Your lockdown walk just got better.

 

The year is 2021.

So far, this writer has spent the entirety of her 29th year in lockdown.

While daily walks are sometimes a blissful 60-odd minutes of silence after the chatter of emails, Zoom and...well...more Zoom, music has often dragged me out the door on days when I thought I barely had the strength to open a window.

Once out, let the endorphin rush begin! Music, movement and fresh air is a combination to be reckoned with indeed.

The playlist below offers an hour of catchy cynicism and catharsis in the form of tunes that will put a spring in your step and hope in your heart.

Click here to get right into it, keep scrolling if you want my rationale (and some honourable mentions) too.

Let's get started, shall we?

Track #1: I Want To Break Free - Queen

If you time the chorus with the moment you open your front door, this walk is going to feel like a real escape, if only for a little while. It's also got an excellent walking tempo that'll put a spring in your step from the get-go.

Track #2: Out In The Street - Bruce Springsteen

This will not be the last you hear from the Boss on this playlist, but if Out In The Street doesn't make you smile at your friendly neighbourhood street that you're secretly really sick of seeing, then what are masks for?

Track #3: I Miss Those Days - Bleachers

Ooft. The angst has hit. Don't you just miss chillin' in your local cafes? And seeing friends? HUGGING PEOPLE? Bleachers to the rescue with this weirdly uplifting melody for a truly bittersweet moment of catharsis that still encourages dancing.

Track #4: Groundhog Day - Em Beihold

Alrighty, let's not let the angst take hold, shall we? Time for a piano-fuelled bop with an all-too-relatable sentiment.

Self-described "Walmart Sara Bareilles" Em Beihold was quite ironically discovered on TikTok with this catchy-as-hell lockdown tune. I feel young and hip having discovered her on Insta myself (before the record labels, btw) and also old and closer to hip replacement, when I remember her age.

Track #5: I'm Still Standing - Elton John

Onwards, troops! Aside from the much-needed kick-ass chorus that will scrape you out of your pit of despair every time, has the line "You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you wear" ever hit harder?

Don't be that wreck. Dance-walk instead.

Track #6: Dancing With Myself - Generation X

When there's no one else in sight in the crowded lonely night...you might be breaking curfew. Best to dance in your kitchen then, but I have been known to do some kerbside skipping ala Gene Kelly in Singin' In The Rain. This far into the lockdown, no one cares.

Track #7: No Surrender - Bruce Springsteen

Okay, time to lengthen the stride slightly - perhaps you've worked up a sweat by now? In any case, mentally bellowing "No retreat baby, no surrender" is therapy of the highest order. With mandatory outdoor masks you can even whisper it to yourself without looking like a total loon!

Track #8: Rollercoaster - Bleachers ft. Charli XCX

Hey Sydney, remember when we were only locking down for 2 weeks? If the daily press conferences have left you with trust issues, turn the volume up a little on this one and remember we're all on this rollercoaster together.

Track #9: In My Feelings  - Lana Del Rey

We've been pounding the pavement for a while, so pull back the pace and enjoy the view - or at least, try to find something you haven't noticed on the last 50 runs of this route. While you do so, revel in Ms Del Rey's uncanny ability to tap right into our feelings with those sensuous vocal cords of hers.

Track #10: House of Cards - Holy Holy

No matter how productive you've been at home, there's this niggling feeling that time in lockdown doesn't really count for anything. If you've felt the frustration of time slipping through your fingers, Holy Holy have your back with this soaring indie rock number: "I feel like I am building houses out of cards /I'm trying not to breathe and not to shake".

Track #11: Out of the Woods - Taylor Swift

In a world where lying on the couch with someone is now illegal unless you're living or sleeping together, Swift's pop anthem captures the uncertainty beautifully. We are definitely not out of the woods yet, but bellowing the chorus may help to relieve anxiety.

Track #12: It's the End of the World As We Know It - R.E.M

Were more comforting words than "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine" ever heard? Not in 2021. Now would be the time to sprint wildly (no one ever said you had to have style) and enjoy that outdoor freedom while it lasts. Who's going back to the confines of their apartment? Not you, yet.

Track #13: Bang! - AJR

It's time to bring your heart rate back down, but not the vibe. Mash the best bits of Cat Empire, Postmodern Jukebox and Twenty One Pilots together and you'll get this quirky eff you to modern life.

Track #14: Hard Times - Paramore

Hayley Williams' simple request hits home with piercing accuracy: "All that I want is to wake up fine / Tell me that I'm alright, that I ain't gonna die". But that catchy chorus won't let you down - hard times never felt so fun!

Track #15: Catch My Disease - Ben Lee

Could Ben Lee's *ahem* infectious hit not be on this playlist? Perhaps, but that would be far less hilarious and happy-making.

Track #16: Reality Check - Lime Cordiale

I realise we're getting more than our recommended daily intake of hand claps by following Ben Lee with this one, but doesn't lockdown all feel a little surreal sometimes? Enter this peppy reality check that may restore a little sanity - worth a try anyway.

Track #17: 5 Years Time - Noah And The Whale

In 5 years time let's hope life is as rosy as this song. (First person to mention climate change is uninvited to this dance party, let's just breathe in those last few minutes of outside air in peace, okay?)

Honourable mentions:

Sparrows and Lilies by Pat Barrett is the prettiest pick-me-up I've heard in a while - save it for your cool down stretches.

The Airborne Toxic Event suddenly have a relevance they never had before - add any of their songs to your walk playlist and you'll still be beautifully in keeping with this mad world simply because of the band name.

The Bitch Is Back (Elton John)...and this time she's called Delta.

Don't Stand So Close To Me was another very obvious song choice that I left out, simply because I can't stand the song. So. Make of that what you will.

What would you add to this lockdown playlist? Comment below!