Track And Trail

Musician Ben Gibbard’s perfect playlist

A musician and ultra runner on a playlist that will go the distance

IT’S NOT UNUSUAL

for Ben Gibbard, frontman of indie-rock band Death Cab for Cutie, to knock out a 25-mile run a few hours before he takes the stage. ‘I kind of dig having that postlong-run exhaustion on tour,’ says the 40-year-old singer, who logs 60-70 miles a week. Gibbard has run more than 20 ultra marathons since 2013, including his first 100-miler last August. When it comes to combining his passions, he strays from the standard approach of building a playlist based on beats per minute (BPM). ‘If someone is trying to break a time and needs to maintain a certain pace, BPM could help,’ he says, ‘but I’m not particularly that guy.’ Instead, Gibbard prefers tracks that are more in tune with his running style – long and meandering. Here are his playlist rules…

SET THE MOOD

‘I want songs that work as background music and don’t dictate my running experience or pace. I love the band Explosions in the Sky. Their music is beautiful, cinematic and lolling.’

GO LONG

‘When I’m listening to three-minute songs, I find myself in a panic. Shorter songs are a marker of time, as in, “Five songs have played and I’ve only run two miles!” The last time I used music in a race, I listened to Sister Ray by the Velvet Underground. It’s like a 20-minute jam. It hit my mood at a time when I was suffering and it propelled me forward.’

TRY KRAUTROCK

‘One of the defining characteristics of Krautrock is that it’s driving and hypnotic. You can get lost in it. There’s a song by Spiritualized that I love called I Think

I’m in Love, which has a long Krautrock-trance intro. Our band’s attempt at Krautrock is an eightminute version of one of our songs, I Will Possess Your Heart.’ TUNE OUT, TUNE IN ‘I enjoy being in the woods and having a break from music. But I usually bring an ipod shuffle for late on in a race. The last 20 miles, I really need something else to focus on.’