Listening to music while we work isn’t a new phenomenon. We do it at home, in the office, at school. We do it all the time when we are working at the local coffee shop. Many times, we are at the mercy of others who decide what music we hear (like in the coffee shop). Others’ musical choices can be effective at drowning out the noise around you, but these choices can also distract you from the work at hand. However, it’s when you are alone that you have control over what you hear.
When I have a difficult writing task ahead of me, I tend to play a certain type of music, music that inspires and invigorates me. Once I’ve settled into what it is that I have to do, I typically turn off the music, as I need quiet to concentrate. Initially, though, the music inspires. I have a number of playlists on my iPod, and they support different types of activities. Some are for relaxing; others are for mundane tasks. Some are inspiring (like the one below), and others are meant to drown out the din of noise around me.
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.. Billie’s Playlist (motivational music)
- “Prove it All Night,” Bruce Springsteen
- “Bat out of Hell,” Meatloaf
- “Hound Dog,” Big Mama Thornton
- “Love is the Drug,” Roxy Music
- “Dear Mama,” Tupac Shakur
- “Hey Jealousy,” Gin Blossoms
- “Man in the Long Black Coat,” Joan Osborne
- “I’ll Fly Away,” Jars of Clay
- “Kiss Off,” Violent Femmes
- “My Blakean Year,” Patti Smith
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How about you? If you had to construct a playlist of 10 songs, why would you do so (motivation? relaxation?) and what would you include? Please leave your playlist (with contextualizing title!) in the comments below.
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[Image by Flickr user Dave77459 ; Licensed under Creative Commons.]
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I have 5 Years of Hyperdub (2009) on heavy rotation or I play the cello station on my iPhone’s Pandora app.
QPE has been getting a lot of playtime in my office lately.
http://www.last.fm/music/qpe
I don’t have an iPod, but my current top ten “get your ass in gear and work songs” are as follows:
Paint it Black — The Rolling Stones It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) — Great Big Sea Vox — Sarah McLachlan If I Had a Rocket Launcher — Bruce Cockburn Be My Yoko Ono — BNL God is a DJ — Pink Mary Ellen Carter — Stan Rogers D for Democracy — Spirit of the West Blackleg Miner — Steeleye Span Not Ready to Make Nice — Dixie Chicks
This is a hard question! To narrow it down to 10 is difficult, however if I need motivation or inspiration I’ll usually throw on any of these artists, and specifically these songs:
Dave Matthews Band – Stay (live) Pirates of the Caribbean – sword fighting scene Peter Gabriel – Secret World (live) Red Hot Chili Peppers – Higher Ground Robbie Williams – Let Me Entertain You (live) Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run (live) Tina Turner – Proud Mary (live) Van Halen – Jump (Sammy Hagar, live) U2 – Elevation Kenny Loggins – I’m Alright (live, from the Redwoods)
I have a hard time working when there is music on. I’ve been known to put ear plugs in when working in my own office (the desktop had a particularly loud fan). Having said that, I’ve found that I can often write to the music of Steve Reich. I think it has something to do with how many patterns there are in it and how glacial the music is. It doesn’t hurt that most of his pieces are at least 15 minutes long. I’ve recently found that I can listen to Burial and get some work done as well.
Burial is very high on my list as well.
Good choice.
I’ve got a masochistic love of lists even thought they typically mean rejecting lovely things.
So my list is called: 2009 Compulsive Listening and includes songs I’ve discovered and downloaded during this calendar year–they might be older songs, but are relatively new to me.
Okay: Venice is Sinkin Fideltiy: Regina Spektor Marry Me: Saint Vincent Mary Pickford: Katie Melua Absent Friends: The Divine Comedy Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door: Antony and the Johnsons Scientist Studies: Death Cab for Cutie Sleep Sandwith: Elvis Perkins Fresh, Clean Towels: Erin and Her Cello Effington: Ben Folds
I work best with music that either does not have any lyrics or which is in a language I don’t speak. These days, for example, I am listening to a lot of Brazilian women singers — I don’t speak Portugese.
Today I was working in a cafe where they were playing Miles Davis, and it was just right.
Which women do you like?
It would depend on which iPod you looked on….but I write with my shuffle. My playlist is pretty heavy on Nickelback right now but there are a few others I would put in the top 10:
Burn it to the Ground (Nickelback) If Today was Your Last Day (Nickelback) Shakin Hands (Nickelback) Un Point C’est Toi (Zazie) Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi) Johnny and June (Heidi Newfeld) Gravity (John Mayer) Where did you sleep last night (Nirvana) Losing my Religion (REM) So What (Pink)
It depends on what phase of my work I’m in. For the more tentative, feeling-my-way stage of writing, I find Bach excellent, especially the solo cello suites or the Murray Perahia recording of the Goldberg Variations. For grading, something soothing: I have a playlist I’ve named “Serene Strings,” for instance, which includes things like the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and the Lark Ascending, various slow movements from chamber music works like Schubert piano trios or Mozart piano-violin sonatas. Administrative tasks require something more cheering!
I like to listen to dreamy, abstract, and/or ambient music when I work. I listen to a lot of Explosions in the Sky, Helios, Lights Out Asia, Pacific UV, Trespassers William, Cocteau Twins, and Ride.
As luck would have it, I also like Burial.
Is it just me, or does this discussion resemble an academic version of “High Fidelity”?
MY HIP-HOP MOTIVATIONAL PLAYLIST Rabbit Run – Eminem (about writer’s block) Careful What You Wish For – Eminem Underground – Eminem When the Music Stops – Eminem & D12 Woke Up – KRS-ONE Holler If you Hear Me – 2Pac Swagga Like Us – Jaz Z, Kanye, Lil Wayne, TI, M.I.A. Come With Me – Puff Daddy & Jimmy Page (yes, that one – Led Zep) One Day At a Time – 2Pac & Eminem Soldier – Eminem Still Ballin’ – 2Pac Bump Heads – Eminem & 50 Cent No Apologies – Eminem
In no order, as feel good as they get for me… This must be the place for me… Talking Heads Run around… Blues Traveler Smokin in the boys room… Brownsville Station All the young dudes… Mott the Hoople Bang a bong… T. Rex Stuck in the middle with you… Stealers Wheel Kodachrome… Paul Simon Every picture tells a story… Rod Stewart Funk 49… James Gang Slow Ride… Foghat
Yeah… Old School. (Now in a frenzy!)
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