Let's Work It Out
A Collection of Running Tunes (Tenacious D, Cake, No Doubt, Joey Valence & Brae, and Bill Conti)
I’ve been getting back into running lately, and I’ve begun to appreciate the music I listen to when I do so more than ever. A great song makes miles of difference, literally! For example, earlier this week I went out and it rained like crazy. I’m talking sheets of rain being blown around, the sky dark as night! Luckily I was under some trees, so they shielded the brunt for me. But man, the song I was listening to made it so this unfortunate circumstance was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve put together an annotated list of five great running/workout songs so hopefully you can derive joy from tough work too!
“Tribute” by Tenacious D
I often wonder what exactly happened in the studio the day Kyle and Jack brought “Tribute” to the world. This explosion of a song has really funny moments, but it genuinely stands as one of the best of all time. It takes you through a story, something that I think helps when you’re running. I like my music loud and with a great drop when I go out, so I don’t have to listen to my breathing or heavy footsteps, and “Tribute” certainly delivers. The ending bit where Dave Grohl (yes, Dave Grohl) really pushes it on the drums seal the deal and make this an overall perfect running song.
“The Distance” by Cake
This is one of my oldest running standards, a song that really motivates when the will to keep going is slow. While it tells of a guy in love by painting a grand car metaphor, I always applied it to the activity at hand. I mean c’mon — “the arena is empty except for one man/still driving and striving as fast as he can” — there’s nothing in the world that could pull me through my most tired moment like that!
“Just a Girl” by No Doubt
Sometimes the best songs to run to are the ones that you just have to mouth along the lyrics to, no matter how tired you are. No track on my playlist does this to me more than No Doubt’s classic “Just a Girl”. Rip-roaring guitars, pouty verses into a rousing chorus, a message that’s loud, fast, and true, this is one that’s always made every single one of my extensive number of running playlists.
“LIKE A PUNK” - Joey Valence & Brae
I love Joey Valence & Brae’s new album No Hands so much that I’ve been rockin’ it and it alone on many of my runs lately. While every song has me pumped up and ready, “LIKE A PUNK” has some kind of special sauce that just propels it over the edge. As of right now I attribute it to the smashing breakdown in the middle, (properly introduced with an increasingly frantic “it’s time to rave”), something that has me wanting to blast this one everywhere I go. It’s the one I go back to right before I start a sprint, one that’ll put a smile on my face and make me wanna jump around even when I’m about ready to fall over.
“Gonna Fly Now” - Bill Conti
I couldn’t do a piece like this without the Rocky theme!! This is the number one motivator, the song that notoriously has sparked a fire within pretty much everyone who hears it. As somebody who loves the Rocky movies and loves challenging herself to a good ending sprint, “Gonna Fly Now” is basically my kryptonite when it comes to finishing with a bang. Blast this at the end of anything tough and it’ll leave you feeling like you’re on top of the world (aka the Philadelphia Art Museum’s steps)!!
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