Automated Mix Generation

I've always been frustrated not having iTunes calculate beats per minute (BPM) automatically for my library, and was thrilled to find Potion Factory's Tangerine, a Mac program that analyzes your iTunes library and calculates BPM and beat intensity. Saving this info to your iTunes library database requires the paid version, but you can use the free version to generate and export playlists that meet certain criteria. 

I'd been getting bored with my running mix, which contained songs carefully tweaked over the months to not get me too far off pace. I was expecting to find similar numbers across the board when I analyzed it in Tangerine, but was surprised to find a huge range. I chose the best-paced songs and selected for that range, a high beat intensity, and limited my search to run-friendly genres like "hip-hop," "electronica/dance," and "shitty techno." 

The resulting mix actually worked very well for my slow-paced 6 mile run, so with that in mind, I present to you:

Gel's Lazy 10K Mix (heavy on the Knux but can you really object to that?)

Slow Motion Tag Team - Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

Powder Room - The Knux

Hush - The Knux

I Got You Dancing - Lady Sovereign

Bang! Bang! - The Knux

Hustler - Simian Mobile Disco

I Can't Decide (Everywhere at Once) feat. Myron Glasper - Lyrics Born

The Lonely Ones feat. Bionik - Aceyalone

Suicide - Jedi Mind Tricks

Happy Birthday - Modeselektor

Lights Camera Action - The Knux

Hung Up - Solvent

Dreamer - K'naan

Jerk It - Thunderheist

Razorblade Salvation - Jedi Mind Tricks

I Heart Beer (excerpt) - The Physics

So I heartily recommend Tangerine, although it probably works best with a better-populated iTunes library. Most of my music is on Windows, and so there was a lot of repetition.