Grammy-nominated artist Perry Shall takes us to the gym for Ears We Trust

Philly artist Perry Shall has worked with some serious bands, from The Black Keys to Green Day and Kurt Vile to The Arcs (the latter of which landed him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Recording Package).

We hit him up this week to see what songs have been in his regular rotation lately for this week’s Ears We Trust and he shared what he called his “I-started-to-go-to-the-gym-this-year-like-everyone-else mix.”

“I listen to these songs at 4:30 a.m everyday Monday to Friday on my way to the gym,” he said.

Check out what he gets pumped to below.

Thin Lizzy — “Do Anything You Want To“

I must have listened to this one 500 times at this point and it hasn’t gotten old or lost its effect at all.

The ultimate pep talk in song form. The instant mood changer. Shoot, the damn timpani intro alone will make you wanna stick around to the hear the rest of the song. Anyway, if everyone started their day off with this song, I think they’d feel a lot better about themselves. Plus Thin Lizzy is the greatest and it’d be impossible for me to write a list like this and not include them.

Rollins Band — “Shine“

When I started going to the gym, me and a friend I was going with would recommend each other songs. Naturally we were both listening to a lot of Rollins Band to inspire us to workout and he recommended this song from the 1994 masterpiece, Weight. I truly love this band and the lyrics of this song get me so pumped and just make me feel good. Gym or no gym.

Dillinger Four — “Don’t Happy Be Worry“

Dillinger Four is a perfect band. They take long periods of time in between releases but you know when they put something new out, it’s the best of the best. No weak songs ever with D4. I was so excited when they released this one that I’ve listened to it at least once a day since. One of the few bands that I personally think can put out new stuff that actually might be the best thing they’ve done, every time they do it.

Rush — “Working Man“

This song gets me every time. It’s from the Rush album for people who think they don’t like Rush, the first one, before Neil Peart. An anthem for people who work too much. It’s heavy, it has killer riffs and you can bang your head to it. If you need a recommendation for a place to start with Rush, I would say all you really need is the first 13 albums.

Cock Sparrer — “We’re Coming Back“

Another anthemic inspirational masterpiece from a classic punk album that I put up there with the best of ’em. It’s like a best friend in song form. The lyrics make you feel good, the solos rule, there are cannons in it which is a plus obviously, and I think it’s one of those songs that is just so likable, you don’t even have to speak British to enjoy it!