Comments on: Songs To Kill Procrastination

Question: Songs To Kill Procrastination

pipstar — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:29:30 -0800

MotivationFilter, MusicFilter: What particular songs motivate you?

This is my year for finally putting cool ideas into action and I was hoping to gather a playlist of good, procrastination killing songs that will help me to start and keep motivated.

I already have a lot of music that is enjoyable to work to (once I've actually started) and which helps to maintain flow, so what I'd like are indie, punk, pop, folk, any genre songs which inspire me to do the "starting".

Hidden amongst the responses to this old Ask MeFi post about motivation was a link to the lyrics of Little Acorns by The White Stripes. If you're familiar with the track you'll know that there's a voiceover introducing the concept of "Take all your problems // And rip 'em apart". And every time I listen to the song now, I remind myself to take that advice.

So, what tracks can you suggest?

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:34:07 -0800

You're the Best! Around! Nothin's gonna ever keep you down!

By: phrontist

phrontist — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:38:26 -0800

Kraftwerk's Tour De France Soundtracks album is amazing for this. Much of their music is, but that album in particular will have you one with your inner robot/cyclist in no time. It's more of a "getting into the groove" thing though, you may want to start off with some other tracks.

The stuff the really gets me going is Rammstein. "Ich Will" or "Benzin" come to mind. It's very... invigorating.

It would seem I associate work with Germans.

By: allkindsoftime

allkindsoftime — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:43:36 -0800

Stuff that gets me going is anything by Rage Against The Machine. Unfortunately it gets me going in an anti-corporate-empire kind of way, so its better for personal stuff than it is for work most of the time.

By: cortex

cortex — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:44:15 -0800

Loud and fast and melodic. When I have to have a soundtrack to get me off my ass, I usually put on Sleater-Kinney.

If we're talking broad psychoacoustics, tempo is important to me, content less so. I don't need to hear and parse motivational words—I need to feel thumping, driving, go go go energy. Angry raaawr music works better than Frente, even though Frente makes me happier.

By: BSummers

BSummers — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:45:22 -0800

Eye of the tiger by Survivor of course

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:49:08 -0800

I'm trying to write me thesis right now, and Motörhead's song Live To Win has come in extremely handy. Also, the entire Overkill album. If that can't spur you to action, you probably don't have a pulse.

By: ca_little

ca_little — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:49:14 -0800

In my job, I occasionally get stuck with the task of doing technical documentation - to the tune of about 100 pages of solid requirements documentation, graphs, charts, tables, etc.

All of which is very important, and usually very dull. Couple that with the fact that I'm doing this writing on a computer attached to the internets via a series of tubes to sites like this...well, distractions are easy to come by.

What do I use? Music. Strangely, though, I usually listen to 3 albums, random tracks from each, over and over until I'm through with the task. The albums are:
1. Kashmir: The Symphonic Led Zeppelin
2. Vince Guaraldi Trio's A Charlie Brown Christmas or Greatest Hits (depends on the season, of course)
3. Any Dave Brubeck/Paul Desmond/Gerry Mulligan live disc. There are a number of them out there, I usually go for this or this.

The key for me is no lyrics - nothing to distract you.

By: phrontist

phrontist — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:49:44 -0800

Oh, dude, KMFDM. Better than the best!

By: spec80

spec80 — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:51:25 -0800

You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray, the Musical puts a bounce in my step

By: drezdn

drezdn — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:58:57 -0800

When I need to get started at work, I listen to Gasolina by Daddy Yankee. Warning! the linked video may contain ladies wearing only bathing suits.

By: Robot Rowboat

Robot Rowboat — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:00:03 -0800

Some strong coffee and Any Day Now by Elbow gets me in the mood:

Any day now, hows about getting out of this place. Anyways. Got a lot of spare time, some of my youth and all of my senses on overdrive.

By: Roach

Roach — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:01:01 -0800

Guns 'n Roses - You Could Be Mine
2Pac - Hit 'em Up
Rage Against the Machine - Entire first album
Eminem - Sing for the Moment
Phish - Down With Disease
Grateful Dead - Eyes of the World
Prince - Pimp and Circumstance
Janes Addiction - Idiots Rule

By: pipstar

pipstar — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:01:23 -0800

Good, keep them coming on. But I am looking for more lyric based motivation. However, so many of these tracks will be great once I actually get started doing said great ideas.

BTW: These are more personal projects than work related, so RATM, Rammstein etc are good.

You may have noticed that my procrastination is at the level of gather songs, prepare playlist, refine playlist before I can even start an action!

I suppose that I'm looking for more "psyching up" / positive feeling songs that reduce any niggling fear of failure thoughts. Eye Of The Tiger is great, though sadly I do associate it with previous employment in telemarketing.

By: micayetoca

micayetoca — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:11:06 -0800

Calypso. Definitely. Specially the more acoustic/orchestra oriented, not the keyboardsy kind.

The link goes to a myspace page with two songs by the Mighty Sparrow. King Sparrow. Nothing like that voice and rhythm to fill you up with energy.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:32:21 -0800

I have a whole playlist of highly motivational/empowering songs for my workout mix. I like 'em over the top - the kind of song I can't hold still to and won't get off the elliptical during. So while many of these aren't literal "you can do it" songs, they are very much "I can do anything" songs, or they feel like it.

1. Sex Bomb - Tom Jones
2. Total Eclipse Of The Heart - Nikki French
3. Infected - Bad Religion
4. Mony Mony - Billy Idol (like a nerd I tend to skip a little while on the elliptical crosstrainer because this beat is so sweet)
5. Blister In the Sun - Violent Femmes
6. Time Bomb - Rancid
7. Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
8. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
9. Shake It Up - The Cars
10. Rebel Girl - Bikini Kill
11. Short Skirt, Long Jacket - Cake
12. We Gotta Get out Of This Place - The Animals
13. Lucky - Britney Spears
14. 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
15. Damn Good Times - They Might Be Giants
16. Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
17. I Hope You Die - The Bloodhound Gang (this is always first, right as I walk in to the gym... heh heh)
18. Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue
19. Gloria - Laura Branigan (this is the best one. I always raise my heart rate way too high with this song)
20. Don't Bring Me Down - ELO
21. You Should Be Dancing - The BeeGees
22. Gimme Gimme Gimme - Abba
23. The Infanta - The Decemberists
24. Stonger - Britney Spears
25. I Wanna Be a Supermodel - Jill Sobule

By: ajr

ajr — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:33:02 -0800

Make Yourself by Incubus (NSFW)

By: vytae

vytae — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:54:40 -0800

Break My Stride - Matthew Wilder
7 - Prince
Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
Macho Man - the Village People
Bust a Move - Young MC
Today is the Day - Apollo Sunshine
Chick Magnet - MXPX

I used to listen to the Mission Impossible theme song on repeat on my way to take midterms and finals in college. (Usually the remix from the mid-nineties movie - by Moby? But sometimes the original, too.) It made me feel like a super spy who could accomplish anything.

By: bryanzera

bryanzera — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:30:48 -0800

"Remember the Name" (original or Funkadelic Remix) by Fort Minor really pumps my nads for any reason. I like it to run to it, but it's equally good for getting me to write code.

By: sleevener

sleevener — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:34:29 -0800

James Brown -- Super Bad
The Aquabats -- Super Rad!

By: dmaterialized

dmaterialized — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:56:00 -0800

Man, have I got suggestions for you.

Like electronica/techno? Try Shpongle - everything they do. It's so intense and magical you can't help but want to DO something! Especially "Once Upon the Sea of Blissful Awareness" - wow.

Enigma - The Screen Behind the Mirror (album) - kicks off with a BANG and guides you through a veritable universe of moods and feelings

Delerium - Karma (album)

ANYTHING by E.S. Posthumous - turns anything from walking to staring at the sky into an epic film!

as for songs?

Epic : Sean Callery - "Jack in the Limo" (from 24) and the "Theme from 24" (I'm serious)

Rock : Radiohead - "2+2=5 (The Lukewarm)" and "Sit Down / Stand Up (Snakes & Ladders)"

Rock : Tool - "Vicarious", "Parabola", and "Right in Two"

Dance : Rob Dougan - "Clubbed to Death", "Furious Angels"

Indie Rock : Dredg - all of their first album, "Leitmotif"... beautiful.

Nu-Metal/Pop : Linkin Park - "Figure.09"

Trip-Hop/Electrorap : Massive Attack - "Inertia Creeps", "Heat Miser", "Antistar"

Post-Rock : A Silver Mt. Zion - "Ring Them Bells (Freedom Has Come & Gone)"

Dance : BT - "1.618" (AAAAAH I LOVE), "The Great Escape", "The Antikythera Mechanism", "Never Gonna Come Back Down", and "Dreaming"

Dance : Hybrid - "Finished Symphony" !!!!!!!

Epic : J Ralph - "One Million Miles Away" (you may know it as "That awesome rainy-sounding Volkswagen song where everything is beating in time")

Progressive Rock : Porcupine Tree - "Trains", "Sound of Muzak", "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here", "Start of Something Beautiful"

Progressive Rock : Coheed & Cambria - "Welcome Home"

Electro-pop : Conjure One - "Years", "Manic Star", "Pandora" < -- especiallybr>
Rock : A Perfect Circle - "The Hollow"

Epic : AFI - "Prelude 12/21" (I cannot stand AFI, but this song is absolutely NOTHING like anything else they've done, lasts under 2 minutes and totally pumps me up)

and even chants! Hildegard's "O Euchari (in leta via)" is amazingly inspiring. A wonderful modernization of the song is known as "Vision (Euchari)" on a CD by Richard Souther of the same name. The Swedish band Garmarna's "Euchari" (from Hildegard von Bingen, not the one from Vedergallningen) is also exquisite.

And speaking of Garmarna-- HOLY CRAP. Try on "Gamen", "Herr Holkin", and "Sorgsen Ton". If you like the style but want a more electronic-y feel, check out Sorten Muld -- their latest album is beautiful, especially "Tor af Haavsgard" and "Roselil Rose".

I also really like chill music, like The Album Leaf ("Red-Eye" is one of my favorite songs of all time) and Thievery Corporation (with the inimitable "Lebanese Blonde," "State of the Union" and "Warning Shots")

You're bound to find one of those you like.

By: AV

AV — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 13:17:32 -0800

Off the top of my head, here's some of the music that helped me train for a marathon (uptempo, energetic, lyrics a bit more nuanced than 'you can do it' but still inspiring):

Disillusion by Badly Drawn Boy (indie)
Sam's Town by the Killers (pseudo-indie)
Choose Life by the Pilfers (ska)
Body Movin' (the Fatboy Slim remix) by the Beastie Boys
Slide by Ani DiFranco (folk-rock)
Five State Drive by Less Than Jake (ska)
Lights Out by Millencolin (punk)
Incarnation by Snapcase (hardcore)

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 13:20:11 -0800

Not happy, but will motivate you (this is gym music for me):

Low self Opinion by Henry Rollins

Step Back by Henry Rollins

By: scody

scody — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 13:35:36 -0800

"Absolute Beginners" by the Jam and "Walls Come Tumbling Down" by the Style Council are both good for this for me -- ah, young Paul Weller in his pre-cranky, still-idealistic days!

By: Mach3avelli

Mach3avelli — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:07:15 -0800

Lyrically-impotent, but a melody that will drive you absolutely mad with intensity, try this one out:

!!! - Bend Over Beethoven.mp3

Shoots me into a productive mode with every listen.

By: good in a vacuum

good in a vacuum — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:31:45 -0800

"Club Foot" by Kasabian.

By: good in a vacuum

good in a vacuum — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:33:08 -0800

Oops, forgot this: video for "Club Foot".

By: Sara Anne

Sara Anne — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 15:30:49 -0800

The English Beat- Ackee 123, off of Special Beat Service

Built To Spill- Sidewalk

The Postal Service- Natural Anthem
Buddy Holly- Ready Teddy
Luna Speedbumps

By: salvia

salvia — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 19:55:14 -0800

I haven't read all the other answers. Did someone already mention these...?

* "Welcome to the Working Week" (...you'd better get to it) by Elvis Costello
* "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" by the Beastie Boys (good for all-nighters) (as is "Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes by They Might Be Giants, but hopefully you're preventing all-nighters here)
* "Do it Imperfectly" by Ani di Franco
* "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey
* "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson
* "From the Morning" by Nick Drake (to me this song means, life is short and beautiful, so play the game you want to play, right from the start -- also would be a good first or second song on the mix because it's slow)

By: scarlet

scarlet — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:07:19 -0800

"When You Were Young" by the Killers
('Can we climb this mountain, I don't know, higher now than ever before ...')

"For You I Will" by Teddy Geiger
('I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have')

"I Don't Want to Be" by Gavin DeGraw
('I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately')

"Let's Get Loud" by Jennifer Lopez
('If you wanna live your life / live it all the way and don't you waste it')

And some self-explanatory ones:
"Let's Get it Started" by the Black-Eyed Peas
"Gotta Get Through This" by Daniel Bedingfield
"Live it Up" by Sheryl Crow

By: benign

benign — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:08:41 -0800

2nding KMFDM, particularly the album NIHIL.

By: ageispolis

ageispolis — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 01:06:12 -0800

Motivational Music Mix

1. Kraftwerk - Computer Love (Computer World)
2. Joanna Newsom - Monkey & Bear (Ys)
3. Frank Black - Johnny Barleycorn (Fast Man Raider Man)
4. Holst - Uranus "The Magician" (The Planets)
5. Mad Lib - Man In The Street (Blunted in the Bombshelter)

By: AV

AV — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 06:29:57 -0800

I just read your follow-up that stuff like "Eye of the Tiger" is good, so here's a few from my 80s metal playlist:

You've Got Another Thing Coming by Judas Priest
Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue
Got the Time by Anthrax
Rock You Like A Hurricane by Scorpions
School's Out by Alice Cooper
Here I Go Again by Whitesnake

and of course: Final Countdown by Europe.

By: tipthepizzaguy

tipthepizzaguy — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 19:46:51 -0800

There are two Piebald songs that I think fit what you're looking for. They're indie/pop-punk, very upbeat, and they put me in a good mood when I feel like procrastinating:

Just a Simple Plan
American Hearts

By: scody

scody — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 10:48:06 -0800

late addition: "Move on Up" by Curtis Mayfield (the Jam did a good cover of it, too).