It has been a crazy week for me schedule wise, so this Friday’s blog post is admittedly a bit hurried. As the weekend is now upon us, we naturally start getting excited for some personal time away from work. One of the things I love doing on a Friday is putting on my headphones and jamming out to “tried and true” tunes that get me really jacked up. You know these songs – the ones that make you want to run through a wall when you listen to them. Some people use them for working out, some people for going out on the weekend with their friends, and some people for entrance music in a Wrestling ring. Either way – these tunes absolutely rock. This is a very personal thing for everyone. We all have our “go-to” songs that have this effect on us. What follows is MY list – the tunes I crank when I am ready to get my jam on. Hopefully, if nothing else, this adds to your playlist for the day. As with all my lists, these are according to me and my tastes. While I am sure some people would have some techno garbage on their list, there will no such nonsense on this list. Nope – my tastes, my music, my list. Here we go:

5. “Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against The Machine – This song absolutely rocks. I am a marginal fan of the band, but this song is pure awesomeness and anger all rolled into one. Damn if I can’t understand half the lyrics they are singing, but the guitar riff is epic and the rhythm section on point. There are some other great tunes by Rage, including “Killing In the Name of” but to me, this is their best. Listen to “Bulls on Parade” here

4. “Kickstart My Heart” by Motley Crue – I am not embarrassed to admit I absolutely love me some Crue. These guys consistnently put out great rock tunes and deliver a really great show too. Anyone remember the rotating (upside down!) drum kit? They have so many tunes that get me jacked up, but this is my favorite from the Crue. Based on the true story of bassist Nikki Six overdosing on heroin and literally having a Doctor “kick-start” his heart, this song is pounding, aggressive and has a rally cool chorus. The middle part about “kicking ass”, while somewhat corny, is still cool in my book. Listen to “Kickstart My Heart” here

3. “When Will They Shoot” by Ice Cube – I have written before about Ice Cube but I will say it again – this dude is GREAT. Forget all the cheesy recent family movies. Back in the day this guy was the best in the rap game, and this is him at his apex. Off of the “Predator” album, this song has a great beat, hard lyrics (and smart too) and the coolest use of a Michael Jordan Wheaties commercial you will ever hear. As Cube would say “Get off me punk”. Listen to “When WIll They Shoot” here

2. “Back in Black” by AC/DC – AC/DC are on  of the all time great Rock acts – period. Yes – their music is somewhat basic in nature, but they consistently deliver kick-ass rock songs over and over. Their catalog is so amazing and I often cite several of their songs as great pump up songs, but for my money the best is still “Back in Black”. Brian Johnson’s angry and hoarse vocals and Angus Young’s classic riff is just too amazingly hard to not effect you in some way. Listen to “Back in Black” here

1.”Going The Distance” by Bill Conte – Yep – a song with no guitars or drums is my top pump up song of all time. From the movie Rocky II, this is the song that starts playing after Adrianne turns to Rocky after waking from a coma and tells him simply “win”. Cue the best training montage EVER and….goosebumps. The song starts with a “bell” and builds to epic amazingness. I defy you to listen to this song and not get pumped up, Rocky fan or no. PS – if you don’t like Rocky I assume you also don’t like water or breathing too. Listen to “Going The Distance” here

There you have it – my personal favorite Top 5 Pump Up Songs of all time. I am sure you all have your “go – to” pump up jams. Let me know yours in the comments section – always looking for new ones to add to my list. Until next week – there is no spoon.