People should not get to listen to music if they are going to make me feel bad by running more/faster than me.
La Monte Young's The Well-Tuned Piano is six hours if you want to build in some wiggle room.
My usual exercise music is "Cold War" and "Tightrope" by Janelle Monae. Now I've given away how long my exercise routine is.
Suicidal Tendencies "Institutionalized" was on the radio this morning. Best song ever or bestest song ever?
A little along the lines of 2, I really enjoy Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians when I'm walking around a city, especially one with a grid system. It's like 40 minutes or an hour? Then switch to ABBA.
Occasionally, the gym will put on "Eye of the Tiger." It's ridiculous but it does work. How can you not go balls out to Eye of the Tiger?
Occasionally, the gym will put on "Eye of the Tiger." It's ridiculous but it does work. How can you not go balls out to Eye of the Tiger?
And also you finish the run much quicker by the power of montage.
I also like running to John K. Samson's "When I Write My Master's Thesis", a surprisingly upbeat song about procrastinating.
For the two weeks a year I get on the elliptical, I find "I am the Wife of Mao Tse Tung" from Nixon in China very energizing. I had a whole running playlist but I can't remember what was on it because it's been like two years since my yearly two weeks.
You can probably find better versions.
Here's one from the Windy City: http://archive.org/download/sci2004-10-30.flac16/sci2004-10-30d3t03.flac
I have a playlist of original disco music and italo-disco that serves well for the machines at the gym, at least. It should be randomized, but it should always start with Donna Summer's "Sunset People". And make sure it's actual disco with a consistent rhythm, not something overly funky like this.
La Monte Young and the Forever Bad Blues Band's "Just Stompin'" is pretty awesome.
Thanks! Until I started running, most of my music was more or less all slow, droning, broody shit. I just downloaded the new Justin Timberlake album because of that one song on that one commercial and I think this one will go somewhere near the last couple miles. I probably won't get too distracted by the intellectualism of the lyrics.
Heading back home on my 40-mile bike ride this Wednesday, my randomized exercise playlist served up Sleater-Kinney's "Jumpers" just as I was crossing the Golden Gate Bridge while being blown about by frighteningly heavy winds. A bit creepy! But for songs about killing oneself by jumping off the GGB, it's a surprisingly good and uptempo workout track.
I suggest songs from this year's Eurovision. Some of them are so bad you'll run faster trying to see if you can make them end quicker. (Some of them are also really really fun.)
i always sing Steely Dan's "Haitian Divorce" to myself when i run. the tempo fits my pace.
19: Once ran a race silently singing "Doctor Wu" during the uphill parts. "Can you hear me Doctor?" meshed well with my breathing pattern.
9 is indeed an excellent song, from an excellent album. I don't run unless I'm being chased, but this pop-punk album makes me speed and holler and drum on the steering wheel when I'm driving.
9 is just that much more awesome because I didn't have to write a thesis to collect my masters. This has made a small number of friends resentful and bitter. Which is silly, since the degree is useless anyway.
It boggles the mind sometimes that there is not more intercourse between Unfogged and The Great Whatsit.
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Run
I listened to La Roux on repeat while writing my comps (both times) and it seems like it could be great to run to. I'd also recommend Girl Talk's Feed the Animals (~1 hour) but only if you're from a certain time period/like rap and mash-ups.
Necessary background:
Sunday Iris & I are running a 5k together.
Iris has my old iPhone, but only uses it for games; she's really not into music yet (9, for those who've lost track).
She's excited at the idea of having music for her 5k.
Her idea for running music is recordings of the local public radio swing music program (the one that dedicated a song to her when she was 8 days old, and an entire hour of baby-themed music to Kai when he was born).
She's so sweet! and ingenuous!
4: bestest
Maybe hard to run to, though.
To the OP:
The Coup
Beastie Boys
The Who
The Pixies
Nick Cave
The Clash
The Phenomenauts
Gang of Four
Jimi Hendrix
Bo Diddley
Kirsty MacColl
"I Want Candy"
Nick Cave
The Birthday Party is pretty high energy (though not what I would chose for exercise music), but I can't really imagine running to, say, The Carny
I ran most of a high school CC season with The A-List cycling through my head. Not sure I'd recommend it, but "Drill" seems like a good motivator.
4, 27: Sure. Which is why this was about the most fun I ever had writing a comment here.
re: the OP
If I was putting together an exercise playlist, it'd be heavy on northern soul, funk and hip-hop.
Do people have spotify access?
29: then Stagger Lee or Opium Tea, each of which sometimes cycle into my exercise time and I don't skip to the next!
I don't run unless I'm being chased
A marathon-running friend used to tell me all the time how many miles he had run that day and I would always just say "were you being chased?"! Sometimes it's like we're the same person except in every particular of our lives!
21: Somebody was just talking about them in my presence. Weird.
Apparently I missed out -- Tommy Stinson is in town, and went out to bars I frequent with other luminaries of the '80s Mpls punk scene the last few nights, including to the Detroit Cobras show that I decided to skip. Not like I've ever been a huge 'mats fan or anything, but still.
People should totally bring exercise mix CDs to swap at Unfogged'Con. My exercise playlist (which is totally aspiration all,because I haven't exercised in a year) relies heavily on "whatever music was popular at clubs before I got married."
I run to fast but peaceful music, but then I run partly to keep from exploding from nerves. The Palladian Ensemble is usually about right.
Swing's great but the rhythm is wrong. Maybe for running on irregular ground? I'll have to try that.
I have friends who adore `Zombies, Run!' and the idea gives me the collywobbles.
I'm a bit of a swing obsessive [much of the past few years' worth of practice time has been devoted to swing guitar practice], but yeah, I'm not sure if I would want to exercise to it. Maybe. I'm not sure why breakbeats and funk and soul beats work better, but they just seem to.
Rowing to swing worked, IME, because you retard half the measure coming back up the slide.
Other than that, if I want to exercise to swing, the Lindy will do. Charleston for intervals, air moves for aspiration.
Love that master's thesis song, too. (I advise masters theses at this strange institution and I cannot find a comfortable level of expectation for them that sits between 'long undergrad paper' and dissertation.)
Anything with 180 beats per minute? http://breakingthetimebarrier.com/blog/2013/5/15/synchronizing-my-watch
I used to use this a Paste playlist, but there's too much crap amid the excellent:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2010/04/the-80-best-workout-songs.html
Here is reborn Paste's current take:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2013/05/the-100-best-workout-songs.html
30 is something I should've said. I've got at least 3 tracks from it on my biking collection (as opposed to playlist, which is ordered; I have 2 of those, timed for specific rides).
Best Nick Cave for cycling: "Hard On For Love".
Iris handed me her iPhone after about 3/4 of a mile - carrying it was too much burden. She finished (~37 minutes) and declared, "That was the hardest thing I've ever done."
I second La Roux, and let me add LadyHawke, and Foster the People.