Quick Profile: Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll

Sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll! This has become one of my favorite theme classes to teach and my riders always love it. You may initially think of music from the ’60s, but any genre or decade will work as long as it refers to sex, drugs, or rock ’n’ roll. Trust me, you will never run out of music to choose from. I currently have five playlist variations. 

I love this theme for several reasons. First, it solves a problem. If your classes are like mine, riders’ ages range from 16 to 80. Their musical tastes are as varied as they are. It can be incredibly challenging to create playlists that include variety but don’t sound like a random collection of disconnected music. This theme gives you a playful way to tie things together while including everyone. I have also included some tips on how to polish up any playlist by creating flow, excitement, and drama with your music.

Second, this theme provides riders with a memorable experience. When people have an experience versus just another workout, they remember it and they want to come back for more.

Finally, there is so much room for fun and creativity with a theme like this—another reason why it’s one of my favorites. It allows you to put on a show (if you choose to do so). When you lead this ride you can be playful, maybe slightly flirtatious, or even scolding. Of course, you can also go with a strictly ’60s-era playlist if you know your riders appreciate music from that time. You can even encourage costumes and make it into a special event. Have fun with it! 

This theme can be used with any formatted ride. In fact, choose almost any current ICA profile and use music within this theme to create a whole new ride and experience. 

The Playlists: We have included three playlists for you. First is the playlist that goes with the detailed profile outlined here, with varied genres and specific short notes for each song. As is often the case, instructors like to modify playlists to fit their personality and riders’ tastes. So we’ve added a bucket playlist that is a collection of sex, drugs, and rock & roll music that you can choose from to create your own ride. The third playlist contains songs that aren’t just “rock and roll” songs—they are songs about rock and roll which makes it even more fun to add to your class playlist. All music is available on Spotify and most can be found on other streaming services. 

As usual, we’d love your input. If you have songs suggestions we need to add to our playlists, please leave them in the comments section below!