psychobilly

Upright bass at 180 BPM solves most running problems

By Rob Gordon

Look, I get it. You tell someone you run to psychobilly and they look at you like you just admitted to collecting troll dolls. "What even IS that?" they ask, and you know they're picturing some basement show in 1983 where everyone's wearing brothel creepers and pomade.

But here's the thing about psychobilly that nobody talks about: it's the perfect running music because it refuses to sit still. You've got the manic energy of punk—three chords, no apologies—married to rockabilly's propulsive rhythm section. That slap bass isn't just decoration; it's a metronome that keeps your cadence honest. The Misfits understood this better than most. They're technically horror-punk, but they're all over these playlists because Glenn Danzig knew that 180 BPM and supernatural dread is a combination that gets your feet moving.

I started running to this stuff on accident. Had a mix tape—yeah, tape—that I'd made for the store, and one morning I grabbed it instead of whatever Springsteen garbage I'd been overplaying. Five miles later on the Lakefront Trail, I'm sprinting the last quarter-mile to "Astro Zombies" and realizing I've been smiling like an idiot for twenty minutes. That doesn't happen with your dad's Eagles records.

The secret is that psychobilly doesn't let you wallow. You can't have an existential crisis at mile six when some maniac is howling about hot rods and grave-robbing over a stand-up bass that sounds like it's being physically assaulted. It's too ridiculous, too alive, too committed to its own absurdity. Your legs hurt? Yeah, well, the Cramps ran on cigarettes and chaos and still made "Goo Goo Muck." You can finish your tempo run.

This isn't background music. This is music that makes demands. And sometimes, that's exactly what a run needs.

6 playlists

Top 10 Psychobilly Running Songs

These tracks appear across multiple curated psychobilly running playlists.

  1. 1. Attitude — Misfits
  2. 2. Some Kinda Hate - C.I. Recording 1978 — Misfits
  3. 3. After the Party — The Menzingers
  4. 4. American Nightmare - New Found Sounds Studios 1981 — Misfits
  5. 5. Bad Mouth — Fugazi
  6. 6. Be All, End All — Anthrax
  7. 7. Big Lizard — The Dead Milkmen
  8. 8. Black Sap Scriptures — Plague Vendor
  9. 9. Bluebird — Blu Rum 13
  10. 10. Break — Fugazi

Frequently Asked Questions

What pace should I run when listening to psychobilly?

Honestly? Psychobilly works best for tempo runs and anything where you're flirting with discomfort. Most of this stuff sits between 170-190 BPM, which is perfect for that 'comfortably hard' zone where you're breathing heavy but still in control. The Misfits tracks hit right around 180, which is cadence gold. Don't waste this on recovery runs—you'll end up running faster than you should and wondering why your easy day turned into a threshold workout. Save the psychobilly for when you actually want to push.

I've never heard psychobilly before. Where do I start?

Start with the Misfits. I know, technically they're horror-punk, but they're the gateway drug here—they show up in five out of six playlists in this category for a reason. 'Die Die My Darling' or 'Hybrid Moments' will tell you everything you need to know about whether this genre works for you. If you hear that and think 'this is stupid,' fine, go back to your classic rock. But if you hear it and immediately want to sprint until your lungs explode, welcome. You're one of us now.

Is psychobilly too aggressive for long runs?

Too aggressive? Maybe. But also maybe that's the point. Look, I wouldn't queue up psychobilly for an entire marathon—you'd be cooked by mile ten—but for a hard long run or the back half when you need to dig deep? Absolutely. The aggression cuts through the fatigue. When everything hurts and you've got five miles left, you don't need some ambient chill-out garbage. You need music that's angrier than you are, that makes your problems feel small and ridiculous. That's psychobilly's specialty.

What's the BPM range for most psychobilly running music?

You're looking at 170-195 BPM for most of the psychobilly that works for running. It's fast, but it's not thrash-metal chaos—there's still structure, still groove. That slap bass keeps everything locked in rhythmically even when the guitars are losing their minds. The sweet spot is around 180 BPM, which syncs beautifully with a good cadence. Some tracks push higher, but anything over 200 starts feeling like you're being chased by bees, which has its place but isn't sustainable for a full workout.

Why is there so much horror and monster imagery in psychobilly? Does that help with running?

The whole horror aesthetic is part of the deal—B-movie monsters, zombies, hot rod hearses, the works. Does it help with running? Weirdly, yes. There's something about music that doesn't take itself seriously that makes hard runs easier. You're suffering through mile repeats while someone screams about werewolves, and suddenly your own drama feels less important. It's permission to be ridiculous. Plus, when you're oxygen-deprived at the end of a hard effort, embracing the absurd is sometimes the only way through. The Misfits built a career on this. Trust the process.