You might recall, I mentioned once about Apple putting up one of my favorite Hip-Hop artist on their iPod Nano marketing materials. Well, he has gone on to singing the World Cup Football Anthem and seeking worldwide fame.

Well, they are at is again. This time, a more popular singer that I recently discovered, and ‘boom’, she is gracing the marketing materials once again.

Charlotte Gainsbourg’s recent album is on my play list for the last 3-4 weeks and I cannot stop listening to her. Here is a link to her album on amazon if you intend to get one.

There seems to be an eerie connection between my musical tastes and Apple marketing’s tastes. Or may be I am just deluding myself to buy the next product that comes out from them

Usually I run alone, but of late I have added in some buddies to keep me company and help me keep the running rhythm. Well I am just trying to be cute, I started to listen to music while running and find is strangely appealing. After a few runs, I am starting to get the feel that some music works better than others. There is a need to find ones natural rhythm and find music that suits it.

My first best was to load up the iPod* with a bunch of tracks that I thought are good for running. Some Pop, some Rock, some Jazz, some Dance and some I have not heard in a long while.

Michael Jackson: This was a surprise. The songs are either too fast or too slow for me. I guess they are designed for MJ to dance or as ballads. I cannot keep up either way. However, I realized there is a lovely funk riff in Scream, which incidentally will go into my running playlist.

Thelonious Monk: A definite No. I guess most jazz is going to be difficult to run to. There is a strict emphasis on rhythm but Monk’s music is very fragmented. It is great to listen to but running to fragmented rhythm is not something I want to do. Needs lot of experimenting to find the right songs, but I guess it is all part of training.

Mahavishnu Orchestra: This is a surprise, I thought it too fast, but I can actually run at half the pace . I will experiment a bit to find the right songs…

Weather Report: Same as Mahavishnu Orchestra. Too fast but just nice at half pace. And the music is crazy wonderful.

Placebo: I never thought I would listen to placebo for more than a few minutes. But they seem to compose music at the right pace for me. Many many songs work well for the run.

U2: Ugh. I love the band, but their pacing is so inconsistent song after song, I find it very distracting to run with.

Simon & Garfunkel: Good pacing, especially when I want to take it slow, but the motivation drains. I will have to intersperse placebo with S&G and get some interval runs (though it seems yucky to play them one after another).

Wir Sind Helden: Another shocker. I got their albums from a friend and they found their way into my playlist by chance. But it is another band that plays just for me to run. Good pacing. It also helps that I don’t understand German

There is a lot more music I can think that will be good to run to. Soul, funk are areas I have not experimented yet. REM seems like a running kind of band. Have not tapped into electronic music yet. Not that I have particular interest, I may end up discovering new music through this process too. I am kind of liking the idea of music motivating the running and run motivating new discovery. It can only be good I think.

* Note: iPod is synonymous with “a music player”.

Well, if it does not make any sense, check this screen shot from the apple store.

k’Naan is probably my favorite Hip-Hop artist. Originally from Somalia, he represents today what Hip Hip originally represented. Though not educated in English, he writes great songs. And even though his music is not as catchy / radio friendly as others, I think his song writing makes up for it.

If you have not heard of k’Naan before, I highly recommend you pick up his recent album, tourbadour, and take it for a spin. You wont be disappointed. I am sure he will be getting more attention given he is getting publicity on apple store.