“The making of a great compilation tape … is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch … then you gotta cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules.”
- Rob Gordon (as played by John Cusack) in High Fidelity
I cannot run without my iPod … it’s just a fact.
My iPod addiction is so bad that when running on a treadmill, I usually activate the closed captioning on my TV so I can listen to music without losing track of what the guys on Sports Center are saying. The upside of this is I can take my mind off the monotony of running without actually going anywhere. The downside is I get confused easily due to the technology limitations and mistranslations in the closed captioning feed. For months, I thought Lebron James had “a gripple-trouble against the tri-jammie beat,” only to find out a couple weeks ago that he had a triple-double against the Miami Heat. I am okay with the confusion, though. Frankly it makes my life far more interesting. You should’ve seen the look on people’s faces at the water cooler when I talked about Lebron’s gripple-trouble. It was priceless.
Why am I so addicted to my iPod? Because it’s a window that allows me to peer into my soul for a moment of daily introspection… because it gives me a chance to reflect deeply on times long past and the future unknowns… and because wearing it makes me look way cooler than I really am. Nobody knows whether I’m listening to something trendy like Arctic Monkeys (I’m not) or something lame like acoustic 80s post-modern rock (please don’t ask).
As a first-time runner I’ve found that having good music to occupy your mind is a must, especially for treadmill training. It’s probably best if you have an iPod and develop your own playlist. For the uninitiated, setting up a playlist on your iPod is the grown-up version of making a mix tape for your girlfriend when you were in middle school. You get to pick the songs and arrange the order. The only difference is you’re not keeping your fingers crossed for a peck on the cheek at the end of the night.
With a shout out and sincere apologies to John Cusack, I bring you a sneak peak of the “Workout Mix Tape” playlist on my iPod.
1. “The Good Life” by Kanye West
If you don’t already, you’ve gotta have some Kanye on your workout mix. I could’ve picked a few other Kanye West songs to talk about –“Stronger” and “Touch the Sky” come to mind — but I really love this one because it’s about 60 minutes into my mix. That means it’s coming on right around the time I’m wondering why the heck I’m doing this. It helps me refocus. My only challenge is to keep running without breaking out into one of my patented middle-aged-guy dance moves. You know, maybe the sprinkler, followed by a running man (pun intended) and finish it off with a butter churn – clockwise AND counter-clockwise… Don’t try these moves at home without appropriate supervision.
2. “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor
Yes, I’m officially “that guy” … the one who daydreams about running through the streets of Philly, undergoing an amazing personal transformation and going toe to toe with Apollo Creed for the full 15 rounds. In my defense, this song is as timeless as a Twinkie. It may be old but it will never get stale, and you can still enjoy it 20 years after it was made.
3. “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake
Had you asked me five years ago, I would’ve told you Justin Timberlake was a talentless, soulless hack. I’ve come full circle. With apologies to Tiger “You Da Man” Woods, I now think Justin Timberlake is “Da (new) Man.” His Saturday Night Live skits are hilarious, his music is great, and he’s dating Jessica Biel. Any one of those would qualify him as “Da (new) Man,” but all three together put him over the top. This song is awesome.
4. “Let’s Get it Started” by Black Eyed Peas.
“Leeeeeeeeeeeeeet’s Get It Started…. in HEEEEEEERRRRRE. And the bass keeps runnin’ runnin’ and runnin’ runnin’…” That has to be the best opening to any song ever. You don’t even need to listen to the rest of the song to feel motivated, although if you didn’t you’d be missing out.
5. “Copacabana” by Barry Manilow
Just kidding. I’m not a Fanilow.
The real No. 5: “King Without a Crown” by Matisyahu
The first time I heard this song on the radio, I was in awe. I actually prefer the live version of the song rather than the studio version. The live version is a little more frantic, which makes it one of the best songs out there for running. The beat picks up and slows down a lot, it has a bit of a reggae thing going on, and you can’t understand any of the lyrics so you can make up your own. Or you can just read your TV’s closed caption feed into the melody and make things really interesting.
So there you have it – those are just a few of my preferred tunes for training. If you have a bit of Manilow on your playlist, no hard feelings. And as always, I’m open to suggestions for songs to add to my playlist. Feel free to leave a note about your favorite workout tune in the comments section below.
Great post! Suggestion for the playlist – “The ‘59 Sound” by The Gaslight Anthem.
Another great addition: Matchbox 20’s “Let’s See How Far We’ve Come”–I make sure it hits at about mile 15. It gets me recharged for the next 11! Each time I really do think about how far I’ve come in this process–when 6 miles seemed like a “long” run! Best of luck!
Nice – I’ll have to check out some of those. I’ve heard Eye of the Tiger and Rock Your Body before. Guess I have some catching up to do.
Other suggestions:
- Run (I’m a Natural Disaster) by Gnarls Barkley
- Extraordinary Girl by Green Day (kicks in after a 30-second intro)
- Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon
- Get On Your Boots by U2
See you on the trail between “somewhere just south of the Short North”, “the north end of downtown”, and “somewhere near the Arena District.”
Can you find a way to turn the cassette tape of yourself doing karaoke to Joan Jett’s “I hate myself for loving you” in the 8th grade into an mp3? You could squeeze it in right after Kanye…
I have officially registered for the race Eric. Now you have some competition.
Also, no Cake on your play list? I know you don’t like carbs, but come on now.
Great stuff Eric. I have a pretty diverse range of music myself and often have Kanye followed up with some Rocky Theme music and then a little JT. And I cannot run without music. Its a must. Who doesn’t love the butter churn? What about the Cabbage Patch?
Have to agree on the Rocky and Black eyed peas, they are both on my playlist as well. When in Phili, yes I did run up the steps to the Rocky statue.
I would add a little 80s/90s metal (Metallica’s Enter Sandman at about mile 21) to get reinvigorated.
You did break the cardinal rule of a mixed tape, at least 1 U2 song (on both sides of a tape). My current running one is Beautiful Day, helps me connect with the outdoors.
I LOVE reading what other people put on their playlists. I’ve found a few great songs in the process!
A problem I’ve found is a lot of my favorite songs have 15-30 seconds of slow-paced intros that can ruin a good pace (Foo Fighters’ “The Pretender” is a great example). I’ve used Audacity software to edit out those slow bits if people have the same concerns.
I recently compiled my playlist for October’s run and wish to share it as well, if I may. It is geared for a 2-hour run, allowing 5 minutes or so to get across the starting line.
Greg Kihn, Breakup Song, 70bpm
Texas, Black Eyed Boy, 80bpm
Jimmy Eat World, The Middle, 81bpm
Joe Satriani, Summer Song, 81bpm
Meredith Brooks, My Little Town, 82bpm
Maroon 5, Wake Up Call, 82bpm
Shiny Toy Guns, Major Tom, 82bpm
Guns and Roses, Sweet Child of Mine, 84bpm
Tom Petty, Running Down a Dream, 85bpm
Coldplay, Clocks, 87bpm
Republica, Ready to Go, 87bpm
Theory of a Deadman, Bad Girlfriend, 90bpm
Jessie James, Blue Jeans, 92bpm
Talking Heads, Wild Wild Life, 92bpm
Aerosmith, Just Push Play, 100bpm
Coverdale & Page, Pride and Joy, 101bpm
Simon & Garfunkel, Cecilia, 102bpm
Finger Eleven, Paralyzer, 106bpm
Blackeyed Peas, Pump It, 106bpm
Eddy Grant, Electric Avenue, 120bpm
Julian Lennon, Too Late for Goodbyes, 122bpm
The Call, Let the Day Begin, 124bpm
OMC, How Bizarre, 127bpm
Cranberries, Dreams, 128bpm
Katy Perry, Hot N Cold, 132bpm
Nickelback, Burn it to the Ground, 132bpm
Eurythmics, Would I Lie to You, 132bpm
Billy Idol, Mony Mony, 135bpm
Ted Nugent, Stranglehold, 147bpm
Green Day, Basket Case, 176bpm
And if I time this perfectly, I will cross the finish line just before the following finale…
John Mellencamp, I’m Not Running Anymore, 127bpm
After three half marathons within 4 minutes of breaking the 2-hour mark (one was within 14 seconds), I hope these songs can inspire me to pick it up a notch and finish with a PR.
Looking forward to reading more playlists from others.
“I am a real American” — Rick Derringer (on a 2.5 hour loop). I actually agree about the Kanye while working out. I’m a fan of The Roots as well for motivation, their stuff generally has a great tempo and sounds really cool.
Dear Flying Welshman –
That playlist is amazing!! Any way I can commission you to make one for someone a bit more mortal? Say 3 1/2 hours?
I don’t run too often with my ipod (mainly inside on the “dreadmill” treadmill). However, when I use to wear it alot I would always put the song Promentory from the “Last of the Mohicans” Soundtrack. If a person is a fan of the movie (awesome in my opinion by the way) and they like running wilderness trails in training this is a great one to have.
we gotta compare ipod playlists, eric. i’m always looking for good music. and I do the closed captioned on tv/listen to ipod when i run at the gym, too (or at the hotel when i travel). the difference is that i watch mtv or vh1. (i know, i’m a music slave). so i’m listening to one song while watching the video and reading the lyrics to another. talk about disorientation. my fave song from my workout this morning — heads will roll by yeah yeah yeahs.
Jenna Haerle – here are two more playlists I use, one for 2 hours and the other for 1 hour. I don’t have the beats per minute handy (I’m at work…. sshhhhhhhh) but the 2-hour list starts gradually (70-80 bpm) and revs up to around 160 bpm or so. The 1-hour list is more upbeat for when I need to run 5 or 6 miles at a quick pace. If you need the bpm, let me know.
2-Hour:
Rob Zombie, Two Lane Blacktop
Jessie James, Wanted
Maroon 5, Won’t Go Home Without You
Boomtown Rats, I Don’t Like Mondays
Go Gos, Head over Heels
Blue Man Group, The Current
Hoobastank, The Reason
Billy Idol, Dancing With Myself
Bloodhound Gang, Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo
Miranda Lambert, Gunpowder and Lead
Offspring, Pretty Fly
John Mellencamp, Paper in Fire
Jewel, Intuition
Shinedown, Second Chance
Overseer, Doomsday
Don Henley, I Will Not Go Quietly
Jet, Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Jackson Browne, Somebody’s Baby
Lady Gaga, Poker Face
Sheryl Crow, Soak Up the Sun
Queen, One Vision (I edited out the slower intro portion)
ZZ Top, Give it Up
Collective Soul, Better Now
Robbie Williams, Let Me Entertain You
Bob Dylan, Stuck in the Middle
AC/DC, Who Made Who
Nickelback, Something in Your Mouth
Great White, Once Bitten Twice Shy
Head East, Never Been Any Reason
KISS, Domino
Electric Light Orchestra, Hold on Tight
INXS, Don’t Change a Thing
1-Hour:
AC/DC, Girls Got Rhythm
Jackson Browne, Lawyers in Love
Billy Joel, It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me
Offspring, Self Esteem
Nickelback, Rockstar
Kelly Clarkson, My Life Would Suck
Guns and Roses, Live and Let Die
The Police, Synchronicity II
Andrew W.K., Party Hard
Beck, Loser
Eminem, 8 mile
Andy Hunter, The Wonders of You
Rage Against the Machine, Killing in the Name Of
Night Ranger, Don’t Tell Me You Love Me
Don Henley, The Boys of Summer
Jenna Haerle
Just for you, here is a 3 1/2-hour playlist. Hope you enjoy… if you crank up the volume, maybe I’ll be able to spot you in the crowd this October.
http://www.runnersworld.com/community/persona/index.jsp?UID=1000010000028190&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckUserId=1000010000028190&plckPostId=Blog%3a1000010000028190Post%3a8ff4a54b-7be8-4c68-8df1-b3586444eee8&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest
Have you tried the mixes at http://www.djsteveboy.com? There are some 1-hour + mixes that really keep me moving on my long runs. They are labeled by number of beats per minute (mpm) and vary from as low as 130’s up to the 170’s.
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