What do you listen to while you work?

I’m curious what everyone listens to while they work, if anything. Podcasts, albums, stations, talks?

I’ve found I’m most likely to get into the zone while looping Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. What about you?

The heavy breathing of the guy behind me with the knife…oh, or did you mean what i listen to during my day job?

What you listen to during your day job. As for the guy behind you with the knife… I’d suggest turning around and applying a swift kick to the stomach, and beating a hasty retreat.

Can’t beat TRON legacy when work needs to get done :slight_smile:

+1 !

a few favorites:
Blade Runner OST - Vangelis
Hail to the Thief - Radiohead
De Profundis Clamavi Ad Te Domine - Dark Funeral
Dizzy Boogie - Dizzy Gillespie
radio stations based off of:
God’s Calling - Noisy Freaks

and Oz, I’d suggest specifically checking out the first album I listed, it’s got a lot of the same ambient awesomeness that makes pink floyd great for long periods of time at the keyboard

I’ve been working a lot without background noise since I saw this, tried it out, and found that it really can make a big difference:
http://www.theanimatorssurvivalkit.com/volumes_1_4.html (Clip #1, “Starting Right”)

It also helps that I’m a programmer, so I can’t really listen to anything with vocals while I’m working anyway :frowning:

Where do you get that soundtrack at Seth? Seems…motivational. :laugh:

Im prone to listening to Happy hardcore / dubcore or house, and sometimes, depending on the mood of the day, The Cars/Styx/The Police.

I like to take my laptop to dark alleys that are known to be frequented by serial knife fighters…or something.

Otherwise I listen to alot of psychedelic trance when i work, lately some of the harder stuff…

Game Grid - Mangadrive
Fearbomb - Mangadrive

[QUOTE=awforsythe;14202]I’ve been working a lot without background noise since I saw this, tried it out, and found that it really can make a big difference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=646KtkEcPm8&feature=related (Clip #1, “Starting Right”)[/QUOTE]

Remember reading that in the Animators Survival Kit. It makes a lot of sense, but so does the counter argument. Personally if I reach of level of frustration I’ll switch the music on or off. I find mixing it up usually helps to ease tension and avoid potential headaches.

I go to Pink Floyd a lot too. I could easily repeat Echoes from Meddle and be good for several hours. Here are a few consistently stellar albums that work for me on repeat:

Lucfer’s Friend Banquet - Jazz + Rock blended perfectly together. Good if you want to work to a faster tempo.
Supertramp Crime of the Century - Very different Supertramp than what gets played on the radio. Parts may remind you of Floyd.
Santana Caravanserai - Great Santana album where you could easily forget which track you’re on.

If you want something current, Steven Wilson’s Grace for Drowning has a nice orchestral touch and is up for a Grammy this year for best surround sound. Just watch out for CD2, it gets loud :D:.

When I’m burning through math and complex relationships, I find complete silence to be best. Otherwise it’s the Pandora Comedy channel.

Normally I’ll put the radio on or dig up an old show from the BBC iPlayer, especially Sara Cox or Annie Mac. If I’ve an imminent deadline and a lot to do then I normally put on a loop of just a few tracks. I never listen to those songs again though, and I don’t think it’s a healthy way to go about things. :slight_smile:

For me it really depends on what I’m doing…

If I’m working on writing a particularly mind bending tool, its either silence or maybe some Clause Debussy.

If it’s something like rigging or skinning a character then I tend to listen to more electronic stuff (Goldie through to Calypso/Lemon Jelly) or sometimes i’ll go with more of a guitar vibe such as some Stone Roses.

If i’m doing lots of exporting I tend to put something on which will prevent me from falling asleep!

I find my self jumping from 90’s alt rock to dubstep to djent, go figure, oh and bjork in between those.

If I’m in a serious deep problem that I know the answer too and just have to code it … Gary Numan’s new stuff (Hybrid is a class album!) or NIN / Crystal Method

Failing that, anything from New Model Army through to Deep Purple. Been listening to Black Keys recently.

Can’t work without music!

sadly my day is so full of interruptions, meetings, debugging, mentoring that i don’t listen to music anymore at all :frowning:
but when i did get to do actual work, i found Orbital and Future Sound of London and The Orb to be great at focusing my attention.

turntable.fm

If you guys haven’t checked out this site yet, its pure win. If its a technical kind of day, I’m in the dubstep room. Its its an art kind of day, probably the Indie room. I love finding new music or even setting up a set to play with coworkers or friends through out the day.

I second Turntable.fm. It’s a great way to find new music, imho. I’m usually in here… http://turntable.fm/ambient_chillout_trip_hop2

I don’t always listen to music when I’m working, but when I do it’s got to be instrumental, so Amon Tobin, Medeski Martin and Wood and John Hopkins (His “Insides” CD is so rad) are favorites. Then when I want to rock, I still go back to the Foo Fighters.

turntable is pretty awesome, most of my co-workers and I would make a room and it was nice to be connected by the music we chose, kind of got rid of the cube walls. Until IT blocked it…:frowning: