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Music to work by?
Whether it be a radio, computer, iPod, or even leaving your chances up to a Pandora station, there’s a good chance that something is keeping your ears occupied while you work.
I always believed there was a special genre of music people listened to while they got things done: something I call “work to” music.
But apparently my take on what falls into this genre is vastly different from the people around me. I discovered last night from a very talented designer that he can only work to very fast music. In fact, “the faster, the better!”
This just doesn’t seem right. Fast, loud, and “in my face” is not going to keep my mind focused on the work at hand.
But that’s what keeps the world spinning, I guess: we all possess unique loves and preferences. That’s why I started looking around our office… and it wasn’t long before I realized that no one lined up with my views of good “work to” music.
- Jeff loves his Swedish Death Metal.
- Meg rhapsodizes about her WHAM! Pandora station full of 80′s memories.
- Eric’s into his straight-up rock.
- Michael keeps NPR on all day.
- Joerg loves his divas with soul-stirring voices.
While I like all of these selections, they’re not quite what I’d put in this category.
You’re probably expecting an explanation or example of just exactly what I would include in this made-up genre at this point.
Well, sorry to disappoint.
I’m actually just curious to hear what everyone else listens to when they’re hard at work.
What’s coming out of your headphones or speakers?
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I go back and forth between http://www.radioparadise.com/ (DJed listener-supported radio) and http://etn.fm/ Trance station (for when I need that driving beat to write better code).
It totally varies. I’ll listen to rock, musical theatre, power pop, string metal… whatever I’m craving that day. I will say that I usually listen to one song on repeat. A beautiful torture of sorts. I’ll change it once I’ve finished a task.
Same as Trish, it varies on my mood. I seem to return most often to rock, the old standards (as sung by Louis and Ella), fiddle music, and musical theater. Musical theater can be tricky though, there may be too much volume fiddling involved for work. I totally took a page from Meg and created a Wham! Pandora station and I *love* it.
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I must admit, when I saw Matt was classifying me as a WHAM! listener, I had a moment of pause. Not that I’m NOT a WHAM! listener, because I am. But I have pretty diverse tastes beyond George and Andrew and their crew, so I didn’t want to be considered yet another “stuck in the 80′s” thirtysomething woman.
My other work favorites tend to be jazz (Astrud Gilberto, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Stephane Grappelli, Stan Getz), music in Spanish (so I can enjoy singing without overlistening to lyrics) like Buena Vista Social Club and Celia Cruz, or mixes by Girl Talk or RJD2. I also love putting on a run of Beatles tracks from Abbey Road and Sgt Pepper and the White Album.
One thing I NEVER listen to, at work or otherwise, is anything metal-ish. Talk about jangling my thoughts!
It depends on how I’m feeling and what kind of work needs to get done, but mostly I prefer either piano jazz so that my desk feels like a martini-less cocktail lounge or something sort chilled upbeats like the Jonsi station on Pandora.
Sometimes, though… sometimes I need to feel like a rock star. For those occasions I have a mix called Aw Yeah which features Glee, Black Eyed Peas, Joan Jett, AC/DC… you know what I’m saying.
I listen to podcasts while working. Either that or some DJ mix. Rarely, Pandora, because I have such a backlog of the first two.
While working out, it’s Metal, Drum and Bass, or Trance, depending on mood.
As long as its classical before 1800, it’s fine. However, I’ve found that if I have to do some really creative writing, the range of options dwindles to mostly one recording of Bach’s cello suites (Jean-Guihen Queyras), those will always keep me going.