I find it very hard to read while listening to hip hop. Similarly, it’s hard to listen to some downtempo folk when I’m going on a run. So what are the right types of music to listen to while studying? And more importantly, what about all these other different types of work: writing, reading, math-ing? Well, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite albums to listen to while working. Vibe out below:
Graphic Design: Daft Punk – Alive 2007
I imagine that Daft Punk’s Alive 2006/2007 tour would have been one of the greatest times to be a Daft Punk fan. This was when they were in peak form: they had dozens of recognizable hits, and were fully embracing their maximalist robot lives. Alive 2007 is a recording of their Paris concert, and everyone is turned up and cheering as Daft Punk lays down hit after hit. I can generally tolerate some lyrics when working with the icons and images of Adobe, and while Daft Punk certainly has some words, they usually only serve to accentuate the beat and help you participate by singing along. If you want to design your heart out in the middle of a massive party, I strongly recommend you play this.
Computer Programming: Four Tet – Beautiful Rewind
Similar to other genre-blending electronic musicians, Four Tet isn’t afraid to juxtapose glitches and “electronic” sound with a warm and “live” sound. I find myself wanting to sing along to the vocals in the track, even if they are completely incomprehensible (the song “Buchla” is a perfect example of this. Butler is just a synthesizer company). I come back to Four Tet when I want to similarly juxtapose the digital and real world when computer programming. The common image of someone who is “in the zone” and coding is probably on their third Mountain Dew, in a dark basement. But it’s important to remember that programs are written for everyone, and should be beautiful and accessible. Four Tet is kinda like that too: textured and nuanced, but enjoyable and accessible.
Math/Science Problem Sets: Boards of Canada – Music Has the Right to Children
I can’t exactly place why this is the case, but Boards of Canada feels a lot like science and math. This may just be me projecting, but Boards of Canada thinks it too: songs like “Triangles & Rhombuses” and scattered samples of volcanic excursions encourage, or at least don’t reject, the association. Their name even has a naturalist association, stemming from the documentary-producing National Film Board of Canada. The analog sound and hip-hop beats feel somewhat nostalgic, and maybe it helps me approach some chemical reaction with the same childlike sense of wonder I watched Planet Earth with.
Reading/Annotating: The Field – From Here We Go Sublime
Last winter, I was working on a large biology literature review. Every paper I read would lead to a new list of papers to read, and I think the only way I got through it was coffee and The Field. I continued to use The Field as a way to slog through long and dense readings in future classes as well. The Field is simultaneously a minimal head trip and a pump-up soundtrack. This is for making every highlight, underline, and annotation feel important.
Essay Writing: Brian Eno – Ambient 4: On Land
In contrast to the work that needs to keep chugging along, writing a paper often requires longer moments of calm and thought before writing more. It’s in these moments that I turn to the non-rhythmic ambient music of Brian Eno, to keep me focused but not feeling behind. Brian Eno’s first album to be explicitly labeled as “ambient” was Ambient 1: Music for Airports, an album that I still make a point of listening to when I go to the airport. Ambient 4: On Land is the final installment of this series, a collage of nature and mechanical sounds that will sustain you in your world for at least the 45 minutes of the album, and you could probably loop this or go into another Ambient album.