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An MMXXIV mmixx

Helluva year, was 2025. Had to do something while the world burned; I elected to run a lot and curate these 2024 tracks.

Of these, I’ve seen a few live over the last few years: Thievery Corporation, City of the Sun, Great Lake Swimmers, Harry Manx, La Force and Milky Chance. Three of them played within a mile of my house, thanks in part to the amazing Red Bird Music.

  1. new jackson. si si si. electronic, 2024.
  2. fred again.. & baby keam. leavemealone. drum & bass, 2022.
  3. jamie xx feat. the avalanches. all you children. electronic, 2024.
  4. thievery corporation. letter to the editor. dub, 2017.
  5. city of the sun. sica. rock, 2023.
  6. daughter. dandelion. rock, 2023.
  7. nilüfer yanya. stabilise. pop, 2021.
  8. foals. mountain at my gates. rock, 2015.
  9. great lake swimmers. flight paths. folk, 2023.
  10. harry manx. coat of mail. folk, 2002.
  11. billie eilish. tv. pop, 2022.
  12. slowdive. shanty. rock, 2023.
  13. la force. outrun the sun. rock, 2023.
  14. hologramme. karkoram. downtempo, 2021.
  15. aera. line of conception. acid jazz, 2022.
  16. bicep feat. clara la san. water. trance, 2022.
  17. aphex twin. minipops 67 [120.2] [source field mix]. experimental, 2014.
  18. james blake. asking to break. pop, 2023.
  19. the marías. no one noticed. pop, 2024.
  20. håkon kornstadt & bugge wesseltoft. yellow is the colour. jazz, 2001.
  21. milky chance & fatoumata diawara. flicker in the dark. pop, 2022.
  22. marbert rocel. dance slow [joakim’s blood moon remix]. acid jazz, 2019.
  23. lazerhawk. king of the streets. synthwave, 2013.
  24. d4vd. leave her. pop, 2024.
  25. sunpalace. rude movements. acid jazz, 2014.
  26. acemo. new love. ambient, 2024.
  27. leon vynehall. midnight on the rainbow road (BAB 5). downtempo, 2015.
  28. else. you. downtempo, 2017.
  29. ross from friends. epiphany. house, 2019.
  30. squarepusher. detroit people mover. ambient, 2020.
  31. svaneborg kardyb. cycles. rock, 2024.
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The running groove

Bike commuting was my thing. I might do a 5k run once or twice a month, but that was it.

But then I moved to Old Ottawa South and took a job in Kanata. The bike commute would be 50km roundtrip – really not viable. Time was increasingly short, and running has the best “bang for the buck” in terms of the calorie burn per minute. And my neighbourhood is a running dream: between the two banks of the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal, I can pick any of eight great routes for a run, with almost zero traffic lights to manage. The canal is even ploughed down to pavement for the entire winter.

So: I gave running a more serious shot. I ditched my old “barefoot” shoes and the whimsical evolutionary running story that inspired them. I ramped up to a run every week, and then more.

Tamarack Race Day in May 2024 marked my first 10km since the high school cross-country team. It was really a blast – a very friendly, party atmosphere with a huge crowd of runners. I followed that up with a daily run in June, then pushed on to try the “Commander’s Challenge” (5k + 10k, back-to-back) at the Army Run in September.

And so – running is now my main hobby. At 2-3 runs per week at the moment, it’s a pretty reasonable time commitment, though that’ll rise if I go for the half marathon this spring.

The stress relief and sleep improvements are amazing, especially in these… trying political moments. The other motivator is to “model” good exercise/anxiety/sleep management for the kids – which seems to be working; H decided to make track & field her main sport this year.

So finally – I’ve made quite a bit of progress in my total distance and pace over the year. A few fun stats:

202220232024
Total distance190 km360 km857 km
Best 5 km time28:0624:2923:01
Best 5 km pace5:37/km4:54/km4:36/km
Number of 10km+ runs0123

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Intervals mix

My exercise shifted this year. To date, I’ve mostly been a cyclist, with a bit of running, swimming or cross-country skiing from time-to-time. And I’ve mostly cycled for transportation: commuting or grocery shopping, with the exercise as a side benefit but not the main purpose.

But the last 18 months have been more about running. More on that in a separate post. One of the triggers was an upgrade from regular AirPods – which constantly fell out of my ears if I sweated at all – to AirPods Pro that actually stay in, connected to music playing on my watch. Suddenly, regular running to less monotonous. I could imagine running further, 60 minutes. Or faster.

And so: this mix is a bit more upbeat. Not quite “DJ Tiësto trance rave maxxed out”, but I’ll admit I’ve run to that too.

Part 1

  1. hologramme. aphrodite. electronic, 2023.
  2. justice. pleasure x newjack x civilization (www). house, 2018.
  3. the brothers macklovitch & a-trak feat. leven kali. give love to get some. r&b, 2020.
  4. elle varner feat. j. cole. only want to give it to you. r&b, 2012.
  5. the strike boys. everybody. dub, 2004.
  6. il:lo feat. brain blake. reine. downtempo, 2015.
  7. squarepusher. oberlove. experimental, 2020.
  8. lanark artefax. touch absence. ambient, 2017.
  9. caroline polachek. welcome to my island. pop, 2023.
  10. jordana & tv girl. summer’s over. pop, 2021.
  11. the smile. thin thing. rock, 2022.
  12. hemlocke springs. sever the blight. pop, 2023.
  13. jennylee. tickles. pop, 2021.
  14. sufjan stevens. the owl and the tanager. folk, 2010.
  15. jeremy olander. steps. techno, 2007.
  16. tsha feat. clementine douglas. dancing in the shadows. house, 2022.
  17. sub focus. calling for a sign. drum & bass, 2023.
  18. pola & bryson, goddard. & lens feat. javeon. way up. drum & bass, 2023.

Part 2

  1. the chemical brothers. goodbye. big beat, 2023.
  2. charli xcx. lightning. dance, 2022.
  3. machinedrum feat. kučka. violet. experimental, 2023.
  4. beastie boys. ok. hip hop, 2011.
  5. wax motif & riordan. la samba. house, 2023.
  6. lionel boy. loop. r&b, 2022.
  7. peaking lights. soft escape [moonman mix]. dub, 2020.
  8. dj minx. let it ride. house, 2023.
  9. ver:west. 5 seconds before sunrise. trance, 2020.
  10. jex opolis. mt. belzoni. downtempo, 2017.
  11. otik. subaru dreams. downtempo, 2023.
  12. shigeto. detroit, pt. 1. ambient, 2013.
  13. slowdive. kisses. pop, 2023.
  14. sally shapiro. rent. pop, 2023.
  15. bootleg rascal. head in the clouds. pop, 2016.
  16. asian dub foundation. culture move. dub, 1998.
  17. orbital feat. the little pest. you are the frequency. techno, 2023.
  18. roland tings. lights on the headland. techno, 2020.
  19. quantic. time is the enemy. acid jazz, 2001.
  20. gotan project. época. downtempo, 2001.
  21. taylor swift. safe & sound [taylor’s version]. folk, 2012.
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The commuter listen

As of May 2022, I started driving to my job at Apple, three days a week. Initially, I was using our ancient beige Camry (2001), which I’d delayed repairing and had a godawful loud engine noise. I was holding out on repairs, expecting we’d get an electric vehicle (Chevy Bolt) we’d queued for a few months earlier. Eventually, I gave up on the Bolt, discovered the Camry repairs were trivial and I finally got to listen to music while driving. And then in February, a Bolt finally arrived and I could hear music on a genuinely nice audio system.

So this was my commuter soundtrack. I’ve grown a little tired of music for the time being – moved on to podcasts (like this movie show) and audiobooks for a bit. But I’ll be back to the music again before long.

Part 1

  1. yeah yeah yeahs. burning. rock, 2022.
  2. catfish & the bottlemen. kathleen. rock, 2014.
  3. friendly fires. kiss of life. rock, 2009.
  4. eight and a half. wait up. rock, 2012.
  5. maddie zahm. blind spot. folk, 2021.
  6. luna li. what you’re thinking. pop, 2022.
  7. cut copy. running in the grass. downtempo, 2022.
  8. simian mobile disco. i believe. electronic, 2007.
  9. cannons. bad dream. pop, 2021.
  10. kyle dixon & michael stein. escape. synthwave, 2017.
  11. waveshaper. future vision. synthwave, 2016.
  12. the rapture. i need your love. pop, 2003.
  13. bonobo. ketto. downtempo, 2006.
  14. beach house. only you know. rock, 2022.
  15. khruangbin & leon bridges. mariella. rock, 2022.
  16. jeremy steig. howling for judy. jazz, 1969.
  17. cotonete. super vilain wants love [dj deep & romain poncet remix]. acid jazz, 2020.
  18. the avalanches. take care in your dreaming. downtempo, 2020.
  19. prince innocence. forever & ever. rock, 2020.
  20. cigarettes after sex. pistol. downtempo, 2022.

Part 2

  1. widowspeak. the good ones. folk, 2020.
  2. lord huron. meet me in the woods. rock, 2015.
  3. johnny marr. spirit power and soul. rock, 2022.
  4. solange. losing you. r&b, 2012.
  5. empress of. save me. pop, 2022.
  6. warpaint. champion. rock, 2022.
  7. billie eilish. happier than ever. rock, 2021.
  8. yung lean & fka twigs. bliss. alternative, 2022.
  9. childish gambino. algorhythm. alternative, 2020.
  10. beyoncé. break my soul. pop, 2022.
  11. coma feat. dillon. beyond you and me. house, 2022.
  12. odesza feat. bettye lavette. the last goodbye. electronic, 2022.
  13. plaid. clock. ambient, 2016.
  14. com truise. … of your fake dimension. synthwave, 2017.
  15. robert parker. sweet nothings. synthwave, 2016.
  16. youngblood. 5 seconds of summer. pop, 2018.
  17. the weeknd. out of time. r&b, 2022.
  18. troublemakers. chez roger boite funk. acid jazz, 2001.