Tunes for Tuesday

Now that I am embracing my inner superheroine, I clearly need a soundtrack. This started off as a serious list, but what I ended up finding turned this into, well, something else. (Also, I really wanted to avoid overlap with my previous lists, so you'll probably note the absence of other Grrrl Power faves like No Doubt's Just a Girl, and any number of other Christina/Britney hits.)

Keeps Getting Better
Christina Aguilera

I think these lyrics pretty much require me to make this my new personal theme song:

Some days I'm a super girl out to save the world and it keeps getting better

One Girl Revolution
Superchick

Okay, this is what it is, but the themes under the bubblegum aesthetic do what the Bangles and Bananarama (and the Go-Gos) could've done for me and my Gen X chicas. Meh.

Rock What You Got
Superchick

It's On
Superchick

Me Against the World
Superchick

Ain't Nothin' but a She Thing
Nobody's Angel

Supergirl!
Krystal Harris

Watch Me Shine
Joanna Pacitti

And now the Close, But No Cigar Awards (here's where things go awry):

When this was going to be super-superhero-y, Batdance seemed like a logical place to go, but check out the Batgirl Theme and lyrics. This is awful on so many levels, not the least of which is auditory. But I like the idea of asking a superhero if she is a "chick who fell in from outer space" and if she isn't, then the logical alternative is that she might be "real with a tender warm embrace."

People ask me this all the time (the outer space part); maybe it's a sign that my inner superhero is shining through.

Batgirrrl, Batgirl! Batgirrrl, Batgirl!
Where do you come from, where do you go?
What is your scene, baby, we just gotta know.
Batgirrrl, Batgirl! Batgirrrl, Batgirl!
Are you a chick who fell in from outer space?
Or are you real with a tender warm embrace?
Yaaa, whose baby are you? Batgirrrl, Batgirl!
Yaaa, whose baby are you? Batgirl!

Wonder Woman Theme
For obvious reasons, I wanted to include this in the "serious," kickass list despite the background vocals being shrill and annoying. But the lyrics "in your satin tights, fighting for your rights" relegated this to the silly bin.

Sometimes it Takes Balls to be a Woman
Elizabeth Cook

Excerpt:
Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman Standing up to a test, while wearing a party dress Sometimes looks can be deceiving when you¹re quietly over-achieving Oh, sometimes it takes balls to be a woman He says I should repent for the money I spent on shoes and bags and jewelry Well To hell with that, my hard working ass ain't gonna sit before a jury Now isn't that a mighty small price to pay For all the love I send your way Honey when it comes down to the plumbin' Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman

A. I shoulda known this was a country song from the title alone.
B. This is from an album called simply, "Balls."
C. Rhyming "plumbin'" with "woman" -- now THAT'S artistry.

And that's when I had to give up the search.

Wonder Woman Challenge 2008-2009

So my training partner Jen started on a 90-day Bikram Yoga Challenge at the end of August. Seeing as how I'm a sucker for stuff with catchy names, I decided that my next training endeavor needed to have a snappy title like hers. Wouldn't you know, she came up with this:

Wonder Woman Challenge

Hell yeah!

Things to Look for in a Training Partner #43: Ability to come up with snappy names and phrases.

Since I donned a Wonder Woman-esque outfit for the run leg in Louisville (which brought me great strength), this is a great way for me to live up to the outfit.

Of course, I am also a big fan of creating snazzy blog themes. I'm not really ready to give up my "Gutsy Broad" banner yet, nor am I that interested in mixing the minutia of my training sessions with my other musings. Thus, I've created a separate site for my training diary, complete with badass aesthetic.

My Heroes Have Always Been Gutsy Gals

Mary Lou
1984 was my first Olympics and Mary Lou was my first sports hero. It's just that simple.




Nadia
After the '84 Olympics, there was a made-for-TV movie about Nadia that I watched with my parents that introduced me to her. Watching this again with adult eyes, I am more in awe of her than before.




Lynnette Woodard -- The first female Globetrotter (Go to 2:06)
She became the first female Globetrotter when I was in 5th grade and made me want to play basketball, which I did until 7th grade and it became painfully clear that (a) I would be 5"1' forever and (b) soccer was my real love.




Mia Hamm
I think I've mentioned before that anemia spelled the end of sports for me in ninth grade. I have often wondered how my path would have been different if I had been able to continue in sports and/or grew up during Mia Hamm's reign. I don't get weepy over it, though. In place of sports, I veered off into the performing arts. I'm happy with that path, too, but I will always be grateful for the strong foundation sports gave me.