Bic Flickers!

Back in the day, before there were mosh pits (say, what?!?), adoring fans would pay tribute to their fave rockers by holding an illuminating object in the air, usual a cigarette lighter, at the end of said rockers’ performance. Hence Bic Flickers. No, they didn’t have to be Bics. Yes, I know this probably violated entire volumes of fire code. Let’s just be thankful that nobody did it while pogoing up and down and banging into each other. Anyway, this week’s wog is a Quickie—only 20 minutes long—so you’ll be flicking before you know it. Flame on! At Podwogging.com.

All Uber the World

Woggers of the World, Unite!

Don’t get me wrong, I love American and British pop music. But sometimes I get a hankering for something a bit different. So lately I’ve been checking out music from different places around the world, particularly Africa and Central Europe, and have discovered some fabulous stuff that makes for a truly international workout. This week’s wog features, among others, the hyperkinetic Afro Celt Sound System’s unique cultural fusions, a truly supernatural Finnish folk song by the gorgeously talented Värttinä, and two irresistible “gypsy punk” pieces off the very danceable Gypsy Groove CD. Also groovy are Latin Hip Hop artists Ozomatli, French/African sensation Zap Mama, and even the world’s greatest Klezmer clarinetist, Giora Feidman. Your passport is waiting at Podwogging.com.

But, I mean Jazz-ma-Tazz

Jazz purists may sneer at rock with a jazz bent as not being real jazz at all, but what of it? Jazz rock marries percussive power with lyrical expressiveness; if the beat is consistent enough, it makes beautiful wogging material. This week’s wog, Jazz-ma-Tazz, is also a flatliner—every song comes in between 120 and 129 BPM. Flatliners are ideal for treadmills, since they don’t require major adjusting between songs. This flatliner is a brisk walk all the way, and features Sade, Steely Dan, Weather Report, Traffic, and the Youngbloods. Immerse yourself in the vibe and the stride at Podwogging.com.

Reminder: Short samples of each song can be found in iMix; this requires the use of iTunes.

A Hazy Shade of Wogger

Winter is a far more intimate place than summer, and while it isn’t officially winter yet, the dense clutch of clouds hugging the Bay that frame bare trees on leaf-strewn streets makes me feel like finding my inner Simon and Garfunkel. Ergo, this week’s Weekly Wog, I Am A Walk. Hang onto your hopes, my friend, and keep your feet moving, at least until you sit down to that roast turkey, if fortune smiles on you. L’Chaim!

Web Site Problems
Unfortunately, my web site nav bar is acting weird. It kept giving me "file not found" error messages when I selected certain items, but only from certain pages. Until I get this thing figured out (Dreamweaver can be dense, at times), you may experience weird shit happening. Just don't let it stop you from going to Podwogging.com!

Cure’s Galore

Is the bloom off the rose? Post-election blues got you down? Maybe what you need is stiff shot of the Cure. My weekly wog features Galore, one of the best single collections by any musical group, and is an excellent introduction to this band’s music. Lovesong and Friday I’m in Love are but two Cure hits on this album; my favorite, perhaps, is the delicately moody Fascination Street. While by today’s standards their proto-Goth appearance was pretty tame, at the time they were darlings of the daring to be different set. Robert Smith’s vocals ache with life’s bruises, but never crosses the line into self-pity, and all the numbers on this album make for good walking and jogging. So go to Podwogging.com and take the Cure!

A Walk In the Sun

In the post-election glow it only seems appropriate to highlight one of my favorite African American performers in this week’s Weekly Wog. Like Barack Obama, Stevie Wonder exudes warmth and cool simultaneously. He sings outrageously catchy tunes that can carry either an upbeat message of pure spiritual possession, sound a warning to those in political power, or plumb the depths of his feelings without getting maudlin or trite. Like Obama, he’s crossed the racial divide with grace and style. This wog won’t wear you out—it’s got only 3 minutes of light jogging in it—but I can’t think of a better way to lift your heart. It’s a brand new day, folks!

Weekly Wog SNAFU: Unfortunately an unexpected problem with my server kept the proper Weekly Wog REGIME CHANGE from being displayed earlier. It’s working now, but for Stevie Wonder, not Regime Change. However, you can still view Regime Change! Honest!

REGIME CHANGE

If you’re like me, this election is shaping up to be one of the most significant changes in my lifetime. Not since forever has a presidential candidate actually spoken to pressing needs, with such panache and vision. So go out and vote for Ralph Nader!

Kidding.

Seriously, assuming the right wing vampires don’t suck the blood out of every American voter, the Big O will take office in January with a huge mandate. A mandate that’s been years in the making, and has been celebrated in song since the early days of Dylan. As befits such a marathon, this week’s Wog, Regime Change, is a Wog-a-Thon*. It’s 78 minutes of songs from such sources as Crosby, Stills & Nash, Midnight Oil, Tracy Chapman, and Bob Marley. A few lesser-knowns also get into the act: Pearls Before Swine, Hothouse Flowers. Even Steve Miller (yes, that Steve Miller). Not to mention Stevie Wonder, the Animals, the Stones, U2, Rush, Karan Casey, and that old anti-war chestnut (unh!) by Edwin Starr. So what are you waiting for? Raise your fist and give Change a Shout-out on your way to the polls tomorrow.

Check it out at Podwogging.com.

*A Wog-a-Thon is split into “sub-thons,” shorter sequences if you don’t want to do the whole thing at once. Alternatively, you can skip songs in the sequence, since the pace pattern always follows a slow-medium-fast-medium-slow-medium-fast-medium, etc. pattern.