What do you listen to when you write/paint/create?

[VerseD]

I like to turn on some classical music, jazz, instrumental folk music, or a film score when I'm writing. Something not too distracting always helps me focus and jump starts the imagination engine a little.

Sometimes I listen to music that sets the scene. When I wrote the flying scenes for my NaNoWriMo novel, I listened to The Hero from Flash Gordon by Queen about fifty times. If there was ever a movie of those scenes, that would be the perfect song for it. That only happens once in a while though.

[violent]

Usually Aphex Twin. Specifically, Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2.

[Gwinny]

Hours' worth of OCRemix!

[raymeswh]

i dont know if you would consider coding for the web "creating" but i usually stick to Thrice, SOAD, Zebrahead, and Bullet for my Valentine, it keeps my blood flowing through those long, complex SQL statements and tedious function calls

[Shadowstorm]

Aphex Twin as well. Also:

• Kashiwa Daisuke - Program Music I
• The Flashbulb - any album
• Kattoo - Hang On to a Dream

[Worldcrafter]

Air
Zero 7

And NIN if I'm working on a darker mood.

[shunoshi]

Sasha, The Chemical Brothers, Various game music, Any ambient music with little to no lyrics.

[National Kato]

Originally Posted by violent

Usually Aphex Twin. Specifically, Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2.

I used to listen to this when I wrote. Now that my creative outlet is primarily film, I have to actually listen to the audio tracks of what I'm working on.

[Thanasimos]

CNN or the History Channel. Sometimes Air, Venetian Snares, or fun folksy rock & roll.

[Spectre-7]

I tend to prefer music without lyrics as well, but the type of music depends a lot on the tone of the project. For the novel I wrote last year, it was mostly the BSG soundtrack, Hybrid, Robert Miles, the Halo soundtrack, the Blue Man Group, the Flash Gordon soundtrack, Rodrigo y Gabriela and a little bit of Tool.

More recently, I've had some classical (I love Vivaldi), some jazz funk (Stanton Moore, Garage A Trois and whatever Pandora offers me), Portishead, Nine Inch Nails, the Prodigy, and various world music collections.

Of course, there's a ton of other songs that are single-plays, but the above are what I end up listening to over and over (and over) again. I'm not really bothered much by repetition--especially if something has the precise *feel* I need at that moment--and I've occasionally been known just leave a single song on loop for a few hours.

[shunoshi]

Originally Posted by Spectre-7

Of course, there's a ton of other songs that are single-plays, but the above are what I end up listening to over and over (and over) again. I'm not really bothered much by repetition--especially if something has the precise *feel* I need at that moment--and I've occasionally been known just leave a single song on loop for a few hours.

I've done this with my NaNoWriMo story actually. I listened to the Braveheart soundtrack on repeat. It has a nice epic medieval feel, so it helps.

[Iron Past]

I don't know if I "create" perse, but when I'm drafting my architecture stuff (for college), I like to listen to... nothing. God, if I can actually find a place that is quiet I love it. That aside, anything without lyrics, like classical or soundtracks.

[Hellbug]

Sigur Ros is great because I can't actually understand the lyrics. Sometimes I just feel bad for Icelandic people because they are missing out on half of the beauty of the band.

[Thanasimos]

Originally Posted by Hellbug

Sigur Ros is great because I can't actually understand the lyrics. Sometimes I just feel bad for Icelandic people because they are missing out on half of the beauty of the band.

Nope! More like a quarter of the beauty. About half the songs are in a nonsense language (which you'd know if you knew Icelandic )

[Hellbug]

Originally Posted by Gilius Thunderhead

Nope! More like a quarter of the beauty. About half the songs are in a nonsense language (which you'd know if you knew Icelandic )

Oh, Hopelandish or whatever it is called. I was referring to the songs that actually had lyrics to them. For some reason, Jonsi singing about "Starry Elves" doesn't seem as cool as Staralfur is in every other aspect of the song.

[VerseD]

Originally Posted by Hellbug

Sigur Ros is great because I can't actually understand the lyrics. Sometimes I just feel bad for Icelandic people because they are missing out on half of the beauty of the band.

It's true. The vocals become another instrument and I like it. It's more about structure and skill than wording.

[Voodoo]

Either Richard Wagner or Edvard Grieg.

[pronounconnoun]

Interpol, The Pillows, and Local H.

I like music that gets me moving and lyrics that make me think.

[andru]

Originally Posted by Iron Past

I don't know if I "create" perse, but when I'm drafting my architecture stuff (for college), I like to listen to... nothing. God, if I can actually find a place that is quiet I love it. That aside, anything without lyrics, like classical or soundtracks.

I gotta say, I am the complete opposite. There's no way I can sit still at 4 am on an architecture studio project without having some hypnotizing beats to keep me concentrated.

Man, I was going to pop in and add my $.02, but then Kato wrote:

Originally Posted by National Kato

I used to listen to this when I wrote. Now that my creative outlet is primarily film, I have to actually listen to the audio tracks of what I'm working on.

And Hellbug wrote:

Originally Posted by Hellbug

Sigur Ros is great because I can't actually understand the lyrics. Sometimes I just feel bad for Icelandic people because they are missing out on half of the beauty of the band.

Thus leaving me without anything to say/do other than quote them.