Rappers have
their hype men, athletes have their playlists.
As my friends
and I prepare for our respective running races, I think of the different jams
that we are all listening to that get us motivated to run a long distance.
I always
subscribe to the fact that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion (as well
as musical taste). That cliché could not
be more true in the city of New Orleans, where Josh L. trained for the Rock n’
Roll Half-Marathon while listening to “a financial advisor podcast or articles
from the New Yorker”. Meanwhile 6,800
miles away, my brother-in-law continues to prepare for the Jerusalem
Half-Marathon with songs like Run the Jewels with DJ Shadow’s “Nobody Speak” – in which there are lyrics like
“I'm unmentionably fresh, I'm a mensch, get correct.” And for those of you wondering, the jams
pumping out of my headphones as I run the trails of Frick Park are typically
Rage Against the Machine, but most of all I am just trying to brainstorm new
blog ideas.
Running is
not the only sport I associate with music. I recently attended a college
basketball game at my alma mater.
Stepping into the Foggy Bottom gym, I was reminded of the fact that when
I was in school the team used to listen to MC Breed featuring 2Pac’s “Gotta Get Mine” before heading out onto the
Smith Center floor. These days, I
couldn’t tell if it was Post Malone or Meek Mill, but whoever it was, I was
pleasantly surprised that it got the student section on its feet.
I try to
channel this same powerful musical energy for my sons, before their basketball
games. I make every effort to play an upbeat song for my sons before they take
the court for one of their games. Hands down, this season’s highlight was their
response to G. Love & Special Sauce’s 1998 song “I-76”.
And in my
adopted home city of Pittsburgh, there is a song played at Heinz Field that
defines whipping the crowd into frenzy.
Who would have thought when Tommy Shaw was writing “Renegade” in 1978 for Styx’s album ‘Pieces of Eight'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeRoi43azds that it would eventually be used to “rock”
an NFL stadium ().
I would like
to think that we have come a long way since Gary Glitter’s 1971 “Rock and Roll,
Part 2” (aka “The Hey Song”) was the anthem at all arenas and stadiums, but it
really boils down to the DJ knowing his audience or the hype man, knowing the
right exclamations and interjections to increase an audience's excitement.
Thanks for
reading!
