
Favourite working music? - Vaebn
Hello. I have been wondering if anyone has any suggestions and&#x2F;or what everyone&#x27;s favourite &quot;working music&quot; is if any. Particularly among those of you who work from home &#x2F; reportedly &#x2F; alone &#x2F; during your personal projects etc<p>Myself seem to have mixed results, with complete silence sometimes being the best when I do something that I am actually focused yet other times wanting something in the background to occupy the auditory channel so to speak (or to drawn other environmental noise)<p>That in turn often has countereffective results, with &quot;too epic&quot; making me feel like I do amazing work, despite not doing any or with &quot;too chillaxing&quot; music actually making me too relaxed in turn and finding myself drifting towards the abyss of random wikipedia article reading.<p>So I reckon, if 10 people here chip in, and all happen to have 1 particular style (track), that may end up fairly interesting.
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mod
On linux, at least:

play -q -c 2 -n synth brownnoise band -n 1600 1500 tremolo .1 30

That's nice for drowning out noises when I need to. In case you can't test it
out, it sounds a lot like sitting by the beach with waves rolling in. Lyric-
less (or nearly) music also works well for me, I just have a playlist on
spotify.

~~~
cag_ii
That's great, thanks for that recommendation!

By modifying the last parm I get a more pronounced wave in/out sound that
works well for me:

    
    
       play -q -c 2 -n synth brownnoise band -n 1600 1500 tremolo .1 75

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kowdermeister
I love dubtechno, deep house and electronic music mixes to get me into the
"zone"

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgjEokjcMWw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgjEokjcMWw)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up-
nrmees7U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up-nrmees7U)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh_n0NCkpZs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh_n0NCkpZs)

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blowski
* [http://www.musicforprogramming.net](http://www.musicforprogramming.net)

* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shpongle](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shpongle)

* [https://www.focusatwill.com](https://www.focusatwill.com)

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p333347
For me music works only when I am in what I call "mechanical mode" i.e. when
all the thinking etc is done and I am only left with doing code review,
refactoring, cut paste rearrangement, comment editing etc. Sometimes it gets
distracting even then but that usually means I haven't reached the mechanical
mode yet.

Anyway, I have a set of songs that I turn to specifically for what you call
'working music'. These songs generally have a broody, even melancholic, feel
laced with trance or psychedelic like aspects and there are no sharp rises or
falls. In other words, these songs quickly drift into the background and won't
interfere, even when they have lyrics. I play these at the lowest possible
volume where I can just about hear them, almost as if they are coming from a
concert a many kilometers away. And oh, this is my home office routine, not a
workplace thing, as I like to hear songs from speakers and not headphones due
to the concert thing. And this is usually an after 10.30 pm affair. And of
course, played in a loop.

The main songs are these: Russian National Anthem, Israel National Anthem,
Dexter Soundtrack - (Blood Theme, Wink), The Last of The Mohicans - I'll find
you, Tom Petty - Last Dance with Mary Jane, Jimi Hendrix - All Along The
Watchtower, Chris Isaak - Wicked Game, Doves' (Blue Crush soundtrack
Firesuite, Rise, Here It Comes), Niel Young - Southern Man, Bob Dylan -
Knocking on Heaven's Door, JJ Cale (Magnolia, The Sensitive Kind, Crying
Eyes), House Soundtrack - Teardrop, Die Toten Hosen - Ich bin die Sehnsucht in
dir (German), some country songs too.

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csbubbles
I find that relatively quiet and less complex music works better for me – such
genres as downtempo, nu jazz, trip hop.

While I enjoy a very broad spectrum of music in general (from classical music
to death metal, and from avant-garde jazz to hardcore gabba), fast, complex,
loud or noisy music seems to get pretty distracting in many cases.

But that might depend on your job, actually. If you are a football player and
you spend most of the time working out or outdoors, energetic music may work
much better. Or, if you are a factory worker, where you have to deal with
120dB noise over your shift. I don't think ambient would be a good choice
there, rather thrash metal or hardcore. :)

If you need some specific examples of "calm" music that works for me, please
let me know, I probably could recommend something in particular.

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sethammons
I have to avoid things with lyrics.

~~~
Vaebn
Huh. That's actually fairly interesting! Myself I have noticed the following.
I am someone who meddles around with both "artistic" stuff (3d modelling etc)
and programming as a hobby/projects.

I have noticed that when I do the 3d stuff, I can usually tolerate music with
lyrics, or for that matter even listening to documentaries, TED talks etc just
fine. Everything slows down but progress is actually being made.

On the other hand when I do something programmy or for that matter even simple
text based stuff such as "writing descriptions" I have noticed that I find
music with lyrics utterly distracting.

Although the left/right brain thing is a bit of a myth, frankly it has been
extremely clear to me that language neurons get to be dual-purpose components
when it comes to logic stuff of a particular kind.

~~~
panic
There's an interesting story from Richard Feynman about how he discovered that
he and John Tukey count using different parts of their brain:

[http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/its-as-
simple-a...](http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/its-as-simple-as-
one-two-three/)

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andymurd
I like to listen to music that I find fun, and my Thursdays are all about the
bongos!

[https://play.spotify.com/track/2teN2uYbwMQraPG7Gu2Zfo](https://play.spotify.com/track/2teN2uYbwMQraPG7Gu2Zfo)

~~~
Vaebn
Liking the bongos! I mean, I don't know if my productivity has gone up, but I
sure have been busy checking a lot of music from this thread out...

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drakonka
I enjoy a mix of things - sometimes I'll be in the mood for instrumental game
or movie soundtracks (favorites include Mirror's Edge and Deus Ex: Human
Revolution). Other times I'll enjoy electronic/dance music (though I'm very
picky about these since I usually don't like this genre, so it's tough to find
something I'll be able to work with). Sometimes I like alternative/pop-
punk/rock. Usually I'll stick with a genre for a day or so and then move on to
something different.

Right now I've been listening to outrun, stuff like Gunship.

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bizzleDawg
Tron Legacy Soundtrack (Daft Punk) - For me this has to be the all time best
working music - never found something with the same soothing but motivating
composure.

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merchang
Live/Dead Or a any other Greateful Dead live album

[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aL-dUZJydcw](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aL-
dUZJydcw)

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malux85
I like Drum and Bass - because I interpret music spatially, multiple times
during the day I notice the beat and the execution of code actually sync up,
it's exhilarating to watch

[https://youtu.be/ww5z-24x7LY?t=101](https://youtu.be/ww5z-24x7LY?t=101)

I've also started to listen to 2 songs at once, because it's quite a different
perception to enjoy the songs together and then individually, simultaneously

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lighttower
I listen to brain.fm [0] I got a promo $25 for lifetime membership. It really
works for me... or at least great placebo effect for me.

[0] [https://www.brain.fm/app](https://www.brain.fm/app)

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partisan
I usually go for anything that is free of lyrics, but lately, I've been stuck
on a playlist:

MCMXC a.D. by Enigma

Music for the Masses by Depeche Mode

Music for Programming Episode 24: RITES (64 plays so far according to iTunes)

Music for Programming Episode 37: Lackluster (33 plays so far)

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crncosta
Trance (psy, goa) for code.

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vmorgulis
Starcraft:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNt0iVG2VOA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNt0iVG2VOA)

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Esau
I pretty much listen to anything but lately, I have been listening to
soundtracks. Today, in honor of Star Trek, I broke out Star Trek II: Wrath Of
Khan.

BTW: James Horner died too young.

~~~
stephenr
Why not Warp 11?

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1_listerine_pls
Prefer instrumental, the genre doesn't matter.

Los Angeles Guitar Quarter - African Suite "Mbira"

Jonny Clegg & Savuka - Scatterlings of Africa

Paradise - Fable

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larrykubin
Mostly instrumental music - jazz, post-rock, or chill hip-hop beats. eg.
Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, Nujabes, Miles Davis.

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fitzwatermellow
Opera. Maria Callas singing "Un Bel Di". The overture from Wagner's
"Tannhauser" ;)

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Cortez
I usually listen to synth wave when I study because it gives me a euphoric
feeling.

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chatmasta
White noise or meditation playlists on Spotify. Or Dr. Dre instrumentals.

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vldx
Just waves sound on background.

Also, Mission Control on Soma.fm is worth checking out.

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FlopV
Alina baraz Spotify radio is one of my favorites.

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RUG3Y
Whitesnake and Savage Garden on endless repeat.

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KillerDiller
"Bright Future" by Somnium.

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stephenbez
Postal Service - Give Up

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jebernier
Bach

