Like for most other people, music plays a vital role in my everyday life. Since I unfortunately do not have any skills and talents with regard to neither singing nor playing, in my case it is all related to listening and to lesser extent writing.

However, I actually produced a couple of rap songs in the early 2000s, and might very well compose some more in the future, since I do have both beats and the ability to create pretty decent lyrics in English and Swedish.

I started to write about music in 2005, and up until 2013 I wrote for Scandinavia’s most long-lived metal and alternative magazine, Close-up, which was from time to time very constructive. I think that my best memory in this respect is from the itinerant emo/punk festival Vans Warped tour in New York City in August of 2005. I have also reviewed live shows in for instance Hollywood, Paris, Stockholm and at Hultsfredsfestivalen.

Music is both trivial and deeply important, which makes it – at least momentarily – pretty interesting to share preferences and ideas with other people. As a consequence of modernity and globalization, the consumption of music in the ‘public sphere’ is generally more individualized than before, a phenomenon that manifests itself not the least when people do listen to particular material which they like in earphones. However, live concerts and music in other contexts of the ‘public sphere’ (I write this with quote marks since the differences between private and public sphere tend to be blurry, and the general distinction in itself is largely a social construct of liberal thought) do also make it into an actual or potentially shared and group-related phenomenon.

For me personally, as a promoter of a particular ideal, I do consequently listen to both classic ‘high culture’ music and late-modern genres such as metal, punk, K-pop, J-rock, hip hop and a lot of hard-to-classify alternative and more of less hybridized styles such as ambient, electronica, house, dubstep, crust, progressive rock and music from various films.

And what do I listen when I hit weights in the gym? What makes me motivated inside my individual shell? Generally, I do listen to the same things in the gym as in other contexts and locations, but some of my favorite groups of all time, such as Neurosis, Rush and Dead Can Dance, do actually not fit very well within this setting.

Whether if it is metal, hardcore, pop, hip hop or electronic dance music, it has to be more or less energetic and not too slow in regard to structure and pace. Hence, that kind of preferences will reflect upon my regular playlist (i.e. the songs and albums that I listen to most in the particular time-space which constitutes to lift weights and have a rather high pulse for about 90 minutes.)

Below are some of the things that I listen to. In order to avoid misunderstandings, I have emphasized if it is a song or an album in brackets. As one may notice, the contents of the playlist is quite diverse with some extraordinary contrasts, but I do of course have periods during which I listen to more alternative stuff, or the other way around.

Liksom för många andra människor utgör musik en viktig del i mitt vardagsliv. Eftersom jag dessvärre inte har några färdigheter i det avseendet, och följaktligen inte kan spela något som helst instrument eller sjunga särskilt bra, är det dock enbart relaterat till lyssnande och i mindre utsträckning skrivande.

Dock har jag faktiskt gjort ett antal raplåtar under början av 2000-talet och funderar på att göra fler någon gång i framtiden, då jag både har en del bra beats och förmågan att skriva relativt bra texter på både engelska och svenska.

Jag började skriva om musik i början av 2005, och fram till 2013 skrev jag för Skandinaviens mest långlivade metal- och alternativtidskrift, Close-up Magazine. En av höjdpunkterna var då jag skrev om den ambulerande emo/punkfestivalen Vans warped tour i New York City 2005, men jag har även recenserat spelningar i L.A., Paris, Stockholm och Hultsfredsfestivalen.

Musik är både trivialt och djupsinnigt, vilket gör det tämligen intressant att dela med andra. Som en konsekvens av moderniteten och globalisering, har musikkonsumtionen i den ”offentliga sfären” generellt sett blivit mer individualiserad än tidigare, vilket tar sig uttryck i att människor lyssnar på sådant stoff som de som individer gillar i hörlurar. Inom livesituationer och i vissa andra särskilda offentliga sammanhang blir det dock en mer kollektiv upplevelse.

För mig personligen, som förespråkare av ett särskilt ideal, lyssnar jag bade på musik som är mer “högkulturell” (klassiskt) men även en mängd senmoderna genrer och subgenrer som metal, punk, hiphop, K-pop, J-rock och en mängd svårkategoriserade och hybridiserade stilar som ambient, electronica, dubstep, house, progressiv rock och diverse filmmusik.

Och vad lyssnar jag då på när jag lyfter vikter i gymmet? Vad är det som gör mig motiverad inuti mitt individuella skal? Generellt lyssnar jag på samma musik som i andra sammanhang, men några av mina absoluta favoritgrupper, som Neurosis, Dead can dance och Rush passar inte riktigt i det avseendet.

Oavsett om det är metal, hardcore, pop, hiphop eller elektronisk dansmusik, bör innehållet vara energiskt och inte för långsamt. Därför påverkar det i sin tur min gym-playlist.

Nedan följer en del exempel på artister och grupper och deras respektive låtar och/eller album som jag tenderar att avnjuta under ett pass. Som kan noteras är innehållet väldigt varierat, med några rejäla ytterligheter, men självfallet förekommer perioder med mer alternativ musik eller det omvända.

21NE1 – I am the best (song)
Big business – Head for the swallow (album)
BoA – Eat you up (song)
BoA – Energetic (song)
Converge – Petitioning the empty sky (album)
Converge – You fail me (album)
Datsik – Game over (song)
Desire – Under your spell (song from Drive original soundtrack)
Dj Honda feat. Mos Def – Travellin’ man (song)
Dj Shadow – Building steam with a grain of salt (song)
Dj Shadow – Stem (long version, song)
Dissection – Reinkaos (album)
Dissection – Storm of the light’s bane (album)
Exo-K – Growl (song)
Exo-K – Heart attack (song)
Exo-K – Mama (song)
Exo-K – Wolf (song)
F(x) – Nu ABO (song)
F(x) – Rainbow (song)
F(x) – Red light (song)
Girls’ generation – Bad girl (song)
Girls’ generation – I got a boy (song)
Girls’ generation – Mr. Mr. (song)
Girls’ generation – Reflection (song)
Girls’ generation – T.O.P. (song)
Girls’ generation – XYZ (song)
Hatebreed – The rise of brutality (album)
Kottonmouth Kings – Mile high (album)
Lana Del Rey – Born to die (Gemini remix, song)
Mars volta – De-loused in the comatorium (album)
Meg & Dia – Monsters (DOT Exe remix, song)
My favorite – Homeless club kids (Alexander Perls remix, song)
Nero – Solid air (song)
Nine inch nails – The perfect drug (song)
Nine inch nails – Somewhat damaged (song)
Shinee – Lucifer (song)
Shinee – Ring ding dong (song)
Super Junior – Bonamana (song)
Super Junior – Mr. simple (song)
Super Junior – Sexy, free and single (song)
Today is the day – In the eyes of god (album)
TVXQ – Catch me (song)
TVXQ – Keep your head down (song)
Will Haven – Ego’s game (song)