Shuffle: The Awesomeness of Randomness

**This is a little revamp of a post I wrote about three years ago. It has been edited, added to, and reposted for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

Fall marathon training is about to begin for myself and many of friends this week and in the upcoming weeks we will be running many miles. Some of us have running groups or running buddies that join us on these runs and some of us run solo. Personally, every single run from the 3-milers to the 20-milers are me, myself, and I. Well, okay, I do have one companion that joins me along the way; one that I never run without: my trusty iPod. I need music during my runs. It's a must for me. I don't like to hear the sound of my feet hitting the pavement or my occasional wheezing. Sometimes, I even need a break from the thoughts going through my own head. The music on my iPod takes me away from all that. I clip that bad boy to my bra, pop my headphones in, and I am out the door, ready to rumble.

My iPod makes the perfect running partner because I trained her so well. She has new jams and old jams. Some hip hop, some pop, some R&B, and some electronica. There is quite an eclectic selection of songs on there (I use a bunch of them for spin too), but since I have freaking fantastic taste in music (duh), all the songs on there are top notch. Obvs. There are some songs though, that I get much more excited to hear than others and really get me going. I don't necessarily seek them out, but they happen to show up right at the exact moment I seem to need them. The moment the song begins, my ears perk up, a wide smile begins to form, and sometimes my pace even picks up. No matter how old these songs are (most are late 90's and early '00's), and no matter how many times I hear them, I never get sick of them. They were songs that I played over and over when they first came out and now when they randomly show up when I shuffle my music, I am thrilled to hear them and get totally pumped.

Do you have songs like that? You must, right? We all do, don't we? In no particular order, the songs below are songs that never, ever get old for me. I know all the words to them (and have zero shame belting them out in public during my run) and they all have great beats for a solid running rhythm. Additionally, one of the reasons I may like them so much is because most of them hold some kind of significant value because of a memory they evoke. Just take a listen and see if they get you as hyped and excited as they do for me. Here are my top ten favorite jams that NEVER GET OLD...

1) Thong Song. Sisqo. This song came out my senior year of high school just in time for Spring Break (woohoo!), where it played on repeat all week. It has a special place in my heart because of that, and for the fact that it is just super awesome. Man, I wonder what ever happened to Sisqo?

2) Ride Wit Me. Nelly. Nelly was the king of 90's hip-hop and this song was my favorite of all his hits. If I could have pulled it off, I would have rocked the band-aid over my eye just like him.

3) Regulate. Warren G. This one totally ups my street cred. Just kidding. But seriously, this song is amazing. And, it makes me think of one of my fave "sports" movies too, Above the Rim.

4) Call Me Maybe. Carly Rae Jepson. This is prob the most recent song on this list and I really get into it, sometimes with some phone-to-ear choreography mid-run. Plus, I just love the concept of it. Each time I hear this song I wish I had a piece of paper with my number cutely scribbled out with my name to hand out to all the cute guys I see and/or meet along the way.  

5) Ignition. R. Kelly. If I had to pick one song on this list as my absolute fave, it would prob be this one. Does this song EVER get old? Nope. Never. I have vivid memories of my mom and I (yes, she knows all the words too because she is the best) rocking out to this in the car, windows down, driving along A1A in Florida on vacation. "It's the freaking weekend baby, I'm about to have me some fun."  Damn right.

 6) I Want It That Way. Backstreet Boys. I cannot tell you how many times I've karaoked to this song (it's my go-to). I went to not one, but two, Backstreet Boys concert in high school and totally made eye contact with Nick Carter. Swoon, right? I have, and always will be, a sucker for boy bands and this one was no different. 

 

7) Runaway. Real McCoy. I may or may not quickly break out into the running man during my run when this song comes on. This was my jam at bar and bat mitzvahs back in the day and my love for it never went away. 

8) Mo Money, Mo Problems. Notorious BIG, Diddy, and Mase. When this song first came out, I was in high school and working at a camp with a counselor that looked like Mase, who I obviously had a huge celebrity crush on. At the time, liking him and having this song play on the radio was just the best combination ever. 

 9) Man in the Mirrror. Michael Jackson. Who doesn't love this one? Ummm, no one. AmIRight? MJ nailed it. Even though its more of a slower paced song, it definitely keeps me motivated to keep going and pushing forward.

 10) Big Pimpin/Papercut. Jay-Z and Linkin Park. The combination of the hip-hop and alternative rock makes this one such a unique song. I was never a fan of Linkin Park but when they joined up with Jay for their Collision Course album, it was straight fire.

 Everyone has their own taste in music, but for me, these are it.  Are any of these on your list? Did any of them surprise you? Do you love these ones as much as I do? What are the songs on YOUR music player that surprise you the most, make you smile, and give you an extra pep in your step?

I've debated putting these songs, along with a few others on a special playlist of oldies but goodies for me, but then decided I wouldn't be as excited each time they randomly played. To have them come up on shuffle (always at the right time) makes it that much more special. Put them on your music player and see if they do for you what they do for me. I certainly hope that's the case!!