Music to run to

Today's a somewhat exciting day in that Eddie Vedder (of my favorite band, Pearl Jam) is releasing a new album in the form of the soundtrack for the movie version of Jon Krakauer's "Into the Wild". The book was based on a true story of a guy fresh out of college who one day just gave away almost all of his possessions and took off on an inexplicable journey across the country, eventually ending up in the Alaskan bush where his body was found by hunters. It's a great book and I'm really looking forward to the movie. I'm also looking forward to the soundtrack since I found out yesterday that it was done by Vedder. I have a dog named Vedder if that's any indication of my obsession with Pearl Jam....I have a Pearl Jam tattoo if you need any more proof. So, this brings me back to my original point, if there was one: music and running. I listen to my ipod most of the time during training runs, never during races. My wife doesn't understand this. I tell her it's so I can talk smack as I leave other runners in my dust. Really, that very rarely happens, so the real reason is that I like to hear the other runners around me so I can get some idea of whether or not they are struggling. The way a person is breathing during a race can tell you a lot about how they are feeling. Back to my point again; here are some of my favorite songs on my ipod right now:

• Anything by Seether - don't know why it took me so long to realize how Nirvana-like they are, but I like em...a lot. They have a new album coming out soon. Love the new single, "Fake It".
• Five Finger Death Punch "The Bleeding" - if you've seen the Kill Bill movies (which are awesome) you'll understand where they got their name.
• Foo Fighters "The Pretender" - Dave Grohl is a genius. Their new album drops soon too.
• Fair to Midland "Dance of the Manatee" - as the song title suggests this band is a little odd. It's like a fairy tale set to heavy metal. Odd but cool.
• Anything by Hinder - one of the best new rock bands in world. They're first album has already spawned four or five hits.
• 12 Stones "Lie to Me" - I was supposed to see them, along with Sevendust and Creed, in Salt Lake City a few years ago but Scott Stapp (Creed's lead singer) had laryngitis and they canceled the show. Sucky.
• Soil "Let Go" - I like their first album and this first single off their new one sounds even better.
• Serj Tankian "The Unthinking Majority" - This guy was formerly the lead singer of System of a Down. System rocked (I have a ton of their songs on my ipod too) and this song sounds virtually just like them. Anyone who takes frequent pot shots at George W. scores big in my book (oops, getting political here).
• Pearl Jam, of course - I think I have "Hail, Hail" and "Corduroy" on my running playlist, two of my favorite songs of all time. "Hail, Hail" is also the ringtone on my cell phone.

Alright, that's it off the top of my head. Maybe you care. Maybe you don't. Maybe you're appalled.