6 Songs for Cross-Training

I broke my knee. Here's what I'm listening to while I recover.

Back in February I managed to tear my meniscus and stress-fracture my tibia. It sucks, but sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you.

I’m not a huge fan of cross training (as noted to

Raziq Rauf

in a post about injury). But at a certain point you’ve got to keep some basic fitness, so I’ve been on the spin bike and lifting weights.

Working out indoors, means I’m listening to a lot more music than usual. I figured while I’m sitting there on the bike, I might as well recommend some favorite tunes.

Here’s Volume 1 of Footnotes Splits, a short playlist of jams for running, cycling, and more. Uptempo, wide-ranging, and a little cerebral, these aren’t your typical mix of jock jams or four-on-the-floor electro-drops.

Hope you find 1-2 tracks that you enjoy. Happy listening!

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1) Imogen Heap, Young Marco remix: What You Say

I’ve been a fan of Imogen Heap since my sophomore year of college when I heard “Hide and Seek” and it blew my mind. The electronic a cappella track, was recorded in a late-night studio session using a vocoder because Heap’s computer had crashed.

“I recorded it in, like, four-and-a-half minutes, and it ended up on the album in exactly the structure of how it came out of me then. I love it because it doesn't feel like my song. It just came out of nowhere, and I'm not questioning that one at all.” — 2006 interview with Imogen Heap

“Hide and Seek” was a breakout hit, partly because of “that” O.C. scene.¹ With his 2024 remix, Amsterdam DJ Young Marco has brought Heap onto the dance floor and the Peloton workout. The remix updates this Millennial tentpole into an absolute bop.

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2) John Butler Trio: Fire in the Sky

The album Grand National is a reflection of its time: post-Katrina, post-9/11, and on the edge of economic meltdown when the wreckage of the Iraq War had become obvious to everyone.

When the Spotify algo popped up “Fire in the Sky,” it sent me right back to those days of ruinous stupidity, but also hope and defiance. Butler’s lap steel is virtuosic, erupting into a solo that will raise your pulse, fist, and pace. At least it does for an aging Millennial like me.

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3) Qrion: Your Love

I discovered Qrion, an electronic house artist from Sapporo, just before we had our daughter. In the struggle of those early, unsettled months, I’d listen to her flowy tracks to stay awake without getting too amped or anxious.

Now I’m loving her music while I spin at 90 BPM. This melodic house track works beautifully when you need to settle into a rhythm or ride the lactic edge of sustainable discomfort.

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Related from Footnotes

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4) Michael Giacchino: The Batman

I wasn’t enraptured by The Batman, the latest film revamp of the caped crusader. It’s a pretty film, but too moody, too plodding, too … wet. (Seriously, everyone is constantly soaked, rained on, or stuck in flood water.)

Michael Giacchino’s score has stuck with me though. It’s brooding and haunted and loud. I’ve started listening to his Batman theme on bike rides into work before morning design reviews, when I have to “perform” presenting work and responding to feedback.

The theme song centers on a four-note motif on the piano: Bb, Bb, Bb, Gb. It’s a grimoire riff, sharing the same minor key as Chopin’s funeral march.

The track swells with some string work before winding down. But then the ominous riff returns, now ticking with a high-hat cymbal adding pace. Eventually the brass kicks in with a terrifying glower. It’ll lend you that “I am vengeance” energy when you need to step up.

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5) Wokeups: fragged aht

A recent Atlantic piece from Spencer Kornhaber examines criticism from

Ted Gioia

, Dean Kissick, and others that we’ve entered a cultural dark age of stagnation and decline.

Sure, probably. But Kornhaber isn’t convinced, so he digs beneath the surface layer of streaming slop, rehashed pop, and identity politics to find some pretty good stuff.

That includes a song from underground hip-hop artist wokeups.

“Hitting that note like he’s trying to pierce the veil of reality or some shit” —YouTube comment

Kornhaber notes wokeups as representative of loose, fluid hip-hop culture that’s innovating through Internet communities of beat swaps and software plugins. “fragged aht” is an undulating filtered-voice track that crescendos in electronic waves that crash over you with each listen. And I can’t stop listening.

6) MASTER BOOT RECORD: CONFIG.SYS

I discovered Master Boot Record from a music-league competition at work. This chiptune, synth-heavy instrumentation mashes up classical themes with rock-heavy anthems. It’s like Kraftwerk and Mozart had a love child with Swedish power-metal band Sabaton.

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7) Alesso: Pressure (remix)

This is an oldie house track I put on every hill-workout playlist. Indeed, it can take some credit for a couple Lake Tahoe Relay wins my club team notched when I pulled us back from second place against plucky squads from the West Valley Track Club on the big climbs near Emerald Bay.

No notes here. It’s just a banger. Turn it up, put your head down, and kick to the finish.

Here’s the full playlist on Spotify:

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What workout songs have caught your ear? I’d love your recommendations while I’m healing up!

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Tweets of the Week

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Coming up

On our obsession with protein bars—a maximalist history on why we’re eating so much protein slop. Coming to subscribers in a future post.

1. The SNL skit parodying the O.C. scene is also great and features basically every famous actor and comedian of the 2010s.