Music while hacking?

What do you listen to?

[lZakl]

Personally, when I am hacking away, (now don't laugh) I like to listen to Patsy Cline. I turn the volume all the way up, and hack my PHP scripts. I swear that I am more productive with Patsy helping.

Some people can't listen to music while programming... Can you? If so, what do you listen to?

A few years back, it was Metallica, Pantera, Sublime, etc... My wife would just die when she saw me working away to what she called "crap". I then moved to Yanni, David Lanz, Sarah Brightman, and various soundtracks. Now Patsy helps me ... If I'd only been born decades ago..

[Essex_boy]

Listeningto a lot of David Gray currently but Sisters of Mercy through to Suzanne Vega, her album 'songs in the colour of Red and grey' is a must have.

[giggle]

I have the T.V. on in a little moveable box on my screen. (I work alone, from home).

[mattglet]

I NEED music playing while I develop. I go insane without it. You might as well take my keyboard away if I can't have music.

As for selection, I prefer something with some killer guitar riffs. Old-school Metallica, Mudvayne, Deftones, or Tool is usually what you'll find when I'm in deep. Otherwise, the office player usually has anything from Michael Jackson to Van Halen to Sugar Hill Gang to Duran Duran to a ton of indie/lower label artists wanting to make it big!

[supermanjnk]

I like to listen to nightwish.

[Dayo_UK]

When I am developing there needs to be very little noise.

When I am doing normal mundane tasks - I normally flick around for different online radio stations.

[limbo]

I love to listen to music while I work. Can't do it in the office but while I am at home I always have something on... recent albums include The Killers, Chillipeppers, Kasabian, Best of Groove Armada, Jack Johnson, Zero 7, Roni Size, Foo Fighters, Handsome Boy Modelling school....

[troels nybo nielsen]

Just to name a few genres:

Andean music
Flamenco
Klezmer
Ragas
Qawwali
Xöömei
Jazz
etc. etc. etc.

And then there's the whole range of classical European music.

Right now I listen to Antonio Soler's Fandango for harpsichord.

<added>
Actually I do no programming, but some of the things that I do use my computer for are rather complicated and demanding so I thought my answer was appropriate anyway.
</added>

[edited by: troels_nybo_nielsen at 9:38 pm (utc) on Mar. 15, 2005]

[httpwebwitch]

Though I usually work in silence, I do sometimes appreciate some background music. Usually quiet stuff or ambient music that doesn't distract

Lately it's been:
jazz.fm (excellent online radio station from Toronto)
Cocteau Twins
Sigur Ros
David Sylvian
Brian Eno

[lZakl]

Actually I do no programming, but some of the things that I do use my computer for are rather complicated and demanding so I thought my answer was appropriate anyway.

Same difference, you're involved in thought while listening... That's all I was after :0)

Dayo_UK, I tried listening to nothing today, and you know what? The sound of by breath was deafaning! I was more productive with music on! I though for sure I would see an increase in productivity (however miniscule) but it was just the oposite! I suppose it could be that I am used to listening to music, and that 'clearing my head' would help... but still, I felt empty without it! lol. I'm going to go meditate in silence, maybe I'll try again tomorrow. I love experiments.

-- Zak

[curlykarl]

Brian Eno

His brother was my music teacher at school :)

[Leosghost]

*844 473-2* or similar or Bach ..depending how good the security is..

whoops ;-)..confused me style codes for a while there

[AWildman]

I can listen to any music while I'm working, but I work much faster when I listen to death metal or dance music. Its just like exercising: fast music comes on, run faster, slow music starts playing, run slower. Hey, I never said I did particularly well at exercising! :)

[Debbie_King]

Nope, I need complete and utter silence when I'm coding (or doing anything else complicated on the 'puter).

It's not true what they say about women being able to do more than one thing at once... I can't :-)

[lZakl]

It's not true what they say about women being able to do more than one thing at once... I can't :-)

I am going to tell my wife you said this... She told me there weren't, but there ARE some non-allpowerful ones out there after all. I knew it! Gonna have to go home and give her the "I told you so!" ;0)

-- Zak

[trillianjedi]

Miles Davies
Albert King
Bird
Jimmie Vaughan (brother of Stevie Ray)
Albert Collins
Robert Cray
Ronnie Earl

Hmmmm..... 5/7 are guitarists. Interesting.

[grandpa]

Good old fashioned Rock and Roll.