5.5 Down the Boardwalk

*Never Let You Go -- Third Eye Blind
Not Big -- Lily Allen
Ruby -- Kaiser Chiefs
Disturbance At The Heron House -- R.E.M.
Black Star -- Radiohead
Beer  -- Reel Big Fish
Please Don't Stop the Music -- Rihanna
Do You Really Want Me -- Salt n Pepa
Kryptonite -- 3 Doors Down
Not The Doctor -- Alanis Morissette
Know Your Enemy -- Green Day
Glamorous -- Fergie
Take Me Home Tonight -- Eddie Money
**Laughing Out Loud -- The Wallflowers
*Right Here -- SWV
Walk Away -- Kelly Clarkson
Behind These Hazel Eyes -- Kelly Clarkson

Again, with the heat! I had another stop n' start run on Sunday, but this time I'm not too down on myself because I was directly under the sun (at 11:30 a.m.) the whole time. Running down the boardwalk through Coney Island and all of its summer madness was a nice change. And this time,  I didn't trip on a loose board in front of the sunbathing crowds and skin my knees (they all told me to sue the city).

You know, for all of my bitching, I'm just never satisfied. When I run through city streets, with their twists and turns and stoplights and inclines and declines, I always wish I could just run straight, flat, and uninterrupted. But whenever I get that opportunity (the boardwalk is 2.5 miles long), I just get bored. Out-and-backs are dull.

*These were nice lil' beachy songs.

**This album brings me back to high school so fast and so hard that it makes me uncomfortable.

6 Miles through Cambridge

Disturbia -- Rihanna
Crazy Little Thing Called Love -- Queen
So What -- Pink
Icky Thump -- The White Stripes
Aside -- The Weakerthans
No You Girls -- Franz Ferdinand
I Come from the Water -- Toadies
Wrong Way -- Sublime
*King of Pain -- The Police
Baby Got Back -- Sir Mix-a-Lot
Cold Hearted Snake -- Paula Abdul
To Be With You -- Mr. Big
Poker Face -- Lady Gaga
My Life Would Suck Without You -- Kelly Clarkson
Minority -- Green Day

There was no way I was going to Boston for a long weekend without getting a run in. I enjoyed a lovely Cambridge jog from Kendall Square, down Mass Ave. to Harvard Square, over to Memorial Drive, and then along the river until I hit the Longfellow Bridge and turned back to Kendall. To fill it out, I then ran to my beloved Kendall Square Cinemas and then back to the hotel.

Sorry, dear readers, that I could't get my act together enough to make a Boston-themed playlist. Had I planned better, you surely would have been treated to some great Bosstones running songs, maybe even a little Aerosmith, "Love in an Elevator," perhaps even "More Than a Feeling." Alas, all I have for you is random shuffle. But it was a great run and Boston is as lovely as ever.

*This has a fanTAStic running beat. I'm not depressed or anything, but I can see how if you are, this would make for a cathartic, if not also amusing, run.

I Think You're Smart, You Sweet Thing

I'll Believe In Anything -- Wolf Parade
*Got You (Where I Want You) -- The Flys
**World Spins Madly On -- The Weepies
Uncle Tom's Cabin Warrant
Sweet Surrender (live) -- Sarah McLachlan
Somehow, Someday -- Ryan Adams
Please Don't Stop the Music -- Rihanna
Disturbia -- Rihanna
Consolers Of The Lonely -- The Raconteurs
Electrolite -- R.E.M.
Finest Worksong -- R.E.M.
Let's Go Crazy -- Prince And The Revolution
Such Great Heights -- The Postal Service
***That's What You Get -- Paramore
Don't Look Back in Anger -- Oasis
Closer -- Nine Inch Nails
I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week -- Mandy Moore
Possession (live) -- Sarah McLachlan

*3 runs, 3 playlists! Sometimes I remember a song I haven't heard in years, download it, proclaim it "zomg, the best song EVAR," and then get sick of it in a week. So we have about 2 days. But seriously, though, this is an awesome song. The best part is the second verse, second line, when he goes "oh HE-eyyyyyy." No, no! The chorus is the best part. ZOMG, best song EVAR! Katie Holmes, you used to be the best muse...

**Such a beautiful little song. I love when this comes on when I'm on a super-busy street like Livingston, in the middle of Fulton Mall, during rush hour. I'm taking high little steps to avoid tripping, and I'm weaving around smokers (oh how MANY SMOKERS) and shoppers and carts and bikes and cabs, and no one wants to move aside to let me pass.  The Weepies make it all go in slowmo, like some music video, and I zip through the madness.

***Thanks, Rock Band, for the playlist inspiration.

Who'll Stop the Rain?

Umbrella (feat. Jay-Z) -- Rihanna

Red Rain -- The White Stripes

After The Rain -- Nelson

Rain King -- Counting Crows

Only Happy When It Rains -- Garbage
The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) -- Missy Elliott

Lord Let It Rain On Me -- Spiritualized

*Blame It On The Rain -- Milli Vanilli
So. Central Rain -- R.E.M.
Weatherman -- Kris Delmhorst
**Don't Drink the Water -- Dave Matthews Band
I Come From The Water -- Toadies
***Beauty Of Gray -- Live
Shades of Grey -- Billy Joel
Grey Street -- Dave Matthews Band
Summer Long -- Kathleen Edwards

*Gotta blame it on something.

**Surprising powersong. I got into a groove when this came on. My knees stopped hurting, my breath slowed; I felt like I was skating, arms wide, world passing by slowly.

*** Bah. I really liked Live in high school. And now I just really... don't. Active dislike than neutral, even, which is strange because I'm obviously not one to outgrow or shun the music of my youth. But I don't even enjoy them anymore in a nostalgic Collective Soul/Soul Asylum/Wallflowers kind of way. It all seemed so deep and mystical in 1994, which just embarrasses the hell out of me now.