Girly music?

Becky and I can usually agree on anything and everything running related. We don't love the same brand of shoes but we know how important it is to keep a wide variety of running shoes. We love our running tanks. We love tech t-shirts (although I usually cut mine up). We love Chomps and Sports Beans. We love the wedge salad at Johnny Carino's. (okay, maybe not running related, per se). We love our Garmins.

But when it comes to music, boy are we ever different!!

She would tell you (in a very nice way) that I have strange, dark, weird taste in music (I prefer to call it eclectic and awesome) while I will simply smile and nod when she professes her love for Bieber and McCartney. (no, not Paul. Jesse.).

There is, despite how much we love running, very little we would agree on when it comes to running music.

Often, when I see magazines or runners post running playlists, I scroll through them and I don't find ANYTHING relateable.

Hmmmm... maybe Becky's right about me?

Anyway, this weekend I came across a playlist titled "Grrl Power." And this is what this post is really about: When you put together a playlist called "Grrl Power" I expect some.... power. Yet most of the time, when I see these "Girl Power" "Girls Rock" "Girls Night Party" "Let's Hear it for the Girls" (the second two are actually available on iTunes, blech) it's like someone took a generic outline and said "if you're going to make a mix and market it to the girls, you have to have these: Brittney Spears. Selena Gomez. Beyonce. Rhianna. Kelly Clarkson. Let's add a little 'rock' with No Doubt and Avril Lavigne. Throw in any song that has the word: Independence, Survivor, and Respect. Oh, and add in some Lady Gaga and Katy Perry because they are empowering, right? Now slap a picture of a sexy lady dancing and boom, put it on the shelves!"

uhhh.... I'm going to need something a little more hardcore

No lie, in researching this post I looked at 4 different playlists and EACH ONE had "Womanizer" on it by Brittney Spears. How is that one motivating? I'm not trying to be all feminist on you, I'm just sayin....

Now, these mixes do have their place. I like to use them in group fitness classes because usually, you have a wide age range of participants and chances are, the songs are being played on the radio Top 40 so people know the songs and can sing along (at least in their heads). These mixes are generic and fluffy enough to have fun to and, okay, I really like "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera in my kickboxing class.

They have a good steady beat, which makes it easy to stay on tempo, especially when you're constantly counting off sets of 8.

But that's not how I run.

When I'm running, I don't want to have Lady Gaga's costumed, self-groping image in my head. I don't wanna think about kissing girls with Katy Perry. I don't want to feel like I need to shower off the stripper glitter after listening to Ke$ha.

So, I put together my own playlist of Girly Power Music. I wanted to load it into mixpod but most of the songs I wanted aren't available so there's no instant play. If you wanna check the songs out, you can look them up on iTunes or youtube. I will try to embed a few of my favorites via youtube below.

We're always always always uploading more music and looking for more music, so  send us your favorites!!

So here's Jen's mix. Some of it is heart-pumping, some of it is heart-swelling; some of it feels fierce and some of it feels fluffy. That's pretty much how I run though. I don't stay on a set tempo the whole time. I run through a mix of terrain, a mix of speeds, a mix of feelings. I like for my music to reflect that.

Shake it Out-- Florence and the Machine (turn it up. Louder. LOUDER!!!!)
Crushcrushcrush- Paramore
When I'm Alone-- Lissie (the live version on youtube is better than the album version on iTunes)
Heavens a Lie-- Lacuna Coil
Breathe Me-- Sia-- remix version
Set Fire to the Rain- Adele
Looking Up- Paramore
Alice- Avril Lavigne
Where Does the Good Go- Teagan and Sara
Dog Days are Over- Florence and the Machine
Volcano Girls- Veruca Salt
Ready to Go-- Republica and Dave Arch (make sure you get the "and dave arch" version)
How he Loves (Live)-- Flyleaf
I Have Found-- Kim Walker
Again-- Flyleaf
Not Gonna Get Us- T.a.t.u.
Sister Rosetta (2011 version)-- Noisettes
Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi Cover) -- Lissie (again, live version on youtube is best)
I'll Fly with You-- Gigi d'Agostino
Temptation Waits- Garbage
Faster Kill Pussycat-- Brittany Murphy
Sweet About Me- Gabrielle Cilmi