What I listened to this week.

I went pretty old school this week, mainly listening to things I hadn't listened to in quite some time (and in some cases, years). I do enjoy that all 3 of Tom DeLonge's bands made my top 8. They probably will next week, too. Maybe not Boxcar. I don't know how Metallica got that many plays - I mainly only listened to their one album to rate/mention on this blog. Oh well. I do enjoy Motion City Soundtrack being in my top 8, and I intend on listening to a lot more of them this coming week.

My desktop needed Tom on it.

Album of the day: Motion City Soundtrack - I Am The Movie

Artist: Motion City Soundtrack

Album: I Am The Movie

Genre: Pop Punk

Rating: 9/10

Favorite songs: The Future Freaks Me Out, Perfect Teeth, Autographs & Apologies

I will always fondly remember MCS as the band I discovered at a blink show. They opened for blink-182 in June of 2004 and I had never heard them before. I remember totally digging them and getting their record the next day. I've been a fan of them ever sense! They also are from Minneapolis, where I went to college. I remember seeing them up in St. Paul opening for Fall Out Boy once (the other times I saw them in Wisconsin) and at Warped Tour up in St. Paul also. The hometown crowd was insane. :) I Am The Movie is the first main album of theirs. I like their more recent albums, but I listen to this album very sentimentally.

Album of the day: Hellogoodbye - Would It Kill You?

Artist: Hellogoodbye

Album: Would It Kill You?

Genre: Indie

Rating: 8/10

Favorite songs: Finding Something To Do, I Never Can Relax, Would It Kill You?

This album really surprised me. I hadn't listened to this band in ages, and on a whim I decided to check out this album, which they released last year. It reminds me a lot of Panic At The Disco, which I don't know if they were going for. But I was impressed.

Album of the day: Metallica - Metallica

Artist: Metallica

Album: Self-titled

Genre: Heavy Metal

Rating: 4.5/10

Favorite songs: Enter Sandman, Through The Never, Nothing Else Matters

I'm not a huge fan of this genre, but I had several Metallica albums in my collection. After listening to this I realized I either was not as big of a fan of them as I thought, or this album is really bland.

Album of the day: Box Car Racer - Box Car Racer

Artist: Box Car Racer

Album: Box Car Racer

Genre: Pop Punk

Rating: 8.5/10

Favorite tracks: Watch The World, Letters To God, There Is

I'm a huge Tom DeLonge fan and love anything he is a part of. Box Car Racer was a very short-lived side project of Tom and Travis (blink-182's drummer). This was the only album they released, and they only did one US tour, I believe, with The Used. I don't listen to this album often, but when I do I am impressed by the lyrics encompassed in this album. In its short little life, Box Car Racer was severely underrated.

My top 20 favorite running songs ... right now.

I just added 18 more songs by Googling and finding people's running playlists, because I definitely needed more songs to run to. I find myself skipping a lot of songs and prefer certain ones with certain beats. Here are my top 20 songs that keep me going (right now).

20. Kid Rock - All Summer Long - This is another cooldown/warm-up type of song, but it works in the middle of my runs, too, despite it's slower beat.

19. Lil' Wayne - A Milli - This is another good warm-up/cooldown song. It's got a good steady beat, but it's not incredibly fast.

18. Fabolous - You Be Killin' Em - The beat is kind of slow on this one, but for some reason, it goes on my list and it's a song I never skip when it comes up.

17. Timbaland (feat. Chad Kroeger of Nickelback) - Tomorrow In A Bottle - Slower beat, kind of, but it works. I usually listen to this toward the beginning of my run.

16. Elvis Presley - Promised Land - Yes, I managed to fit an Elvis Presley song on here!!

15. Keith Urban - Some Days You Gotta Dance - Another country song with a great beat that puts a bounce in your step.

14. Metallica - Fuel - Not a great beat to run to, since it's so fast, but it lights a fire under me!

13. Common - Universal Mind Control - Must-have.

12. Super Junior - Sorry, Sorry - This is a Korean pop song, but they have some awesome songs to run to, and this one is my favorite.

11. Lady Gaga - Born This Way - Doesn't have the great beat in the world, but it isn't terrible. I just like the lyrics, they definitely help keep me going.

10. Tom Petty - Running Down A Dream - This should be higher on the list, but oh well. AWESOME BEAT. Perfect for any part of your run.

9. Rodney Atkins - If You're Going Through Hell - Yes, I'm a country fan. This has a great beat and the lyrics are good too.

8. NSYNC - Bye Bye Bye - What's a running playlist without some 90s boybands?

7. Jeremih feat. 50 Cent - Down On Me - Just another song with a really good beat.

6. Yellowcard - Lights & Sounds - This definitely picks my pace up when it comes on.

5. Bloc Party - Price of Gas - This is another song that comes on and I sometimes repeat 2 or 3 times to keep my pace going.

4. Rammstein - Du Hast - Yes, it's German Metal. This is a pretty intense song that will get your butt in gear, though.

3. Josh Turner - Firecracker - Great country song with a good beat for running. Even if I'm nearing the end of my run, this song gives me a little burst of energy every time.

2. Todd Rundgren - Bang On The Drum All Day - Once again, the Packers theme helps. This is a great song to listen to when I'm slowing down at the end or warming up at the beginning. A little slower of a beat than a lot of the others, but it works.

1. Lil' Wayne - Green & Yellow Freestyle - This is the song he wrote before Superbowl XLV. Being a huge Packer fan, the lyrics pump me up as it is, but it has an amazing beat to run to (for me). Sometimes, during runs, if it comes up on my playlist I'll listen to it 2 or 3 times before moving onto another song.