WAAHHHHHHHHHHHMMMM, or: How I learned to stop running and hate dubstep

What do the holocaust and running have in common? They both make you skinny, and they both suck. I hate running like Elmer Fudd hates the letter R. Okay, hate is a strong word, but I really really really don't like running. But I still make myself do it because I equally hate being fat.

So, when summer vacation arrived, I decided to appease my half-asleep metabolism and intensify my preexisting running schedule. But first, I needed a playlist. I was sick of running while listening to songs I'd already heard dozens of times, so I decided to stock my running iPod (good thing we had to get an iPod Touch for journalism school, huh?) with some upbeat, energizing music that had gone previously untouched by my scroll wheel: dubstep.

It started out all right. Sure, every half-mile or so I would have to stop myself from fist-pumping, but the music was lively — if a little bit heavy-handed — and seemed to keep me going. 

Fast forward two months, and my opinion on dubstep has shifted from "Hey, this is decent workout music," to "I fucking hate this. No more WAHHHHMM!" Somehow, my hatred for running has rubbed off on the music I'd been running to. Now that I think about it, maybe that's why I was sick of running to those old songs in the first place.

I was faced with a few options: A) Start listening to different music. B) Continue running with dubstep as a sacrificial musical lamb. C) Run without music. But the problems with these are: A) I'd probably just end up hating that music too. B) My newfound hatred for dubstep actually makes running worse. C) I think I would go crazy listening to my own thoughts while running. So I decided to go with D) Just stop running.

I also decided to go with E) Form a hypothesis that isn't even really that arguable: The environment in which one listens to music has a much bigger impact on one's enjoyment of the music than we realize.

For example: you ever have an album that you think you really love, and when you're not in the mood for any music, you throw it on, thinking that the album's awesomeness will overpower all indifference you currently have toward listening to music? Okay, probably not. But sometimes I do that, and them I'll all, "Why doesn't this sound as good as I remember?"

It's like how Bon Iver sounds much better when you're lying on the floor of a silent apartment than it does when you're driving on the highway. Or how Panda Bear's Tomboy is twice as enrapturing coming out of Bose headphones than laptop speakers. The medium is the message, as I think Marshall McLuhan said. That's why music sounds better at a concert, even though the quality is generally lower. Or why people like listening to records instead of mp3s.

And part of that medium is the listener's state of mind, which can be used as a boost for the music, rather than an obstacle for the music to fight against. Music can be experienced to its fullest if it's used as a mood ring, complementing and exacerbating already-established feelings. If you're feeling moody, try listening to some Bright Eyes and make the most of it, rather than putting on some Passion Pit to force yourself into a happy mood. Because, at least for me, those efforts are usually wasted. Let your life provide the scene and your music provide the soundtrack.

So I guess that means if you're running or doing something you hate, listen to some music you hate? I don't know; I'm not a psychologist. Maybe just listen to an audiobook. Whatever you do, don't listen to dubstep, because you'll surely end up hating it.

JUST KIDDING! I LOVE DUBSTEP!
-Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

OR DO I?
-Directed by Christopher Nolan

FEET!
-Directed by Quentin "Chode" Tarantino