Monday, January 14, 2008

Music to Run To

I am looking for recommendations for songs to listen to while I jog. As person obsessed with popular genres I like songs used in films and TV, but I also listen to a lot of rap. My current favorites include songs off of M.I.A's Kala, Liquid Swords, Man or Astroman, and Unkle: War Stories. What I am looking for are songs that might go well with one of these:

"Make Your Own Kind of Music" (which Desmond works out to in the hatch on Lost)

"A la Menthe" (The Night Fox's laser dance song from Ocean's 12)

"Riot in Thunder Alley" (the car chase sequence in Death Proof)

"Malaguena Salerosa" (the closing credits to Kill Bill vol. 2)

"Flowmotion" by Bone Thugs N Harmony

The extended remix of the theme song from The Unit -- basically some guy Moby-ed up a Marine Core drill chant. Best running song ever.

What I am looking for is music to load your guns to by the early light of dawn, as Matt Fraction describes the new Unkle album.

Links to a free chance to listen to a bit of the song would be appreciated but are not necessary.

17 comments:

Christian O. said...

I find that most of Death From Above 1979's stuff work quite well also.

I don't know... Klaxons' cover of "It's Not Over Yet."

Anonymous said...

Wow, Geoff, you're so Gangsta...
being somewhat hip-hop impaired due to my chronic caucasia, I don't have a lot of rap songs but here are a few suggestions:

"Fix You" by Coldplay

This one is good to start out to, it has a nice soft opening and then builds to this great climax as you pick up your pace.

"Machinehead" by Bush

It's fast, it's loud and it even coaches you "Breath In, Breath Out"

"Vertigo" by U2

Always gets me pumped and it's quite possibly the best guitar riff since "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

"Take It Off" by the Donnas

What guy doesn't get pumped off by four hot chicks telling them to "Take it off"

"Save Me" also by the Donnas (

I just felt I should plug something off their most recent album.

"Won't Be Long" by the Hives

The hives are great, raw rock... this is the best off their latest album. If you don't already have "Hate To Say I Told You So" in your mix, get it.

Anonymous said...

Start running with Beautiful Life by Gui Boratto. Song builds, grandly.

Then maybe some "You got yr Cherry Bomb" by Spoon.


Hold on, I'm Comin by Sam and Dave


He Keeps Me Alive by Sally Shapiro


One Inch Badge Pin by Muscles

Around the World by Daft Punk

Maybe Push by Pharoahe Monch

I'm not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you by Black Kids (DL on their myspace for free)

Kenney said...

On of the best workout albums out there is Justice's Cross. If you like Daft Punk at all, I think you will find a lot to like on this album. Almost all of the tracks are winners, but Genesis will make you feel like a champion if you workout to that song.

Calvin Harris' I Created Disco also has some good synthy pop songs on it. Don't know if it's fast enough for running though.

And for running, you absolutely have to get Ghostface Killah's "Run" on your mix.

Matt Jacobson said...

Hatebreed - Supremacy... I'm so hardcore. It's got a nice, throbbing heaviness with angry/positive lyrics.

Matt Jacobson said...

Perhaps I should amend that by pointing out it doesn;t fit with your other music at all... but for something that fits your other selections, get some old Public Enemy ("You're gonna get yours" and "Rebel without a pause")

Anonymous said...

Hi, I am your myspace friend theplancomics. As a 5 time marathon and one time Ultramarathon runner I had to respond to this. I like many genres of music but by far the best artist to run to is Kanye West. There are songs I love but cannot run to. Kanye has the perfect mix of speed, inspiration and will give you that "Rocky" feeling way better than the actual Rocky soundtrtack.

Marc Caputo said...

Here's a few just off a quick run-through of my iTunes.

"Bad Brains" Bad Brains
"Combat Rock" The Clash
"Fervor" Jason and the Nashville Scorchers
"Of Human Feelings" Ornette Coleman
"On the Corner" Miles Davis
"Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell" Social Distortion
"I Just Can't Stop It" The English Beat

MrBlue said...

i agree. death from above 1979 is great...

queens of the stone age...

neilshyminsky said...

LCD Soundsystem and The Knife have become my go-to travel music - though I suppose that it's easy to locomote to anything with a good beat. LCD's 'Sound of Silver' is probably the better fit with jogging, though.

Anonymous said...

the Rocky soundtrack is always good.

Christian O. said...

PS. And I'm not just saying that because Los Campesinos! is one of my favorite bands at the moment.

"Trying to find the perfect match between pretentious and pop
Some crappy artwork that took... way, way, way too long to draw
Handwritten track list, restarted every time the pen smudge
Encoded title doesn't give away as much as it should."


Gogol Bordello, when you've built some speed, maybe?

"First time I have read the Bible,
It had struck as unwitty,
I think it might start a rumour,
that the Lord ain't got no humour."

Todd C. Murry said...

I second the LCD soundsystem ("North American Scum" is a great running song) and the Hives (though "Square One Hero" is my favorite off the newer album, and I really like "Fall is Just Something (that Grownups Invented)" which is newer, but not on the album... "Tick Tick Tick Boom" may be the best running song, though). I always have some Stones ("Start me Up" and "She's so Cold" work well while running) and a bunch of stuff noone has heard of like "I Don't Wanna Stop" off the 3rd Dash Rip Rock album. Late run I like Rilo Keiley's "Portions for Foxes" for some reason. Wierd.

Geoff Klock said...

This is awesome. Thanks. This is all really helpful because once you become bored with your running music, no matter how good it is, it makes it a lot harder to run.

Anonymous said...

I find that a lot of Mudvayne, slipknot and prodigy songs work awesomely for running to... Pulse of the maggots by slipknot is definately my fav!

stephs said...
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