Deep Down I'm Still a 13-Yr Old Girl

This is it, the post where it finally becomes apparent that deep down inside I've never matured past being a 13 year old girl.  LOL.  Okay, okay, really that's only (mostly) true when it comes to my taste in music.

Before a long run I like to try to get myself into a happy frame of mind, and music is the best attitude adjuster that I know of.  The best things for me are upbeat songs with a great beat to get me bopping or with lyrics that have me singing along at the top of my lungs to help me get pumped for the journey ahead.  That just makes me happy.  Embarrassingly, the songs that "get me there" the fastest are the teenie-bopper pop hits popular with pre-teens and teens half my age!

Here's my dilemma.  We've started 5am (FIVE. A. M.) Saturday morning long runs to try to beat the heat here in Texas.  And since I've got about a 25 minute drive to where my group meets, that means leaving my house by 4:30.   I'm not super-picky in my music selections, so normally the local mix station more than meets my needs for the minimal amount of time I spend in my car during the week.  However, when the DJ decides to play a slow song that early in the morning - that just doesn't work for me.  Which means I need to create....you got it...a MIX TAPE!!!!  Ok, really it's a mix CD (yes, my car is so old it doesn't have an input jack for playing MP3's - don't judge).

I started wracking my brain for songs.  And I came up empty.  Part of the reason I'm perfectly happy listening to the radio is that I have no idea who sings what songs or what the song titles are...smh.  So what's a girl to do?  Enter Google.  Search for "most overplayed songs of 2013/2012/2011/2010/2009.  I played YouTube clips of songs to figure out what they were and if it was a song that fit the bill then it made the list.  I added a couple of random ones that I actually can identify without help and came up with this list.  Prepare to be amazed/amused/horrified:

1. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepson
2. Party in the U.S.A. - Miley Cyrus
3. Firework - Katy Perry
4. Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga
5. Single Ladies - Beyonce
6. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction
7. Raise Your Glass - Pink
8. Dynamite - Taio Cruz
9. California Girls - Katy Perry
10. Smile - Uncle Cracker
11. All The Small Things - Blink 182
12. Footloose - Kenny Loggins
13. I Want You to Want Me - Cheap Trick

So there it is.  Lots of these are songs you'll hear at races - for the same reason that they made my list.  I know, I know. some people are reaaaaaaaalllly tired of these.  But they're exactly what I'm looking for at 4:30 on a Saturday morning - trust me.  Whether my group will appreciate me having me just heard some of these when we start out will be another story... ;-)

Q4U:  Does music help you get revved up for a run?  Do you have any songs that are "must-hear" for you pre-run?  Do you have any suggestions you think I should add to my list?