Science in the Time of Cholera (Read)

A couple weeks ago, my favorite radio show This American Life had as its theme -- The Wrong Side of History.

And that's where Edwin Chadwick finds himself in Steven Johnson's The Ghost Map, a fascinating nonfiction account of London's 1854 cholera outbreak. Chadwick was a miasmist. He believed that cholera and other diseases were transmitted through the air. The public health official saw the cesspools, street refuse and waste in Londoner's basements as a health hazard. So he developed -- and delivered on -- an impressive plan to take all that, quite literally, shit and deposit it in the Thames.

Johnson writes:

"Chadwick was building an elaborate scheme that would deliver the cholera bacteria directly to the mouths of Londoners ... By the end of the outbreak, nearly 15,000 Londoners would be dead. The first defining act of a modern centralized public-health authority was to poison an entire urban population."

Oops.

Johnson goes on to compare "Chadwick's folly" to the decision during the 1665-66 plague to mass exterminate all the dogs and cats who some felt were spreading the disease. But the real source of the problem was rats. And they "grew exponentially after the sudden, state-sponsored demise of their only predators."

It's those kinds of details that make Johnson's books so enjoyable. He tackles scientific history and presents it as an engaging , original way. He's kind of a combination of Erik Larson (Devil in White City) and Mary Roach (Bonk).

The hero of The Ghost Map is John Snow, known for his groundbreaking work in anesthesia. Like Joseph Priestly, the hero of Johnson's new book The Invention of Air, Snow is an amateur scientist (at least when it comes to diseases like cholera), but through determination and intelligence, he figures out the source of the problem.

You can read more about this book at its Web site. And see my review of The Invention of Air.

Playlist 34 Gets Eggcorn on its Face

As a writer, it's embarrassing when you make a mistake that gets into print. Almost as bad is when your mistake doesn't get into print, but earns you the laughs of your editor.
I was only a few weeks into my first post-college professional job when this happened to me. I had just sent my story, coverage of an afternoon high school baseball game, to my editor and breathed a sigh of relief.
He opened the story right away, read for a couple minutes, then laughed.
Out loud.
In the newsroom.
What was the cause of this? I used the phrase "for all intensive purposes" instead of "for all intents and purposes."I always heard it as "intensive" so that's what I wrote.
Yes, I know. That's really not that funny. Why it could make my editor even chuckle is beyond me. But for a young reporter, still lacking in self-confidence, the incident was upsetting.
Here, though, is the funny thing. About 18 years later, I can now confidently tell my sports editor that I did not make a mistake that day.
I made an eggcorn.
What's an eggcorn? Read down a little and you'll find out. In the meantime, let's start off this week's Playlist with a book about another man who had a way with words.

The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus. Joshua Kendall.
Peter Mark Roget had a long and, somewhat, distinguished career in science and academics. In fact, one day while looking out his window, he saw a carriage move down the street and noticed the illusion created by the moving wheels. This observation indirectly led to the creation of film. Think of that when you go see Batman this weekend.

Most will remember Mr. Roget for one thing -- his thesaurus. We've all used it. On rare occasions, it's a guide when we're searching for the right word. But mostly it's a crutch or worse, a tool to make us look smart. (Pick the wrong word, though, and it makes you sound pretentious).

Roget's thesaurus sprang not from his love of literature, but more from his anxiety. Roget's father died when he was young and his mother took it hard. She was never the same. From early in life, Roget found comfort in making lists. His mother wasn't the only one in his family touched with madness and Roget, whose first wife died very young, fought back depression most of his life.

I wish Kendell would've spent more time on the actual thesaurus. Still, he weaves a somewhat captivating story of Roget's life, aided by some interesting characters along the way -- including the doctor who coined the term "bibliophile" and Benjamin Franklin's illegitimate son William, who is featured in this week's Wikipedia link.

Eggcorn Database.
Eggcorns got their start a while back on a group blog written by linguists, when someone reported the usage of "egg corn" instead of "acorn." From the database:

It turned out that there was no established label for this type of non-standard reshaping. Erroneous as it may be, the substitution involved more than just ignorance: an acorn is more or less shaped like an egg; and it is a seed, just like grains of corn. So if you don’t know how acorn is spelled, egg corn actually makes sense.

Eggcorns are sort of like malopropisms. But there is a huge difference -- they may actually make more sense than the correct word. The Eggcorn Database collects these words, such as: a pigment of someone's imagination, baited breath, cut to the cheese, and many more.

Stay Positive. The Hold Steady.
What's this? A theramin. A banjo? And the banjo played by the guitarist from Dinosaur Jr.? Yes, that's the new Hold Steady. But in reality, the new Hold Steady is the same as the old Hold Steady, except with a few new instruments and a couple guest appearances. It's still all about the guitar riffs and Craig Finn's talk-singing -- a Bruce Springsteen and Thin Lizzy meet somewhere in punk combination. And despite a couple thunkers, it's an album worth owning.

See my full review on Princeton Record Exchange Blog.

GOOD Magazine.
I finally got around to reading this magazine, which I picked up a few weeks back. It gives a very insightful and interesting look at Olympic host China. The magazine explains why we should care about the country and why, despite its human rights abuses and pollution, China is not so different from us.

Good is well-designed, written and packaged. And here's the best part. If you subscribe online, the money goes to one of a selection of charities -- and you make the choice who it goes to.

Exile in Guyville. Liz Phair.
It's a testament of how good Exile is that Phair still has a career. She still regularly pops up in indie rock music mags even though she's created very little worthwhile music since her classic debut. I'm sure her looks have something to do with that. Exile got a 15th anniversary re-release this month and it's been a joy revisiting Phair's biting lyrics and lo-fi approach.

Batting Cleanup, It's Playlist 33 aka Yellow Tango

Yo La Tengo is not just a band. It's a great baseball story, one I didn't know until recently. From Wikipedia ...

During the 1962 season, New York Mets center fielder Richie Ashburn and Venezuelan shortstop Elio Chacón found themselves colliding in the outfield. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would scream, "I got it! I got it!" only to run into the 160-pound Chacón, who spoke only Spanish.

Ashburn learned to yell, "¡Yo la tengo! ¡Yo la tengo!" which is "I have it" in Spanish. In a later game, Ashburn happily saw Chacón backing off. He relaxed, positioned himself to catch the ball, and was instead run over by 200-pound left fielder Frank Thomas, who understood no Spanish and had missed a team meeting that proposed using the words "¡Yo la tengo! as a way to avoid outfield collisions.

After getting up, Thomas asked Ashburn, "What the heck is a Yellow Tango?"

With the All-Star game held this past week, it was a great week to pick up a new album by The Baseball Project, the lead-off hitter for this week's Playlist.

Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails. The Baseball Project.

This is a supergroup of sorts with includes Minus 5/Young Fresh Fellows leader Scott McCaughey, REM guitarist Peter Buck, Dream Syndicate's Steve Wynn and Golden Smog drummer Linda Pitmon.

First, there's nothing adventurous in the music here. Mid-tempo jangle-rock, for sure. McCaughey and Wynn's love for the game is obvious from the start in Pasttime, which name checks Oscar Gamble's afro, Pete Rose crashing into Ray Fosse, Minnie Minoso and one of the greatest performances ever by a Phillie -- Rick Wise's no-hit/two home run masterpiece.

The standout track is Gratitude (for Curt Flood). The former Cardinal, whose Supreme Court battle against baseball opened the flood gates to free agency, laments at how he "paved the way" for the rich stars of today.

This is not a saccharine look at the game (the exception being the wonderful Jackie's Lament and Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays). Like most fans, McCaughey and Wynn have a slightly sarcastic view of the game, which is most evident in the song Ted Williams. The album fittingly ends with The Closer, an ode to those one-inning specialists.

If you love baseball and rock music, you really should check it out. See my other review of this on the Princeton Record Exchange Blog.

Simplexity: Why Simple Things Become Complex (and How Complex Things Can Be Made Simple. Jeffrey Kluger

Time Magazine writer and Apollo 13 co-author Jeffrey Kluger tries to explain the emerging science of simplexity. What is it? Basically the concept that some things you think are complex are actually quite simple and vice versa. That's it. I don't buy the concept, still Kluger offered some intersting insights into our complex world -- how truck driving is a more complex job than most; why football is a more complex sport than baseball; and why cell phones are so complicated.

All Hour Cymbals. Yeasayer.
Yeasayer is a great example of why you can't judge an album by 30-second snippets. The over-hyped All Hour Cymbals is an unclassifiable album, a mix of psychadelia, world music and indie rock wrapped up in one heck of an interesting ride. Definitely a band to continue watching.

Fate's Got a Driver. Chamberlain.
Chamberlain rose from the ashes of Midwestern hardcore band Split Lip. This album, their first as Chamberlain, was released in 1995 and had the band moving in a more rootsy direction, but most of the songs still run off of massive hardcore guitar riffs. Standout song is Street Singer and the Lemonheads-sounding Yellow Gold. Bonus tracks include a cover of Tracy Chapman's Revolution.

Playlist 7 -- Fave books, Miles, candidates

Happy New Year and best wishes to everyone for a successful and satisfying '08! I return this week with a long post, but a resolution to write shorter ones this year.

In recent weeks, we've put out Distractions 10 Best Albums of the Year List and Distractions 20 Best Songs of 2007. This week's Playlist introduces ...

Distractions Favorite Books (Read) in 07

I know I'm late with this list. Some of you out there have already listed your favorite books of the past year. And I appreciate your suggestions. Unlike my music lists, these books were not all published last year. It just so happens that I read them over the last 12 months. Of those books I read, these are the ones that stick with me most and that I'd recommend to anyone. In no particular order ...

Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
Riven Rock and East is East by TC Boyle
No Country for Old Men and The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich by Mark Kriegel
Bowl of Cherries by Millard Kaufman
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
Here They Come by Yannick Murphy
Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson
How to be Good by Nick Hornby
Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
About Alice by Calvin Trillin
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

... And I highly recommend David Eggers' What is the What, a novel (sort of) that helped me better understand what's going on in the Sudan.

Wait, I've left one great book out. The best book I've read all year actually hasn't come out yet. (I was lucky enough to read the ARC -- advanced reader copy). But when it does hit the bookstores in February, be sure to get it, especially if you have a teen-ager in the house. And that's .... As if Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President by my favorite author Donna Gephart.

And now, the rest of this week's Playlist.

Choose Your Candidate. Believe or not, the Iowa Caucus (see this week's Wikipedia link) is just a couple days away. And the Florida primary is later this month. Whether Republican or Democrat, you have a lot of options this year. This fun little interactive quick from the Washington Post helps you narrow your choice.

Are you more of a moderate? Need a slogan. Then check out this funny list of lesser known political slogans of moderates.

Traveler IQ Challenge/How Well Do You Know the World? Beware, this is a highly addictive game, but it will help you improve your geography knowledge.

WPRB/Princeton. Back when I lived in Philly, I'd occasionally listen to this college station. I liked their 24 hours of mostly obnoxious and bad, yet surprisingly fun, Christmas music. Turns out the Christmas show is a labor of love for DJ Jon Solomon. On Christmas Day, I found the station's Web page and listened to Solomon's show from sunny FL. The station is even more eclectic than ever with a mix of rock, classical, jazz, etc. And since some of the stuff is
pretty far out there, it helps to have the running playlist.


Miles Davis. On the Corner. Speaking of far out there, this album turned heads and created a lot of confusion when it came out in 1973. There's tabla, electric guitar, numerous drummers, synthesizers and, of course, Miles' trumpet creating a funky brew of noise. Only one song Black Satin has anything resembling a melody. But it's the grooves that keep you coming back for more. It's an album that's still ahead of its time. Sony recently released the The Complete On the Corner Sessions, a 6-disc set that includes the original CD as well as numerous outtakes. That might be just a little too adventurous for me.

St. Vincent. Marry Me. St. Vincent is actually Annie Clark. And based on her work with Sufjan Stevens and Polyphonic Spree, you'd expect an ambitious outing for her first solo album. And that's what you get. She earns the comparisions to Kate Bush, Bjork, Feist and Regina Spektor with inventive compositions that will stick in your head. Favorite tracks: Landmines, Jesus Saves, I Spend and Now, Now.

Playlist 5 -- Top 10 CDs, Bowl of Cherries, Christmas Ale

Beware: A long post this week. I'm off from work today recovering from getting a tooth pulled, which gave me plenty of time to bask in the Eagles win over those evil Cowboys and to put together this long Playlist, which kicks off with the inaugural Distractions 10 Best Albums of the Year List.

I love end-of-the-year lists. I particularly look forward to following the WXPN Countdown of Top 100 CDs online. It's too late now to make your picks, but you can check out The Long Cut to see his picks.

One of my favorite music/book blogs is the Largehearted Boy. The site is collecting a list of all the year-end music lists online. Hopefully, Largehearted Boy will add this to the growing list. (In the next few weeks, I'll be following with my list of top "songs" and "books.")

Distractions 10 Best Albums of 2007 ...

10 (tie). Spoon -- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga; Trans Am -- Sex Change. I just couldn't leave either of these albums off the list, so I cheated. Spoon's latest pales in comparison to Gimme Fiction and at 36 minutes ends much too quickly, but it's filled with the usual angular, catchy tunes Britt Daniel can probably write in his sleep. I don't know much about Trans Am. They're a mostly electronic band that channels Rush as well as Gary Numan. And you'll find songs with huge Sabbath-like riffs. -- all with an indie-rock ethos. Are they paying homage or being sarcastic? I don't know, but I don't care. Sex Change rocks.

9. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists -- Living With the Living. Leo does it again, pounding out another set of catchy personal and political songs. He's growing on each album, too, but can still get downright loud on songs like Bomb.Repeat.Bomb.

8. Birdie Busch -- Penny Arcade. This album reminded me a little of last year's Jenny Lewis solo CD Rabbit Fur Coat, and not just because Busch's first song is Rabbit Foot. This is a quirky, honest, delicate and warm album. Where Lewis leaned a little to country, Busch is more folk. A very rewarding album from this Philly-based artist.

7. Bright Eyes -- Cassadaga. Conor Oberst follows up the classic I'm Wide Awake It's Morning with another winner, moving away from politics into the psychic world. Intelligent songwriting with great arrangements.

6. New Pornographers -- Challengers. Though it lacks the frenetic energy of the Pornographers' previous releases, the hooks and interesting layers are still there. A bit more dense. This is one of those "growers."

5. Ryan Adams -- Easy Tiger. See Playlist 1.

4. Okkervil River -- Stage Names. What a great collection of memorable songs. John Allyn Smith Sails (about the poet John Berryman) eventually evolves into Sloop John B., while Plus Ones name checks numerically titled songs such as 96 Tears and 99 Luftballoons. Great, fun and literate songs.

3. Arcade Fire -- Neon Bible. The album that I most anticipated this year did not disappoint. This is a band with a great future in front of it. Now if they'd only come to South Florida so I could see them live.

2. Dr. Dog -- We All Belong. A friend of mine who saw this Philly band in Orlando said they were a "mess," but what a glorious mess they are. This oddball, but highly talented, group put out an album that exceeded all my expectations from hearing Easy Beat. The great song Alaska has earned them comparisons to The Band. If you like excellent musicianship, fun songwriting, Beatles-based hooks and harmony, you'll love this as much as I did.

1. Wilco -- Sky Blue Sky. Jeff Tweedy continues to surprise. After the noise of the last two albums, he returns closer to his alt-country roots than at any point since the band's first album. These are mostly mellow, memorable songs made even better by Nels Cline's intense guitar work. I have no qualms saying they're the best rock band in America today.

Just about all of these great albums are available at eMusic.

The rest of this week's Playlist.

Calvin Trillin. About Alice. This is a touching book about Trillin's wife Alice, who had it all -- brains, beauty, compassion. And a battle with cancer. It's a short book, yet in those few pages Trillin painted such a complete picture of Alice that I feel like I knew her.

Millard Kaufman. Bowl of Cherries. There are so many reasons I've been eager to read this book. First of all, it's Mr. Kaufman's first book. And he's 90 years old! However, he's had an exciting career as a screenwriter (two-time Oscar nominee) and as co-creator of Mr. Magoo. And this book is published by McSweeney's. So far, through the first 75 or so pages, it has not disappointed. Click the link above to find out more about the book and Mr. Kaufman. And while you're there, check out the McSweeney's store. Great stuff.

Anchor Steam Christmas Ale. It went for $6.25 per bottle at Pizza Paridiso when I was in Georgetown. A little pricey, but well worth it. Perfect beer for cold weather. Goes down smooth and easy with a slight fruity taste. It's a full-bodied beer. For your beer afficionados out there, it's often compared to Jaeger.

Jens Lekman. A Postcard to Nina and Your Arms Around Me. If you're not turned off by Jens' very Morrissey-like voice, listen to the words of these songs. In Postcard, Jens befriends Nina, who asks him to pretend he's her boyfriend so her family doesn't find out that she's a lesbian. And Arms is a touching song that revolves around a partners' warm hug and a trip to a hospital because of an accident Jens suffers slicing an avocado. Great stuff. And yes, you can download both songs and the album Night Falls Over Kortedala at eMusic.

One or both of these songs may make it onto the top songs of 2007 list, which will be part of the next Playlist. So be sure to check back around next week.

Roger and Me. We finally pulled out Michael Moore's first film for our young teens. What can I say? It's only the second documentary (Super Size Me was the first) that they sat all the way through. And they didn't complain. The film made me laugh -- and made me angry, just as it had done the last time I saw it many years ago.

That's all for this week. Now, please tell me: What's on your Playlist? What are you listening to as you drive around doing the last-minute frenetic holiday shopping? What book is in your hands at night as you try to wind down from another crazy day?

Playlist 2 -- Bleeding Green, No Country for Old Men, more

Hey there. Another week, another Playlist.

A.J. Jacobs. The Year of Living Biblically. A.J. Jacobs is a riot. I dove into this after reading his book The Know-it-All, in which he attempted to become incredibly smart by reading every page of the Encyclopedia Britannica. In this book, A.J. tries to “literally” follow the Bible’s rules for a year. He doesn’t shave. He stones adulterers. He avoids mixed fibers. And he tries not to covet or lie. It’s hilarious. Jacobs is an agnostic, but jumps fully into the role, or should I say robe. The book (A.J.’s) doesn’t disparage religion at all, but puts perspective on the book (that old one that starts with Genesis) and the people who follow it.

Bleeding Green Nation. And speaking of A.J. Want to keep up on the newest quarterback controversy? Here's the site.

Those who know me well, know the Philadelphia Eagles are not just another distraction, they’re my main focus, especially between August and (I always hope) late January. In the Internet and NFL Network age, it’s easy to keep up with the news. But I miss the passion. This Web site brings it all. And unlike many of the Eagle blogs and message boards out there, it’s intelligent. It’s my daily stop to catch up on the Birds.

Now who thinks that great effort against the Patriots is a springboard to a great run? I sure hope so. But being a Philadelphia sports fan for 30+ years has taught me one thing. Don't get don’t get too optimistic. You'll just get your heart broken.

The Red House Painters. Ocean Beach and Songs for a Blue Guitar. This group is really the work of one man Mark Kozelek. And these two albums are muted, yet very memorable. Although the Painters’ sound is distinct, it covers several categories from folk to alternative country to progressive. They can be loud, but also introspective, sometimes on the same song. Ocean Beach is a quieter, more consistent affair. But Songs for a Blue Guitar is more fun. Kozelek loves doing covers (he’s done albums of Modest Mouse and AC/DC songs) and Blue Guitar has three – Silly Love Songs, Long Distance Runaround and a great version of the Cars’ All Mixed Up that you have to hear. Who do the Painters sound like? Hard to pinpoint, but Kozelek has been compared to a combination between Simon and Garfunkel and Neil Young. Check out the Red House Painters My Space page and listen to their cover of Genesis’ Follow You, Follow Me. Favorite Tracks: Have You Forgotten, Make Like Paper, All Mixed Up, Cabezon and Moments.

You can find a lot of The Red House Painters’ music at www.emusic.com.

No Country for Old Men. All right, I haven’t seen this yet. But this trailer has whet my appetite. It looks like the Coen Brothers have done it again. I don’t know anything about the actor Javier Bardem, but based on the trailer he’s nailed Anton Chigurh. If you haven’t read Cormac McCarthy’s book, treat yourself to it. It’s an easy read – much easier than his more acclaimed, but still worthwhile The Road.

T.C. Boyle. East is East. (see last week’s post). Nearing the last 30 pages.

Now you guys tell me. What's on your Playlist?

Playlist 1 -- Welcome aboard, Ryan Adams, TC Boyle, Wii, Coltrane

How do you start off your first blog?

I went to my favorite blog and started clicking the “next blog” to see what other bloggers did to start theirs. Here’s what I found, in order …

• A Web site in Spanish that I couldn’t understand.
• A blog that involved a “live camera” that was currently inactive, but promised some interesting “action” if you clicked to another site.
• A Web site in another language I couldn’t understand, but the profile picture was Jesus on the Cross. (I guess it’s officially a trend if even the Savior has his own blog).
• A Web site that stated: I’m not here to waste your time, so I'll make this brief. Having your own product to sell, is the best way to make money on the internet. But you probably already know that.
• The Curioso blog. Again, I couldn’t understand any of the words except for these two – Paris Hilton.
• And, finally, this.
  

So maybe I’m putting too much thought into this thing. So I went back to the first posting on my aforementioned favorite blog – Wild About Words and found the straightforward, conversational opening. And I stole it.

Welcome to Distractions.

Life is great, but not always easy. But these pleasant distractions we allow ourselves help to make it easier. For me, these distractions are music, books, sports, movies, TV shows, games, Web sites, etc. Part of my blog will be sharing my distractions and, hopefully, getting the four or five family members or friends who visit the site out of obligation to share theirs.

Well, I better get moving. I’m already way behind a lot of grannies and 10-year-olds who have started and abandoned their blogs while I’ve tried to figure out how to start mine.

I’ll get started with My Playlist.

Each week, I’ll list the top five distractions that have kept my attention in the past week when life wasn’t getting in the way. What do you think of these items? What’s on your “Playlist” this week?

Ryan Adams. Easy Tiger. I’ve been a big fan of Ryan, going back to his days with Whiskeytown and his first solo album Heartbreaker. Over the past couple of years, however, I’ve started to fall in line with the critics. If the prolific songwriter was a better self-editor, he’d have a handful of great classic albums instead of a dozen good ones. I skipped 29 and was about to do the same with Easy Tiger. But a friend of mine, who does not like Ryan Adams at all, kept talking it up after hearing Two on Sirius radio. So I checked it out. And it surprised me. The songwriting is excellent and his backing band the Cardinals can do it all. Yep, there are a couple clunkers. But it’s one of Ryan’s most consistent CDs. It’s folky, a little alt-country and it rocks in some places, too. Definitely one of the better CDs of this past year. Favorite tracks: Two, The Sun Also Sets, Goodnight Rose.

Free Rice. This site allows you to test and improve your vocabulary and do a small part toward ending hunger. For every correct answer you get, Free Rice donates 10 grains of rice, which is distributed by the United Nations World Food Program. Check out the site to learn more.

TC Boyle. East is East. I’m about halfway through this book, one of only three Boyle novels I haven’t finished yet. It’s a typical TC yarn. A Japanese man of mixed blood jumps off a ship off the coast of Georgia and hides from authorities on an island full of the usual TC Boyle crackpots and nitwits. Well-written and very engaging.

Madden 07 for the Wii. I thought I’d be all over my sons’ Wii Game System when we were finally able to buy it for them. But I have too little time, and as you can see, too many other distractions. But after getting soundly beaten by my younger son in Madden last weekend, I crept into our rec room when the kids went to sleep, created my own fantasy team, played a game against the New York Jets (and lost), but finally figured out how to throw the ball effectively. Look out!

John Coltrane. A Love Supreme. While I’m very confident in my knowledge and understanding of all types of rock, from classic to indie, I’m still a neophyte when it comes to jazz. I don’t know why I like what I do, but I do. Some jazz albums, like Kind of Blue, are easy first listens. A Love Supreme was not. I could always understand the musicianship behind and revel in Coltrane’s famous sheets of sound. But I didn’t always “get it.” Last week, however, I popped it in my car CD player as I drove to the gym. I was tired. I had a huge headache. And I was thinking about just skipping the workout altogether. But somehow this music picked me up. It’s been on my car CD player ever since.