Workout got you down? Pandora hopes to help
The online, personalized radio service announces a new genre of workout stations, and they're debuting 12 stations that users can refine, personalize, and approve or (disapprove).
If you're like me, a jog without music just drags. Visions of the proverbial gerbil on the exercise wheel penetrate the brain, and the miles go by achingly slowly. Add the right song, at the right volume, and suddenly the run becomes something akin to enjoyable.
Recognizing the value of a good workout station, Pandora today announced a new workout genre with 12 stations. And the winners are:
'80s Cardio (Michael Jackson, Journey)
Alternative Endurance Training (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime)
Classic Rock Power Workout (Queen, Aerosmith)
Country Fitness (Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum)
Dance Cardio (Tiesto, David Guetta)
Electronic Cardio (Daft Punk, Diplo)
Hard Rock Strength Training (Three Days Grace, Linkin Park)
Pop and Hip Hop Power Workout (Black Eyed Peas, Beyoncé)
Pop Fitness (Maroon 5, Train)
Rap Strength Training (Snoop Dogg, Eminem)
Yoga (Brian Eno, Deep Forest)
Yoga Workout (LTJ Bukem, J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science)
"People have been asking for stations designed specifically to get their blood pumping during workouts," says Deborah Roth, vice president of corporate communications, in a press release. "We created 12 great stations from various starting points across the music universe, everything from '80s to country to hard rock, all geared toward giving people energizing music to listen to while they're exercising."
Prefer your rap to include Q-Tip instead of Eminem? Rather have The Knife over Maroon 5 for Pop Fitness? This is the beauty of Pandora, people. Rename the station. Fine-tune future selections with thumbs-ups and thumbs-downs on the songs you hear. Skip ahead if it's just OK. Share it with a friend if you can't get enough.
Unfortunately, the 12 new workout stations don't as of yet allow users to manually add certain artists or songs via the Add Variety button. And if you skip a song, you have to listen to an ad. (Thumbs down skips a song without automatically triggering an ad, but you'll never hear it on that station again.) These are simply 12 starting points for those who didn't feel like creating their own.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if Daft Punk gets me feeling like I could make it all the way around the world. Let's just hope I don't have to suffer through too many ads to find it.