I never thought I’d gather enough ’80s music to assemble this running playlist. Aesthetically, the ’80s do NOT do it for me. Yes, I was alive for part of it, but for whatever reason, the sounds and fashions of the era fail to fill me with nostalgia. They fill me with the ick.
Now, as I am always to quick to point out, these are subjective opinions, not objective indictments. Who died and made me the arbiter of taste? Nobody! But to me, personally, the ’80s are just TOO MUCH. Too much synth in the music, that’s for sure.
Still, I have to admit I’ve come around a little when it comes to ’80s music. Proto-Danny Elfman was there, for starters; if you close your eyes while listening to Oingo Boingo you can pretend Jack Skellington has a rock band.
And while I am not a complete Talking Heads convert, I must admit that “Road to Nowhere” is a spectacular song. All runners should immediately incorporate that one into their running routine. After all, what is the average race but a road to nowhere?
My most important discovery, however – by some metrics even the impetus for this post – was the VERY IMPORTANT realization that my all-time favorite genre was arguably birthed during this decade. Yes, my friends, folk punk first became popular in the ’80s. I know! I was surprised too!
Thus with such absolute bangers as the Violent Femmes’ “Country Death Song” and The Pogues’ “Limerick Rake” tacked on, I was finally able to scrape enough songs together to create a playlist you can actually log some mileage under. Okay, admittedly I added Bowling for Soup’s cover of “1985,” but it fits thematically, okay?
Anyway, I am just as surprised as you are to present…
MY ’80s RUNNING PLAYLIST
Still not convinced? I understand and respect that. Find sweet release in the general superiority of my ’60s & ’70s running playlist. Or if you’re the adventurous sort, I also have running playlists for classic Hollywood musicals and classical music. Now let’s go log some miles! Because music is movement is music.
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!