Comments on: que musica por escriba!?

Question: que musica por escriba!?

delmoi — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 18:54:01 -0800

NaNoWriMo is comming up. What sorts of writin' music can you think of?

I'm not personally participating in NaNoWriMo, but I am working on a novel right now. I've got the Propellerheads and Orbital on right now. I'd like some complicated, sophisticated techno with no lyrics to distract me. If you can think of some non-techno lyric free music feel free to suggest that as well.

By: ludwig_van

ludwig_van — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:05:37 -0800

Sigur Ros. It's not techno, but I find it very conducive to writing. They have (awesome) vocals, some of them are Icelandic and others are made-up gibberish.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:10:29 -0800

Tortoise. And Aphex Twin.

By: xmutex

xmutex — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:10:32 -0800

Autechre: Amber, Incunabula, and Chiastic Slide are perfect.

Aphex Twin: 26 Mixes for Cash is a great compilation. The Analord stuff is also blissful but not very convenient to come by (not sure if it's released on CD yet).

Boards of Canada: Music Has the Right to Children, Geogaddi.

By: mabelcolby

mabelcolby — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:15:23 -0800

I usually listen to sitar music, especially Ravi Shankar

By: jdroth

jdroth — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:23:20 -0800

I like to write (and program) to chillout music, especially the fantastic two-disc set Essential Chillout. I've used it for so long (five years) that it's like a signal to my brain to work in a certain mode. I'm able to focus on writing while the rest of my brain is idly taken up by the music...

By: jdroth

jdroth — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:24:13 -0800

Where did the phrase "Essenital Chillout" come from? That's bizarre. I meant Chilled Euphoria. Bah! Essential Chillout?

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:36:42 -0800

Secret Chiefs 3, Book M.

By: moift

moift — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:38:13 -0800

Venetian Snares

By: kelegraph

kelegraph — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:46:46 -0800

leroy anderson's "the typewriter" song, on repeat.

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:47:18 -0800

On my last writing stint:

cat /dev/urandom > /dev/dsp

Amazing how the lack of distractions can create ideas.

By: jodic

jodic — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:50:00 -0800

I think writing music depends on the writer. When I'm writing I can only listen to two records - Liz Phair's "Whip-smart" and Matthew Sweet's "100% Fun." I'm not even sure why those records work. Everything else is just entirely too distracting for words.

By: Godbert

Godbert — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:53:41 -0800

Kickstart70, that's an awesome source of whitenoise, something I've been looking for for a while. And it's so simple!

Now why didn't I think of that ...

By: Independent Scholarship

Independent Scholarship — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 20:11:42 -0800

Mozart, Bach, Elgar....

By: mai

mai — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 21:09:29 -0800

Mum - green grass of tunnel on repeat. It's very soothing.

Or Belle and Sebastian, only because their songs are super-familiar and remind me of all the other times I listened to them while working hard.

By: Skyanth

Skyanth — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 22:35:30 -0800

You might like some Proem, Avia, Bullitnuts, Plaid, Caia, oh, and Fluxion's Vibrant Forms II album!

They might all be a bit too downtempo for you though (and Plaid a bit too erratic). But check them out.

Um. Fischerspooner? They got some instrumental stuff. I myself would write to Gare du Nord but I realise that's not what you were asking.

By: johngoren

johngoren — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 23:26:49 -0800

The Ghost World soundtrack once got me through many late nights with its ghostly early blues songs.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 23:52:32 -0800

Jazz jazz jazz.

Pick a style that sparks brain interest but doesn't demand constant attention. For me, that's usually trios or small groups, like 1940s Nat King Cole, 50s Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Brown & Roach and the Davis/Coltrane quintet. Smart big-band swing like Basie's late-30s Decca stuff and the Blanton/Webster Ellington also works, as does jump swing like Louis Jordan. Occasionally free jazz hits the spot, especially Dolphy. Anything lively enough to keep me in my seat and writing, but smooth enough to not distract me from the work.

By: reynir

reynir — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 05:54:18 -0800

Can't help you with the techno side of things. But on the non-techno side, when I'm writing I'm fond of listening to:

Godspeed You Black Emperor
Steve Reich
Philip Glass

And this is vocal music, but because I don't have a clue what they're singing about the voice is just another instrument to me:

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Tinariwen
Rokia Traore

By: Decani

Decani — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 07:40:24 -0800

Give Peace a Chance.

i.e, none at all. Seriously, I can't understand the idea of "background" music. I like music, therefore it is a distraction. Even - perhaps especially - when it is music I don't like. Then it becomes an irritant. If it's music I like, I want to pay attention to it. There is no in-between stage. If I am trying to do any other task that requires - or benefits from - concentration, I want silence or as near to it as I can get.

I'm not trying to duck your question. I'm suggesting you try writing with no distractions at all. You may find you write better.

By: hellbient

hellbient — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 08:25:53 -0800

Stewart Walker - Stabiles
Produkt - Stretch, Float
Elektronische Musik aus Buenos Aires
Speicher 1 and 2
Superlongevity 1 or 3
Micheal Mayer - Immer
Thomas Brinkmann - Row, Rosa, Studio 1 Variationen
Farben - Textstar
Jan Jelenik - Loop-finding-jazz-records
Basic Channel
Mike Ink - Studio 1
Kit Clayton - Nek Sanalet
Plastikman - Musik

Nu-dub is really good for this as well. Try:
Rhythm & Sound
Nonplace Urban Field - Golden Star
Pole 3

By: mic stand

mic stand — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 09:04:13 -0800

Sound Tribe Sector 9
Signal Path
The New Deal
Lotus

You can get live shows from archive.org.

By: miniape

miniape — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 09:49:17 -0800

Explore the Kranky records catalog. Specifically: Keith Fullerton Whitman, pan american, fontanelle, stars of the lid, Loscil, and Jessica Bailiff.

This stuff is less techno and more atmospheric or glitchy. Good for when you don't want much of a beat, or a regular rythym.

By: hellbient

hellbient — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 15:15:39 -0800

...also, Monolake's new Polygon Cities

By: cribcage

cribcage — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 23:44:35 -0800

This is the best recording I've heard of a piece of music that helps me to focus my attention like no other. Whether or not it's used as background music for another activity, I've found it to be invaluable as a regular "optimization" tool for my brain.