Running Shorts

"Hey Leonardo (She Like Me for Me)" by Blessid Union of Souls So this song choice is a bit of a stretch, but a) I think it's kinda clever; and b) come on, it's North Dakota.  Anyway, the lyric is: "Or that guy who played in Fargo / I think his name is Steve." The lyric is referencing a movie (which I've never seen) about a city (but not the capital city) in the state of North Dakota.  How's that for a connection? I know the song has nothing to do with North Dakota, but since it mentions a movie about a city in the state...close enough. Count it.

"Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show Sorry it's been a while (again...).  So seeing that this is one of the best songs on the list, I don't think I'll write too much.

"Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z + Alicia Keys The hipster in me wishes New York's song could have been a much more original/obscure one.  But really, I think this is the best New York song...and there are a lot of them to choose from. None of the other New York songs are as much of an anthem as this one (sorry Frank Sinatra).  Even if you've never been to New York, I think it still makes you nostalgic/reminiscent for the New York we see on TV and movies all the time. Also, another funny observation: this (and all the other NY songs) are about the city...never mind that there's a whole giant state too.  Yeah that's about right.

"Albuquerque" by Weird Al Yankovic I was originally going to do a Johnny Cash song for New Mexico, but then I thought, What's more timeless, more classic, more uniquely American than Weird Al?  So I decided to flash back to elementary school, when Weird Al was the coolest thing next to Pokemon cards and Beanie Babies.  In fact, this song may be the reason I've never tried and never plan on trying sauerkraut. Although (I have to admit sheepishly), does this even count as a song?  It probably falls more under the insane monologue genre.  But in any case, it's about New Mexico...and I guess that's what counts.

"The Patient Ferris Wheel" by the Gaslight Anthem Jersey's song had to be one of two things: either super Guido, or Bruce Springsteen/the Gaslight Anthem.  I decided to go with the latter, since the first one sucks. The Gaslight Anthem really is Springsteen-esque...gritty, working class, greaser-like rock.  It's totally just a stereotype, but at least this stereotype makes for some real good Jersey music.

"New Hampshire" by Matt Pond PA This is definitely another one of the songs that I googled.  I don't really know if I like it or not; I was just happy to actually find a song about New Hampshire.

Remember that marathon I ran a month ago?  Yeah probably not, since I've been so bad about the blog since then.  So to catch back up: I ran a marathon a month ago.  I said I was going to recap it on here.  I did not.  So this is that (way late) recap. First of all, Chicago is crazy.  Walking down Michigan Ave to the start corrals was unreal.  I don't think I've ever seen so many people in my life...and they were all there to run! I was so nervous in the morning that I only ate 3/4 of a Powerbar.  That was mistake #1. I was in the Elite Development Corral, which is for people trying to run sub 2:30 (spoiler alert: I wasn't even close).  We got to start right behind the elite field, which was incredible.  I was so close I could've given Ryan Hall a high-five, as some of the Elite Development runner did. I started out the first 10 miles at about 5:10-5:15 pace.  That was mistake #2.  In my defense, I didn't see any splits and it was almost impossible not to

"Sin City" by Limbeck I've been pretty bad about posting the last month or so.  My bad. Anyway, I guess I'll pick up where I left off.  I was gonna use Elvis's "Viva Las Vegas" until Viagra ruined the song.  And I do kinda feel bad about using the same band twice, but oh well.  Give me a break, I'm just getting back into this.