The Original Run

As an occasional runner, and one who appreciates music, I've wondered if there was a better way to listen while running. Too often, a change in tempo will alter your running rhythm, or a less upbeat song will sap your own energy.

Now, thanks to a shoe sales gimmick, there are couple of tracks out there designed intentionally as running mixes. Basically, Nike has produced several of its high end runners with the capability to interface with an iPod nano, in order to track distance, pace, calories burned, and other running metrics.

In an effort to get more people on board, they commissioned an original track by LCD Soundsystem and an extended mix by The Crystal Method as part of their Nike + Original Run promotion.

The LCD Soundsystem track is called 45:33 (a John Cage shout-out perhaps) although according to iTunes it clocks in at 45:58. While not exactly music that will keep the dance floor hopping, or even keep you all that interested listening at home, it has a driving rhythm which is just what the runner needs to keep motivated. From James Murphy, half of the DFA and LCD Soundsystem brain-trust:

There are 45 minutes and 33 seconds of body music. The idea, to make a long piece of music built around an arc designed for running, appealed to me because it was so anathematic to what you're typically asked to do as an artist; make easily digestable lumps of music for albums, or the radio, or whatever. I'd been thinking of the records I love in which people made one "song" that took up the entire LP, and realizing that releasing something like this would be a virtual impossibility for me, I became excited when the Nike+ project came along. . .

In testing, I found that "hard, fast, propulsive" music was NOT the best running music for me--this was maybe why my bandmates had gravitated to the more sprawling tracks in our catalog. The fast tracks were too close to the running pace and be distracting in a bad way. These other tracks that inverted themselves more had moments and bits that kept the mind occupied (distracting in a good way) and settled into gentle bits more often, giving the runner a sense of push as well as rest. Sometimes the best way to keep running is to find parts of the run that are actually rests--that while you're still running, you're viewing some of the run as soothing and recuperative, rather than feeling like you're constantly running for your life.

Lyrical content is pretty minimal (a breathy chorus of "shame on you" at about the 7 minute mark seems a strange motivational technique), but the sense of "push" is definitely there. And the rests Murphy mentions are there; one of several minutes at about 26' where the percussion drops out entirely, and then an 8-minute, sparse, spacey cool-down to end the track.


The Crystal Method track, called Drive, is structured along much the same lines, a gentle arc with an increase in pitch and energy before an extended cool-down, clocking in at 45 minutes. Because it is a mix and not a continuous track like 45:33, it is prone to some of the problems I mentioned, like quick changes in energy, rhythm, and tempo, but not as much as you might expect.

The mix consists of the following tracks:

• "Starting Line" - The Crystal Method
• "It's Time" - The Crystal Method
• "Roadhouse Blues (Original Dub)" - The Doors vs. The Crystal Method
• "It Hertz" - The Crystal Method
• "Do It" (Dub Pistols Mix) - The Crystal Method
• "Don't Stop" - The Crystal Method
• "Brand New Kicks" - The Crystal Method
• "Bad Ass" (Rogue Element Mix) - The Crystal Method
• "Glass Breaker" (Force Mass Motion Mix) - The Crystal Method featCharlotte Martin
• "Finish Line" - The Crystal Method

I used to dig the Crystal Method, back when I thought Daft Punk was the best thing going in electronic music, and even beyond its workout value, this mix is pretty strong.

Overall, it's an interesting concept, and I'm not surprised Nike came up with it, but I'm not currently in running shape. But I can still cycle (over 500 km in October). And, though I haven't noticed any noticeable improvement in speed while listening, both of these tracks give a certain sense of drive and purpose to my rides. I know it's not safe to be listening to music when you're riding in traffic, and I try not to do it much, especially now that the roads are covered in ice, yet another safety factor to be worried about. 45 minutes might be a little short for anything beyond a modest jog, but it is a good idea all the same.

I can't give you a link to listen, because I doubt most mp3 blogs are going to go through the trouble and potential legal risk of hosting a couple of 45-minute tracks, so if you want to listen, you'll have to buy it at iTunes or figure out another way.

A little later: I found a link to an mp3, on some blog (Icelandic, by my reckoning) for one of them:

LCD Soundsystem - 45:33

I couldn't dig up a link to the Crystal Method track, but as an added bonus, why not have a listen to LCD Soundsystem's other manifestation, Death From Above, have a go at mixing Justin Timberlake's "My Love"? The original isn't half bad, in fact, I can't decide which version I like better. So you be the judge.
Justin Timber Lake - My Love (DFA Mix)