Save me from last.fm embarrassment!

June 24, 2007 12:25 PM

Recommend me some music to run to. My current favorite album to run to is Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSongs: it's pretty good musically, a little cocky in the lyrics, and is paced perfectly, leading me to run between 8:15 and 8:45 miles. I'd appreciate any suggestions to provide variety, saving me from the embarrassment of having JT as my top artist on last.fm.

Bonus points if your suggestions match my usual music taste:

- Dance-punk - LCD Soundsystem, !!!, Out Hud, Death from Above 1979, Hot Chip
- Hip-hop - Cunninlynguists, Immortal Technique, Common, Tonedeff, Foreign Exchange
- Grime - The Streets, Sway, Kano, Wiley, M.I.A, Dizzee Rascal
- Indie Rock - Arcade Fire, Muse, Broken Social Scene, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, The Magic Numbers, My Morning Jacket
- Post-rock - Sigur Rós, Explosions in the Sky, Eluvium, God is an Astronaut, 65daysofstatic
- Folky-ish - Sufjan Stevens, Damien Rice, Alexi Murdoch, José González, Elliott Smith
- Folktronica - The Album Leaf, The Notwist, Si*Sé, Talkdemonic, Lali Puna, Dntel
More detail on my music taste.

Actually, come to think of it, I would appreciate any music suggestions. Most specifically, I would appreciate suggestions of good music to run to. Also, I am aware of and use the Nike Plus series (Chemical Brothers, LCD Soundsystem, Aesop Rock) from time to time, I would just prefer something with better vocals than those provide.

posted by charmston to media & arts (22 comments total)

I like the Fight Club soundtrack, Run Lola Run soundtrack and Prodigy Present The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One for workout tunes.
posted by macadamiaranch at 12:33 PM on June 24, 2007

My workout playlist includes Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim, the Night At the Roxbury soundtrack, Moby, as well as a handful of other random keep-it-moving type music. But I'm more interested in the beat than lyrics.
posted by rhapsodie at 12:35 PM on June 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

I have a couple of friends who swear by Podrunner, which you can subscribe to in iTunes.
posted by idb at 12:48 PM on June 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

The best I've come across are:

Glosoli - Sigur Ros
Emotion Road - Gil Mantera's Party Dream
How Can I Love You - Silver Jews
Insistor - Tapes n' Tapes
posted by tmcw at 12:52 PM on June 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

VNV Nation, which is fast-moving techno-ish stuff with dramatic synthpop vocals, is probably my favorite music for cardio, and would probably suit you just fine. You can check out some samples at their MySpace page and the Metropolis Records website.

I also really like Stromkern for this kind of stuff. It's really melodic industrial rock with lots of orchestration and hip-hop-influenced lyrics which you'll find yourself either really enjoying or really embarrassed by, but "Stand Up" and "Night Riders" are my all-time favorite workout songs, for whatever that's worth.
posted by infinitywaltz at 12:54 PM on June 24, 2007

From your selection I assume you know Mos Def/Talib Kweli... some tracks better than others for running.
posted by tomw at 12:54 PM on June 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

I used to find that the Datsuns's self titled "The Datsuns' was a good workout lp when I was on the exercise bike...
posted by punkrockrat at 1:08 PM on June 24, 2007

Kanye West? My girlfriend likes his "workout plan" for this specific occasion :)
posted by wackybrit at 2:27 PM on June 24, 2007

I love this song for activity in general.
posted by YoBananaBoy at 4:18 PM on June 24, 2007

Montage songs
posted by painquale at 4:34 PM on June 24, 2007

Gwen Stefani is perfect for working out to.
posted by cmgonzalez at 4:55 PM on June 24, 2007

Any of the Brazilian funk carioca (sometimes referred to as baile funk)...

Check out Diplo's favela on blast or any related compilations. Also, if you dig the sound look for the tangentially related M.I.A.
posted by iamck at 5:46 PM on June 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure if you're looking for full albums to run to or just songs/artists? I usually make a bunch of running playlists that are all over the map. Anyway, I'll just add some of the best...songs, artists, whatever. (You're already got a lot of my favorites in there, so sorry if there are repeats.)

Bloc Party - There's some good stuff off Silent Alarm.
Q and Not U - Before my ipod days, I would listen to No Kill No Beep Beep straight through.
Le Tigre - another group I could listen to the whole album.
Of Montreal - Their last few albums have some very fast and poppy songs. Try "Suffer for Fashion" and "Rapture Rapes the Muses."
The Thermals - similar to Ted Leo, lots of fast rock.
Franz Ferdinand
Les Savy Fav
My unfailing sprint song is "Bombs Over Baghdad" by Outkast.

Also, a lot of the artists you listed have songs that are good for running, but maybe not full albums - which is why mixes work. For instance, I ordinarily wouldn't think of running to Belle and Sebastian, but "We Are the Sleepyheads" does the job.

Another also: Assuming you're running with an ipod or something and not carrying a laptop around...(right?)...you can set your preferences to not record ipod submissions. (Go to your plugin and change it there, not on the webpage.) That way you can listen to JT all you want and no one will ever need to know.
posted by jetskiaccidents at 6:46 PM on June 24, 2007

The Knife - Silent Shout
Justice - †
Annie - Anniemal
Ladytron - Witching Hour
Saint Etienne - Finisterre
Wire - Send
Daft Punk - Discovery, Homework
posted by citron at 7:05 PM on June 24, 2007

I hate working out, but we have a lot of the same taste in music, and I'm pulling albums from my "Workout Hell" playlist...

Liars: They threw us in a trench and stuck a monument on top
Girl Talk: Night Ripper (my absolute fav. work out record)
CSS: Cansai De Ser Sexy
ELO: Greatest Hits (no, really)
Justice: †
Klaxons: Myths of the Near Future
Ladytron: Light & Magic
Some M83
MC5
New Pornographers: Mass Romantic or Electric Version
The Rapture: Echoes (not the new one, that one sucks)
posted by dearest at 7:11 PM on June 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

For the first part of your suggestion, if you're embarrassed about the JT showing up on last.fm, you could just "ban" the tracks and keep on truckin'.

But since I can't resist making suggestions, some artists that haven't been suggested yet...

Dance-punk: Cut Copy, Digitalism, Hexstatic, Chromeo, Ratatat, Battles
Hip-hop: Blue Scholar, The Coup, Sage Francis or any of Def Jux for interesting rhymes, or try Mark Ronson for something funkier
Grime: not my thing, but try some Hollertronix or Bonde Do Role for similar energy
Indie Rock: The Harlem Shakes, The National, second a fair # of jetskiaccidents' recs
Post-rock: 31knots, Portland, And So I Watch You From Afar
Folky-ish: Lewis & Clarke, Tunng, Mice Parade, Jeremy Messersmith
Folktronica - Telefon Tel Aviv, Small Sails

Potentially interesting music, not in your genre list: Red Snapper, Skalpel, Grimace Federation for some future-jazzy stuff. I'm From Barcelona, Lucky Soul for indie pop, Brass Connection, Zapp & Roger for straight out funk.

Your best bet might be to find some good mixes since you'll get the advantage of a steadier (or at least planned) BPMs... the Ronsons, Diplo, and RJD2 all have good recent mixtapes from the suggested genres. If you're looking for good indie exposure, get yourself to 75minutes, check out the podcast archives, and thank me later.
posted by lhl at 8:48 PM on June 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

YoBananaBoy, if you're into the 8-bit, be sure to check out Saskrotch, pretty damn catchy stuff.
posted by lhl at 8:51 PM on June 24, 2007

Blue States - Man Mountain (and maybe even Nothing Changes Under the Sun as well)
posted by Mikey-San at 9:32 PM on June 24, 2007

Good post. I am always looking for good music to run to. Usually what works for me is dance-y kinds of music with a strong beat for me to keep pace to. Some of the songs on my exercise playlist right now are:

Go West - Pet Shop Boys
Oh My Gosh - Basement Jaxx
Gasolina - Daddy Yankee
One More Time - Daft Punk
Around the World - Daft Punk
Put Your Hands up For Detroit - Fedde Le Grand
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen
Renegade Master - Wildchild
From Paris to Berlin - Infernal
Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard - Me First & the Gimme Gimmes

And my more embarassing ones:
Something Kinda Ooh - Girls Aloud
Shake Ya Tailfeather - P Diddy
posted by triggerfinger at 1:11 AM on June 25, 2007

Freaky. Almost everything I listen to running/cycling is on here. The only thing I would add is the podrunner podcast via iTunes.
posted by m3thod4 at 1:34 AM on June 25, 2007

While I don't listen to music while working out anymore, I'm seconding the Girl Talk and Les Savy Fav recommendations. Go for later LSF, though. More dancey.

And I think you'd probably really like the first Futureheads album.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 8:02 AM on June 26, 2007

Tried CSS?
posted by tomw at 4:09 AM on December 4, 2007