Try skating to this, princess

Now that the weather is turning cold in our part of Wisconsin, I’ve put away one set of skates and gotten out another. My workouts have gone from the road to the rink.

I just skate laps. Most of the folks at the rink during open ice are figure skaters. They bring CDs with them. Soaring yet bland pop ballads apparently go good with skating routines.

There were plenty of those today, but we also had an interesting interlude. One of the figure skaters changed CDs, and we had one nice, crunchy alternative rock tune. But only one.

Then the figure skating instructor put some more mush on the CD player. I don’t think she asked permission from the woman who’d put on the rock CD. That woman didn’t stay much longer. I hadn’t seen her before. I’ll be surprised if we see her again, after being dissed in that manner.

Maybe I’ll bring CDs some day. After this week, I’ll have plenty of great mixes to choose from.

— Vincent over at Fufu Stew is out with a staggeringly good trio of Thanksgiving mixes. It’s food-themed soul, funk and R&B and, dare I say, tasty. We are honored that Vincent was gracious enough to include in those mixes a couple of tunes from the AM, Then FM collection.

— Larry over at Funky 16 Corners has completed a project long in the works, making available an archive of all of his fine soul, funk and R&B mixes. I didn’t realize how many I had until I counted them. I have 26, and more are available in Larry’s archive.

Ah, but all those mixes are far too classy for this group.

No, you just know that guy who skates laps is going bring something rude.

And I have just the thing that would clear the ice. The perfect (if not harmonic) convergence of irreverence, attitude and impropriety, especially if played at top volume.

“Deck the Halls,” Ted Nugent, from “Merry Axemas 2,” a 1998 compilation of Christmas rock guitar instrumentals. It has gone out of print but remains available online.

(This, by the way, is a hint of what is to come soon at AM, Then FM. However, that will be more nice than naughty.)