Review: "Skinny Songs"

I have to admit that when I was first asked to review a new CD called Skinny Songs, I was a little skeptical. Motivational music for eating healthy, exercising and losing weight? It sounded pretty cheesy. But at the same time, there was some great talent attached to the project, including David Malloy - I wasn't familiar with his name, but he's worked with some of my favorite country artists.* And I'm always looking for something to help me be healthy, so I agreed to do the review.

Guess what? It's not cheesy at all. The music is very contemporary country-pop, with a couple of hip hop-y songs. Considering the lyrics are about exercising ("You got to use it to lose it"), eating well ("I use wills of steel, at every meal, to control my every bite"), and losing weight ("Thin! -- I wanna try it"), they're not bad. I actually enjoy listening to the CD at my desk, it's sort of subconscious reinforcement of my health and weight-loss goals.

I worked out to the songs this past weekend and I did find that they were a little on the slow side for my elliptical workout, but I like my workout music to be pretty intense. So whether this is good exercise music for you will probably depend a lot on your personal preference.

The final verdict: If you like country-pop and you are looking for a little extra weight-loss motivation, I think you'll enjoy this CD. You can buy it for $14.99 at Amazon.

*That's right, I really like country music. I have for 15 years or so, ever since glam rock and heavy metal gave way to grunge, which I never liked. I know that's a weird transition, but what can I say? I've always marched to the beat of my own drummer.