Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Last month, Alex Honnold, star of Free Solo, gained international attention for his 101-story ascent up the side of the Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, which was broadcast on Netflix on January 26, as per theprp. When Honnold disclosed that he personally soundtracked that ascension with a playlist primarily composed of Tool songs, the daring stunt—performed without the use of ropes—also garnered media attention. He wasn’t merely motivated by the music of the previously mentioned alternative metal giants with a mathematical bent. Honnold told Variety that he was also able to maintain a steady pace because of the length of the songs on his playlist.
It was mostly Tool. It’s a random playlist that I made, that I shared with production. I made it months ago while I was driving. I’ve been training to it a bunch. Basically, rock music that I’ve liked my whole life. Part of the appeal of music is that actually it helps me with pacing.
Each bamboo box had been taking me about five to six and a half minutes. I just know how long the songs are. So it gives you a sense of if you’re going fast or slow. But in this case, it all kept cutting out anyway, and I couldn’t really hear and I was kind of like, ‘Whatever. I’m just doing my thing.’
The playlist created by Honnold, which he appropriately titled ‘T101’, has been made available online and features a substantial amount of music by the band Tool. The playlist begins with “Forty Six 2,” a track from Tool‘s highly successful third album, “Ænima.” It also contains two songs from their number-one album “Fear Inoculum,” namely “Invincible” and “Pneuma,” along with four selections from their 2001 multi-platinum album “Lateralus,” including “The Grudge,” “Lateralus,” “Schism,” and “Parabola.”
The band NOTHING MORE, known for their gold-certified alternative rock, also has a significant presence on Honnold’s playlist, with six of their songs included. Additionally, the playlist features two songs from the diamond-certified nu metal band Linkin Park, specifically “The Emptiness Machine” and “Papercut,” and two tracks from the multi-platinum post-hardcore group The Used, titled “Men Are All The Same” and “Hands And Faces.” Finally, single songs from Chevelle (“Rabbit Hole – Cowards, Pt. 1“), Senses Fail (“Choke On This“), and an early release from The Offspring (“Session“) were also selected for the playlist.
