Don’t be skeptical, be skiptical

There’s a reason why kids skip. Like climbing trees, doing cartwheels, or laughing hysterically, it’s just plain fun. It’s also good exercise. There’s lots of songs that are a bit slow as a walk, or if double-timed are a bit fast for jog. But they have an irresistible beat that makes you want to do that loosey-bouncy step, and suddenly there you are. Skipping.

SKBL (my code in iTunes for SKIPPABLE) songs generally run from 85 to 100 BPM, though some are in the 160 to 170 range, and I occasionally find songs up to 110 BPM that have that skipping quality. Virtually any song that ISN’T 3/4 time can be skipped to within these pace ranges. On Podwogging.com I have a few lists posted that are exclusively for skipping along to, but there are tons more SKBL songs that haven’t made it into any of my wogging playlists. Here’s just a few of my favorites:

1. At The Zoo, by Simon and Garfunkel. The zookeeper may be fond of rum; we’re just fond of skipping.

2. Mr. Blue Sky, by Electric Light Orchestra. Skipping to this makes me feel like I’m in a Hollywood movie.

3. Rock Lobster, by The B-52’s. Absolutely manic zaniness compels one to get that skip on.

4. Dreaming, by Blondie. You can run, walk, or skip to this upbeat number by the fabulous Debbie Harry.

5. Month of May, by Arcade Fire. Indie rockers put out their best head-banger for our skipping pleasure, from their newest album The Suburbs.

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.

Don’t Feel Like Walking? Skip It!

Many songs in the slow walk range (85–100 BPM, approx.) can be transformed from a meander into a skip, which is not only loads of embarrassing fun, but burns more calories. I usually don’t skip for the entire song, but often I’ll burst into skip mode for a verse or a refrain or a tasty guitar solo. I call these SKIPLEKS. Songs in my woglists that can be skipped along to have the symbol SKBL in the comment field.

This week’s Weekly Wog consists entirely of skiplekkable songs: I, Skipper! I don’t recommend skipping to the entire list—I tried that and wound up with a sore groin muscle.

There’s even an entire website devoted to skipping—check out Skipper Kim at iskip.com.

Summer!

What better way to kick off summer than a Wog-a-Thon called “Summer!”? Which also happens to be the Weekly Wog. Yesterday I biked over to the track by King Middle School and put Summer! on my pod. I didn’t have time to wog the entire 56 minutes, but the nice thing about Wog-a-thons is that they’re made so it’s easy to skip over songs for a shorter wog. So I skipped over The Doors’ Indian Summer, Joe Satriani’s Summer Song, Don Henley’s The Boys of Summer, the Lovin’ Spoonful’s Summer in the City, and Timbuk3’s The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades—still good enough for a 37-minute workout. Summer! has a couple of excellent Skiplekkers in Seals and Crofts’ Summer Breeze and Chuck Prophet’s Summer Thing, which added to the intensity and fun of the workout. Check it all out at Podwogging.com.

Song Index now in text files: To reduce file size and unclog my website, I’ve now made the three song lists (by title, pace, and artist) downloadable, tab-delimited text files. This makes it easy to read them in word processors or spreadsheets for those who want to start using song BPMs to roll their own woglists.