Michael Phelps: What the Heck Is He Listening To?

Michael Phelps: What the Heck Is He Listening To?
Photo by Flickr user jdlasica

When he competes, U.S. Olympian Michael Phelps is usually seen walking into the arena with headphones on, blasting music in order to get him pumped up for the upcoming race. But what the hell is he listening to?

It's rumored that Phelps is a huge rap and hip-hop fan, but there's no telling what is actually coming through those headphones. I know from playing soccer in my past that certain things pumped me up and had me ready to go. And certain genres or certain songs in particular were off the gameday playlist instantly. Let's just say country music never made the cut.

But I figured why not poke some fun at this and try to figure out what the heck Phelps is listening to? He's never bopping his head or mouthing any words, so this interpretation can have a wide range of musical guesses.

"Marijuana,"Kid Kudi

In the past, Phelps has been caught hitting the bong, and has made a public apology for his actions. In my mind I say, "Damn, he broke world records, let him take one hit." But hey, it's illegal after all.

Yes, Phelps is into this genre of music, but I would find it oddly ironic if this happened to be playing through his headphones in order to get him pumped up. I doubt that this would have pumped anyone up for the 400-meter freestyle or any swimming event. But maybe for Phelps, it's a reminder what is to come after the Olympics.

"Just Keep Swimming," Dori from Finding Nemo

He's swimming clearly and keeps going. From Sydney, Athens, Beijing and now the London Olympics there seems to be no stop to this man. Regardless if he isn't up to his medal count from the last summer Olympics in Beijing, he just keeps swimming. Although there is rumor and talk at the London Olympics that this just may be the last Olympic round for Phelps.

  "Bodies," Drowning Pool

I think the name of both the song and the band say enough. If Phelps were into harder rock, this may be on his playlist. However, I do question the fact of the lyrics stating, "Let the bodies hit the floor," could really pump up a swimmer while the band's name is Drowning Pool.

It's all in a joking manner, of course. Oddly enough, this song is a song that many use to pump themselves up. I would find it interesting if Phelps was blasting this.

"O Fortuna," from Carmina Burana

Whether you think you may not know this song or not, the answer is you do know it. (I'd be really surprised if not.) The song starts off slow and progresses into drums. It's from a medieval Latin poem, but in 1935 German composer Carl Orff set it to the music we know today.

For the most part, no one speaks Latin anymore.The language is dead, so I can't really interpret the lyrics. But for some reason "Carmina Burana" seems to pump people up. Ever since Beijing, people view Phelps as a water god of some sort, or maybe dolphin-like. So I wonder if he blasts "O Fortuna"to feel godly and all powerful before his race to set the mood.

Okay, all joking aside now. Phelps has stated that he is typically found listening to Lil Wayne. The swimmer earned a sponsorship from H2O Audio waterproof headphone makers, which makes sense, after all. The Rhapsody playlist he put out after the Beijing Olympics mainly consisted of Lil Wayne and Eminem.

Ever since Beijing, people have wondered what Phelps is listening to. But I think possibly for the London Olympics the playlist could be a bit different. Judging by the outcomes of his events so far, Lil Wayne has apparently not made such lively and pumped-up music for Phelps. We'll have to wait and see.

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