Fearless Freaks (Genius Playlist)

Distance - Approx 4.5miles Time - 37:12

https://www.justgiving.com/Andy-Johnson71

Three laps of Albert Park (round the outside - as Malcolm MacLaren might say). Surprisingly few other runners out but the heat today might be a clue to that. I'm sitting here drenched. Managed pretty well, took it easy and didn't give up after 2 laps which is often what I've done lately. I reckon, strangely, the music may have played a part...

Soundtrack - iPod genius playlist

Pressed Shuffle on the newly restored iPod and up came No Complaints by Beck. Then pressed Genius to create a playlist of related/similar stuff and what follows is the playlist it came up with. All these artists have an experimental streak so there were a few moments when I was tempted to skip extended intros but all were sonically interesting and diverting on a longer run. Might be the way forward.

No Complaints - Beck - Later era Beck after he had something of an identity crisis, releasing a career high in the soulful country of the Sea Change album which, typically, failed to set the world alight. He returned to the sugar rush of samples and funky beats for The Information and Guero / Guerolito albums which never quite captured the wonderfully playful Odelay. Decent stuff though still. If you're going to buy an album by him then Odelay or the beautiful and ageless Mutations are my recommendations.

Store Bought Bone - The Raconteurs. Jack White and Brendan Benson team up to make gnat's chuff tight bluesey alt-rock. Not quite as good as the sum of its parts.

Catch Hell Blues - The White Stripes. This took a while to kick in but it was all blood and thunder from then on. Many criticise Meg White's drumming but it suits perfectly. If it were any more complex I think we'd miss the bass guitar more but she holds the songs down around Jack's slacker-virtuoso riffing.

One More Robot - Flaming Lips. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is far from my favourite Lips album but it has its charms. They seemed to be trying to mesh together their acid-dripped Americana with modern tech-based beats and blips. it occasionally triumphed and this is almost there. A heartfelt. surprisingly well constructed song about a robot dreaming of being human.

New Genious - Gorillaz. The first curveball of the playlist really. I had expected solely US based alt-rock from the first few tracks but this dubby number fitted well. Gorillaz, for all their commerciality in terms of image, present an image of a dirty, dystopian world and Damon Albarn's childish, wistful vocals set a melancholic tone.

It Beats 4 U - My Morning Jacket. From their, again slightly dubby, album Z this track reminded me of why they are such a great band. The first album I bought was At Dawn which is very much a precursor to Fleet Foxes reverb drenched sound but Z is an altogether more modern affair. Ironic since Fleet Foxes essentially regurgitated their earlier sound to global acclaim and success whilst My Morning Jacket drifted into. arguably, less effective sonic territory from here. Here's a great acoustic version of this otherwise beat-driven song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DEsEHoWC60

Black Wave/Bad Vibrations - Arcade Fire. From their zeitgeist capturing second album Neon Bible. Less satisfying, for me, than their epochal first "Funeral" but very much with its own charms. It's a dark mood throughout, with the exception perhaps of No Cars Go which was a much earlier song anyway. Neon Bible captures the world in division and despair and America in particular at a gloomy crossroad.

Electioneering - Radiohead. Another surprise. I was just into the third lap when this existential glam-stomper came on and it really lifted my energy. I've never fully leapt into the world of Radiohead but their a band I really like when I hear them. Probably go on one of my fixated "absorb the whole back-catalogue" sprees one day.

Queen Bitch - David Bowie. As much as I love Bowie this is, in some ways, a case for the opposition. A great seedy proto-glam rock track that essentially tries to out-reed Lou Reed. One of my favourite early Reed tracks is Wild Child from his hit and miss first solo album and this is clearly from a similar template. The problem with it is, I suppose, the lack of sincerity. It's clearly trying to work some of Reed's street mojo. It is, however, from my favourite Bowie album Hunky Dory. Not entirely indicative of the overall sound on the album though, which includes Life On Mars, Changes and Kooks. It did help keep the energy up though!

Une Anne Sans Lumiere - Arcade Fire. A solemn moment from their classic first album "Funeral". I co-directed a production of The Crucible when this came out and used the "quieter" tracks to soundtrack the pre-show as the young cast lay "asleep" on stage as the audience entered. It worked a treat and the cast were curious as to the origins of the music. Funeral evokes beautiful souls lost in the world. As the track works it way towards the end a punkish, upbeat section kicks in and this led me to a sprint finish, ending precisely on the final chord. Always a treat when the playlist soundtracks the run so perfectly.