Britt's On

I've been meaning to write this post forever, because I love music as much as books, computer games, movies, and TV. And I love those things a LOT. Anyway. My boyfriend's work gives you free gym memberships, however we missed last year's cut-off for the year, so we didn't get them until this year...I think we got them *right* at the end of June. This gave me the opportunity to create a workout mix, load up ye ol' iPod Shuffle (because who cares what happens to a six-year-old Shuffle at this point), and sweat to the newbies, and the oldies.

Whilst drafting my mix, I did a bit of searching for ideas to populate my mix with, beyond the 439 songs I currently have on it. There were a lot of classic suggestions - Eye of the Tiger anyone? - but I have to say, I'm pretty happy with my mix.

So I'm going to add my two cents. If you're looking for workout music suggestions, look no further. For now anyway - I've got a lot of great ideas, so this is just volume 1!

My general criteria for good workout music:
- It's got a consistently upbeat tempo (i.e. you're not twiddling your thumbs through a 45-second intro or outro)

- It's distracting enough that you can sometimes forget about the fact the song is 4:38 seconds, and thus you count every. single. second. as you run

- I also love songs that surprise me with some sort of upbeat messaging - not quite as literal as 'I've Got The Powah!' but the chorus of songs like Katy Perry's "Firework", Britney Spears' "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" and Jamiroquai's "Use The Force" are all great examples.

- Of course, you've got to like the artist. If you can't stand Britney as a vocalist - ignoring the fact you might not respect her as a musician - then skip my song suggestions there.

Are you surprised? I think Entertainment Weekly reviewed her last album with the words "plenty of great tunes for the treadmill" included in there. Her last three albums in particular are goldmines for upbeat, supercharged songs. Here's a quick list of my top ten Britney workout tunes, in no particular order other than my iTunes organizing stuff by album title.
10. Break The Ice (Blackout) - bit of a slower intro, but I adore this song. I dare you not to swivel your hips on the elliptical.
9. Toy Soldier (Blackout) - consistently upbeat. Army theme works well for working out.
8. Womanizer (Circus) - awesome tempo and beat. Fun to sing along to in your head as well.
7. Till The World Ends (Femme Fatale) - electric and pretty much demands a high-level of energy, particularly once the beat kicks into overdrive a minute in.
6. Hold It Against Me (Femme Fatale) - probably one of the fastest songs she's ever done, although weirdly the chorus is a little slower. Still a great one for working out.
5. (Drop Dead) Beautiful (Femme Fatale) - I love when this song comes on. It's all about 'looks' and body image, so you'll definitely feel motivated to give it when the chorus hits.
4. Toxic (In the Zone) - I mean, obviously. String quartet on acid.
3. Me Against The Music Justice Remix (B In the Mix) - For the record, the original is also good, as is the 'In The Zone' Reshi Rich remix.
2. Crazy (Baby One More Time) - you want the 'Stop' Remix here, clearly. Lots of Britney's early stuff is a touch too slow to qualify as good workout tunes, but Crazy is a classic.
1. Selfish or Up 'n' Down (Femme Fatale bonus tracks) - Torn between these two.

Honestly, I have about 25 Brit songs on my overall workout mix. Her stuff is super upbeat and energized, you really can't go wrong.

I’ve been listening to Timbaland’s ‘Shock Value II’ lately, subtitle: “Anyone Can Be A Star With Autotune!”, and I have to say, I’m impressed. Along with the Black Eyed Peas will.i.am, few producers out there can consistently churn out such annoyingly innovative, diverse, and catchy insta-hits.

While Timba’s vocal talent is questionable at best, his choice of guest stars is inspired and diverse – from pop starlets Miley Cyrus and Jojo to unexpected collaborations with Chad Kroeger and Drake to familiar faces like Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake, the album manages to subvert the negativity that can come with banking on your guest star prowess to make a good album.

In actuality, Timbaland has a nice symbiotic system set up. If you work with him, you’re pretty much guaranteed a top 20 hit. In fact, looking at singles released from SVII, Carry Out (Justin Timberlake), If We Ever Meet Again (Katy Perry), Marchin On (One Republic), Morning After Dark (Nelly Furtado and SoShy) all reached the top 10, while his collaborations with Miley Cyrus hit 63 (and was only on the chart for one week) and Drake hit at 23. Plus, if you’re someone who is taking time off from the gruelling rigors of touring and promotion, it’s a simple way to keep your name and mug on the charts. Timba in turn gets street cred by proxy, actual vocal talent, and establishes relationships with stars who might hire him down the line. Genius.

This brings me to the rise of the EP. Several up and coming stars, and I mean really up and coming, have commented that the EP is the way to go. Consider the pros of this model. It allows you to produce new material more often to satiate your fans, and continually boosts album sales – you can charge more than half the cost of a CD for a 4-5 song disc. It reduces the use of ‘filler’ to round out an album, earning you higher reviews. It allows you to experiment with a new style of music or sound. It reduces the pressure and strains of having to release a new album and reinvent yourself entirely (see: Christina Aguilera). It plays better with the iTunes generation because the constantly refreshed content is a u-pick operation. If your EP spawns a huge hit, even if the other tunes aren’t smashing successes, people will be less likely to call it a ‘one-single’ album (see: Smashmouth and Sugar Ray), and more likely to shell out the extra few bucks to see what else you’ve been spinning in the studio. It gives you an opportunity to promote singles instead of entire albums, which is way less work. It gives you new material to integrate into an existing tour concept. It tides your fans over till you’re ready to do a full-length album (see: Death Cab for Cutie). It gives record companies the chance to test an uncertain star (see: Drake). It can still propel mini-tours – hitting the big cities or cities tied to a certain theme (ex: if you’re doing blues, hit some of the more industrial, earthy cities, or only go to festivals) by allowing you to integrate some new material with the classics people will most desperately want to see.

I could go on. Of course there are pros – marketing and otherwise – to sticking to full-length albums. It’s a lot easier to package an image, a brand, and an artist together when it’s hinged on a large album concept – you can have the Christina Aguilera ‘Stripped’ tour, merchandise, and general feeling from that era of her career. Britney Spears’ latest effort, ‘Circus’, makes a similar case for the packaging of a brand by album, not single – although Britney refreshed her tour halfway through with the release of her greatest hits and the #1 single ‘3’. Also Britney is one of the exceptions to the rule – the industry is so interested in working with her she’s able to more quickly roll out music than more artists, although the idea of her doing an EP is of interest.

That being said, I see the rise of the EP becoming a continual trend in the industry. I’m not the first person to say it and I won’t be the last, but it just makes sense for the music biz to embrace this change.

Circling back to Timbaland…his album works as singles, that are reminiscent of how EP’s work. If he were smart, he’d consider doing EP’s exclusively with one or two artists he’s really interested in developing – whether it’s ‘Timbaland Presents…’ or just taking the production credits to the nth degree, as he does. Or he would consider putting on his own two-day music festival featuring the artists he most frequently collaborates with, the ones he’d like people to learn more about, including him hopping on stage to join them, or headlining his own show during the festival and have all the guests there at once. It’d be massive.

My point about Timbaland, especially in terms of his lack of vocal talent, is that he is a music brand, and that works *well* in making EP’s successful. Dude should take advantage.

Just sayin!

- Britt’s On