in 1959 it's great music to run to. Firstly because it great jazz (or technically it's 'hard bop') but because it's so smokin' it does feel like you're in a film noir being chased by the cops. In Peckham, this is not hard to imagine. 

It also gave me the reason to get lost in Peckham. Again. So smokin' was the music that I missed the turn, or turned too early or something (looking at the map, I was one street too early. I really wanted my GPS to be working this time. After 'enjoying' Alan Curr's attack of the grumps last week about getting lost, instant karma certain made it's presence known. So this week I am bereft of my 'lost map' of my journey which would have made an amusing picture.

Hey ho.... as they say in Peckham. More later. Zooby Overandout.