What are your picks? Headphones on, work to be done!
If it’s quiet, I like Global Communication 76:14, or J.S. Bach piano (French and English Suites, particularly). But those won’t drown out loud coworkers, so sometimes I go for something a bit noisier. Underworld is good (2nd Toughest in the Infants particularly). I also like to listen to Youtube C64/SID supercuts because the shrill chiptune sound really cuts out the human voice frequencies.
I find that work music is best if it’s relatively uniform in rhythm and volume level. Baroque music and varieties of techno fit this bill nicely.
I’m listening to the Violet Evergarden soundtrack right now and programming in Elm. I don’t think it can get much better than that. :)
Anyway, if I really need to focus, I tend to use not-too-elaborate instrumental music. No lyrics because that distracts me, and no elaborate arrangements/performances (so no jazz fusion etc.) because, as a musician, that draws my attention immediately.
In other cases (like casual/repetitive tasks that don’t require a lot of focus), anything goes. I’ll even listen to podcasts sometimes in those cases.
Ludovico Einaudi is my absolute favorite music of choice when working on my PhD. When I need to stay awake (i.e. when I’m getting close to a deadline and have to write into the night), I use Linkin Park, Within Temptation or Awolnation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2PsXT88UeU) . Not too loud that it gets distracting, but loud enough to keep going.
I’ve been listening to the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack the last few weeks. There’s something about it that makes me feel like a cog in a machine driving through a vast car wash that itself is surrounded by an unfathomable fluid. Perfect for feeling like I need to increase shareholder value.
At work I tend to listen to a wide variety playlist with everything from old country classics to anything by Tool, and in between lots of popular tracks by folks like P!nk or Kesha. Right now I’m obsessed with this guys channel, so I have been listening to a lot of it.
For my work outs I start off with podcasts but as the work out gets more intense I have to switch over to music to get psyched and pumped, so I tend to listen to a lot of heavy music, stuff from Slip Knot or In This Moment.
If i really want to focus, I need something to get the mind flowing. Something to absorb me into it, so that the outside world falls away. Mellow music means my mind wanders, most of the time. But get my head banging and I am all in.
YES! I love Leo Moracchioli!! His cover of Gorillaz “Feel Good Inc.” is one of my favorite covers of anything ever. Bonus points for the bunny costume and the reactions of folks in the mall.
Also fantastic, his covers of Toto’s “Africa” and Blackstreet’s “No Diggity”. Honestly, most of his stuff is just brilliant.
I tend not to listen to music at work anymore. I can’t listen to music as background noise…I always find myself focusing on the music and losing focus on whatever I’m doing. When I was a tech I used to use music to get me through the day, listening to tunes while building out systems or upgrading servers and clients. Now that I’m running the whole IT show my job is more about communication, detail and focus, and often very chaotic, so music is too much of a distraction.
Weirdly enough, “Africa” was the song that led me to his channel, it was (no pun intended) quite the rabbit hole. But now he’s pretty been playing out of my office all day since last week. I’m extra enjoying his take on the otherwise trash song I Fink U Freeky or whatever the hell. His version is excellent. The original… less so. ;)
I’m a big fan of atmospheric black metal for “zone out”/“concentration” music.
Russia’s TRNA released the punishingly epic Earthcult earlier this year. It’s entirely instrumental, heavy on harmony and slow-builds. Think of it like a really angry Godspeed You! Black Emperor! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vojae6Ey68
In 2016, two of my favorite albums of all time dropped, including Saor’s gorgeous Guardians drenched in Scottish folk influences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv6z5psDw_k
The other was Ashbringer’s sublime Yugen, filled with nods to nature and solitude, and featuring a beautiful, haunting female lead on the title track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwoNu8Lh_ug
