Here's another playlist that focuses on the evolving sound of music over a decade—this time a curated 90s workout playlist for combat sports athletes—not just BJJ players.
All here and tailored for the mats: sludgy riffs, house beats, punk energy, lyrical precision, intricate rhymes, and crossover between genres and the evolution of new sounds.
This 100-minute 90s journey matches the diversity of a solid rolling session, from Kyuss’s desert rock grind to Bell Biv Devoe’s smooth R&B, ideal for the variety we face with a long session with multiple training partners.
If you’re picking a car from the fleet to pull up to the gym with this playlist’s vibe, it’s gotta be a 3000GT/GTO (maybe a Dodge Stealth if you’re in Canada… maybe…) because you’re not basic enough for an RX-7 or Supra.
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Remember the 90s?
I’m going to act old now.
The 90s were pretty cool, and I have a warm, fuzzy nostalgia for a lot of it. I’ve put that nostalgia to work here. But that’s not what this playlist is about. These tracks made the cut because they work on the mats, not because they’re popular (although some seem forgotten):
Full Track Listing
- Banditos - Refreshments
- Green Machine - Kyuss
- Tomorrow - Silverchair
- #1 Crush - Garbage
- Music Sounds Better with You - Stardust
- Bastard Is As Bastard Does - Monster Voodoo Machine
- Volcano Girls - Veruca Salt
- Waiting - Noizegarden
- Crazy - Seal
- Friday I'm In Love - The Cure
- Violet - Hole
- Spiderwebs - No Doubt
- Every You Every Me - Placebo
- Dance with the Devil - Raggadeath
- What I Got (Reprise) - Sublime
- Reunited - Wu-Tang Clan
- Nobody Does It Better - Nate Dogg
- Changes (feat. Talent) - 2Pac
- I Used to Love H.E.R. - Common
- Informer - Snow
- What's It Gonna Be?! (feat. Janet Jackson) - Busta Rhymes
- Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe
- Rusty Cage (Remastered 2016) - Soundgarden
- How I Could Just Kill a Man - Cypress Hill
- Vogue (Edit Version) - Madonna
- Passin' Me By - The Pharcyde
Annoying Young People
BJJ clubs are often run by a 30+ crowd that appreciates a little bit of nostalgia and the way music used to be.
When I was younger, the older generations annoyed the hell out of me. They were always going on and on about the 80s, or their day, and how I was bothering them with my new “loud” (I’m making air quotes) music.
Their complaints had some truth—audio compression in the 90s was a trend; see the Loudness War.
I’d get yelled at (literally) about “rap music.”
I grew up in a WASP-y part of Western Canada where people were pissed about hip-hop.
I didn’t even listen to it.
But I had to hear about it.
Anyway...
Now that I’m the older generation, let me tell you what’s annoying about the youth I encounter nowadays:
If I ask what music they listen to, they usually say “older stuff.” Then, they list 80s radio rock tunes from the 80s.
It’s entirely unhelpful.
What good are the youth to the older generations if they can’t learn us anything?