Feet to the beat

June 17, 2008 11:52 PM

What song would you use for a running commercial?

Any genre, any style, anything.

Go wild.

posted by 913 to media & arts (35 comments total)

"The Circle of Life" from "The Lion King".

Forgive me. I barely have any culture.

Is this for your workout?
posted by amtho at 12:02 AM on June 18

The soundtrack from Run Lola Run?
posted by spasm at 12:08 AM on June 18

Les Angles Morts - "Portals"
posted by loiseau at 12:13 AM on June 18

Kanye West "New Workout Plan"
Muscles "Sweaty"
LCD Soundsystem "No Love Lost"
The Kills "Sour Cherry"
ABX/Hood Internet "Drug Drug Kiss Kiss"

What is this for, exactly?
posted by troika at 12:20 AM on June 18

Thanks for the songs! I'm toying with the idea of making a few pseudo-commercials this summer and a running themed one is the first one I want to execute.
posted by 913 at 12:28 AM on June 18

Moby's version of "Run On"
posted by KTrujillo at 12:42 AM on June 18

M83 - Run In To Flowers (Jackson's Computer Band Midnight Fuck Remix)
M83 - Lower Your Eyelids to Die With The Sun (the ultimate EPIC SLOW MOTION SEQUENCE track)
Aphex Twin - Girl Boy Song
Clint Mansell - Pi r^2
DJ Fresh - The Immortal
Kraftwerk - Aerodynamik (many versions of this... I'd reccomend the somewhat rare Kling Klang mix or the version on their Minimum Maximum live album)
Daft Punk - Short Circuit
Seconding Muscles

There is also this guy who has mixed the first M83 track mentioned above with the Acid Edit of Aphex Twin's window licker. It's called PussyLicker because it also has a Khia vocal. He actually emailed me a copy without the vocal when I asked him for it... MeFi mail me and I'll foward it along.
posted by phrontist at 12:51 AM on June 18 [1 favorite]

Paul Oakenfold - "Ready Steady Go"
posted by lord_yo at 1:11 AM on June 18

The Flatliners - Gullible
posted by hjo3 at 1:14 AM on June 18

The Shamen - Librae Solidi Denari for the awesome accelerando.
Lab 4 - Inward - for the same reason.
posted by pompomtom at 1:28 AM on June 18

"Time Bomb" by Rancid, but only if the shoes were white. Black coat/hat optional.

I have no idea why that popped into my head, but there you are. It's got a good beat to run to, at least.
posted by empyrean at 1:40 AM on June 18

Wolf Parade – You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son
posted by brevator at 4:26 AM on June 18

Calexico - Quattro (World Drifts In), from Feast of Wire.

love the run but not the race
all alone in a silent way
world drifts in and the world's a stranger

in a light, eclipsed and alienated
in a time, occupied and invaded
can't tell what's right, better hit the ground running
posted by hellopanda at 5:14 AM on June 18

A few songs that have gotten me through the dreaded 22-24 mile section in marathons:

Bucky Dun Gun - MIA
Do it alone - Sugarcult
Marvo Ging - Chemical Brothers
She wants to move - N.E.R.D.
Take California - Propellerheads
Till I Collapse - Eminem
posted by yeoja at 5:42 AM on June 18

As a guy who has made a few commercials in his days ... might I suggest something hypnotic and almost chanting. Try Alexi Murdoch ... Blue Mind ... and you could get the same vibe that VW got when they slaved Nick Drake's 'Pink Moon' to a great spot.
posted by lpsguy at 6:24 AM on June 18

I'd go with Voxtrot's The Start of Something or, alternatively, the song it so desperately wants to be, The Smiths' This Charming Man.
posted by Kattullus at 6:26 AM on June 18

I used Generator by the Foo Fighters for the running portion of a slideshow I made for my son, and it worked well.
posted by genefinder at 6:43 AM on June 18

Depends on what you're going for. It's been done before, but "Ready to Go" by Republica says hard-charging; more recently, "Running Away" by the Polyphonic Spree screams exuberance.
posted by kittyprecious at 7:08 AM on June 18

Hounds of Love & Running Up That Hill -- Kate Bush
Ray of Light -- Madonna
posted by maloon at 7:45 AM on June 18

Noel, Jonah, and Me - The Spinanes
I Liked the Boys - Long Blondes
Shining Road - The Cranes
posted by bunnytricks at 7:46 AM on June 18

Our Bikes Are Silver, Her Bed Is Hers - S PRCSS
posted by bunnytricks at 7:51 AM on June 18

Surprised nobody mentioned The Distance, by CAKE. If you're actually just wanting good music to run to, I'd suggest quite a bit of Stereolab's catalog.
posted by actionpact at 9:36 AM on June 18

Honestly, it's cheerleadery-pop crud that does it for me in exercise situations. "U.G.L.Y." by Daphne & Celeste, "Mickey" by both Toni Basil and B*Witched, and so on. It may not appeal to my higher brain functions in the slightest, but the body responds well to the beat.
posted by WCityMike at 9:42 AM on June 18

"running away" Roy Ayers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkoVSEuymTs&feature=related
posted by jade east at 9:48 AM on June 18

pink floyd - run like hell
posted by muscat at 10:16 AM on June 18

Me, I have to have some serious hardcore stuff going to keep me actually MOVING. For a more in-your-face running commercial, I'd use Rob Zombie's "Dragula" or "Feuer Frei" by Rammstein. The two songs that I run to almost every time I work out.
posted by Spyder's Game at 10:32 AM on June 18

seconding Cake .. going the distance and
born too slow by crystal method or any song from crystal method would do
posted by radsqd at 10:34 AM on June 18

Aril Brikha -- Groove La Chord (original mix) played live.


Full song, albeit a static image.

This song is 10 years old and has always been one of my favorites, but has never been licensed for commercial work (that I can find). Buildups, but with a fantastically consistent and basic beat pattern. No vocals, so you can easily layer a voiceover on top.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 11:08 AM on June 18

PS> Best part of the song is around 3:50 mark.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 11:09 AM on June 18

Hot Hot Heat: Pickin' It Up

That is literally the only thought going through my head during tough running spots: "Picking it up, and I put it back down, picking it up, and I put it back down..."
posted by Bella Sebastian at 11:48 AM on June 18

What kind of running? I mean, do you want the brooding hip-hop of Pharcyde's "Runnin'," do you want a non-literal afro-jazz bounce like Nomo's "Nu-Tones," do you want instrumentals, do you want rock, do you want… what?

If you want me to act as your music supervisor, I'd be glad to ;)
posted by klangklangston at 1:41 PM on June 18

Soul II Soul "Keep on Movin"
Fabolous "Breathe"
Booka Shade "In White Rooms"
Pantha du Prince "Asha"

[first two are r&b/hip-hop, second two electronica, no lyrics..]

<3 <3 <3 the Spinanes, I haven't heard that for over 10 years, what a great band :)
posted by citron at 8:16 PM on June 18

'Runnin' Down A Dream' by Tom Petty was the first thing that came to mind.. for some reason!
posted by Mael Oui at 9:51 PM on June 18

Let's Move - The Perceptionists
posted by cashman at 11:02 AM on June 19

Crash & Burn Girl - Robyn
posted by cashman at 11:21 AM on June 19