

Ask HN: What music do you listen to when hacking? - NAFV_P


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benji-york
Glenn Gould's 1981 recording of the Goldberg Variations.

I use it like a Pomodoro timer. I start the recording, I work for 51 minutes
and when it is over I take a break.

The recording has a nice mix of relaxed and energetic segments and it is
sufficiently repetitive that it isn't distracting.

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misterparker
Benjamin Briggs makes a lot of good stuff. I'm a bit of a NES nostalgic when
coding. My love for coding began in 98 when I built my first website (a Zelda
64 Ocarina of Time fan-site)

[http://benjaminbriggs.bandcamp.com/track/this-track-may-
snac...](http://benjaminbriggs.bandcamp.com/track/this-track-may-snack) (Let
me know if you recognize the sound at 2:14 (clue its from an awesome NES game)

[https://soundcloud.com/zedd/zedd-legend-of-zelda-
original](https://soundcloud.com/zedd/zedd-legend-of-zelda-original)

I also highly recommend OCRemix.org if you too like game tunes.

When not feeling gamey it might be Muse, Ratatat, Kamelot or whatever else
feels a good pace to code with.

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tamersalama
Classical - anyone from Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Chopin, Mahler,
Mussorgsky, Gershwin, Tchaikovsky and others.

Eras are anything from Baroque, Classical to Romantic but not Contemporary.

~~~
NAFV_P
I'm fond of the Impressionists.

 _Ravel: Music For Four Hands with Louis Lortie and Helene Mercier_ is worth a
good ear.

I'm interested in hearing some Baroque, but I'm clueless about the genre.

~~~
tamersalama
I'm not too much into impressionists, but I love Debussy.

For Baroque; Start with the king, Bach. Beware though, some complained it
takes away from their brain cycles. Concerto in A Minor for Four Harpsichords:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_if3nhq64pE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_if3nhq64pE)

Just give yourself a bit of time to get familiar with tonality and harmony.

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b3b0p
KEXP.org - [http://kexp.org](http://kexp.org)

OCRemix - [http://ocremix.org](http://ocremix.org) (there are also a ton of
community created albums that are great)

OCRemix Radio - [http://rainwave.cc](http://rainwave.cc)

When I'm bored and going through the motions working on something that doesn't
need great thought I listen to podcasts or put Netflix on in the background
for background noise.

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PeterisP
For hacking it's essential that lyrics don't take up any brainspace, as (at
least for me) the verbal part of brain needs to 'hear code' I'm
reading/writing.

So it's either something purely instrumental (say, Apocalyptica), something
completely foreign (j-rock? most european languages don't work as too many
words are semi-understandable), or something that I've listened to for a dozen
years and know entirely by heart.

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vonseel
Sometimes silence.

Sometimes guitar based music: Robben Ford, Matt Schofield, Johnny A, Satriani
etc

Sometimes electronic/pop: Daft Punk, Empire of the Sun, Cut Copy, Ratatat, El
Ten Eleven

Sometimes electro swing: Parov Stelar, similar on pandora radio

Lots of Rdio radio and Pandora lately, influenced by one of above. Lately Rdio
seems to introduce more artists than Pandora, and has more features
(adventurous, artist only)....

~~~
NAFV_P
Had a look at Cut Copy - Free Your Mind. Weird Video... it gets weirder.

Robben Ford must get some sore fingers.

~~~
vonseel
Ford is great. I'm a guitar player myself, and I feel hearing scales and fast
guitar playing keeps me going when working. Lyrics on the other hand can be
distracting, unless foreign. There's a Norwegian band, Kaiser's Orchestra,
that I listen to occasionally. [http://youtu.be/8ZkFXnm-
RNQ](http://youtu.be/8ZkFXnm-RNQ)

------
bdevine
I am one of those who can't have lyrics in the background. I like a mix of
light classical and modern (Satie to Glass) along with cool jazz (if you
include Sketches of Spain in that category). For my late nights I tend to go
with Boards of Canada though.

------
intull
Mainly Instrumental for me. It varies from movie soundtracks (especially by
Hans Zimmer) to classical and even trance or digital mmusic (which you can
find in [http://di.fm](http://di.fm)).

------
a3n
I love silence.

[https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=music+hacking&...](https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=music+hacking&start=0)

~~~
NAFV_P
Silence is one of my favourite bands.

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jongibbins
Anything with a good consistent rhythm and beat is good for me. I particularly
find that (surprisingly!) liquid Drum & Bass helps get you in 'the zone' of
concentration.

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kennethtilton
I cannot listen to music when programming. If you held a gun to my head, I
think New Age is the only thing content-free enough not to distract me.

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james678
Anything that I have heard many times before. I find new music very
distracting and music I have heard and enjoyed before very relaxing.

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jetru
Metal - Heavy/Progressive/Melodic/Symphonic Electronic -
Progressive/House/Dubstep

I use Spotify

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acomjean
it varies, but usually works best with music I'm already familiar with

today is was 1) the Fretless (irish classical hybrid) 2) Foo Fighters 3) Eve 6

sometimes I'll stream wmbr (wmbr.org). They have a variety of music thats
usually good. They archive the shows to for later listen if you don't like
whats on now.

~~~
NAFV_P
> _sometimes I 'll stream wmbr (wmbr.org)._

I had a quick peek, I was wondering if RMS would be listening to it of this
moment.

I also had a listen to the Fretless, nice. My sister used to be an excellent
fiddler.

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drill_sarge
Soundtracks or instrumental stuff in general. Everything is ok for me if it
has no lyrics/singer etc.

~~~
NAFV_P
I tend to be the same, but I like to experiment.

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loudnoises
internet radio!

[http://soma.fm](http://soma.fm)

[http://di.fm](http://di.fm)

[http://dublab.com](http://dublab.com)

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jsonne
Swedish House Mafia Pandora Station

~~~
NAFV_P
I looked up Pandora... bollocks you can't access it England.

I'll have take your word for it that it's swish.

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lucasnemeth
Steve Reich is great for hacking.

~~~
lucasnemeth
Also Luc Ferrari, Bernard Parmegiani, Tristain Murail.

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mikelyons
Com Truise - Galactic melt

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karolisd
Autechre is hacker music.

~~~
NAFV_P
Lowride off Incunabula, first heard it off Mo'Wax Headz.

Them two look like hackers to me. I recently found out they've been around
since '87 (according to Discogs).

~~~
alexhawdon
Yeah, they code up their own 'instruments' in Max/MSP and some of their music
is algorithmically generated.

Of particular note is 'Flutter', a track where no two bars are the same, which
was produced in response to the UK Government passing an 'anti-rave' law which
attempted to classify dance/electronic music as 'repetitive beat music'. Party
organisers were encouraged to have a copy of Flutter, a musicologist and a
solicitor on hand in the event of the police trying to enforce these crazy
laws. Fun times!

