Running Playlist: iTunes top 10 BPM analysis: 01-25-2011

It’s Tuesday again and it’s time for the running playlist iTunes top 10 review.

This week, we have some new entrants: F**kin’ Perfect (Clean Version), Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor),Coming Home

Unfortunately, only Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor) is over 120 BPM so only that song is good for a running playlist. I do like the other two songs as well, so maybe I’ll use them for the warm up part of my running playlist.

As usual, I’ve bolded the songs that are good for a running playlist.

get the list at running playlist

A winter 10k running playlist

It’s still very cold outside, and snow is everywhere. I even recently heard on the news that 49 out of 50 states in the US are experiencing snow.

This means that if you are out running, you’ll want to warm up quickly and get done fast…

I put together this playlist to start quickly (except for the first motivational song, which is a bit slow and if it’s too cold outside you can listen to it in the car…:) and build up quickly. I didn’t want to get the BPM too high, because running too fast on snow and ice can be slippery, so I kept the average BPM at 131.

This playlist is 1:16 hours long, which means that if you want to run a 10k with it, you’ll need to keep a pace of 12:14 mile/min. Not too fast, but not a slow pace either.

Get the list at running playlist

Running Playlist: iTunes top 10 BPM analysis: 01-11-2011

This week’s iTunes top 10 finally has a new entry in the #1 slot, and just any entry, it’s a new single by Britney Spears!

Just like most Britney songs, Hold It Against Me has a great beat and is sure to play on your radio for a long time.

Say what you want about Britney as a person, but she sure knows how to produce and package pop music.

As usual, I’ve bolded the songs that are good for a running playlist.

Get the list at running playlist

Music does good for you physically, or in science speak: Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music

Source: http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nn.2726.html

Music, an abstract stimulus, can arouse feelings of euphoria and craving, similar to tangible rewards that involve the striatal dopaminergic system. Using the neurochemical specificity of [¹¹C]raclopride positron emission tomography scanning, combined with psychophysiological measures of autonomic nervous system activity, we found endogenous dopamine release in the striatum at peak emotional arousal during music listening. 

Great study about the effects of music on the body, showing physical response to music as a stimulus.

Visit Running Playlist for your favorite running music and playlists with BPM.

Running Playlist: Top 10 Songs For Your 2010 Running Playlist

2010 has come and gone and just like every other media outlet, I too have a top 10 list. The songs on this list are the top 10 songs on running playlist that the thousands of visitors for this site have clicked on and reviewed.

There are more than a few obvious entries on this list, songs that were on the iTunes and Amazon top 10′s for months such as I Like It, Club Can’t Handle Me and Love The Way You Lie, but we also had a few surprises such as Only In My Dreams (a Debbie Gibson song from the 80′s) and I’ll Kill You If You Don’t Come Back by Meatloaf.

Some more interesting facts about this list are:

1. There are 2 songs on this list with a BPM of less than 120, which is usually the minimum for a good running playlist. Suprisingly, the number 1 song is one of those.

2. The most popular genre was Hip Hop

3. There are 2 songs on the top 10 list with the word “dream” in their title. Perhaps this is a subconscious choice by the readers of this site to focus on accomlishing their dreams?

4. Debbie Gibson: I’m not sure how an 80′s star came up in the top 10, but the data doesn’t

get the full list at running playlist

A Diverse 5k Running Playlist For Beginners: 01-06-2011

It’s a new year, and I’m sure many of you have set a goal for this year to run a 5k. Well, the most important thing you’ll need for that (except for training of course) is a good running playlist.

I’ve put together this running playlist with beginners in mind. It has a very diverse mix of songs and the average BPM on it isn’t too high, at 134, so it won’t be too difficult for you to try.

It’s also relatively long for a 5k (57 minutes long), and if you’re really fast, you can actually run 2 5k’s with this single list.

In any case, I hope you enjoy it.

get the list at Running Playlist

Running Playlist: iTunes top 10 BPM analysis: 01-05-2011

Welcome back everyone! I hope you had a great holiday season and you got some rest because running playlist is back with a lot of new music and playlist to rock your world!

I thought the iTunes top 10 list would really change a lot over the 2 weeks I was off, but it didn’t. There was only one new song on the top 10 list this week, Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You), which also has a more explicit version (the word “loving” is changed for something else, which I chose not to post today…) you can look it up 

As usual, I’ve bolded the songs that are good for a running playlist.

Get the list at Running playlist