

Ask YC:  What music do you listen to when programming? - sspencer

This has probably been asked before, but I am curious about the musical tastes of all the rest of you, having noted very similar tastes in the "Ask YC:  Books" thread.<p>I'll start us off:<p>Mashups:
http://bootiesf.com
http://djearworm.com
http://partyben.com<p>Also all manner of classical:  Bach, Mozart, Strauss, Beethoven, Debussy<p>And last but not least, some excellent indie radio:  http://www.bagelradio.com/blog/index.html
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palish
Rain. It's probably strange, but ambient rain sounds are quite relaxing.

If anyone is interested in this, go here:
<http://www.hypnosishealthcare.com/rainsounds.html>

Choose "Rain MP3 Download". Twelve bucks gets you an hour of rain without any
background noise at all.

Note that you'll need to play with Winamp's equalizer a bit to make it sound
great through headphones. The Full Bass preset is perfect.

~~~
andyn
There's also a free program that does that, along with various other
background noises:

<http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html> (Aire Freshener)

~~~
palish
Awesome! Thank you. That program is really fantastic.

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eru
None. Interferes with my concentration.

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superjared
Try DragonForce.

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eru
I will. Just in general - not for programming.

Part of my problem with music and programming is - that I like distracting and
complex music.

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rugoso
I usually listen to only one track in repeat (for about an hour), one that I'm
very familiar with, so i don't get distracted by it (it may or not have
vocals)

I've notice that by doing so i stay in the same mind frame all the time.

Also, it is good to choose a track that puts you in the right mind frame,
examples: "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens puts me in an optimistic and somehow
upbeat state, "A Warm Place" by Nine Inch Niles puts me in a more introverted-
deep thinking state

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pius
On another note, do you guys wear headphones/earbuds or use external speakers?
For me, I really find external speakers distracting, while headphones suck me
into the code.

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sspencer
Earcup headphones all the way. Noise canceling is an added bonus.

~~~
apgwoz
I'm incredibly glad my last employer bought me a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort
headphones for Christmas. Probably the most comfortable headphones I've ever
worn.

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projectileboy
I alternate between classical (I like Mozart and Beethoven and some others)
and electronic/techno dance music. I can't have vocals; it breaks my flow.

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jward
I'm exactly the same way but I've found that _sighs_ j-pop fits in this as
well. If I can't understand the words then it doesn't break my flow. German
techno also seems to work.

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lg
I like music with nonsense lyrics for the same reason, i.e. cocteau twins,
sigur ros, dead can dance. Otherwise, ambient stuff like explosions in the
sky, god is an astronaut, mono (the japanese mono).

~~~
eloisius
Try some Godspeed You! Black Emperor

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carpal
I've scientifically confirmed that The Talking Heads made the best hacking
music known to man.

Aside from that, I listen to a lot of Of Montreal, other indie pop, some
electronic and movie soundtracks (There Will Be Blood and The Fountain OSTs
are both great).

~~~
edw519
Ditto Talking Heads. Also Depeche Mode and Tears for Fears.

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sspencer
Is there a better song for working on a startup than "Everybody Wants To Rule
The World"?

~~~
edw519
No.

------
bootload
[http://www.last.fm/user/bootload/charts/?charttype=overall&#...</a>

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apgwoz
I find my collection of Punk/Hardcore suits me best for programming. It keeps
my mind alert, and works even better than caffeine in some cases.

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thedaniel
Groove Salad: <http://somafm.com/>

Cliqhop (also somaFM) if the problems are complex.

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astrec
I'm fairly partial to the drone of a tanpura/tambura/tamboura (a bit like a
sitar, only fretless). I visited with this swami for for a bit, and he gave me
a recording as a background for Japa practice - it's incredibly powerful
concentration music.

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arasakik
<http://www.thesixtyone.com>

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tirrellp
Usually I listen to stuff that allows me to think... some chilled out stuff
like Stereolab, Free Design, Telepopmusik, Thief, Portishead, Jazzanova,
Forss, Yesterdays New Quintet, Wahoo, and more stuff like that.

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mattmaroon
Well, I write rather than program (well, technically I do both, but I suck
pretty badly at the latter) but I like Mahler, especially as conducted by
Bernstein.

Rhapsody has a phenomenal classical selection.

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herdrick
Silence! The voices tell me what to type.

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misterbwong
Any music that my brain doesn't try to process. Preserves concentration while
keeping out noise.

I'm currently listening to Nujabes - Modal Soul. It's a mix of hiphop/jazz and
mostly instrumental.

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Xichekolas
Half the time I listen to nothing... the other half involves NIN, Tool,
Deftones, Massive Attack, Glassjaw, Ska-P, and other music roughly like that.

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manvsmachine
Recently, a lot of movie soundtracks and instrumentals; lyrics divert my
attention. BSG, 28 Weeks, moody/epic stuff. Not sure why, but it works.

~~~
sspencer
I really like Hans Zimmer's soundtracks: "The Thin Red Line" and "Gladiator"
are both particularly good.

~~~
manvsmachine
Yes, Gladiator... I meant to include that as well.

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Neoryder
Depends.

Planning/Thoughts stage: Classical, Jazz

Implementation Stage with Nothing to Explore: RnB, Rock

Exploratory: nothing, flow issues

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papersmith
For classicals I find light-hearted sonatas and chamber music good for
concentration. Symphonies are usually too distracting.

Other times I like the "ambient" channel on www.pandora.com. A while ago when
I was hooked on Flight Simulator I had a Boeing 747 running in the background
while I worked. The engine sound + distant radio chatters produce a calm
atmosphere.

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pistoriusp
I use Sennheiser inner ear headphones and Itunes tells me that I mostly listen
to:

Punk and music between the 70's and 90's.

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pius
Lots of things, but predominantly hip-hop and rock. If I'm in "discovery
mode," I'll use Songza or Last.FM.

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Novash
I think I learned more about music on this thread than by listening to radio
on the last year. I will try some of the artists mentioned here later on. I
usually listen to internet radio. Music doesn't really bother me, but silence
does. Silence makes any noise seem like a thunder to me.

------
mgummelt
Explosions in the Sky

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LogicHoleFlaw
I don't listen to anything while I'm coding. It's too distracting. Actually, I
blacklisted the sound drivers on my work laptop to eliminate any possibility
of a random program making noise while I'm trying to work.

Though, that does limit the utility of YouTube.

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davidw
Stuff I've heard a lot before, so that I'm not paying much attention to it.
Fishbone!

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ph0rque
How 'bout taking the next step and making a shared Pandora station for
hacking?

~~~
sspencer
Not a bad idea at all. I'd need a pretty eclectic library to please everyone
here, though.

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aikii
If you're into ambient/chillout, you might want to try jon hopkins or blue
states. Kind of "elevator music", still, it works for me ;-) I'm also a big
fan of last.fm in discovery mode for that matter.

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tjr
Mostly classical (especially Bach) and jazz (Dave Brubeck, Pat Metheny,
Abraham Laboriel, Miles Davis, et al)

Very rarely anything with lyrics, as it tends to disrupt my concentration.

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ayc
Motorhead, Accept, Iron Maiden -- dedicated to programmers :)

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davidmathers
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=61831>

~~~
manvsmachine
Not everyone listens to their usual genres when coding.

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jamiequint
headphones, mostly everything, but especially daft punk, Tiesto, lots of blues
and stuff too.

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edw519
I prefer to enjoy the silence.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd7y6A-5uTY>

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realrbman
Explosions in the Sky

~~~
bayuadji
lately I listen to Naruto Soundtrack :)

~~~
adityaadvani
Shulman <http://www.aleph-zero.info/>

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superjared
Cliqhop at somafm.com

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aswanson
Jamiroquai

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jobeirne
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em.

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agentbleu
<http://myplaylist.biz> :-)

I made this lol

