If I didn’t have my iPod, it’s quite possible that I just wouldn’t exercise at all. I’m not one of those people like D (cough – freaks) who enjoy getting all breathless and sore for the sake of being breathless and sore.
I need motivation. I need distraction. I need music.
At the moment, I am trying to compile the perfect soundtrack for an hour long run. The following tunes are songs which regularly appear on my “Exercise” playlist. I understand that there will be serious music fans out there who might baulk at The Pixies and Destiny’s Child being grouped together but I care not. They make me want to keep running.
SONGS TO RUN TO
Don’t Stop Me Now - Queen (Have you seen the Cadbury’s ad using it? Fabulous!)
Hotel Yorba - White Stripes
9 to 5 – Dolly Parton
Elvis Ain’t Dead - Scouting for Girls (I challenge you not to sing along)
Bat Out of Hell - Meatloaf (Very good for fartlek training)
Professional Widow (remix) - Tori Amos
Valerie - Mark Ronson (feat. Amy Winehouse)
White Trash Wedding – Dixie Chicks
Crazy in Love - Beyonce
Respect - Wheatus
Somewhere Else - Razorlight (play this at the end of a run and imagine the applause is for you!)
Come Home – Placebo
Bootilicious – Destiny’s Child
Debaser - Pixies
————-
Now, here’s where I’d like your help. I’d like to add more songs to this playlist and need some inspiration.
Can you suggest any songs to run to?
How about Alesha Dixon’s The boy does nothing. I can’t explain why I like this song it’s not like anything else I like but it makes me want to move.
Hi! I’ve been reading your blog for some time and I thought I should finally post a comment. Here are my “go faster!” songs:
“Hip Hop A Lula” – Junior Senior
“Just Dance” – Lady Gaga
“Keep Yourself Alive” – Queen
“Suffragette City” – David Bowie
“Rock and Roll Train” – ACDC
“I Want It All” – Queen
Hope this helps!
How about -
You Look Good On The Dance Floor – Arctic Monkeys (what ever people say…)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JGCre4HgPLU
Red Carpet & Rebellion – The Distillers (the distillers)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DDpv2cRMw8E
Don’t Want To Go To Bed Now – Gabriella Cilmi (lessons to be learned)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BOQ4ClSqX5E
Jamestown – The Movielife (Forty Hour Train Back to Penn)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=u9F6RtZdsdU
These all have nice fast beats to run to!
Nina Simonne – Sinnerman? I just have to run everywhere when I hear this
How about the Killers – Mr Brightside? I also like Bush – Swallowed, and a lot of the Libertines’ stuff has a good rhythm for running. Same with things like Jimmy Eat World if you like loud slightly angry music to pound along to.
It certainly looks like you’ve got a beautiful running route worked out, which always helps a great deal!
Everything of ABBA. Foolish, but fun running music….(Gimme, gimme, gimme…)
I’m afraid I can’t add much seeing as running is my idea of absolute hell, but I have to say that that is a fantastic list of tunes. Quite similar to the tunes I listen to for the morning commute actually – I travel for two hours and leave super-early so I need these kind of songs to wake me up and get me going for the day!!
Debaser! What a great little tune that is.
Any 60′s Soul number makes me move, but, mostly I would recommend anything by Sam and Dave – ‘cos no-one makes movement more fun in my book. And Bowie as mentioned by Mo above. But I cannot condone whipping out that ACDC number. They still remind me of sweaty, pimply teenage boys headbanging at school dances.
I wish I could listen to music whilst running, but for some reason I need complete slience. I do love your hodge-podge list though!
I don’t run! But I have read a heap of research recently that the desired beats per minute to run to is the same beat as ABBA’s ‘dancing queen’.
Slower beat but to get me dancing – Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” will get me every time!
Well I used to run to Virginia Plain by Roxy Music segued into Blindness by the Fall. I find this made me run with a pounding relentlessness but didn’t make me want to dance around or sing along – which can be a bad thing in public!
i always draw blank on these questions but I remember a similar question and a gym playlist from last year – I even made some long-forgotten suggestions in the comments – I would always pick Pulp but perhaps not E’s current playlist of Death in June and assorted neofolk – anyway check out stephanie’s list and comments:
http://elegantsufficiency.typepad.com/the_elegant_sufficiency/2007/08/in-the-zone.html#comments
just remembered the other song that I would recommend is aussie band The Triffids’s song – Wide Open Road!
PS – I don’t run at all – maybe walk fast if I need to catch a train!
These always make me move:
- Feelgood Inc. (Gorillaz)
- Lift me up (Moby)
- Song 2 (Blur)
- Town called malice (The Jam)
- Salvation (Cranberries)
Get the Late of the Pier album- great to run too- full of energy!
Definitely agree on The Killers Mr Brightside and Song 2 by Blur, another one that makes me move fast (which is a mean feat in itself) is Depeche Mode Just Can’t Get Enough. My dog goes mad when I play Song 2!!
I would suggest that you add very brief songs.
I’m not crazy about Madonna, but ‘Like a Prayer’ is one of my favorite work-out songs. I also like Katy Perry’s ‘Use Your Love’ and Santogold’s “Creator” and “Light’s Out” (or anything by her.)
Oh! Great list – I love the mix, mine is just like that, Metallica and Justin Timberlake, all the same! I’ll be adding some of yours to my running track, so I guess I better give you some in return:
Foo Fighters: Long Road to Ruin
Faithless: Insomnia
Chris Brown: Forever
Katy Perry: I Kissed a Girl
Barry White: Any Fool Could See
Michael Bublé: I’ve Got the World on a String
Metalicca: Whiskey in the Jar
- and then there are all the Danish ones, but I guess they’d make you laugh, rather than run!
Oh, oh, oh, I forget: Kings of Leon! They’re awesome!
OK, I’m no help when it comes to suggesting music. But I want to run there just to see that spectacular scenery.
Marie – Don’t know it but will definitely check it out.
Mo – Hello.
A couple of crackers there. Not familiar with the rest but will become so!
Holler – Love them all! Thanks for the links.
Gen – Very good point, honey. Can’t believe I didn’t think of this one.
Jane – Mr Brightside! Of course! Won’t be able to stop myself from singing though…
Anne – I feel stupid. ABBA are perfect! Thank you.
Antonia – You have a TWO hour commute????? That is insane. How many miles do you actually travel? I work 25 miles away and it takes me 35 minutes.
Lucy – You’re always so zen! Envy you, sweetie! Christ, even my exclamation marks are un-zen.
AOF – Sexual Healing makes me giggle. Would undoubtably end up doing some kind of weird bum giggle thing whilst running. Hee hee. Sounds fun, actually.
Jane – I’m lucky that I tend to run in places where I either don’t see many people or I can see them coming but for busier runs I shall definitely check these out.
Johanna – Ah, Pulp. Love them. With all my being. Great link. Thank you.
pseudorlaya – Oooh, great suggestions! May even jump a bit with Song 2. That has to be good for me?
Sarah – Never heard of it but am off to investigate.
Lady K – That’s the only Depeche Mode song I like. Great! Wonder how Marco will react to Song 2…
Zoe – I just snorted tea out of my nose because of you. lol
Robin – Like A Prayer would definitely work, you’re right. Will check the others out. Cheers.
Zarah Maria – Insomnia! Fantastic! And Kings of Leon are great. Totally agree.
Susan – It’s a very nice run along the river. Goes through the town centre with the castle and cathedral then past some beautiful old houses and through some small wooded islands linked by little wrought iron bridges. Lovely jubbly.
Here’s what’s currently loaded on my i-pod. Some are getting bumped soon because I’m getting sick of them, but it’s a good mix.
All These Things that I’ve Done – Killers
Candy – Iggy Pop & Kate Pierson
Got Money – Lil Wayne & T-Pain
Hollow Man – REM
How to Save a Life – The Fray
I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance – Black Kids
I Believe – REM
Jane Fonda – Mickey Avalon
Lazy Eye – Silversun Pickups
Live Your Life – TI & Rihanna
Misery Business – Paramore
Sometime Around Midnight – Airborne Toxic Event
Starlight – Muse
Surrender – Cheap Trick
Talk – Coldplay
The Next Episode – Dr Dre & Snoop Dog
Thrash Unreal – Against Me!
Time to Pretend – MGMT
Wave of Mutilation – Pixies
When You Were Young – Killers
Bubbles – James
Requiem for a Dying Song – Flogging Molly
Common People – James
You Can Do It – Ice Cube
Arctic monkeys – Teddy picker
Velvet Underground – Heroin
Foo Fighters – best of you
Theme tune from 28 days later is great to run to!
Kings of Leon – Crawl
The Progidy – Voodoo people
Blackstreet – No diggity
Florence and the Machine – Dog Days
Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Give it away
Anything by Scooter is great for running.
i recently started running and heres my playlist
shake it up-Elizabeth Daily
Lose yourself-eminem
right here right now-Fat-boy slim
MTV MASH-Eminem vs Fatboy slim
Just a day-Feeder
Numb Encore-linkin park jay z
Word up-Korn
In the end-Linkin park
Valerie-mark ronson and amy winehouse
push it to the limit-Rocky
Its a Fight-three 6 mafia
i hate everything about you-3 days grace
live your life TI feat rhiana
The way i are-Timberland
I luv it-young jeezy
I love running to the music that John Tesh wrote for the Tour de France. There are no words, but the beats and rhythm are great! Give it a try.
Solsbury Hill – Peter Gabriel
Reach – S Club 7
Red Light Spells Danger – Billy Ocean
Hey, My ultimate running songs are:
Beachboys: surfin USA, Surfin safari, Barbara Ann
Buddy Holly: Peggy Sue
(oh the shame) Busted: Air hostess (don’t like them much but it has the perfect beat)
Puretone: Addicted to bass (best ever)
Greenday: Holiday
Teitur: Catherine the waitress (something last.fm chucked up that is pretty good)
The Boo Radley’s: Wake up Boo
Charly x
pretty much anything off of LCD Soundsystems Sound of Silver cd …go check it out. i’m soo with you running + ipod is thee only way to run.
on another note; i have competition on the ‘best looking dog in the northern hemisphere’ Baxter, is also a black cocker!
email your email and i’ll send you a couple of photos of the wee guy
cheers
Love your blog – I’ve been following it most of the past year – but missed this post. Ive just downloaded most of your tracks but need to add
chelsea dagger by The Fratellis
single ladies by Beyonce
mixed with some kaiser chiefs, blur and oasis
got me round my last event
Brilliant post and really helpful comments too! I’m trying to put together a playlist for half-marathon training and need new tunes, so these suggestions are great.
My favourite tune that picks me up everytime is “Monster” by The Automatic…”what’s that coming over the hill, is it a monster, is it a monsterrrrrr?” (yep. sounds, looks and smells like one, must be one!)
These are some of my favourites for running to –
Fragma – Tocas miracle 2008
Britney – Toxic
Teddybears – Different Sound
Tv on the Radio – Wolf Like Me
Yazz – the Only Way is Up
Alien Ant Farm – Smooth Criminal
Muse – Supermassive Black Hole
Audioslave – Revelations
Christina – Candyman
Kelly Rowland – Work