By Ty Jackson, Contributor
As a college student, I feel it is important to find ways to nourish the body and mind. To relieve the pressure I have, I head to the Kelly Commons Fitness Center on a regular basis to get some exercise. Regardless of what type of exercises people do at the gym, I often notice people multitasking in some way.
As people do their gym routine, they may be listening to a podcast, watching a movie, or talking with a friend while exercising.
I multitask by listening to my music library while working out, which always motivates me. For today’s edition of Jasper Jams, I’ve curated what I consider to be the best songs to play to rile you up for whatever type of exercise you plan on doing next. Hopefully, these songs will get you locked in just as much as they do for me.
No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age
This song is essential for my workout mix because it gets you immediately pumped up with its catchy guitar riffs. The song is sung in a way where Josh Homme’s vocals express raw emotion, leaving me in the moment. The whole song gives off vibes of The Beatles, but if The Beatles used questionable substances to write music. Regardless, this song is perfect if you put all your energy into something, not just exercise.
Favorite Verse: “I journey through the desert / Of the mind with no hope / I follow / I drift along the ocean / Dead lifeboat in the sun / And come undone / Pleasantly caving in / I come undone.”
Face to Face by Daft Punk
Daft Punk are absolute titans when it comes to the EDM genre. There are dozens of their songs I could’ve selected; practically all of them are perfect for a gym session, but I ended up choosing this one, which I feel combines the best of their funky and fresh beats while also having deep lyrics. The song is about facing reality and confronting your emotions in the moment, which I feel is relatable and encouraging. Combine that with the song’s heavy use of synthesizers and samples from artists like Electric Light Orchestra, and you have a song that’s ideal for any instance where you need to be motivated.
Favorite Verse: “What’s going on? Could this be my understanding? / It’s not your fault I was being too demanding / I must admit, it’s my pride that made me distant / All because I hoped that you’d be someone different
Pet Cheetah by Twenty One Pilots
If you want to unleash the most feral and blood-hungry parts of your mind, Twenty One Pilots has you covered. Sometimes, you feel trapped in your anxieties, and all you want to do is escape; all you can do is wonder what to do next. Then you realize all you must do is take your troubles and keep moving forward. When Tyler Joseph sings, “I wanna stop time, I’ll sit here ‘till I find the problem,” I felt that! Coupled with the immaculate percussion provided by Josh Dun, this song is wonderful all around, especially when you need to hype yourself up.
Favorite Verse: “I am on an island, no one to confide / Eight days straight, eight hours each and not one line / I can feel pressure start to possess my mind / So, I’ll take this beat I should delete to exercise.”
Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse
Now, we’ve come back to the songs with major intensity. This song is about finding your inner power incarnate. This song uses its orchestral sound to great benefit, almost feeling like you’re in an action movie. While the song never mentions anything about butterflies or hurricanes, you genuinely feel the immersion that you’re surrounded by those two words that don’t make much sense when put together. Not much else to say. Instant banger.
Favorite Verse: “Change everything you are / And everything you were / Your number has been called / Fights and battles have begun / Revenge will surely come / Your hard times are ahead.”
Lies by CHVRCHES
I like CHVRCHES because my twin likes CHVRCHES. I can guarantee they watch Love Island instead of listening to music when they work out, but this one’s for you, Frida! This song’s energetic techno beats are on full display, making you want to get up and do something productive. That feeling is found in the lyrics, too, saying there will always be people around to support you through good times and bad. This song is an upbeat, robotic hodgepodge of positive vibes to challenge discomfort. This is precisely the type of song you would hear being played during an ’80s gym montage.
Favorite Verse: “Icon of symmetry, swallowing sides / Fall down in front of me, follow my eyes / But I’ve got to see you moving, waste no time / Teach me, make me holy ‘till / I can sell you lies.”
Borderline by Tame Impala
If you couldn’t already tell by my previous song choices, I like to listen to songs that have a variety of instruments used in their production. With this song, every instrument, every note stands out on its own, leaving you with no choice but to bust a move somehow. When you’re working out, you’re already moving your body at total capacity, so why not listen to this song? It’s also a song that ties back into anxieties and being pushed to your limits. Sometimes, all you need to do is connect with yourself no matter what you’re doing, and you’re golden.
Favorite Verse: “Here I go / Quite a show for a loner in L.A. / I wonder how I managed to end up in this place / Where I couldn’t get away.”
Closer by Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is a band that has been around since my early childhood. It’s only recently that I heard another one of their songs and came across this one. This song is captivating with its ominous instrumentals and profound messages of recovery and vulnerability. Very few songs have sent me directly into the world it creates, like this one has. In the sense of an intense workout session, this song should make you want to push everything to the absolute maximum, proving to yourself you can demolish any obstacle in your path.
Favorite Verse: “Driven by the strangle of vein / Showing no mercy, I’d do it again / Open up your eyes / You keep on crying, baby, I’ll bleed you dry / Skies, they blink at me / I see a storm bubbling up from the sea / And it’s coming closer.”
Berzerk by Eminem
Eminem is one of the Hip-Hop GOATs, and I don’t care what anyone says. This song, in particular, is the song you play when you need a friend to put you in an ecstatic mood. If you have this song in your workout rotation, just remember to savor the life you have, no matter how insane you make it. In addition to the banger rhymes, Eminem consistently adds to his raps and samples from songs by Billy Squire and the Beastie Boys. I’d put this song up there as one of Marshall’s best.
Favorite Verse: “Just like I did with addiction, I’m ’bout to kick it / Like a magician, critics I turn to crickets / Got ’em still on the fence whether to picket / But quick to get it impaled when I tell ’em, “Stick it!” / So sick, I’m looking pale—wait, that’s my pigment / ‘Bout to go ham, ya bish, shout out to Kendrick”