59 Minutes of Tribal Jogging

I first heard of Afro Celt Sound System from the single they did with Peter Gariel, When You’re Falling. Intrigued by the possibilities inherent in combining African rhythms with Celtic melodies and instruments, I decided to check them out further—and I discovered that, and more. The whole thing has a party/rave atmosphere, and many of the songs have African lyrics as well. This makes for great dancing as well as jogging—though of course I’ve found more moderately-paced songs to let you catch your breath. This Pulse-Pounder ÜberWog is guaranteed to take you to another head and body space. At Podwogging.com.

Brit Folk Magic

The British Isles have a rich tradition of folk music that has profoundly influenced popular music in America as well. Starting with a rousing war song from Ireland’s Planxty (Follow Me Up To Carlow), this week’s wog is a whopping 85 minutes of some of my favorite songs performed by contemporary British artists. These include Fairport Convention, Pentangle, and Strawbs from England; Planxty, Enya, Karan Casey, and Clannad from Ireland; Steeleye Span from Scotland; Loreena McKennit, Canadian though she sounds English; and finally, Donovan, who hails from either a British fairy castle or Trans-Love Airlines. All told, a fabulous of collection of magical tunes just waiting to transport you on a long walk through tors, fens, the heath, or London’s Underground. Find out about it at Podwogging.com.

Stairmaster to Heaven

Just kidding, folks: Stairway to Heaven, despite its iconic status in the annals of arena rock, is a song only good for swooning at Robert Plant, not engaging in healthy exercise. That’s not to say that this seminal rock band, for whom many Bics were flicked back in the day, hasn’t put together enough material for a great wog.

I must admit, though, that early Zep was a tough listen for me: for every cool Tolkien-inspired number like Ramble On, there was a Whole Lotta Love that made me squirm. As the band matured, though, their musical chops expanded, leading to such mystical rockers as Kashmir and Immigrant Song, both of which make their way onto this week’s wog—37 minutes of Very Vigorous Wogging. So pick up your pod and start wogging before the levee breaks! The playlist, with pace numbers and other info can be found, of course, at Podwogging.com.

Sci Fi for the Spry

Science fiction and techno music have been married ever since those cheesy flying saucer flicks from the Fifties employed nerds to create the first spacey sound effects. As the technology improved, those spacey sounds found their way into mainstream pop music, and when the first synthesizers burst on the scene, a new musical idiom was borne. Soon, the music became more than just a movie soundtrack—they were an end in themselves. This week’s wog celebrates sci fi songs from a variety of performers: Jefferson Starship, Kraftwerk, Blue Öyster Cult, Alan Parsons, and others provide the “serious” side of sci fi, while Zager & Evans, Styx, The Bonzo Dog Band, and Electric Light Orchestra poke campy fun at it. Robots, Time Travel, Spacejacking, Dystopias...it’s 52 minutes of über good wogging fun! Beam over to Podwogging.com now, Number One!