The Real Power Walk

Many slow- or medium-paced walk songs can be pumped up by skipping to them. This week’s wog features 46 minutes of songs with this endearing quality, ranging in pace from Mungo Jerry’s good-time In The Summertime, at 83 BPM, to the supercharged Bodhisattva, by Steely Dan, at 110 BPM. Of course you can always dial it down and actually walk a skipper; often I save the skipping for the chorus and walking for the verse, or vice-versa. Whichever you do it, skipping is fun, good exercise, and guaranteed to make you look like a five-year-old. So don’t skip—er, miss this opportunity, and check it out a Podwogging.com.

A Sonic Wash

There’s water showers, and there’s music showers. Don’t believe me, listen to the songs in this week’s wog, A Sonic Wash. Whether it’s Ronan Hardiman’s lush choral instrumental plunging you into a relaxed mood, Brian Eno’s dripping piano notes wrapped in mind-refreshing lyrics, or Cocteau Twins’ swooping waves of vocal strangeness cleaning out your skull, you’ll emerge from this moderate wog mentally clean, even if you’re sweaty and your clothes are dirty. And at 34 minutes, you can linger in this wash without worrying about wasting water! Get the list and more at Podwogging.com.

Jog, Where is Thy Sting?

Before he went on to a solo career, British singer Sting fronted the Police, a New Wave band that blended catchy reggae rhythms with a little progressive rock, interesting lyrics, and an edgy delivery that always kept its balance. This week’s wog features 8 songs from them, including the pop-reggae standard Don’t Stand So Close to Me and the irresistible, progressive Synchronicity II. It’s 34-minute, Very Vigorous set, the details of which can be found at Podwogging.com.

The Decade Dance

Here it is, my serious collection of wogging tunes from the 00s. Since some of my favorites are on other playlists, with certain artists I’ve included another song by them: The Lovemakers, The New Pornographers, The Shins, The Arcade Fire, Engineers, Dark Captain Light Captain, John Fogerty, Cake, Dead 60s, Belle & Sebastian, Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, Engineers, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Fields all have songs on at least one other wogging list on my computer. Making their debuts for Podwogging are Beyoncé, Finn Brothers, Sufjan Stevens, Outkast, and Duffy. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the 00s saw an explosion of creative music that stretched the boundaries of world, folk, hip-hop, and in Steven’s case, ambient minimalism (!). Coming up this decade: more “freaky folk,” Animal Collective, the Decembrists, Dead Can Dance, and scads of off-center concertinas and flutes! Until then, check out this week’s ode to the Double Aughts at Podwogging.com.

Fresh Woggage

Long before the word “indie” appeared on the scene, back in the groovy sixties there were certain groups who refused to compromise themselves, who played what they liked and to hell with the record companies. Such a group was the legendary Love, and right with them was Spirit, another LA group who blended jazz, pop, rock, and quirky lyrics for a distinctive sound and attitude that still resonates today. How could one not love a fuzz-guitarist named Randy California, or a drummer who was completely bald? Like Love they didn’t last long, only putting out a few albums before their disdain for the gods of commerce ended their careers as rock gods. This week’s wog is a brisk 39 minutes full of Spirit, featuring hits (I Got a Line on You, Nature’s Way) and non-hits (Mr. Skin, Uncle Jack) alike. Seriously, if rock that’s fun without being nauseating, check out Spirit, at Podwogging.com.