Best Running Song for July!

Jumping into the Wayback Machine for this month's pick...and we're going way, way back.

Back to when I was in 8th grade! Now that's going back, back, back...and it's over the wall!

So the year is 1980 and a new band arrives on the scene that's a bizarre mix of England and Akron, Ohio. That's right, it's the Pretenders. In my opinion, you've got the best female vocalist of all time and, in this early line-up, an absolutely top drawer backing band coming together to make some of the best punk rock of all-time. And yes, although people these days would shove the Pretenders into "classic" rock, they were on the other side of the punk line back then, similar to the early albums from the Clash.

So the first two Pretenders albums had a lot to choose from, but how can you not want to run to "Tattooed Love Boys"? What a great, fast-burner of a song. Over 30 years old and it sounds fresher than 99% of the stuff you hear on the radio today.

This one is a 5k song for sure. You'll kill yourself if you try to keep pace to this on anything over 5k.

Try the album version first.

Then taste this awesome live track.

Also, "Precious" is a great running song. Check out the album version here.

And a nice live version here.

Rest in Peace James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon. They never did it better than you guys did it.

Past Best Running Songs:
June: The Wombats / "Moving to New York"
May: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros / "40 Day Dream"
April: Foxy Shazam / "Unstoppable"
March: Pharrell / "Fun Fun Fun"
February: Puff Daddy / "Come With Me"
January: We Are Scientists / "The Great Escape"
December: Cee Lo Green / "F**k You"
November: Tokyo Police Club / "Breakneck Speed"
October: Two Door Cinema Club / "Something Good Can Work"
September: Stone Temple Pilots / "Cinnamon"
August: Louis XIV / "Guilt by Association"
July: Devo / "Fresh"
June: Saliva / "Your Disease"
May: Metric / "Gold Guns Girls"
April: OK Go / "This Too Shall Pass"
March: The Hours / "Ali In The Jungle"
February: Los Fabulosos Cadillacs / "El Matador"
January: White Rabbits / "Percussion Gun"
December: Deftones / "Knife Prty"
November: The Kooks / "Always Where I Need To Be"
October: At the Drive In / "One Armed Scissor"
September: Silversun Pickups / "Lazy Eye"
August: Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros / "Johnny Appleseed"
July: Deathray / "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)"
June: Raconteurs / "Salute Your Solution"
May: Tea Party / "Save Me"
April: Bloc Party / "Like Eating Glass"
Ever: The English Beat / "I Confess"