Essentials #2: Chill-tense: for your listening pleasure...

It's been a long tradition of any sport that a player/team listens to pump-up music before a big game. You know, listen to pump-up music, chest bump, yell out of sheer adrenaline, rip off your warm-up apparel and roar like a lion defending his land; every team does it to get psyched for the game. But is this music selection really the best choice?

I think not.

Sure, getting pumped up will help intimidate the other team, but in the great sport of Ultimate, patience and "chilly"ness is usually more important than sheer manliness. How do you think our short and small team dominates wild beasts of nature from larger D-I and D-II schools? We play smart and conservative, and wait for an opening and take advantage of it by striking quickly and effectively (example: K. Poke lulling his defender to sleep by looking like a lazy chump while the handlers are swinging it. Just when his defender gets distracted, he busts deep and catches a perfect huck from The Bulge).

We've found out that we need to listen to music that represents this play style. We call it chill-tense music (chill + intense, duh). We first tested out this music pre-game at High Tide, and look how well we did there. Listening to this music will get you pumped up, but in a more intelligent way. We know we gotta play chilly, but always be ready to take advantage of a big play opportunity.

If we get the whole team to embrace this new musical way of thinking, we will be the chillest and the ill-est of the teams out there. You better be ready.

Some artist recommendations of chill-tense music:

- Minus the Bear - the music listened at High Tide, recommended by Kevin.
- Explosions in the Sky - this music will make you explode in your pants from its awe-inspiring mixture of chill, intensity, and pure epic-ness. THE definition of chill-tense; also recommended by Kevin. Recommended song: "The birth and death of a day".
- Sigur Ros - my personal favorite of chill-tense (I know the ac and evan love them too). If anything, they just make you feel all good inside. They sing in icelandic, so you know it's legit. Recommened song: "Saeglopur"
- EDIT: thanks to Andy for pointing out one of if not THE MOST chill-tense composers of them all: Clint Mansell, the man behind the Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain soundtracks. Recommended song: "Death is the Road to Awe" (The Fountain)

Get yo chill-tense on; it's good for the heart and soul.

- Marky Mark