The Clash every morning for a week is getting old. Looking for new ideas on what to put on the ipod while stairclimbing.
I’m open to all genres, except probably hard-core metal and rap; lately I’ve ben getting into 1930s jazz, rockabilly and celtic punk.
Especially interested in uptempo classical suggestions.
What gets your ass moving?
I love rockabilly and celtic punk (Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly) as workout music. Have you tried Rancid? They’re very melodic, poppy punk (but not “pop punk” like the Hot Topic sorts of bands), heavily influenced by the Clash, but they also delve into ska and other styles.
My favorite band for workout music is Dragonforce. They play super-fast, epic, melodramatic “power metal” – clean vocals, fantasy-inspired lyrics, and insane “weedly-weedly-wee” shred-guitar solos. Definitely not hardcore metal with disgusting lyrics and guttural, screamed vocals. Most metalheads consider them cheesy and twee, but I hate most metal and I love Dragonforce. You can download a few mp3s from their website to get an idea: http://www.dragonforce.com/main.html .
While I might not have listened to electronica in any other setting, I find it dynamite for working out. Renegade Master is the absolute pinnacle of “get your ass moving” music for me. I’ve got a lot of Fatboy Slim on there, actually, and the Norman Cook remix of Brimful of Asha. Also The Prodigy’s We Gonna Rock and Bombs Away from Blade: Trinity. Then I tossed in odd things like Pump Up the Volume and Sacha Baron Cohen’s version of I Like to Move It, because it cracks me up and makes me want to dance like a lemur.
Alternatively, I have a bunch of funk music, which also defies you to stay in your seat: everything from James Brown to DeeLite. I found it very useful to surf through itunes when I found something I liked, to find similar songs.
Have fun!
If you are of my generation, this is the best workout music ever. It’s cartoon themes from the 60’s and 70’s covered by the likes of Juliana Hatfield, the Ramones, the Violent Femmes, etc. Skip over track 11 and the rest is gold. Liz Phair can sing “Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper, and Snork” and make it sound sexy. And I could win the Tour de France if they’d let me listen to the Reverend Horton Heat’s cover of the Jonny Quest theme on headphones.
I think you are allowed. No excuse now.
Thanks for the suggestions.