Confession

Alright, it was a bit disingenuous of me to include the guitar work of Don Ross in a post regarding work-out music. You can't classify it among the sort of testosterone-fueled "three-chords-and-the-truth" stuff that drives a guy to attempt a 300 lb. bench-press. His music is energetic to be sure, but it's different - it's very positive (the CD insert commands us to, "File under: New Age," but that does it a bit of a disservice as well). Any further gabbing on my part is a distraction. Just buy Robot Monster - you'll be glad you did.

Back to the basement. When it comes to bench-press music, I must report in all earnestness that the devil still has all the good tunes - specifically, Daredevil. The soundtrack (or "album," if you prefer) is the only worthwhile by-product of the risible movie (I'd have included Jennifer Garner's shoulders, but you can usually get a good look at those in any given Alias episode). It's got plenty of hot, heart-pounding tracks, but the real cooker is The Man Without Fear, by Rob Zombie & The Drowning Pool. Oooh, baby!! Every aspect of this song, from its adrenaline-charged opening to its witlessly memorable lyrics make it a true charmer, fully worth adding to the ouevre of truly great superhero themesongs. If there were some way to expand it into 15-minute length, I've no doubt I'd be inspired to compress 30 minutes of bone-crushing labour into half the time (not usually recommended, for a man my age).