A Workout Playlist: Bands Whose Names I Don’t Like

Chris Lawhorn, the resident DJ at Marie Claire and Real Age, reviews 300-400 singles every month, trying to find the best new music for a workout. Every week, he’ll be posting an indie-centric playlist for MAGNET readers. To vote on upcoming tracks, hear this month’s contenders and find more resources for matching songs to the pace of your exercise routine, you can visit his workout music site.

Really, I like most of the names of the bands included here. Actually, I like half. Yacht and Sleater-Kinney are fine names. Grum and Nujax both give me reservations—Grum, in particular. I know I’d been glossing over while reviewing things, as I thought, “This music probably sounds gross.” In fact, when I finally heard the Toto-sampling “Through The Night,” it didn’t sound gross at all. It sounded nice. And then I saw the video—and had mixed feelings again. Not because it’s sort of homoerotic, but just because the whole J.D. Samson/”Sabotage” video/Reno 911! combination seems sort of dubious. But, like I said, the song is nice. (And the other folks here … Gossip are also well-named, but since they used to be the the Gossip, I had to double-check this while writing. But, that’s not much of a complaint. And, actually, while I’m thinking about it: Grum’s video might actually be a decent fit for Gossip’s track here. Just a thought.)

In the mean time, here are your uptempo jams for the gym.

1.  Yacht “I’m In Love With A Ripper (Party Mix)” (115 BPM)

2.  Gossip “Men In Love” (132 BPM)

3.  Sleater-Kinney “You’re No Rock ‘N’ Roll Fun” (142 BPM)

4.  Nujax “Super Duper Fly” (129 BPM)

5.  Grum “Through The Night” (133 BPM)