What I've Been Listening to on My Fall Runs so Far

Fall is here. Running in the fall with some good music is one of the best things ever. Here are a few albums I've been listening to lately. Let me know some of your favorite running music in the comments.

Been getting into Roxy Music lately thanks to a friend. It took a second to grow on me, but I'm a fan. And the production is amazing. Not to mention the songwriting, of course. Good companion on a cool fall night with a full moon, feeling kind of lost and frustrated, but much better after getting out there and pounding the pavement with Flesh+Blood. If you're into The Cars or the much more modern Destroyer, I think you'll hear some influence/similarities.

Andrew Bird one of my all-time favorites, man. And NOBLE BEAST is in my top 3 of his albums. There aren't really words for it. I just love it.

The Offspring took me home through the last mile on this run through the hills that was quite a tough one, done on little sleep. "Nitro" and "Bad Habit" tapped right into that "fuck you," kick-ass evil energy I needed to make my goal in a more expedient fashion.

That's not to say silence isn't golden. A lot of this run was done without tunes, as I was in the mountains with no cell service. I also don't do races with music typically, as I like the challenge and exploration of running long distances across several long hours with only my thoughts and the silence and the ambient sounds of the streets, wildlife, rivers, cars, people, etc.

Aphex Twin's "Drukqs" — very good fall running music. This was my first time listening to this album and after walking back towards home a bit, I think I finished on track 9 of "Drukqs," called "Avril 14th." Previously, I had only really been familiar with "Selected Ambient Works 85-92," which is a lovely, kick-ass, ambient album.

I don't care what people say about IN RAINBOWS, it is a solid Radiohead album all the way through and I love it. It's especially good if you're in kind of a sad mood and need an angsty, then uplifting, melancholic catharsis. The Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible" was a wonderful follow up to IN RAINBOWS at the end of this run in the hills, ending at a Shinto Shrine.

The lyrics to "Intervention" on that same album seemed to me then to describe exactly what I was going through and feeling, and to describe the current global situation perfectly. When I look at all the masked people around me, taking the mystery covid juice jab, supporting the latest state agendas, and abusing their kids because they think it's the right thing to do, or they are too scared to speak out and stand up against it all, these lyrics describe it, and the exhaustion of those of us standing against it:

Working for the church while your family dies

You take what they give you and you keep it inside

Every spark of friendship and love will die without a home

Hear the solider groan, "We'll go at it alone"

Of course, Brian Eno. The ambient church is the only church I need. While I like Ambient 1: Music for Airports much better than the album pictured here, Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror, from an eerie September nighttime run, it was nonetheless perfect for how I was feeling that night. I couldn't tell where the album ended and the sounds around me began, the wind and crickets and cars, and vice versa. And it was really unsettling, at times. 

Until next time, I keep #RunningForPeace.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to hearing about your favorite tunes to run to in the comments. Cheers.