“We Are Nowhere and It’s Now by Bright Eyes (with Emmylou Harris)

“Fake Empire” by The National

“Nightswimming” by R.E.M.

“There’s A Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)” – Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack

“Lilies of the Valley” by Jun Miyake

“We Belong” by Pat Benatar

“Runaway” by The National

“No One Is To Blame” by Howard Jones

“Wake Up” by Arcade Fire

“Mad World” by Michael Andrews & Gary Jules (Donnie Darko soundtrack)

“Waves of Mutilation” (UK Surf Mix) by The Pixies

“Good to Be On the Road Back Home” by Cornershop

Synthesizes an energy overload that allows you to pick up the pace and ride a new wave to the finish line without taking your breath away.

Even these obnoxious music snobs agree:

Really clever powerpoint from Jennifer Egan’s new book A Visit from the Goon Squad.

“Everything I Own” – Vanessa Hudgens, from the movie Bandslam. Yes, I liked the movie very much. Don’t let the movie poster, or thoughts of High School Musical, scare you away. Got curious about this film after reading this. Glad I checked it out.

This song is a rush, with a beat that pushes, but there’s also a very floaty, dreamy quality to the tune. Good for long strides on a sunny day.

This song just flat out helps pick up the pace. The vocals surf a perfect ride on top of the music. Burns, Burns, Burns. That Ring of Fire.

Because of the voice, of course. That scratchy, husky, fierceness. And also, because the song makes you think of tractor chicken, and how great it would have been to be Ren in high school, getting your shoelace caught, facing certain death by tractor, only to have that mishap make you the God damn hero in front of the conflicted good girl/bad girl hottie. Footloose indeed! Wait a second! It just occurred to me that Ren was saved by NOT being “footloose” in that tractor scene… This is just a total eclipse of the heart.

I think this is a pretty no-shit-Sherlock add to the running playlist. Who isn’t “under pressure”? What if you’re at that point where even the small, inconsequential stuff is getting stressful, like when you’re on the phone placing a sushi order for delivery, and you can’t quite remember EXACTLY what your significant other asked for. Of course you didn’t write it down. But instead of just saying you need to call back in a few minutes to make sure you place the right order, you mumble out what you think she wanted. And of course you get it wrong, so now there’s even more stress. Running helps with this stuff. It takes off some of the weight and creates a little more space to maneuver, or at least maneuver with a clearer state of mind. And running to “Under Pressure” by David Bowie & Queen helps even more. It has to be one of the greatest “dismiss the sore knees, break-through the exhaustion, take the hill” songs of all time. It can also help with the fallout from tuna rolls arriving at the apartment instead of SPICY tuna rolls.

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It’s also a great song to listen to after midnight with a stiff drink filled to the brim of a perfect drinking glass. Unusual for a song to work in both circumstances, which makes it even more special. But in terms of running, it’s certainly not a pump you up and go faster when you’re feeling like you just want to fall over to the side and lie on the ground, even though it’s cold, muddy, and hard. The song’s music and lyrics do more to help get your mind to ease up on the thoughts that are making you feel like it really is the worst day since yesterday. It occurs to me that I don’t think through anything on my runs. I certainly don’t figure out any solutions or make any decisions with regard to things that are stressing me out. I just get out there and run, and run, and run, one foot in front of the other. The longer I go, and the faster my pace, the better I feel afterwords. Yes, all the worst day since yesterday thoughts cross my mind. Sometimes these thoughts pound harder than my feet on the cement. I’m thinking about this shit, but not forcing a thought process that pushes my mind to sort out exactly how to handle it all. I think what I am doing is sweating out the stress of the matters at hand. The result is that when the time comes to deal with the various issues that are causing the stress in the first place, my mind is in a place, or at least a better place, to sort it all out. Listening to a song like “The Worst Day Since Yesterday” while I’m trudging through some long and winding uphill path sets just the right tone and helps all of this make perfect sense without having to even think about it.

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