alternative rock

The argument I'm having with someone who isn't here

By Rob Gordon

Dick asked me last week why I run to alternative rock when "there's perfectly good house music with consistent BPMs." This is why Dick doesn't understand anything.\n\nAlternative rock works for running because running isn't a metronome exercise. It's not about keeping perfect time like some robot. It's about managing the chaos in your head while your body does something it doesn't want to do. And alternative rock - real alternative rock, not the stuff that ended up in car commercials - understands chaos. It's built on tension and release, quiet-loud dynamics, the exact emotional architecture you need when you're three miles in and negotiating with yourself about whether to stop.\n\nThe Pixies get this. "Debaser" doesn't maintain one energy level - it lurches and surges and makes you feel slightly unhinged, which is exactly what mile 5 feels like on a Tuesday morning. The Breeders understand that sometimes you need Kim Deal's voice to cut through the noise in your head. Grunge works because it's angry without being performative about it. New wave works because it's propulsive even when it's weird.\n\nI've got five playlists in this category and they're all doing different jobs. One's built around Brody Dalle because sometimes you need someone who sounds like they've got something to prove. Another's pure grunge because some runs require channeling 1991 Seattle. There's an 80's new wave mix for when you want forward momentum wrapped in synthesizers.\n\nHere's what I keep coming back to: alternative rock never lies to you about what it is. It doesn't promise easy. It doesn't pretend everything's fine. It meets you in the complicated middle and says, yeah, this is hard, now keep moving. That's what running is. Anyone who tells you to run to music that pretends otherwise doesn't actually run.

5 playlists

Top 10 Alternative rock Running Songs

These tracks appear across multiple curated alternative rock running playlists.

  1. 1. Cannonball — The Breeders
  2. 2. About A Girl — Nirvana
  3. 3. Age of Consent - 2015 Remaster — New Order
  4. 4. All Babes Are Wolves — Spinnerette
  5. 5. Beat Your Heart Out — The Distillers
  6. 6. Bone Machine - 2007 Remaster — Pixies
  7. 7. Born Again Teen — Lucius
  8. 8. C'mon — Go Betty Go
  9. 9. Carnavoyeur — Queens of the Stone Age
  10. 10. City Of Angels — The Distillers

Frequently Asked Questions

What pace works best for alternative rock running playlists?

Tempo runs and general aerobic pace - that 7:30 to 9:00 minute mile range where you're working but can still think. Alternative rock has too much dynamic range for easy recovery shuffles, and it's not mechanical enough for all-out intervals. This is music for the middle distances of effort, when you need something in your ears that matches the negotiation happening in your head. The Pixies don't work at 11-minute pace. They need you to be at least a little bit suffering.

What's the BPM range for alternative rock?

Forget BPM for a second - that's the wrong question. Alternative rock runs anywhere from 90 to 160 BPM because it's not designed for lockstep cadence. You've got the Breeders at a loping 110, Pixies surging into the 140s, grunge sitting in that heavy 120 range. The point isn't matching your footstrike to every beat. The point is letting the energy of the song pull you through the hard parts. If you need every song at exactly 175 BPM, go run to techno and leave me alone.

Which alternative rock artists should I start with for running?

Start with the Pixies. "Debaser," "Here Comes Your Man," "Wave of Mutilation" - they've got the tempo and the urgency without being exhausting. Then the Breeders for something that grooves more than it assaults. If you can handle grunge, Soundgarden and Nirvana work better for running than Pearl Jam - you need the tempo, not the ballads. For new wave, go Talking Heads and New Order. And if you want pure running fury, anything Brody Dalle touched with the Distillers or Spinnerette. She sounds like she's been running angry for miles.

Is alternative rock better for long runs or intervals?

Long runs, tempo runs, medium-hard efforts - anywhere you're working but not dying. Alternative rock doesn't work for true interval training because the songs don't cooperate with your work-rest structure. You can't do 400-meter repeats when the song takes two minutes to build to the chorus. But for a 10-mile progression run or a steady 5-miler where you're trying to hold something uncomfortable? Perfect. The music does what you're doing - it builds, it pushes, it doesn't let you settle. Save your EDM for the track.

Why does grunge work for running when it's so heavy and slow?

Because grunge isn't actually slow - it just sounds heavy. Soundgarden's "Outshined" sits around 127 BPM. Nirvana's "Breed" is 160. The sludgy guitars make you think it's slower than it is, but the drums are driving the whole time. What grunge gives you is weight without drag - it's got momentum and anger, and sometimes on a long run you need to feel like you're pushing against something. It's not transcendent, it's not euphoric, it's just grinding forward, which is exactly what running actually feels like most of the time.