N.W.A. “Straight Outta Compton” (Ruthless Records)

Say what you will. Say you don’t like vicious, misogynistic, foul-mouthed rap music. But approaching the third mile or the third set of curls, having this seminal rap masterpiece in my Walkman pushes me. It keeps my blood pumping. Yella’s and Dr. Dre’s production prowess coupled with 90 mph verbal acrobatics by Dre, Ice Cube, Easy-E and M.C. Ren make this one of my favorite workout albums of all time. Be sure to get the original. The 2000 version with all the current artists covering the old tunes has a little too much weed sauntering around.

Talking Heads “Fear of Music” (Sire Records)

Why is David Byrne so thin? Some might say genetics, good eating habits, or some such thing. No. It’s from bouncing around the stage for 20 plus years to this type of music. This is great for aerobic exercise. Super high tempo on tracks like “I Zimbra”, “Cities”, “Life During Wartime” and “Paper” with absolutely incredible lyrics to divert your attention from the pain. If you can stay with this music for 40 minutes a day, three or four days a week, you will get thinner. You might have some nightmares as well. Maybe you’ll lose your appetite.

Asie Payton “Just Do Me Right” (Fat Possum Records)

This is one of Possum’s newest releases. Man, it’s just great. A lot of blues fans chastise these guys for their “club mixes” of Mississippi hill country blues. Psh, Psh. This stuff kicks ass. Here, they’ve taken some of the last tracks Payton cut before passing away and layered his muddy guitar and wailing vocals with grinding studio digifunk and Sam Carr’s legendary drumming. The result is seven or eight tracks that are great to work out to and another three or four good for cooling off. Another installment in Fat Possum’s fresh and faithful creation of new juke music. Viva Possum!

Next time: backyard barbecues, music to cook outdoors to. Send suggestions to slippeddiscs@styleweekly.com.