I listen almost exclusively to the Foo Fighters when I run. The thumping pace of their rockier tracks are a perfect accompaniment for pounding the pavement.
And the harder and louder Dave Grohl and the boys rock out, the faster I run!
Interestingly, in addition to getting your heart thumping and feet moving, many Foo Fighters song titles can actually be applied to running, as you can see below (Each song is linked with its Spotify URL):
Some days you just want to Breakout and get onto the road and you think “This is a Call – I should’ve been doing this All My Life!” These Days you imagine there’s a crowd cheering you on waving placards reading: “There goes My Hero”, and you fully expect a White Limo to be waiting for you at the finish line! When you’ve got a nice running buzz on, you almost believe you can Learn to Fly.
Other days you’re in Overdrive and that final mile feels Everlong. Times Like These you feel like The Pretender on a Long Road to Ruin. You say to yourself “I Should Have Known this’ll Gimme Stitches!” But you know there’s No Way Back, so you Resolve to keep going even though it might just be A Matter of Time before you end up DOA.
But, Honestly, you know if you stopped running you will Miss the Misery!
There are plenty of other titles I didn’t include above that are also applicable to running. I’ll let you use your own imagination of how to use them in your running vernacular: Come Alive, Walk, Exhausted, Skin and Bones, Free Me, End Over End, Another Round, On The Mend, Low, Tired of You, Burn Away, Come Back, Wind Up, Walking After You, New Way Home, Back & Forth…
But two of the best are: Requiem* and Hell!
Of course this refers only to how a running theme can be applied to the song titles and doesn’t reflect if the actual pace or theme of the tracks are good for running.
So here now is my list of the best Foo Fighters songs to actually run to:
- All My Life – with a pace that just builds this one is great for that final stretch
- Monkey Wrench – short, sharp and punchy
- Best of You – a classic pounder
- The Pretender – the chorus gets your legs pumping big time
- Breakout – good solid pace & perfectly themed to keep you going
- Generator – ‘can’t you hear my motor?’
- Learn to Fly – perfect match for when you’re on a high
- Times Like These – a bit slow, but the cheery tune gets you uphill
- Resolve – also a tad slow, but the message is great for the tough bits
- The Last Song – another good thumper
Next time I might share my favourite Bruce Springsteen running songs, but don’t get your High Hopes up…
* This track appears on a special edition of The Colour and the Shape, and doesn’t seem to be on Spotify.
Tags: Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, running, Spotify, The Pretender
But, anyway 