Look, I'm not saying running is about earning your beer, but I'm also not not saying that. This playlist is 53 minutes of punk-adjacent cardio justification—a perfectly timed primer for the pint that follows. It's structured like every lie you tell yourself at the starting line: "I'll just do a quick mile," then you're suddenly three miles deep and negotiating with your cardiovascular system.
We open with the Warm-Up Lie, three tracks of deceptive accessibility. Alkaline Trio's "Teenage Heart" gives you those melancholy hooks that feel like emotional preparation more than physical exertion. White Reaper brings Spiritual Cramp along for "Shimmy," all garage energy and the false promise that this will be fun the whole time. Teen Mortgage's "Valley II" keeps that momentum rolling while your lungs still believe exercise is optional.
Then comes the Post-Punk Reality Check. IDLES screaming "Hall & Oates" at you about masculinity and vulnerability, which is exactly what you need when your body starts filing formal complaints. Bad Nerves follows with "Antidote"—power-pop chaos that admits yeah, this is work now. No more pretending.
The Surf-Punk Escape Velocity section is pure reptile-brain territory. Death Lens bookends with "Vacant" and "Moontower," that garage-meets-surf sound that's all drums and forward motion. Alkaline Trio's "Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs" drops in between, and suddenly you're not thinking anymore, just moving to the rhythm like your legs finally figured out their assignment.
But then track nine hits. BODEGA's "No Vanguard Revival" arrives precisely when the pop-punk momentum demands actual cardiovascular commitment, and it sounds like your internal monologue got a synthesizer. That jerky, angular post-punk anxiety mirrors your faltering stride. Madison Velding-VanDam and Ben Hozie aren't here to motivate you—they're here to be honest about the negotiation happening between your brain and body. And somehow that honesty pushes you through better than any stadium-rock inspiration ever could.
One Dimensional Creatures piles on with "Bleed The Markets," more art-punk panic while you're still processing. Then comes the Skiba Salvation: STIFF RICHARDS riffs on "Fill In The Blanks," Spiritual Cramp's chaotic "Blowback," and finally Alkaline Trio's "Break" landing like a prayer answered. Matt Skiba showing up twice in three tracks isn't coincidence—it's narrative structure.
The Folk-Punk Cool-Down brings it home. Frank Turner twice with "Girl From The Record Shop" and "Get Better," romantic storytelling for when you can process words again. Die Spitz closes with "Chug," one last garage sprint because the bar's in sight now and you've earned whatever's on tap.
Fifty-three minutes. Sixteen tracks. One beer with your name on it.
