Listening to music while we work isn’t a new phenomenon. We do it at home, in the office, at school. We do it all the time when we are working at the local coffee shop. Many times, we are at the mercy of others who decide what music we hear (like in the coffee shop). Others’ musical choices can be effective at drowning out the noise around you, but these choices can also distract you from the work at hand. However, it’s when you are alone that you have control over what you hear.
When I have a difficult writing task ahead of me, I tend to play a certain type of music, music that inspires and invigorates me. Once I’ve settled into what it is that I have to do, I typically turn off the music, as I need quiet to concentrate. Initially, though, the music inspires. I have a number of playlists on my iPod, and they support different types of activities. Some are for relaxing; others are for mundane tasks. Some are inspiring (like the one below), and others are meant to drown out the din of noise around me.
Billie’s Playlist (motivational music)
- “Prove it All Night,” Bruce Springsteen
- “Bat out of Hell,” Meatloaf
- “Hound Dog,” Big Mama Thornton
- “Love is the Drug,” Roxy Music
- “Dear Mama,” Tupac Shakur
- “Hey Jealousy,” Gin Blossoms
- “Man in the Long Black Coat,” Joan Osborne
- “I’ll Fly Away,” Jars of Clay
- “Kiss Off,” Violent Femmes
- “My Blakean Year,” Patti Smith
How about you? If you had to construct a playlist of 10 songs, why would you do so (motivation? relaxation?) and what would you include? Please leave your playlist (with contextualizing title!) in the comments below.
[Image by Flickr user Dave77459 ; Licensed under Creative Commons.]
Follow Profhacker through your favorite RSS reader: 
16 Responses to What’s on your iPod? (a playlist list)
Barry Jones - November 9, 2009 at 6:43 pm
QPE has been getting a lot of playtime in my office lately.
http://www.last.fm/music/qpe
Janice - November 9, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I don’t have an iPod, but my current top ten “get your ass in gear and work songs” are as follows:
Paint it Black — The Rolling Stones
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) — Great Big Sea
Vox — Sarah McLachlan
If I Had a Rocket Launcher — Bruce Cockburn
Be My Yoko Ono — BNL
God is a DJ — Pink
Mary Ellen Carter — Stan Rogers
D for Democracy — Spirit of the West
Blackleg Miner — Steeleye Span
Not Ready to Make Nice — Dixie Chicks
Alec Hosterman - November 9, 2009 at 7:36 pm
This is a hard question! To narrow it down to 10 is difficult, however if I need motivation or inspiration I’ll usually throw on any of these artists, and specifically these songs:
Dave Matthews Band – Stay (live)
Pirates of the Caribbean – sword fighting scene
Peter Gabriel – Secret World (live)
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Higher Ground
Robbie Williams – Let Me Entertain You (live)
Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run (live)
Tina Turner – Proud Mary (live)
Van Halen – Jump (Sammy Hagar, live)
U2 – Elevation
Kenny Loggins – I’m Alright (live, from the Redwoods)
Brian Croxall - November 9, 2009 at 8:12 pm
I have a hard time working when there is music on. I’ve been known to put ear plugs in when working in my own office (the desktop had a particularly loud fan). Having said that, I’ve found that I can often write to the music of Steve Reich. I think it has something to do with how many patterns there are in it and how glacial the music is. It doesn’t hurt that most of his pieces are at least 15 minutes long. I’ve recently found that I can listen to Burial and get some work done as well.
Doulton - November 9, 2009 at 10:11 pm
I’ve got a masochistic love of lists even thought they typically mean rejecting lovely things.
So my list is called: 2009 Compulsive Listening and includes songs I’ve discovered and downloaded during this calendar year–they might be older songs, but are relatively new to me.
Okay: Venice is Sinkin
Fideltiy: Regina Spektor
Marry Me: Saint Vincent
Mary Pickford: Katie Melua
Absent Friends: The Divine Comedy
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door: Antony and the Johnsons
Scientist Studies: Death Cab for Cutie
Sleep Sandwith: Elvis Perkins
Fresh, Clean Towels: Erin and Her Cello
Effington: Ben Folds
Bill Guinee - November 9, 2009 at 11:28 pm
I work best with music that either does not have any lyrics or which is in a language I don’t speak. These days, for example, I am listening to a lot of Brazilian women singers — I don’t speak Portugese.
Joanna - November 9, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Today I was working in a cafe where they were playing Miles Davis, and it was just right.
Deborah - November 10, 2009 at 9:35 am
It would depend on which iPod you looked on….but I write with my shuffle. My playlist is pretty heavy on Nickelback right now but there are a few others I would put in the top 10:
Burn it to the Ground (Nickelback)
If Today was Your Last Day (Nickelback)
Shakin Hands (Nickelback)
Un Point C’est Toi (Zazie)
Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi)
Johnny and June (Heidi Newfeld)
Gravity (John Mayer)
Where did you sleep last night (Nirvana)
Losing my Religion (REM)
So What (Pink)
Barry Jones - November 10, 2009 at 9:46 am
Burial is very high on my list as well.
Good choice.
Todd Finley - November 9, 2009 at 6:33 pm
I have 5 Years of Hyperdub (2009) on heavy rotation or I play the cello station on my iPhone’s Pandora app.
Rohan Maitzen - November 10, 2009 at 7:34 pm
It depends on what phase of my work I’m in. For the more tentative, feeling-my-way stage of writing, I find Bach excellent, especially the solo cello suites or the Murray Perahia recording of the Goldberg Variations. For grading, something soothing: I have a playlist I’ve named “Serene Strings,” for instance, which includes things like the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and the Lark Ascending, various slow movements from chamber music works like Schubert piano trios or Mozart piano-violin sonatas. Administrative tasks require something more cheering!
Knitting Clio - November 11, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Is it just me, or does this discussion resemble an academic version of “High Fidelity”?
Julie Platt - November 11, 2009 at 2:26 am
I like to listen to dreamy, abstract, and/or ambient music when I work. I listen to a lot of Explosions in the Sky, Helios, Lights Out Asia, Pacific UV, Trespassers William, Cocteau Twins, and Ride.
As luck would have it, I also like Burial.
David Gabbard - November 11, 2009 at 2:39 pm
MY HIP-HOP MOTIVATIONAL PLAYLIST
Rabbit Run – Eminem (about writer’s block)
Careful What You Wish For – Eminem
Underground – Eminem
When the Music Stops – Eminem & D12
Woke Up – KRS-ONE
Holler If you Hear Me – 2Pac
Swagga Like Us – Jaz Z, Kanye, Lil Wayne, TI, M.I.A.
Come With Me – Puff Daddy & Jimmy Page (yes, that one – Led Zep)
One Day At a Time – 2Pac & Eminem
Soldier – Eminem
Still Ballin’ – 2Pac
Bump Heads – Eminem & 50 Cent
No Apologies – Eminem
Otis - November 16, 2009 at 8:13 pm
In no order, as feel good as they get for me…
This must be the place for me… Talking Heads
Run around… Blues Traveler
Smokin in the boys room… Brownsville Station
All the young dudes… Mott the Hoople
Bang a bong… T. Rex
Stuck in the middle with you… Stealers Wheel
Kodachrome… Paul Simon
Every picture tells a story… Rod Stewart
Funk 49… James Gang
Slow Ride… Foghat
Yeah… Old School. (Now in a frenzy!)
Todd Finley - December 26, 2009 at 7:35 am
Which women do you like?