At one time, I ran a blog called Fitterverse: A universe of fitness. This post originally appeared there. Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I’ve been able to recapture the text. I’ve published them here on their original publication dates.
I gotta have music when I workout, and not the pop garbage that my local pipes in over the loudspeakers. I tap in to my inner demons. I need loud, angry, angsty. Lots of punk and gangsta rap, the music of the oppressed.
My playlist changes quite a lot. Here’s 10 from the current one, and the whole playlist linked from Grooveshark:
- Combichrist – God Warrior – If ever an internet meme deserved a remix, it was the God Warrior. This woman screaming in your ears will make you lift more weight out of fear.
- System of a Down – Vicinity of Obscenity – I’m not generally a metal fan, but there’s something about Serj Tankian and the guys screaming “banana banana banana banana terra cotta” in your ears at a volume high enough to make them bleed that pumps me up. Speaking of that…
- System of a Down – Cigaro – For us guys, we’re all thinking it: “My cock is much bigger than yours…” The intensity and the message makes you want to not only lift the weights, but throw them through the wall. (Yes, I have anger issues. But they get me through the day.)
- My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult – After the Flesh – High-speed beat, sinister-sounding vocals. Vague sexual references. Works for me.
- Dead Kennedys – Take This Job and Shove It – Who hasn’t felt this way once in a while? You either feel that way now, or you empathize with those who are just hating their work every day.
- Busta Rhymes – Victory 2003 – It’s a war song, starting with Tupac talking about gangs, to Busta screaming the question: “Where my soldiers is at?” If you don’t feel like you’re in battle after this one, you’re already a casualty. (For some bizarre reason, I can’t find a link to this one anywhere.)
- Big Black – Steelworker – The blue-collar ethos of this coupled with the lyric “I kill what I eat” will definitely get your attention. And if you go buy the MP3, do yourself a favor and pick up the rest of the album. It’s awesome.
- Eminem – ‘Til I Collapse – The answer to the question “How long am I going to work out?”
- Kid Rock – American Bad Ass – Kid’s braggadocio will make you feel like a bad ass, too, American or not.
- LL Cool J – Momma Said Knock You Out – It probably doesn’t hurt if you have a vision of Cool James in your head, but even if you don’t know that he’s huge, this comeback song will make you want to finish off hard.
Those are my 10 for the day – what do you listen to?