I just added it up, and so far this year (the month of January, that is) I’ve run 28.4 miles! Holy crap! Considering I ran, oh, ZERO miles during January (and Feb, March, April, May, June, and July) last year, that’s something to be proud of!
It doesn’t surprise me that I love running. I always figured I would, it just took me a long time to actually get going with it. My taste in running music, though, surprises me quite a bit.
My music tastes are sort of ecletic– I’ll listen to and appreciate nearly anything except for country (and even then I do like old-school country like Dolly Parton, and I love the Dixie Chicks). I guess you could call what I listen to everyday something like neo-folk. My top three favorite albums for the past year have been (1) Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, (2) The Blackened Air by Nina Nastasia, and (3) Eveningland by Hem. And I always listen to a fair deal of Dar Williams and lately for some reason I’ve been into Joni Mitchell.
But, that doesn’t work for running, unless I want to run like 2mph. Instead I find myself motivated by a sort of odd collection of songs. Some make sense– I’ve always had a weakness for Madonna, U2 and Moby. But the others? I just hear some random song in a store, on the radio, or in some teen movie and add it to the list.
- All These Things That I’ve Done: The Killers
- Mr. Brightside: The Killers
- Independent Women: Destiny’s Child
- Survivor: Destiny’s Child
- How High: Madonna
- Ray of Light: Madonna
- South Side: Moby
- Lift Me Up: Moby
- Raining Again: Moby
- Vertigo: U2
- Where The Streets Have No Name: U2
- Live Your Dreams: Athena Cage (you know, it’s from Save the Last Dance)
- Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth: Primitive Radio Gods
- Umbrella: Rhianna
- Stronger: Kanye West
- Let’s Get It Started: Black Eyed Peas
I’m always looking to add new stuff so I don’t get bored– any suggestions?
I love listening to punk rock, rock and hardcore best. The Cult and the Donnas are really good rock choices you might like, and the Dropkick Murphy’s are a stable punk choice. Hard core is sort of an acquired taste, and really is best to listen to when you want to be really, really pissed off. Blood for Blood is my favorite, especially the song Livin’ in Exile, for running.
The apps and tools list are great. Thanks for posting them. It is cool to see other people with most of the same tools I too am using and then to see new ones listed – usually means I should be using them also!
Here is my running playlist. It is a mix of techno, rock and songs from video games and some anime I enjoy. This list uses intervals of faster paced music offset by more evenly paced tracks. My syncing my pace with the music I find I get a better workout. Favorite tracks here are ‘Song 2′ and ‘Blow Me Away’ If you were looking to review just a few I would start with those.
Blue Orchid – The White Stripes
Song 2 – Blur
Starry Eyed Surprise – Paul Oakenfold
All Star – Smash Mouth
Blow me Away – Breaking Benjamin
The Last Song – Foo Fighters
Kiss when the sun don’t shine – Vengaboys
Hate To Say I Told You So – The Hives
Name Of The Game (Hybrid’s LA Blackout Remix) – The Crystal Method
Smile – Vitamin C
LAST DINOSAUR – The Pillows
wheres your head at – Basement Jaxx
Turn It Up (Remix)/Fire It Up – Busta Rhymes
Type A Girl – The Cutters
Since You’ve Been Gone (Discoblaster Dub Mix) – Master Blaster
Up & Down – Vengaboys
Flagpole Sitta – Harvey Danger