Half-Hour Energy: An Action Video Soundtrack

You’ve mastered your snowboard or your jet-ski or your pogo stick. You’ve got your BIOS 1080p bullet cam strapped or mounted on to yourself somewhere. You captured some amazing POV action cam footage of your rad tricks and thrilling stunts. But now, what music are you going to put on the soundtrack?

I was hoping you’d ask that question. I’m Meh contributor @JasonToon, and every Sunday in this space, I post a weekend playlist instead of going into detail about whatever product we happen to be selling that day. Despite my sedentary tendencies, today I’m tackling the challenge of compiling the ultimate action-cam soundtrack. You can also just hit play on this YouTube playlist, if that’s easier. Some of the language in these songs is not safe for work or kids, in case your tolerance for profanity is less extreme than your tolerance for action.

D.I. - “OC Life” (1985)
California punk has long been mixed up with extreme sports, from the earliest skateboard videos to the whole Warped Tour/X-Games mini-industry. So we’ll start with this exemplar of the dynamic, melodic SoCal sound from surf brats D.I.

Johnny & the Hurricanes - “Crossfire” (1959)
Speaking of which, “Crossfire” starts with proto-surf guitar before a raging sax swoops in to kick it into another gear entirely.

The Rapture - “Get Myself Into It” (2006)
The rousing disco-punk of the Rapture illustrates that action doesn’t always have to be about pure speed.

Blind Idiot God - “More Time” (1987)
Blind Idiot God were the most acclaimed underground band to emerge from my hometown, St. Louis, in the ‘80s. Their instrumental metal-noise-funk-dub was always a little too brainy for a yokel like me to really get into. But here they turn the Meters’ “More Time” into an exhilarating Hendrix/Zeppelin monster.

Sleaford Mods - “Routine Dean” (2014)
I almost didn’t want to include Sleaford Mods on this list, on the off chance that they might notice and eviscerate me for every shallow, hypocritical thing I’ve ever done. But Britain’s angriest, funniest ranters are too great to ignore, so I’ll just have to take that chance.

Santiago Rebelde - “Maldito Querer” (1996)
I have no idea what Chile’s greatest ska band are singing about here, which is maybe why it hasn’t aged as badly as the dopey ska that came out of America at the same time.

James Brown - “Hey America (Sing-Along)” (1970)
Smart idea for James Brown to put an instrumental version on the b-side of the funkiest Christmas song ever recorded, “Hey America (It’s Christmas Time)”. Now we can enjoy this outstanding groove 365 days a year.

GBH - “City Baby Attacked By Rats” (1982)
The kind of pure blazing high-energy fury that makes you use terms like “pure blazing high-energy fury” without feeling like an idiot. Maybe it’s grimly ironic to use a howl of urban decay to soundtrack your rad snowboard flips, but those riffs won’t care.

Nom de Strip vs. Nezzo - “Sushi of God” (2014)
Two artists I know nothing about, working in a genre I know nothing about, on a song I know nothing about - except that it’s COMPLETELY INSANE. When all the roles in action movies are played by robots, this is what the score will sound like.

Boots Randolph - “Yakety Sax” (1958)
Of course, if I personally attempted any extreme sports and was unlucky enough to have it caught on video, this is the only possible song to play.

Not that I’ll be making any action-cammage of my own. Putting this list together was effort enough for me, thanks. But if you’re the type to strap on a camera and throw yourself down a mountain, or climb on a flaming skateboard, let’s see your handiwork in the forum.

The action never stops in our weekend playlist archive

• Sweat Bands: The '80s Gym Rock Challenge
• Take Steps to Take Steps: A Walking Playlist
• Can’t You Hear That Thunder?: The '80s Australian Invasion
• The Angry Young Men of New Wave
• Weekend playlist archive