Being someone who grew up (and I am slightly ashamed to say so) listening to the Spice Girls on Rick Dees and reading expensive but entirely meaningless magazines like Smash Hits, I’ve always wanted to have my very own Top 20 chart of sorts. So now, I present to you my list of Top 20 songs you should try putting on the next time you’re on the run or partaking in some similar repetitive aerobic exercise:
(By the way, this list of songs is by no means comprehensive or absolute. It is also by no means meant to be reflective of current trends and is purely organised based on the author’s personal preference.)
20. 30 Seconds To Mars – The Kill
I was sorely disappointed when the news of TSTM going defunct hit me. Personally I thought this band was pretty awesome and at first I had no idea Jared Leto could sing as fine as he looked. “The Kill” is angry, overwhelming and all at once a whop-ass emo rock song. I’ve always believed that a good song to run with is one that pulls you along and makes your emotions race along with you.
19. Leona Lewis – I Will Be
Need I say more? Apart from being what is probably the most brilliant song (though not necessarily written by the most brilliant artiste) on her self-titled debut album, “I Will Be” is another heart-wrenching song that falls perfectly into the category of songs that makes your emotions race with you.
18. Ali/Big Gipp – Go’ Head
Now I only got to know of this song through a senior of mine when I danced under him for NTU’s recent Joint Dance Concert 2009 – Melange. It makes for really smooth dancing but R&B is another great choice of music when it comes to running companionship because its steady beats and groovy sounds just make you want to move, move and MOVE.
17. Avenged Sevenfold – Afterlife
The general consensus on metal is that the majority of people in Singapore don’t appreciate it. Among other comments I’ve known made of metal music is that it is Satanic, it’s too noisy, etc. I’m not going to bother disputing that because I like metal and it’s my business. Though this song is a disappointment to most avid metal fans, the music and arrangement has a certain sort of texture and dynamic quality to it, which just puts you in a running frenzy. WOOT
16. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – Falling or Flying
Grace Potter starts off gentle on this song with a beautiful country-esque tone that is at once reminiscent of Grey’s Anatomy. However, the climax of the song, with its forceful electrical guitar melody just makes you want to fall, or fly.
15. Avril Lavigne – Keep Holding On
While I found the rest of her recent songs to be slightly whiny, this song off the soundtrack of the epic Eragon is powerful and moving in its music and lyrics. I’ve always liked songs that sounded like it had an entire orchestra behind it, sort of like Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”. And the best part? She doesn’t sing like some desperate Girlfriend-wannabe.
14. Marilyn Manson – The Fight Song
Now I know you must be thinking, “what the *toot*?!” And all I have to say to that is: Don’t judge a strange man by his looks. Because this strange man makes really decent music and if you don’t pay attention to his lyrics, he doesn’t sound Satanic at all. At least he has more creativity than to name his songs “Kill the Rabbit” or the like. Plus anybody who can score beauties like Rose McGowan or Minnie Driver HAS to be doing something right. ;)
13. Garbage – Push It
Britain’s got talent and Garbage has been telling us that time and time again since the 1990s. This comes off one of their most defining albums – Version 2.0 and “Push It” is really just one of many songs from the album that you can run to.
12. Evanescence – Lithium
I consider this song to be the only one that did their sophomore album any justice at all. Though the song name’s rather whacky and nonsensical (and more often than not, does not relate well to the rest of the lyrics), Amy Lee’s unique, rich vocals will more than suffice to make you push yourself up that daunting slope.
11. Yellowcard – Gifts and Curses
It was the song I set as my alarm ringtone for quite a while because the intro to the song is not only noisy, it makes you want to just jump up and do something. As you listen to the song you will really understand why they put it in the soundtrack to Spiderman 2. Other songs from Yellowcard you might want to give a shot include classics like “Only One”, “Way Away” or “Lights and Sounds”.
10. Mary J. Blige – Be Without You
I don’t know about the rest of you but personally I find Mary J. a very talented R&B artiste who deserves a lot more credit than she gets. Even if she once in a while, made trash to which I was forced to dance. “Be Without You” speaks of longing and resigned resolution, and with its flavourful rhythms and beats, makes for an ideal running song.
9. The Hives – Tick Tick Boom
Probably one of the most interesting song titles I’ve seen from mainstream artistes in a while, “Tick Tick Boom” is a happy tune that sounds more noisy than happy. But hey, The Hives is in a league of its own when it comes to their brand of rock and this tune is just insanely adorable. Wait for the “tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick BOOM!”
8. N.E.R.D. – Anti Matter
One of the duo’s songs off their latest album Seeing Sounds, “Anti Matter” starts with passionate guitar strumming and goes into an uber-addictive mix of beats and funky rapping. Once you get pass the incessant cursing at the end of each line, you will undoubtedly find this a fantastic song to move to, so please hear for yourself how much of a pleasure it is to run to this.
7. Jimmy Eat World – 23
Any song that lasts more than 5 minutes can’t be good because they tend to get so draggy and monotonous once we’re past the 5-minute mark. I’ve always thought unless you’re an orchestral piece, keep it under 5 but JEW wowed me when I first heard this song over their album Futures. Talking about it doesn’t do it any justice, just let the electric guitar solo at the 5-minute mark take you away at the peak of your 10km run.
6. Funeral for a Friend – History
FFAF tops my list for the most underrated bands around. Coming off their 2005 album Hours, “History” doesn’t sound like it has an entire ensemble behind it but yet manages to tug at your strings and make you run like crazy with goosebumps to boot.
5. Slipknot – Before I Forget
“Before I Forget” makes my list because the song’s arrangement has this accent within the music that makes it extremely good running companionship. In the sense that it is one of Slipknot’s more pop-ish songs, it is boundlessly more acceptable and like “The Fight Song” and “Afterlife”, you can’t make out the lyrics anyway.
4. Breaking Benjamin – Until The End
Taken off the album Phobia, which is groundbreaking for Breaking Benjamin because it has so many songs I dig and love to run to. “Until The End” receives my mention here because it only caught my attention recently! It is unabashedly Breaking Benjamin in style and the entire album should be on your “On The Run” playlist.
3. Chris Brown featuring Dre – Flying Solo
Generally speaking, Chris Brown churns out decent R&B music. He may not have the power pipes of Ne-Yo nor Brian McKnight’s compositional flair, but he has the charm and the power moves. Now let’s just ignore the part where he keeps singing “solo solo solo…” and the fact that he beat Rihanna up and let “Flying Solo” give you wings!
2. Mariah Carey – Migrate
The most happening, least annoying song off Mariah’s idon’tknowhowmany-th album, E=MC2, is Mariah at her best as she kicks off the song in dolphin mode and goes on to pack a power punch in this hell of a joyride. “Migrate” keeps you on your feet and makes you never want to stop.
1. Natasha Bedingfield – Angel
I have to say, I am crazy over Natasha Bedingfield but it’s such a shame that her brother outshone her when they both started, and now with Leona Lewis around she’ll really have to find her niche and position as a female British singer. Yet, “Angel” boasts Natasha’s distinct, raspy vocals in an exceptional showcase of her musical talents amidst repetitions of A-N-G-E-L and an enthralling combination of beats and snares. It is definitely and will remain my top choice for my daily run for a long time to come.
Oh, and a final tip: run to something you’re comfortable with but push the boundaries of your musical tastes (starting with my fav songs preferably :) ) once in a while and who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised with how it’ll coax that last bit of energy out of you to make it to the finish line (imaginary or not).
It‘s quiet in here! Why not leave a response?