

Ask HN: What are your working tunes? - viaHack

I really get things done with the Album Leaf&#x27;s Enchanted Hill album. Unfortunately, the album eventually ends. Looking to add to the arsenal, so I want to know: what are some artists or albums that seem to put you in the zone?
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Someone1234
"The Sims 3 Pets" soundtrack. No joke. I've never played The Sims 3, but like
the soundtrack because it is like [good] elevator music. Kind of reminds me of
the SimCity 2000 soundtrack, just happy but with that undertone of momentum.

Game and movie soundtracks are great for work. Particularly when they are just
scores or choirs (as opposed to bands, duets, or single vocalists). Way less
distracting.

~~~
viaHack
"that undertone of momentum". Yes.

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rickr
Limbik Frequencies [http://tunein.com/radio/Limbik-
Frequencies-s2225/](http://tunein.com/radio/Limbik-Frequencies-s2225/)

I've made a spotify playlist that tries to mirror it. It's not as good as the
real thing but it's a start:

[http://open.spotify.com/user/rickrrr/playlist/2ajgobJG1lMT1I...](http://open.spotify.com/user/rickrrr/playlist/2ajgobJG1lMT1IKAm8AR96)

~~~
viaHack
Cool. Following.

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0942v8653
You might want to try the FTL soundtrack at
[http://benprunty.bandcamp.com/album/ftl](http://benprunty.bandcamp.com/album/ftl).
I listen to a lot of video game soundtracks, recently Chrono Trigger, Chrono
Cross, FTL, a few from Portal and Portal 2. Sometimes Chipzel
([http://chipzel.co.uk](http://chipzel.co.uk)).

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codewritinfool
Ozric Tentacles. Perfect psychedelic space rock jams with no lyrics.

From Wikipedia: Ozric music is a highly psychedelic mixture of driving
basslines, keyboard and intricate guitar work, with a sound influenced by
Steve Hillage and Gong. Many of the Ozrics' songs are in unusual time
signatures and/or unusual Eastern-influenced modes. Furthermore, the band
often features complex arrangements, which change time signature, key
signature and tempo frequently in the course of a track, a well-known element
present in progressive rock. There are also moments of straightforward funk-
influenced grooves and strong influences from jazz fusion, dub/reggae and
ambient music styles.

These features are mixed with electronic elements, including densely layered
psytrance- and techno-influenced arpeggiated synthesizers, pads, synth
basslines, effects and programmed drumbeats. There is also a strong influence
from dub and ambient music, with many quiet relaxed tracks, that balance the
frenetic, intense material.

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vram22
Interesting topic. For working, I prefer calm music myself, like a few others
in this thread, though I like other more active or vigorous kinds too, when
not working.

I've thought about this myself and tried to find music to listen to while
programming or writing. Haven't found too much that I like, somehow. Will
check out the links in this thread.

Here is one that I do like - blogged about it here, with a link and embed to
the music, and someone I know also said they liked it for working - a sitar
performance by Vilayat Khan (Rarely Heard Ragas), who was of the calibre of
Ravi Shankar:

[http://jugad2.blogspot.in/2013/10/music-video-sitar-
vilayat-...](http://jugad2.blogspot.in/2013/10/music-video-sitar-vilayat-khan-
rarely.html)

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krylon
Ambient seems to work best for me. More generally speaking, calm, instrumental
music (i.e. no vocals), which includes some jazz-y music as well (In A Silent
Way by Miles Davis, or Sunset Mission by Bohren & Der Club of Gore, to name
two).

If that is up your alley, I can recommend the following artists:

Boards of Canada come to mind. Carbon Based Lifeforms (especially their album
"Twenty Three"). Marconi Union. Steve Roach made some pretty awesome stuff
(Structures From Silence especially).

Every now and then - rarely, actually, but that is not a statement - I will
get out the Cocteau Twins. There are lots of vocals, of course, but rarely
anything resembling lyrics, so that works for me.

Also, some of the stuff Dead Can Dance made before they split up was pretty
great. Towards the Within and Spiritchaser were quite great.

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unmole
[http://musicforprogramming.net/](http://musicforprogramming.net/)

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archagon
David Tipper's Forward Escape is some of the best music I've heard in the last
10 years, and doubles as great programming music too:
[http://open.spotify.com/album/6iXjPAUqAY5c3cVe1lNHut](http://open.spotify.com/album/6iXjPAUqAY5c3cVe1lNHut)

The Crypt of the Necrodancer soundtrack is really great:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrS1RyuoG0I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrS1RyuoG0I)

Instrumental prog is pretty good: Liquid Tension Experiment, Joe Satriani,
Scale the Summit...

~~~
hdmoore
Thanks for the suggestions! Great background music.

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buckofalltrades
Following a LPT from /r/programming, I'm trying video game soundtracks, which
are supposedly designed to help you concentrate on the task at hand, whether
that's grinding or a boss fight. No guarantee that you'll get the boss fight
song when you're in the middle of something difficult, though, so YMMV.

Currently using: [https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/borderlands-2-original-
sou...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/borderlands-2-original-
soundtrack/id557018768)

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reefoctopus
Chiptunes are great for programming. Check out fantomenk.

[https://soundcloud.com/fantomenk/cpu-
mood-2010](https://soundcloud.com/fantomenk/cpu-mood-2010)

[https://soundcloud.com/fantomenk/dischipo-2009](https://soundcloud.com/fantomenk/dischipo-2009)

[https://soundcloud.com/fantomenk/fantomenk-playing-with-
powe...](https://soundcloud.com/fantomenk/fantomenk-playing-with-power)

~~~
GithubDog
I like WMD on bandcamp: [https://wmdchiptune.bandcamp.com/album/this-was-the-
end](https://wmdchiptune.bandcamp.com/album/this-was-the-end)

I also really liked this set, but some people may find it a bit much:
[https://chibitech.bandcamp.com/album/chibi-tech-live-blip-
fe...](https://chibitech.bandcamp.com/album/chibi-tech-live-blip-festival-
tokyo-2012)

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andyhnj
I don't think it's available yet, but I'm curious about Carl Franklin's
project "Music To Code By". He's specifically trying to craft an album that's
"designed to induce a state of flow suitable for writing code."

[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/311638984/music-to-
code...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/311638984/music-to-code-by)

~~~
vram22
That's a pretty cool idea. Will check it out, thanks.

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munimkazia
I don't have the patience to discover and curate a lot of music myself these
days (atleast not enough to last my work day), so I like a couple of online
radio stations. This one is my favorite:

WritheM Radio's Programming Electronic and Alternative on Grooveshark:
[http://grooveshark.com/#!/writhem/broadcast](http://grooveshark.com/#!/writhem/broadcast)

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jweather
[http://di.fm](http://di.fm) has a wide variety of electronica that appeals to
my various moods... most frequently Liquid DnB or Chillstep these days, but
Chillout Dreams and Vocal Trance are also favorites. I'm usually on there
unless I wanted to listen to a specific artist on Google Play All Access.

~~~
krylon
I used to listen to di.fm a lot a couple of years back. I stopped listening
when I got myself a new desktop computer at the beginning of 2009, and made
the mistake of buying an Asus EeeBox. For some reason, Shoutcast streams in
general would run very badly on that machine, so I stopped. :-/

Thanks for the hint, I will see how that goes. :)

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Bahamut
Video game music & rearrangements, especially from
[http://ocremix.org](http://ocremix.org), but most typically metal, especially
of the power & progressive variety. I like to constantly engage my brain,
especially with overtones of overcoming adversity, so power metal is perfect
for that.

~~~
krylon
While I personally prefer electronic music, I was kind of surprised that most
of the programmers I've met in person seemed to be into metal, covering pretty
much everything from good old Black Sabbath through Power Metal all the way to
Grindcore and Black Metal.

Not that I am judging in any way. I used to listen to a lot of Heavy Metal,
and I still do occasionally (especially when I am angry/frustrated - it seems
to have a cathartic effect on me).

For programming, I prefer calm, quiet, unobtrusive music, but apparently there
are many programmers out there who like to rock. :)

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organsnyder
Depends on the task and my mood. Classical and prog-rock are the most common
for me. Lately, I've found myself not having any music most of the time—I'm
better able to concentrate without it. I think that's partially because I am a
musician, and I find myself analyzing it (regardless of whether it has words).

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tsomctl
Pink Floyd, M83, Porcupine Tree, Dead Skeletons Dead Mantra, Arcade Fire,
Naked and Famous. Some of it is very spacey, some of it I have listened to so
many times I don't pay attention to it any more. If you still like the above
bands but are tired of the albums, move on to bootleg concerts.

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mikestew
Not an artist or album specifically, but Soma.FM is my go-to for work noise.
Instrumental electronica, ambient, or you get it it with lyrics if you like.
One of my faves is ambient with SF public safety radio (police, fire) dubbed
on top. Sounds weird, but works well for technical work.

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rrrrrraul
I tend to gravitate to music without lyrics.

I've been listening to a playlist I found on Spotify - "Beats to think to"

Also, if you like the sounds of a coffee shop, checkout coffitivity.com (no
affiliation). If I'm in the right mood, gets me in the zone.

~~~
jevin
I think no lyrics is key! Instrumental tracks are less intrusive and have a
lot of repeating patterns.

~~~
krylon
I completely agree!

I think it is the acoustic equivalent to the Clippy effect: Human voices tend
to take up a substantial portion of our mental bandwidth, because it is not
just a sound our brain has to recognize, but then it has to go and actually
_understand_ the words being said or sung.

Instrumental music tends to have - at least on me - the opposite effect, it
occupies the parts of my mind that otherwise might distract me, leaving the
parts doing the hard work alone.

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FranklinHustle
[http://8tracks.com/yellowcake/](http://8tracks.com/yellowcake/)

8tracks has a lot of great playlists. The key is finding a user who makes good
ones. This yellowcake guy has over a hundred, of which almost all are great.

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Andrenid
Mostly the Trance channels on DI.FM .. Vocal Trance, Epic Trance, Classic
Trance, etc.

I find Trance has enough energy/momentum to motivate me, without being
distracting like most of the rock/metal/otherstuff I listen to other times.

------
hdmoore
Overwerk, Orbital, and similar electronic/ambient artists are my zen-mode
gotos. 9:00am after writing code until 4:00am? It better have screeching
electric guitar and heavy bass. Industrial is a great way to wake up.

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hdmoore
For the mid-afternoon slump, I dig Dave Snelgrove's bass tracks:
[https://soundcloud.com/davidsnelgrove](https://soundcloud.com/davidsnelgrove)

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garrickvanburen
My Pandora channels on shuffle - largely: drum-n-bass, ska, and punk. For me,
Pandora requires the least cognitive load. If I start finding it distracting -
rather than beneficial - I hit pause.

~~~
viaHack
The ads...

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dhimes
white/brown noise- ocean waves, rainfall, etc.

A couple links that have crossed the HN Radar before:

[http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/waterfallNoiseGenerator.php](http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/waterfallNoiseGenerator.php)

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

[http://musicforprogramming.net/](http://musicforprogramming.net/)

~~~
krylon
I knew musicforprogramming, but the first two links are awesome, too. Thank
you very much!

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SJMosley
I think [https://bop.fm](https://bop.fm) has good potential for creating
playlists since it uses multiple services you can find most songs.

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joshschreuder
I like more instrumental post-rock stuff like Godspeed You! Black Emperor or
Explosions in the Sky, as well as some more electronic stuff like Vondelpark
or CFCF.

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viaHack
From the suggestions I've checked out soma.fm has been my favorite. DEF CON
station is doing me right

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kamphey
pick a song and loop it. loop it for 5-6 hours. it's something that will get
into your skin but then fade off and become a nice sofa to sit on (per say).
After an hour any song on loop will just become working background.

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JCJoverTCP
The Aquabats "Charge!!" 24/7

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cscharenberg
The "Deep Focus" playlist on Spotify

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tehwebguy
Lately M83 Pandora station

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gee_totes
Soma.fm

~~~
viaHack
!

