Songs to Galvanize Your Mind – A List for Strong Minds with a Purpose by Sheri Zampelli is available for immediate download today. This list includes songs by artists such as:
James Brown
Stevie Wonder
The Ramones
Naked Raygun and
Ugly Duckling
The list is designed more as a mood enhancer and character strengthener than anything. I pull from genres as wide-ranged as gospel, hip-hop, punk rock and soul. The list includes 4-subcategories:
• Dare to be Authentic and Have Fun
• Get Pumped Up
• Get to Feelin’ Groovy
• Blow Off Steam
Songs include:
Boom by P.O.D.
Viva La Revolution by the Adicts
Can I Kick It by A Tribe Called Quest and
Think by James Brown
Get your list free today by subscribing to Get Galvanized below.
I’m putting the finishing touches on my newest creation, it’s an eBook titled Songs to Galvanize Your Mind – A List of Songs for a Strong Mind and a Stronger Purpose. I’m going to give it as a free gift to all my readers. A great way to have fun and feel powerful.
Galvanize Your Mind is a 19-page music list that’s broken down into various categories. Here’s a sneak-peek at the table of contents:
Page 4 – Galvanize Your Mind Soundtrack
Page 5 – Moods
Page 5 – Dare to be Authentic and Have Fun
Page 7 – Get Pumped Up
Page 8 – Get to Feelin’ Groovy
Page 10 – Blow Off Steam
Page 11 – Favorite Albums
Page 12 – Favorite Artists
Page 13 – Alphabetized Song List
Page 18 – Misc./Bonus
*Recommended Downloads
*All Engines are Burning Workout Playlist
*Songs not on iTunes at the date this was published but worth checking out
*Completely obscure but appreciated
Page 19 – Final Thoughts
To get your free copy, stay tuned to this blog. I’ll post the sign up form shortly.
I’ve discovered that if I want to make exercise a healthy habit, it must be fun. One of the ways I fun it up is to listen to music that rocks my body and soul. This is the iPod playlist I enjoyed tonight, on my treadmill, rockin’ to the beat. Warning, if you’re over 40 or easily disturbed by loud music with a solid beat, click away from this page while you can. If you’re under 40 or have a young mind, click away and get ready to rock! (All links go to iTunes).
Speaking of fun, here’s a video of someone who hasn’t quite mastered the art of dancing on the treadmill at high speeds. Watch his flip flops go flyin’ at the end. Then, once you’re done laughing, get on the treadmill and have fun. Stay safe!
Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated for your workout. Especially if you feel bad about your body or you’re in boring surroundings. I have a cure for you: The Warrior Woman Workout Playlist.
I’m warning you, this music is extremely high-energy and you will probably notice a difference in your body right away as you listen. Rather than drag your body unwillingly and lethargically through your 30 minute workout, why not glide like a gazelle or command your space like a warrior (or warrior princess).
This playlist will help set the tone for just that type of workout. I was on the treadmill at 3.0-5.0 miles for about 42 minutes with these tunes and I had a rockin’ good time. The majority of the time I was jogging, I only used the fast walk for warm up and cool down. All links go to iTunes.
I started off with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service by Propellerheads. This really set the tone for feelin’ a little James Bond meets Samantha Stevens. I was ready to raise the roof after this one. The song is 9:20 so it’s almost ten minutes of total starpower. Here are the songs that followed. I was in the zone!
Cool down song:
Believe it or not, Playpen by Social Distortion. This band is kinda “slow/fast” I imagined one of the slow mosh pits I used to see develop at their live shows.
All links go to iTunes. As a side note, many of the samples that iTunes chooses for these songs is the set-up leading to the intensely fast part, don’t let that fool you.
You know how the web is, you start one place then end up someplace completely unexpected. That’s what happened today when I started at Mateo’s Flashback Video Show at letsgokings.com. Mateo is going through the entire alphabet posting 80’s videos for each letter.
Today Mateo is on ‘R’. Two things came to my mind immediately: Red Alert and Red Kross. I found a Red Alert video on YouTube, it was them doing the song In Britian. I couldn’t understand why this song was so strong in my mind. I figured it was on one of the many mix tapes I highjacked off Andrea Enthal shows on KPFK.
Actually, the reason it is burned in my mind is because it was on the Punk and Disorderly compilation that I used to play endlessly in my teen years.
So now, I’m listening to snippets of the songs on iTunes and seeing which ones I want to buy. I already have a few like Banned From the Pubs by Peter and the Test Tube Babies (how’s that for a descriptive song title and band name?) So, I’m not sure which I’ll buy and which I won’t.
That’s one thing I love about buying music on iTunes and having and iPod is that you don’t have to listen to the whole album if you think some of it stinks. When it was on a cassette or an LP, you’d have to make an effort not to listen to it.
Just for fun, here’s a track listing for Punk and Disorderly. Available on Amazon and iTunes. All song links go to iTunes.
Back in the day I was known as Sheri Olson, AKA “Sheri O.” I was a bit of a hellraiser. I went to punk gigs 3 times a week, I danced in gay bars and I used heavy, illicit drugs. I smoked a pack of Marlboro red box a day.
When I was seven, I wanted to be a roller derby queen and the highlight of my life was the newest Elton John and KiKi Dee “45″, Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart. I remember putting it on the turntable in the back yard and either roller skating or hula hooping the entire time it played. I would play it 5, 10, 20 times in a row. If I wasn’t roller skating or hula hooping I was lip synching or dancing.
The older I got, the more I was scolded for such immature behavior and socially unacceptable music choices. I was trained to be a “proper Christian”. To cross my legs, to wear pigtails and to be skinny. I was trained to be dumb on purpose because “it intimidates the men if you’re too smart.”
I tried to maintain my “self” the best I could. I rebelled against all conformity. But eventually it got to me. The mean looks, the conversations behind my back, the cold shoulders. I was fired more than once just because I spoke my mind and people told me “you’re crazy” for as long as I can remember.
Why bring all that unecessary hardship on myself? I figured it would be easier to just follow the rules and get along.
So I tried to blend in. To be the “me” everyone else says to be. Tried to lose weight even though I love my curves, tried to eat more vegetables, tried not to eat dessert, I made sure to smile just right, to have good breath, to not be too sassy, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
In my 20’s and 30’s I pretty much acted perfect all day then came home and swallowed the refrigerator.
In University I learned how to “say it right, put it in APA format, double-space it and use 12-point font.” I learned big words and a series of scientifically unfounded psychological theories as well as a long list of labels, diagnoses and pharmacuetical cures for all that ails the human mind. I learned to “be professional!” at all costs.
If I was going to maintain this game, I knew it was imperative that I discontinue all connection with night life. Not even time to listen to records. No more time for punk rock gigs. My textbooks were my late-night and early morning reading. My entire life revolved around devouring volumes of research journals and psychology textbooks, getting good grades and regurgitating information the way my instructors wanted me to.
I played the game all the way to the end. I got a master’s degree and I’ll be damned if I ever get a PhD.
What finally happened is that I imploded. I became entirely incapable of performing the act. In some ways, “I” fell apart. The “I” I thought I was that is. I couldn’t do it anymore. Sheri O. was crying out for attention and she was ready to do some crazy shit like roller derby and punk rock to get it. Sheri O. won.
What I want to know is this: are our spunky girls with a creative edge being adequately nurtured these days or are they being stifled by the oh-so-rigorous training for the position of “Queen”?
Are they enjoying and embracing their youth, their skills and their talents or are they busy hating everything about themselves from their eyebrows to their toe nails? Will they have to wait until they’re 40 to realize that being themselves is the easiest and most beautiful thing there is? How many more generations can we afford to let this happen?
The truth is, none of us needs to be a perfect King or Queen, that’s a job reserved for the King and Queen. In England, everyone is very clear that there is only one Queen and Elizabeth is it. Nobody tries to be Queen because they know they can’t be and won’t be. We need to stop trying to be something that we’re not. I don’t say that to defeat progress but instead to encouarge you to be your best self, not some lame imitation of who you think you can and should be. Faking it is a total waste of time, trust me.
If you need help with finding the true you again or if you want to be sure to maintain the real you without crumbling beneath criticism, get my book From Sabotage to Success.
This week you get five songs for the price of one. The Blood and Biscuits EP by Three Trapped Tigers is out now and since all the songs on this EP have a unique sound and extremely unusual names like “1.1″ and “4.3″, it was hard to narrow down the choices. However, you can go to their MySpace page and hear the entire EP and you can buy the tracks on iTunes.
The song of the week is brought to you by Michael Zampelli, former owner of Southern California punk rock icon, Zed Records. For almost 30 years, this mecca of punk and alternative music kept Southern California enthusiasts adequately supplied with unique, original and innovative music.
Currently, Zampelli manages a hockey fan message boards at www.letsgokings.com with thousands of subscribers. He takes photos for the LAist and the LA Derby Dolls. Each week he will contribute a song with a theme, a message and a beat. Enjoy and stay tuned.
Tonight I’m reading a special pull-out section of the Los Angeles Times about Obama. It’s a powerful statement about a turning point in American history. There’s also a beautiful Obama photo essay on-line at www.latimes.com.
. All links in article go to the Music Store on iTunes.
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I was reminded of a video I found with Obama talking about his iPod playlist and his views about Hip Hop and it’s potential role in education. When asked if he likes Hip Hop, Obama says, “Of Course.” He’s currently listening to JayZ, American Gangster and Kanye. He likes them both because “it tells a story”.
Here are a few quotes from the interview. Scroll down and click the ‘play’ button below to see the entire video on YouTube.
Obama loves the art of hip hop but not always the message of hip hop. “There are times where..there is a message that is not only sometimes degrading to women. Not only uses the “N” word a little too frequently, but also, something I’m really concerned about, is it’s always talking about material things and always talking about how I can get something”, he said.
When asked if there was a place in his White House to find an effective way to use Hip Hop in education, Obama answered “absolutely, I don’t think there’s any doubt that it (Hip Hop) can be (effective).”
Other things Obama had to say about Hip Hop:
“The potential for them to deliver a message of extraordinary power that gets people thinking…The way that they can communicate a complex message in a very short amount of space is remarkable. A lot of these kids aren’t going to be reading the New York Times, that’s not how they’re getting their information so the question then is what it is the content, what’s the message?”
“Hip hop is not just a mirror of what is, it should also be a reflection of what can be”, Obama said.
He encouraged people to
“Imagine something different
Imagine communites that aren’t torn up by violence
Imagine communities where we’re respecting our women
Imagine communities where knowledge and reading and academic exellence are valued
Imagine communities where fathers are doing right by their kids
That’s also something that has to be reflected.
Art can’t just be a rear view, it should have a headlight out there, according to where we need to go”, Obama concluded.
The interviewer ends the conversation with a quote of his own: “Hip Hop needs to have the audacity of hope.” Obama agrees.
Today I was doing all kinds of fun things like sweeping the cobwebs out of the closet, helping my husband set a rat trap in the cellar and folding laundry. I needed some music to carry me through.
I looked at a stack of CD’s I pulled out recently. Some are compliation CD’s my husband made when he used to have a radio show at KBEACH.
So, what does the guy who used to own Zed Records save after 25+ years of supplying alternative and punk music to all of Southern California and parts of England? Here’s a sample from a CD he titled “Punker Than Thou”.
Most links go to iTunes.
Where possible I linked directly to the song but punk like this isn’t always for sale on iTunes. Some things never change. But did you know that even if you are a dinky band with no money you can sell your stuff on CDBaby.net and they can get you on iTunes. Check it out. When I couldn’t find the music on iTunes, I tried to put a link to YouTube or MySpace.
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**Copper by Shellac
**Lorna Doom and On a Rope by Rocket from the Crypt off their Live EP
**Kitchen Cantata by Pink Chunk (There were only 1,000 copies of this single made. It doesn’t look like anyone on the internet has posted an Mp3 or images. Let’s just say it’s a “song” where some guy bangs on pots and pans while his dog whines in the background).
**It’s Hard by Plummet Airlines
**Virginia Plain by Roxy Music. (My husband got a rare, unique copy of this on acetate for his brithday way back.)
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Today, I strapped on my skates and headed down to Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach to check out the final stretch of the Long Beach Marathon. It ends up, I live very close to the 25 mile mark. I called T.O.C. to see if he wanted to come shoot some video but he wasn’t around.
So, these phone photos are all I got. It was really fun to skate fast down the middle of a major boulevard. On any given day, hundreds of thousands of cars travel this 4-lane thoroughway. But today, the space was reserved for runners, cyclists and volunteers. Here’s a photo of me with one of the volunteers who passed out water. She was a gem and of course she offered me a cup of water after this photo was shot.
I skated from just before the 25 mile mark to the 26 mile mark and back. I cheered the runners and made celebratory noises while listening to my iPod. My playlist for today is almost exactly the same as the one from Laugh Tour. Hey, it worked once, why not try it again.
Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated for your workout. Especially if you feel bad about your body or you’re in boring surroundings. I have a cure for you: The Warrior Woman Workout Playlist. 
Annalisa by Public Image Ltd.
Back in the day I was known as Sheri Olson, AKA “Sheri O.” I was a bit of a hellraiser. I went to punk gigs 3 times a week, I danced in gay bars and I used heavy, illicit drugs. I smoked a pack of Marlboro red box a day. 
(Here I am at the 
So I tried to blend in. To be the “me” everyone else says to be. Tried to lose weight even though I love my curves, tried to eat more vegetables, tried not to eat dessert, I made sure to smile just right, to have good breath, to not be too sassy, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. 
