Those of you who’ve been reading for a while know I moonlight as a water aerobics instructor in my neighborhood pool in the summer. My class is mostly around the age of my parents, with some a little above and some a little below that divide. They all come for different reasons, but they will all tell you that one of the things they love the most is the music. With kids grown up and out of the house, they get into musical ruts and they like hearing what I bring in.
My tastes are pretty eclectic and I’ll try just about anything on them. Over the years, though, I’ve learned that there are certain things they don’t enjoy. They don’t like screamy punk or metal or power guitars. But nor do they like to be pigeonholed with oldies, although they like to hear those too. They love it when I bring in music from other countries that they’ve never heard before. At this time of year, I find myself listening with them in mind, wondering how far I can pus their tastes.
My water aerobics class has been asking for Michael Jackson this week. Most of them think they hate his music, mainly because he looked so creepy and because they never got on board with the whole music video thing. But when I start mentioning songs, they either know and like them or have never heard of them. So they asked me to play some in class. I like mixing up my artists, so I’m spreading Michael around, but this is the first playlist I came up with. It’s best described as “mostly 80s.” The 80s came up with some great workout music, but I like my water aerobics classes to start slow, ramp up and slow down again at the end. The 80s had a lot of slow and fast music, but not as much stuff in between, so I’ve got some other songs tossed in there to aid with transitions. Enjoy the nostalgia trip. I’ll be wearing my flashdance sweatshirt to the pool in honor of the occasion. The whole thing is about an hour and ten minutes long, which allows for an hour class and some extra time required for me to walk up the stairs from the guard room, where the stereo equipment is located and also to run over a bit at the end.
1. Michael Hedges: Spare Change. This is a solo guitar track (mostly acoustic, with some electric overlay), “spare” in the sense of minimalist. I don’t know much about Hedges (although that I do know he’s usually classified as “New Age” and often turns up in yoga classes) or recall where I stumbled on this track, but I like it for the start of a walk. We start each class by walking through the pool, so that works well for us.
2. The New Pornographers: These Are The Fables. I’m a little obsessed with this song at the moment. I’ve always loved Neko Case’s voice, but I particularly like this song, with its gradually expanding, almost circular melody and its modal shifts. I like the lyrics too, but we can’t hear much in the way of lyrics in class. I enjoy this song in the pool, but the class is often chatting too much to notice at this stage.
3. Squeeze: Tempted. A classic from college. Actually, it predates college by quite a bit, I think, but we played it a lot back then. Like the previous track, it shifts freely between major and minor, which I didn’t think about when I put them together, but is probably part of why I thought of the track here. Also, it’s the perfect amount of tempo increase.
4. Michael Jackson: Human Nature. I thought this was a good one to try to win over those in the class who don’t like Jackson. Lacking the aggressive beat of the dance tracks off Thriller, Human Nature is a pretty ballad. It may be a little mellow for this location in class, but it’s the right speed for this part of class, so I’m willing to chance it. I was right about it as an introduction to Jackson. “This is Michael Jackson?” they said with surprise, “But it’s PRETTY.”
5. Yaz: Move Out. Ah, yes, the Upstairs at Eric’s album. Another college classic. This track gets things moving just when I need them to.
6. Tears For Fears: Mad World. Yet another major-minor shift piece (maybe that’s the real mix theme). I had kind of forgotten about this one until recently when I heard a remake of it on the radio. It starts and ends quietly but gets things moving at the right speed in the middle. This was more popular with the class than I had expected.
7. The Police: So Lonely. This is one of my desert island tracks. I LOVE this song and I never get tired of it. The reggae beat at the beginning is actually the right speed for getting into deep water work, but when it kicks into high gear, it’s useful for encouraging the class to keep working. The tempo/energy discrepancy is something I find challenging in programming for water aerobics. This song fits the bill well by doing both things at once.
8. Mike Doughty: Looking at the World from The Bottom of the Well. A break in the 80s nostalgia trip to have a steady beat for some rep work and kick things up another notch. They thought it was perfect for keeping us on track with timed sprinting in the shallow end.
9. Vampire Weekend: A-Punk. This is AJ’s favorite song. It’s hard not to kick into high gear with this on. I’ve used it before, and I’ll use it again. By the end, the whole class was singing along to the “ai-ai-ai” part. Also, Vampire Weekend always reminds me of The Police in the “So Lonely” era, so stylistically, it felt connected to the rest of the track.
10. The Romantics: What I Like About You. Back to my favorite decade. Another one to keep people moving. I thought I’d used this in class before, but I can’t seem to find it.
11. Dead or Alive: You Spin Me Right Round. Perhaps the quintessential 80s track. It’s relentless drum machine makes it unlistenable unless you’re trying to move, but it is great for keeping up the energy. And also, it transports me back to dark college parties that smell like beer where you’re watching out for friends doing the “L” dance that you need to rescue. I’m not sure what that accomplishes, but as a sociological issue, I thought it worthy of note.
12. The Ramones: Rockaway Beach. I’ve used this one before too, but it’s a great track and the perfect speed here as we wind down the fastest portion of the class.
13. M. C. Hammer: U Can’t Touch This. I originally downloaded this track for AJ, who, as expected, loves it. I thought the class would think it hilarious. I thought right. There was a big chorus of “I love this song!” for this one. This section of the class needs to start slowing down, but still maintain the energy. This song makes a good transition.
14. The Cars: Just What I Needed. This is one of my favorite albums (eponymous). And actually, this one reaches all the way back to the late 70s, but you can hear the 80s coming and we listened to this all the way through college, over a decade past its release. It continues the slowdown, but maintains its energy.
15. Wilco: Heavy Metal Drummer. Love Wilco. The opening riff of this is what links the tune to the 80s. But the loss of prominent electronica and the presence of acoustic piano helps work into the cool down music.
16. Yaz: Only You. Now we’re firmly in cool down territory. Another classic from college. This I mainly associate with performance by one of my college’s a cappella groups. It was their signature piece.
17. The White Stripes: I Can Tell That We Are Going to be Friends. I’m not a huge White Stripes song, but I love the naivete of this song. It keeps us in the acoustic zone, where I like to end class.
18. Death Cab For Cutie: I Will Follow You Into the Dark. Like the last track, a bit of a departure for the band’s usual sound and a very pretty song.
19. Iron & Wine: Naked as we Came. The guitar ostinato and soft vocals win this a spot at the end of the class when we’re stretching and getting out of the pool, tired.
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