55 Songs To Get Me Through 26.2 Miles

Before we get into the final installment of the Marathon Training Blog, Neil would like me to inform you that he’ll be tracking my progress during the race on Monday and will be using Twitter to send people updates. Realistically he’s only going to get 4 updates texted to him by the fancy Marathon technology, but he promises to tweet additional updates throughout the day, even if he’s making stuff up on the fly. You can follow him by going to: http://twitter.com/neilgariepy

And now on to the blog...

I don’t think it’s surprising to tell you that I’m mentally weak, at almost everything in life, but especially athletics. There are countless stories of me walking in the winning run in a softball game, or fouling the best player on the other basketball team with 2 seconds left in the championship game when I was 13 years old. I’m just weak under pressure. Running is no different. I need distractions to keep my mind from convincing me to give up. I could be an Olympic-caliber runner, but if I don’t have music blasting in my ears at all times, I can’t even make it 1 mile without breaking down. Let’s hope for all our sakes that my iPod & headphones don’t shit the bed between now & Marathon Monday.

So now the only question is which songs will I listen to over my 4+ hours of running?

Unlike some other runners, I’m not just going for “music that will pump me up.” That would actually hurt me...if all my music was upbeat, inspiring songs, I’d probably run the first 5 miles at a 6-minute pace & quit shortly after that. Instead, the music on my iPod will represent songs that make me think of someone, and therefore will make me think of good memories with that person, or they will make me think of a specific event/moment in time. And yes, some songs on this list are purely for “pumping me up.”
Without further ado, here is what will be on my playlist for the Boston Marathon:

1). “Thunderstruck” – AC/DC
Dedication: The rafting/camping crew from SF, specifically Tyler Blum.
Reason: For introducing me to possibly the greatest beer drinking game ever. Also might be the simplest beer drinking game: grab beers, throw on “Thunderstruck,” go around in a circle with a different person having to chug beer every time the word “thunder” is said during the song, keep drinking til the next “thunder” is said. At least 3 people will need more than 1 beer for this.

2). “We No Speak Americano” - Yolanda Be Cool
Dedication: San Francisco
Reason: Have been hearing this song over the past year in so many different places in the Bay Area. For some reason have just started associating this with San Francisco, the greatest city not named Boston.

3). “Hells Bells” – AC/DC
Dedication: The ‘01-’05 New England Patriots
Reason: There was a time when us Patriots fans were more excited for their Defense to come onto the field than their Offense. “Hells Bells” seemed to always be blaring over the speakers at Gillette Stadium right before an important Patriots’ defensive stand. Those were the days.

4). “What Would You Do” - City High
Dedication: Julie Bowen
Reason: To my favorite person...what in God’s name caused us to break out into karaoke to this song at a frat party 9 years ago? Definitely not alcohol.

5). “Black” – Pearl Jam
Dedication: My mommy
Reason: Easy. Her favorite color is black. What? You were expecting me to be more creative? I’m just trying to distract myself for 4 hours any way possible here.

6). “All of the Lights” – Kanye West
Dedication: Salt Lake City
Reason: Probably only listened to this song 15 times in 4 days during skiing & car rides on the Xmas trip to Salt Lake City. And thinking of SLC makes me think of the entertainment our friends got by watching Aaron feed me soup (“here comes the airplane”) on the hotel bed during that trip. Good times.

7). “Runaway” – Kanye West
Dedication: Swear words
Reason: They say “assholes” “bitch” “dick” and “douchebag” all in 1 song.

8). “Send Me an Angel” - Real Life (from the movie Rad)
Dedication: Tie--the Ryan kids, Werner
Reason: The movie I will forever associate with my childhood, the one we rented weekly from “Videos, Videos, Videos” and watched with brother #4 (Ed) and sisters #1 & 2 (Al & Care). Cru Jones & Christian (they apparently didn’t give Lori Loughlin’s character a last name) doing the bicycle boogie will live in infamy. And in the case of Werner, I’ll just say that he became so obsessed with this song--and Rad in general--that he spent most of a trip to San Francisco writing down the lyrics & memorizing them.

9). “One” - Metallica
Dedication: Aaron
Reason: He may have been the only 8-year-old in 1989 who would stand in front of the TV nightly and go into headbanger/guitar rocker mode every time this video came on MTV. It was a unique dance that involved a bit of a squatting motion. It became his signature move until he later invented a new basketball shot, called “The Old Man.”

10). “867-5309/Jenny” - Tommy Tutone
Dedication: Colleen
Reason: Legendary karaoke bar scene among our group. Colleen sitting at the bar minding her own business until someone starts singing this song. Energy courses through her body as she starts to rock out. Interestingly enough, she would act like she wasn’t paying attention to the music when they first said “867-5309,” but when they repeat those words...you’ll just have to see for yourself some time.

11). & 12). “Bulls on Parade” & “Vietnow” - Rage Against the Machine
Dedication: Rock the Bells Tour 2007
Reason: Rage reunited for a legendary show in 2007, my first time seeing them. Incredible live performance. I feared for my life only slightly, and feared for my friends’ lives only a lot.

13). “Don’t Stop Believin’” - Journey
Dedication: The BU Crew
Reason: Laugh all you want, but we screamed this song out so many times throughout college. It was on playlists at parties, sung over & over at karaoke nights, and blasted out the car speakers to keep the unlucky driver awake on the 5am car rides home from Foxwoods. Bonus points for this song being associated with the 2004 Red Sox, aka the Greatest Boston Team Ever Assembled (in my opinion).

14). ”Afternoons & Coffee Spoons” - Crash Test Dummies
Dedication: Neil & Aaron
Reason: The Crash Test Dummies didn’t make history on February 19th, 1994, when they appeared on SNL and sang this song (along w/ Mmm Mmm Mmm). No, they actually made history from 2005 - 2007 when that SNL episode set the record for “most consecutive weeks spent on the Gariepy’s DVR.” No words can describe the awkwardness of this event. And sadly it seems like there’s almost no surviving footage of this show, except for a quick shot of the lead singer making the “I may have just shit myself” face, located here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j53VGZnW4fU. People from those reclusive tribes who believe getting photographed will take their spirit away are more comfortable in front of the camera than this lead singer (if you EVER catch an old SNL episode on TV & the TV Guide informs you it’s the Crash Test Dummies’ episode, you sit your ass down and watch...I don’t care if it makes you late to a funeral, you watch).
If I start to feel like quitting during the race, I’ll just throw this on & laugh my way to the finish line.

15). “No Easy Way Out” - Robert Tepper (from Rocky IV)
Dedication: Hatred towards everything Russian.
Reason: Rocky, Lamborghini, Revving the engine, Hallucinations of giant Russian killer, enough said.

16). “Wonderwall” - Oasis
Dedication: Europe trip, especially Lagos
Reason: It seems like Europe is only 14 years behind the U.S. in music trends, as this song was the single most popular song at bars in Europe when I traveled in 2009. It was big in the U.S. in ‘95. Though Jaeger Bombs often wipe out my memory, I could never forget consecutive nights in Lagos standing on a bar & screaming this song at the top of my lungs. Speaking of Jaeger Bombs, what are the chances someone can have this drink waiting for me at the finish line?

17). “We Are the Champions” - Queen
Dedication: 2004 Red Sox
Reason: Whenever I heard this song while growing up, I only thought of 2 scenarios: scoring the winning goal in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals (which was out of the picture the moment I was placed on the “JV 2” team as a high school senior), and the Red Sox winning the World Series. It brought me to my happy place. I realize you think this is corny, but I also realize I don’t give a shit what you think.

18). “Dream On” - Aerosmith
Dedication: Sports
Reason: If this video doesn’t give you chills, you’re a robot: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3379432062150187224# (except non-sports fans. You’ll just be mad I wasted 7 minutes of your time)

19). “I’m Your Captain/Closer To Home” - Grand Funk Railroad
Dedication: Dad
Reason: My Dad’s sneaky good taste in music is epitomized by this song that I’m sure I heard more than 90 times in his car when I was younger. He typically had only 1 CD in his car at all times, so variety was hard to come by.

20). “Glory Days” - Bruce Springsteen
Dedication: Martha’s Vineyard
Reason: Memory of Dad & Uncle Greg getting a little crazy to this song in the living room of our house in Martha’s Vineyard. I remember they made up only about 70% of the words as they sang. I think that was the same year I discovered there’s no way to “discreetly” smoke a cigar, return home to your parents and hide the smell from them.

21). “House of the Rising Sun” - The Animals
Dedication: Trips home to Boston
Reason: Seems like every time we go back to Boston for a holiday, we organize a night out in Boston with Dad, Uncle Greg, Ed “Mayor of the North End” Ryan, Eamon, Bridget, etc, and some kind of insanity always happens--like Al kissing the guy who runs the sausage cart. But nothing was crazier than being in a bar--The Hong Kong I believe--and seeing your Godfather grab a microphone to belt out this song...it was not a karaoke bar, keep in mind.

22). “Treat Me Like Your Mother” - The Dead Weather
Dedication: Female Singers
Reason: I really never end up liking female singers. Historically there’s almost none I can deal with. It’s not a sexist thing; it’s a good music thing. But this song makes me think there’s hope for the future of female singers in Rock. And I like all things Jack White.

23). & 24). “Elias” & “The General” - Dispatch
Dedication: Brad Strode, Rob Frost & anyone else who knows how to play a guitar
Reason: Rob introduced me to Dispatch freshman year of college, I’ve loved them ever since. Rob & Brad were surprisingly good at playing guitar & often jammed out to these songs...and they weren’t those douchey guys playing the guitar just to impress girls. Nothing those two could do would impress a girl anyway.

25). “Everlong” - Foo Fighters
Dedication: The original STB crew
Reason: The first concert I ever attended was Foo Fighters in Fitchburg. I went there with the first group of high school friends I ever had. It was fun.

26). “Dog Days Are Over” - Florence and the Machine
Dedication: Convenient Lyrics
Reason: Mostly because there’s a line in the song that says, “Run fast for your mother and fast for your father. Run for your children for your sisters and your brothers.” It says “run.” Get it?

27). “Pomp and Pride” - Toots and the Maytals
Dedication: Good moods
Reason: Though this song has an actual title, I’ve always just called it the “happy song,” because you can’t listen to it without getting in a good mood. I guess we’ll put that theory to the toughest test possible on Monday.

28). “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived” - Weezer
Dedication: Myself
Reason: Self explanatory

29). “OMG” - Usher
Dedication: Mom, Tahoe trip for Aaron’s Bday
Reason: What do you get when you mix my mom with flip cup? Apparently 15 people singing this song over & over again. To be clear, the most memorable moment of this trip was walking into a room where all the lights were off and 8 girls were swaying back & forth in a circle, singing “Hey There Delilah” by that awful singer...but there was no chance of me putting that song on my iPod.

30). “The Gambler” - Kenny Rogers
Dedication: The High School Crew
Reason: If my memory is accurate, the final song of our Senior Prom wasn’t a slow song where we all danced with our girlfriends. It was The Gambler, and all the guys got in a circle and put 1 hand in the air. Draw whatever conclusions you want, but remember I said we had girlfriends.

31). “All Star” - Smash Mouth
Dedication: The other 2 Musketeers--Julie & Aaron
Reason: There’s still a debate over how many times I threw up in the bathroom of a local bar that the 3 of us used to frequent a few years back. But there’s no debate about this song giving us our most fun night at that bar ever. There might even be photographic evidence somewhere.

32). “Sick of You” - Cake
Dedication: Valentine’s Day Fillmore Show
Reason: Julie & I went to see Cake on Valentine’s Day and they were incredible. Sure it’s debatable on whether I should dedicate a song called “sick of you” to a great memory with my girlfriend, but it is only representative of a great song by a great band, nothing more. (and the whispers begin: “He has a girlfriend?” “Is she blind, deaf, both??”)

33). “Nuthin’ But A G Thang” - Snoop Dogg
Dedication: Neil
Reason: I didn’t wanna bring up the Star Wars theme song again after my Best Man Speech... No, I think I was 10 years old when this song came out & Neil and 1 of the life guards at our country club memorized the lyrics. That was the first time I ever thought Neil was cool. It lasted 3 days until Neil put on his 1-strapped overalls.

34). “Get It Together” - Beastie Boys
Dedication: Aaron & friends
Reason: Car rides to St. Bernard’s sporting events in Aaron’s Jeep usually involved 1 cassette being played over & over, and this was my favorite song on that tape. I believe a bottle of Captain Morgan’s was also involved in these car rides (not until we got to the parking lot of course).

35). “Young Forever” - Jay-Z
Dedication: My maturity, or lack thereof
Reason: I’m 28 years old, but would gladly choose to go back to college any time and stay there for the rest of my life. Growing up blows.

36). “California Love” - Tupac
Dedication: Massachusetts...joking, California obviously
Reason: My home for the last 5 years--I completely understand why people decide to “move to California for a few years” and then end up staying for 40.

37). “The Way I Am” - Eminem
Dedication: Anger
Reason: An angry song that makes me smile.

38). “Burning Heart” - Rocky IV Soundtrack
Dedication: Ben Sardella
Reason: Likely the only person who would force all his past girlfriends to watch all 4 Rocky movies in 1 sitting.

39). & 40). “No One’s Gonna Love You” & “The Funeral” - Band of Horses
Dedication: Australia
Reason: Favorite music I had on my iPod during my travel through Australia in ‘09. Band of Horses became my family for those months...them & the gangsters from The Wire were my only true companions during that time (that sounds incredibly sad).

41). “I’m in Miami Bitch” - LMFAO
Dedication: Mat Loving
Reason: I don’t even think Mat likes this song, but when I hear it, I inevitably think about this group of Yuppies in SF who can often be found wearing 1-piece spandex fully body suits--not to like a Halloween party or something, just for a normal night out. Mat has been part of this group & I’ve never looked at him the same way since.

42). “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” - Michael Jackson
Dedication: Childhood ridiculousness
Reason: It was between this song & Neil Diamond’s “America.” For the Michael Jackson song, all I remember is the neighborhood kids getting together, putting this song on, and then pushing each other back & forth in a “play-fight” sorta way for the next few minutes. Strange, strange kids.

43). “Crazy Game of Poker” - O.A.R.
Dedication: Cait Moran, the STB girls
Reason: Cait, this is the one and only time I’ll ever admit you were right about something. This song kicks ass, and I’m sure I made fun of you and the girls when you first started listening to it in high school. You’re finally getting your props for this song. Don’t let it get to your head.

**Huge apologies to Eamon Moran as I totally blanked on putting the song I wanted to dedicate to you on this playlist. That song of course would be the “1812 Overture,” your favorite song. This is another one that would have had me laughing all the way to the finish line.

The following songs have no specific dedication. They are simply songs & bands that kick ass. And in the case of Black Keys, Muse, Pearl Jam and Mumford & Sons I could have put every song they’ve ever sang on my playlist and been happy.

44). “Never Gonna Give You Up” - Black Keys

45). “Tighten Up” - Black Keys

46). “Little Lion Man” - Mumford & Sons

47). “White Blank Page” - Mumford & Sons

48). “The Cave” - Mumford & Sons

49). “Knights of Cydonia” - Muse

50). “Uprising” - Muse

51). “Stockholm Syndrome” - Muse

52). “Hysteria” - Muse

53). “Just Breathe” - Pearl Jam

54). “Troublemaker” - Weezer

55). “Paint It Black” - Rolling Stones

These 55 songs should eat up about 4 hours, 10 minutes of my run. And for the final 10-15 minutes I want silence. I want the crowd to do their job and get me to that Finish Line. Don’t let me down, Boston crowd.