Top 3 Running Soundtracks
Ah, the “running mix”. No, not a new type of soft sweet to rival a mix you would pick, but the soundtracks we put on our workouts to make us move faster, work harder, and generally get down and sweaty.
I have seen and heard many exercise mixes, ranging from Beethoven to ultra-intense hardcore stepping of the dubs. In many cases, the tracks provide a rhythm – a beat to run, lift or stretch to. The benefits have been widely documented, and I won’t deny that a pulsing beat does wonders for silencing that little voice in the back of your head saying “what the heck are you doing, go home and get back to your Pringles”.
For me personally, however, a rhythm is not quite enough. I am often striving to do better in my exercises, and often a regular beat is not always the best thing to have on in the background – especially if you are a musician, in which case you are ingrained never to lose the beat ever.
So read on to find my top 3 tracks to exercise to. These are just a few of those special pieces of music that cause floods of electricity to rush through your body, driving you faster and faster. They’re also not that bad to listen to outside of exercising either. Enjoy!
1. Gravity soundtrack – Shenzou, Composer: Steven Price
Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, was generally received positively by both general and critical audiences. Spectacular cinematography, combined with a more realistic depiction of the physics of zero-gravity environments, made for a gripping experience perfectly suited to the biggest of big screens.
For me, however, one of the defining features of the film was a particular moment in the soundtrack.
Shenzou is one of the final tracks of the film, played during the final climax of Sandra Bullock’s trials in space. At this point, the audience has been held in an almost constant state of tension, with the characters plagued by an endless stream of disasters and poor Sandra Bullock unable to catch a break.
(it is the duty of this writer to remind the dear reader that, of course, if a human is in space, they are very often only a few inches of glass and a roll of tin foil away from total catastrophe)
The track opens as Sandra Bullock commences the process of re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere, and immediately the music reminds you of just how perilous a journey this is. The rhythmic pulses of the music even emulate the sounds of the alarms ringing in our ears as we plummet through space. It seems we are once again in for a severe straining of the nerves. And then…everything changes.
One minute and ten seconds into the track, the entire sound alters dramatically. The urgency drops away. The pounding of the music ceases…and the strings come in. Suddenly, we are no longer falling – we are flying. In the film, we get our first glimpses of the sky, the bright Earth sky, through the scorched windows of the re-entry craft - and in comparison to the sheer dark/light contrasts of space we have been used to, the colour is glorious.
The brass and voices enter the track next, and we are soaring on chariots of fire, the re-entry craft blazing flames created from passing into the atmosphere. The grandeur, the immense joy of the sound only increases further and further as it progresses. It is wonderful to listen to.
It is also wonderful to sprint to. I have often played this song when I am starting to grow fatigued, or indeed when I run in scenic locations. The climax of the song creates a burning need to go faster. Despite my awareness of the impossibility, sometimes I think I will be able to fly if I run fast enough while hearing this sound. One day perhaps…
2. Doctor Who series 4 soundtrack –The Dark and Endless Dalek Night, Composer: Murray Gold
The Day of the Doctor was a Doctor Who special, which I had mixed opinions of. At times it was excellent, at times not – but this music, specifically about ten seconds of its use, was perfect.
It plays during a brief flashback to the Time War, known in myth and legend across the universe as the most terrible conflict ever to take place, beyond all comprehension in scale. While it is always a challenge to attempt to depict such a thing on camera, this track (initially composed for an earlier scene where the Daleks, a key opponent of the Doctor, appear utterly victorious) to me captures the rage and insanity of a battle gone beyond all reason.
The track begins quietly, and I hear similarities to Holst’s “Mars, the Bringer of War”. The drumbeat is unmistakeably warlike, gradually building in volume, followed closely by the brass and choir. But we are not treated to a gentle introduction for long.
In an explosion of sound, all sections crash in. The music conveys a deep sense of majesty, of triumph, of limitless strength. This is the staging ground, the parade square. Definitely a song to walk in slow-motion to!
It is the next stage of the track that really hits me, about one minute in. This is the part of the piece that was used in the Day of the Doctor – for only an instant, but it was enough. The drumbeat switches to double time, and the combination of the brass and choir sends shivers of electricity through the listeners. In the context of Doctor Who, the track communicates the unstoppable nature of the forces the Doctor is up against – but in the context of exercise, that unstoppable feeling can be ours as well.
I will tend to use this track if I am about to attempt something which is more outside my comfort zone than usual. This may be lifting a weight I have never reached before, sparring with an opponent who is better than me…with this track ringing in my ears, there is nothing I cannot do.
3. No Album, Satellite (Nightcore edit), Composer: Rise Against
This particular track is a special mention. It is not choral, orchestral, or part of a soundtrack (which is unusual in my songlists!), it is simply an alternate rock song – with a little bonus.
The existence of the “Nightcore” sub-genre of music was entirely unknown to me until just last year. The concept revolves around taking any song, from any genre, and making it faster. The speed of the track is increased by a factor of 10-20%, with no other features of the song controlled in any way. This results in a song that is not only faster, but also higher in pitch.
There are numerous reasons why an individual would want to do this. For instance, Nightcore songs tend to be labelled with the caption “if sung by a female vocalist”. For me, however, the main feature is the speed.
There is something of a rush when I hear a track sped up. It doesn’t work for all of them – there is a Nightcore edit of Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which I am not fond of at all. But when it does work…oh how we can run.
I regularly listen to songs which Weird Al Yankovic would probably throw into his “Angry White Boy Polka” song, and I enjoy Fallout Boy and Linkin Park far more than I probably should. The songs often portray strong emotion, even if they lack guitar solos – and hearing that music played at an even faster pace than normal only adds even more urgency to them.
Satellite, by Rise Against, is a song where I heard the Nightcore edit before the original. Thus, I vastly prefer the edit. I can’t comment on this track in quite the same way as the others on this list – namely because my appreciation of the music is a lot more difficult to define. In the context of exercise, however, this song is perfect in several ways.
The beat is strong and regular.
There are moments of diminuendo and crescendo, perfect for switching between exercise intensities.
The chorus contains just the right amount of guitar to break through any mental wall you may have.
It should be pointed out that my second fastest running speed was reached while I was listening to this song. Shenzou still holds the number one spot!
That brings us to the end of this little list! I hope you are all able to find those unlikely tracks which, at first glance, may not be exactly “gym typical” – but remember, the music to Lord of the Rings never had any dubstep in it. And dang those guys can run!
Now I feel the need to go and do an unreasonable amount of exercise to film music. Good luck!
