Throwback Training Tunes - 1981 edition

Quick recap of the method behind my musical madness:

Recognizing that I’ve got some serious fatigue with my current iPod residents, I’m challenging myself to try and come up with an honest-to-goodness running song from each of the last 20 years of the 20th century (1980-1999). Mainstream to alternative, well-known to abundantly obscure, anything is a potential candidate. I’m test-driving anything I post with a listen during at least two attempts to drag my carcass through a training run, and trying to link to a video or audio-clip of the song so we can all remember how awesome we looked in our killer 80s and 90s fashions. Pegged acid-wash jeans and a rockin’ mullet for this runner. Good times …. good times.

Prior Throwbacks:

‘Look to the Sky’ by the March Violets (1986)
‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ by LL Cool J (1990)

Today’s Throwback:

‘Ceremony’ by New Order (1981) – New Order is a very black or white group with most people. They either like them or have no interest in them. I fall into the ‘like them’ camp, but I find my feelings about their individual songs are somewhat black or white. I either really like a song, or just don’t care for it. Not much gray area. This is one of their top 5 for me, and until I started putting this list together I never realized or considered what a great running song this is for me. The first song on any of my playlists is a critical position for me. It needs to have a good intro, a nice gradual build, and ideally be something that matches the general mood as the sun is just starting to rise. Gets the brain working, the blood pumping, and sets the tone for the miles ahead. I had never found a first-song that could match the live version of Bad by U2 from the Wide Awake in America Album, which I never seem to get tired of despite having listened to it enough that it is tattoed on my eardrums. I think I may have finally found a worthy foe with this one. The history of this song is pretty interesting, and a bit tragic, with the end of Joy Division and the start of New Order, but it’s one of the first songs from New Order, and arguably one of their best. There are several versions of this song available, some by other artists (Joy Division, Radiohead, etc.), and a few different versions by New Order. I’d recommend the version from the New Order – Singles album.