Leafs Playlist: Songs For Winning
My giddy optimism suffered a minor blow yesterday when I walked past the Leafs' weight room and heard Toto.
Not the dog. Not the toilet. No, I am referring to these dapper musicians.
Don't misunderstand. "Africa" is a sweet song. It still gets played at weddings and dinner parties. It's been covered more than a dozen times over the past three decades and, truth be told, I once listened to it 48 times in a row.
But that was like in 1985. I was pre-pubescent, confused and lonely. More important, I was not a professional hockey player.
The Leafs take training very seriously. Anthony Belza, the team's strength and conditioning coach, customizes programs for every player. Not long ago, I saw Fredrik Sjostrom rehabbing his shoulder by extending a dumbbell while sprawled supine on the floor.
It made me wince.
You know why there's a towering wall of glass in the MCC gym? Because studies show athletes will work up to 20 per cent harder when they are bathed in natural light.
About a month ago, Mike Komisarek gave me a tour of the MCC dressing room. It is a state-of-the-art practice facility, the envy of other NHL general managers. From the stacks of free weights to the biorhythm-reading gadgets to a treadmill submerged in a cavernous water tank, everything about the room screams, "Let's get ready to rumble!"
Except Toto.
Now to be fair, I have no idea about how or why "Africa" was playing gently yesterday. It could have been an anomaly. Mind you, I’m pretty sure I also heard Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" a few minutes earlier.
What's next? REO Speedwagon? A medley of Peter Cetera ballads? What happens if Air Supply suddenly cascades through the corridors one morning and Colton Orr snaps and jumps in front of a Zamboni?
So I have compiled a special Leafs Playlist. Feel free to add or subtract from the following mix, picking songs that will inspire hard-work and victory. If this list expands into triple-digits, I might even buy* an iPod for the room as a present from Leafs Nation.
(*Pending official Toronto Star expense approval.)
Leafs Playlist:
1. "Welcome To The Jungle" – Guns N' Roses
2. "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" – Arcade Fire
3. "More Than A Feeling" – Boston (See the comment below from Geoff Read. He's right.)
4. "Love Removal Machine" – The Cult
5. "Bohemian Like You" – The Dandy Warhols
6. "Long Train Runnin'" – The Doobie Brothers
7. "This Is A Call" – Foo Fighters
8. "Bittersweet Dirt Off Your Shoulder" – Jay Z vs. The Verve
9. "See The Light" – The Jeff Healey Band
10. "All These Things That I've Done" – The Killers
11. "Travelling Riverside Blues" – Led Zeppelin
12. "Rollin" – Limp Bizkit
13. "Pay To Play" – Nirvana
14. "Too Young" – Phoenix
15. "New World Man" – Rush
Please, just no more of this:
UPDATE (9:32 a.m.): Just got an email from Anthony Belza, the Leafs strength and conditioning coach. He writes:
Anyone’s iPod can be playing at any given time but Dion usually runs the stereo. If the team is in the gym, it's usually loud and songs get repeated often. By the time the guys are on the ice, the playlist is still running – I'm guessing that is what was happening when you were here.
I've heard of some obscure research suggesting music from the Baroque period is optimal for strength gains and that loud rock is detrimental. (Seriously.) I don't believe it nor have I bothered to check if this research really exists. When it's loud and the selection gets guys in a good state of mind, they enjoy the workout more and they train a little harder.
PHOTO: TARA WALTON/TORONTO STAR
Very solid list, Vinay. A few more suggestions:
"She's Hearing Voices" -- Bloc Party
"The Distance" -- Cake
"Munich" -- Editors
"I Predict A Riot" -- Kaiser Chiefs
"Here I Come" -- The Roots
"Well Thought Out Twinkles" -- Silversun Pickups
"Unglued" -- Stone Temple Pilots
"Juicebox" -- The Strokes
"Baba O'Riley" -- The Who
The Leafs probably get enough "Fifty Mission Cap" without having to add it. Go Leafs Go!
Posted by: Sparky | 09/29/2010 at 08:31 AM
Vinay, you probably did hear Toto but not the original version; it could have been the latest song that samples the Africa lyrics. So, relax it was an anomaly. Regardless, thanks for sharing the Leaf playlist.
Posted by: newsguy | 09/29/2010 at 08:53 AM
You prolly heard Karl Wolf - Africa (Hip-hop/R&B)
Posted by: jasontrent | 09/29/2010 at 09:43 AM
@Sparky: Great additions. Of course, I'm now listening to them instead of working, which is not great. But, whatever. @newsguy: I swear to you, it was the original!
Posted by: Vinay Menon | 09/29/2010 at 09:43 AM
we may be in toronto, but i always find that New York Groove by Kiss gets me going and motivated
Posted by: Dave | 09/29/2010 at 10:07 AM
"Wolf Like Me" by TV on the Radio should be on any training/warm-up playlist ... you may not recognize the title, but it was featured in a Nike commercial featuring Dion, Jerome Iginla, Jordan Eberle etc. during the Olympics.
Love the blog, by the way. Always nice to have a different perspective on the Leafs.
Posted by: Pat Hirtle | 09/29/2010 at 10:15 AM
I'll take your word. Although that Karl Wolf guy is so good it sounds like the original. Check him out on MySpace http://www.myspace.com/karlwolftheartist.
Posted by: newsguy | 09/29/2010 at 10:37 AM
Today's post was a little weak, if there is no big news then at least touch on a couple topics related to hockey even if its another team... its off-season in the NBA too yet Doug's blog always has something worth reading.
Don't want to discourage... just expecting to read something about hockey when reading a hockey blog. R u brave enough to join my fantasy league ?!
Posted by: Anthony | 09/29/2010 at 01:58 PM
How about: The Gaslight Anthem's "Great Expectations"
Posted by: R.W. | 09/29/2010 at 03:09 PM
Show Me How to Live - Audioslave
Bat Country - Avenged Sevenfold
Sabotage - Beastie Boys
Hail Destroyer - Cancer Bats
Smiling Politely - Cancer Bats
Headup - Deftones
Wind Up - Foo Fighters
All My Life - Foo Fighters
Low - Foo Fighters
Set It Off - Kardinal Offishall
My Curse - Killswitch Engage
The Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
Some Kind of Monster - Metallica
Enter Sandman - Metallica
Hysteria - Muse
Knights of Cydonia - Muse (second half, anyway, love it)
Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Smash the Control Machine - Otep
Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
Bury the Hatchet - Protest the Hero
Nautical - Protest the Hero
You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire - Queens of the Stone Age
Sleep Now in the Fire - Rage Against the Machine
Testify - Rage Against the Machine
People of the Sun - Rage Against the Machine
Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine
Freedom - Rage Against the Machine
Give it All - Rise Against
State of the Union - Rise Against
List of Demands (Reparations) - Saul Williams
Zero - Smashing Pumpkins
Bullet with Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins
88 - Sum 41
Chop Suey! - System of a Down
PLUCK - System of a Down
Animal I Have Become - Three Days Grace
Let's Go - Trick Daddy, Lil John, Twista
Blood on My Hands - The Used
Slither - Velvet Revolver
Hash Pipe - Weezer
Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
Battle of One - 30 Seconds to Mars
Honourable Mentions:
The Dead Can't Testify - Billy Talent
Devil in a Midnight Mass - Billy Talent
Devil on my Shoulder - Billy Talent
Foreplay/Long Time - Boston
Hey Man, Nice Shot - Filter
Rhinestone Eyes - Gorrilaz
Break Stuff - Limp Bizkit
New Born - Muse (live version, HAARP album)
Micro Cuts - Muse (HAARP)
Plug in Baby - Muse (HAARP)
Bliss - Muse (live version, Hullabaloo Soundtrack)
Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine
Boom - POD
Riot - Three Days Grace
Home - Three Days Grace
Sound Effects and Overdramatics - The Used
Posted by: Bryce | 09/29/2010 at 03:27 PM
Dude... you want to up the testosterone and you include "More than a Feeling" on your playlist? Boston may be the 70s band most responsible for inspiring all that crappy big hair 80s rock you're complaining about!
Given it's the Leafs, the best song for the playlist might be Nick Costner's, "We're Gonna Play Golf".
Just kidding Leafs' fans...
Posted by: Geoff Read | 09/29/2010 at 03:36 PM
Remember the Name - Fort Minor
Posted by: Rachel Czapka | 09/29/2010 at 04:46 PM
Haha just as I read this, More than a Feeling is blasting on Q107... Geoff is right... that's a terrible testosterone song.
Otherwise good list.
Posted by: Chris Shea | 09/30/2010 at 08:25 AM
The Leafs were a winning team when they came out to Welcome to the Jungle. Then the team changed to The Boys are Back in Town. They haven't been a winning team since.
Posted by: the devil | 09/30/2010 at 11:54 AM
Leafs Playlist:
1. Beautiful Loser- Seger
2. (How Can you Laugh When you Know) I'm Down - The Beatles
3. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out - Clapton
4. Born Under A Bad Sign - Cream (if it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all)
5. The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. King
6. Fade To Black - Metallica
7. Dream On - Aerosmith
8. That's When I Reach For My Revolver - Moby
9. There's A Tear in My Beer- Hank Williams
10. Suicide Solution - Ozzy Osborne
Posted by: bill d | 09/30/2010 at 12:04 PM
Sequoia Throne - Protest the Hero
Nautical - Protest the Hero
Heretics and Killers - Protest the Hero
Master of Puppets - Metallica
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Metallica
Ride the Lightning - Metallica
Fight Fire With Fire - Metallica
Spoonman - Soundgarden
Ty Cobb - Soundgarden
Rusty Cage - Soundgarden
Young Cardinals - Alexisonfire
Obfuscation - Between the Buried and Me
I Just Got This Symphony Goin - The Fall of Troy
Blood and Thunder - Mastodon
Iron Tusk - Mastodon
The Wolf is Loose - Mastodon
YYZ - Rush
Hangar 18 - Megadeth
Constant Motion - Dream Theatre
Insomnia - Periphery
Breed - Nirvana
Even Flow - Pearl Jam
Lying from You - Linkin Park
This is Absolution - Killswitch Engage
Posted by: Phillip | 09/30/2010 at 09:56 PM