Gilgamesh’s “Destroy All PT Cruisers” has officially entered my Running/PhysicalExercise Playlist. This is no mere feat of Insider PR-ing. I feel that fellow Ariskany Records mate Gilgamesh has crafted a song worthy of the emotional state needed for X-treme activity.

Running is a horrible activity. I have grown to love it, now having outgrown my self-starving adolescent period I finally eat enough calories each day to get me through some good ol’ fashioned exercise. But back in the day I needed some serious tunes to get me though a punishing workout. I put together countless mixes only to realize that a small handful of songs from my collection could handle the task. In high school they were few:

Grateful Dead – Hard to Handle (From The Phil Zone, back when PigPen was singing)
Rolling Stones – Rocks Off (From Exile on Main St.)
? – There were a couple others, but these two stand out.

These songs could get my blood pumping – that combined with my endorphins made for a serious runner’s high. I would then usually run way too fast and tire myself out early, but damn if it didn’t feel good.

What songs didn’t work? “White Light/White Heat” comes to mind. Man, what a pumping and breathing and chugging track by the Velvet Underground, and yet when that song came on my energy dropped and I felt my body all over. The tempo drops just enough and maybe Mo’s drumming just wasn’t tight enough. I wouldn’t have that brilliant track any other way, but it lacked the tenacity to be a part of a running mix.

So why does “PT Cruisers” work? Maybe it’s the triple drum machine attack. Maybe the incessant guitar line. (As a side note, I got to hear this maybe two years before Gilgamesh finally unleashed it and had the drum and guitar track stuck in my brain… FOR TWO YEARS). I love how a couple minutes in, that third drum machine finally jumps into focus in the left speaker and begins the back and forth motion every two bars. When that left drum machine plays you feel every 8th note. But it drops out after two bars! In the vacuum the two other drum machines click away, but now we’re only feeling the first beat of every bar. This back and forth occurs for the rest of the song. It’s fast enough, “PT Cruisers.” Also Gilgamesh delivers lyrics with a wonderful biting, yet absurd tone. Perfect for shouting along with the run.

I must be off to class. But here’s my short list for running:

This Heat – Health and Efficiency
Lightning Bolt – Two Towers
Gilgamesh – Destroy All PT Cruisers

(they’re long songs, and I never run that long anywayssssszzzzz)