Tunes to Shuffle to
Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room’s “Hurricane Season”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band’s “One of My Kind”
The Weakerthans’ “Left & Leaving”
Blonde Redhead’s “Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons”
The Get Up Kids’ “Four Minute Mile”
Circle Jerks’ “Wild in the Streets”
Pig Destroyer’s “Piss Angel”
Goldfinger’s first 5 songs of their S/T album
H2O’s “5 Year Plan”
Pennywise’s “Bro Hymn”
Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”
Slick Rick’s “Two Way Street”
The Streets’ “Empty Cans”
So I think Justin asked me to write about songs to run to for two reasons:
1) theoretically after 4 full marathons and 15 half marathons, I’m a runner…
and, 2) just to finally get me to contribute. I’m glad he did, but I have a dirty little secret… I rarely run with music.
Maybe it’s my masochistic streak or the fact than when I listen to music I can disappear and lose track of my surroundings, which is bad if you run near traffic or prefer not to trip over your own feet in front of a pretty girl rocking those awesome running short shorts.
Whatever the reason, when I run it’s usually sans tunes. When I train in the woods, I like to listen to nature and try to activate as many senses as possible. Running in the woods or on a trail is when I feel most connected to a higher power. It’s hard to be surrounded by things that are so big, so old, so primal and not feel a larger sense of being.
When I run road or in the city, I just like to take it all in…the smog, the bums, the people having lunch, the people talking too loud to try and validate some sub-conscious insecurity. It reminds me of the observation deck scene in Ferris Bueller, just a few fleeting moments of society and then you’re off on your way.
And finally, races. I’ve done races with 30 people and races with 45,000 people. To earbud your way through that is a waste. The flow of breathing and the subtle(ish) plodding of the left/right step after step, the whispered words of support to a stranger on an uphill or the gasped “thanks” to a volunteer at an aid-station. That’s the experience and the togetherness of people overcoming a common goal and I never want to miss that.
At any rate, the albums and songs at the top are some of my faves on the rare occasions I run with music.
“And so I say, nice to meet you”
