Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by Bahamut on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @03:05AM
(#14750675)
Generally power metal here - Nightwish, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Angra, Edguy, HammerFall, Manowar, Kamelot, older Sonata Arctica, Demons & Wizards, etc.
Sometimes I'll venture into some female-fronted metal bands like Within Temptation or Delain too.
Regular heavy metal also is always fine - Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, some Dio.
Dream Theater is also quite a great progressive metal band, as well as their side project Liquid Tension Experiment.
Some solo guitarists make some great stuff - one of my personal favorites is Kiko Loureiro (Angra, Megadeth).
As far as non-metal artists I'll listen to while coding, one of my favorites is Gary Moore - he was an extraordinarily prolific artist, one of the most genre spanning more mainstream artists I listen to. I also like listening to Kate Bush as well.
I've listened to music of a lot of different genres too outside those whose artists I have listed - this might not work for everyone though. If I'm listening to something I like, I'm happy and generally avoid being distracted.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by wristmittens on Tuesday July 11, 2017 @09:03PM
(#14749365)
Digitally Imported has a very wide range of, well, digital music.
They have some free ad supported streams but the annual cost of ad-free $70 is totally worth it in my opinion.
My current favorite channels are Chillstep, Liquid DnB, Nu Disco, Chill & Tropical House. Various levels of repetitive bass to keep your leg and fingers twitching, and differing tempos to either raise or lower your heart rate, depending on what you need in the moment.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by lgunsch on Tuesday July 11, 2017 @03:27PM
(#14747205)
I don't listen to anything when coding. I need the silence, and deep thought. However, when I'm doing trivial things, I listen to classical music. Usually "Essential Classical", or something similar, on Google Music.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by mindcrime on Tuesday July 11, 2017 @12:35PM
(#14745580)
It varies. Sometimes I listen to my "stock" music - hard rock and heavy metal of all varieties, with a special focus on 80's era glam metal, speed metal, and thrash metal.
Other times it's various forms of electronic music. House, trance, europop, Hi-NRG, synthwave/darkwave, etc.
And then sometimes I go with classical music. Bach, Vivaldi, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, Orff, etc.
As far as specifics go, here's some stuff I've listened to lately:
One other thing I'll sometimes do is put on a movie in the background, with the volume turned down fairly low... just enough that I hear some babble and noise, but not enough that I get caught up in what's going on. This only works if I use a movie I've seen / heard many times, so I already know what's happening and won't get drawn into the story. So, something like The Matrix, Antitrust, Tron:Legacy, Hackers, Sneakers, The Social Network, etc.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by vram22 on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @02:07PM
(#14754962)
Rarely Heard Ragas by Vilayat Khan (sitar) is very good for listening to while working, IMO. Similarly other mild melodies on stringed instruments. Relaxes you while you work.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by quantummkv on Tuesday July 11, 2017 @03:10PM
(#14747059)
I generally listen to heavy metal, classic and hard rock that tends a bit towards prog with long sections and a bit of classical, epic feel to them. Something like Dio-era Rainbow, Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by vcanales on Tuesday July 11, 2017 @09:10PM
(#14749404)
Deep house, or other kinds of repetitive electronic music. Even though I'm usually a rock/jazz person, this music is perfect some times: very chill parties, dancing alone but surrounded
by people, programming. Sometimes commuting.
It's relaxing, rather dronic but with enough variation to not be boring.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by Finnucane on Tuesday July 11, 2017 @12:42PM
(#14745646)
Mostly various forms of jazz--lately I've been on a roll with Pharaoh Sanders and Sun Ra. But the key thing is I find it distracting to hear voices while I'm trying to work. So mostly music with no vocals.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by allwein on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @09:03AM
(#14752124)
Anything in a language that I don't personally know. I find that the foreign language lyrics just pass through my brain freely whereas an English or Spanish song will sometimes grab my attentions because my brain is picking up the words. So lately it's been a lot of J-Pop and K-Pop. I used to listen to a bunch of German industrial music, but I've recently been learning German and so that's starting to interfere.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by b3b0p on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @10:44AM
(#14752915)
Depends on what I'm coding.
Sometimes I will put on old episodes of Retronauts (https://retronauts.com). Otherwise I will usually listen to OCRemix Radio / Rainwave (https://rainwave.cc), a SiriusXM station, or an album I'm familiar with.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by mtmail on Tuesday July 11, 2017 @02:10PM
(#14746503)
Chicago's 911. http://youarelistening.to/chicago For some reason and in my timezone difference to Chicago it puts my brain into coding mode, sometimes hours. I doubt anybody else around me would enjoy that.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by dmach on Tuesday July 11, 2017 @09:17PM
(#14749434)
It used to have more but there is still a lot of choice. http://mikesradioworld.com/
Cycle through BBC and Irish stations. Saving regular ones in Rhythmbox or VLC on my phone.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by kagx on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @04:13AM
(#14750926)
When I want to be super productive I'm listening to The Lord of The Rings Soundtrack. It feels like I'm doing some epic coding things. Just imagine when you are doing git push while there is Themes Of The Rohirrim playing.
Re:Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code?
by sotojuan on Wednesday July 12, 2017 @08:06AM
(#14751784)
Classical chamber music, white noise, YouTube videos of people playing video games, the customer service people on the phone sitting 5 feet away from me.
Sometimes I'll venture into some female-fronted metal bands like Within Temptation or Delain too.
Regular heavy metal also is always fine - Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, some Dio.
Dream Theater is also quite a great progressive metal band, as well as their side project Liquid Tension Experiment.
Some solo guitarists make some great stuff - one of my personal favorites is Kiko Loureiro (Angra, Megadeth).
As far as non-metal artists I'll listen to while coding, one of my favorites is Gary Moore - he was an extraordinarily prolific artist, one of the most genre spanning more mainstream artists I listen to. I also like listening to Kate Bush as well.
I've listened to music of a lot of different genres too outside those whose artists I have listed - this might not work for everyone though. If I'm listening to something I like, I'm happy and generally avoid being distracted.
Also, ditto - Prog and power metal seems to kickstart my brain and has often helped me out of nonproductive slumps.
They have some free ad supported streams but the annual cost of ad-free $70 is totally worth it in my opinion.
My current favorite channels are Chillstep, Liquid DnB, Nu Disco, Chill & Tropical House. Various levels of repetitive bass to keep your leg and fingers twitching, and differing tempos to either raise or lower your heart rate, depending on what you need in the moment.
Web Browser Flash or mobile apps. http://www.di.fm
favorites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY1s9SmrQRE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3NoYyNKSXQ&t=1672s
https://musicforprogramming.net/
I also like these SomaFM stations:
https://somafm.com/deepspaceone/
https://somafm.com/spacestation/
https://somafm.com/sf1033/
Other times it's various forms of electronic music. House, trance, europop, Hi-NRG, synthwave/darkwave, etc.
And then sometimes I go with classical music. Bach, Vivaldi, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, Orff, etc.
As far as specifics go, here's some stuff I've listened to lately:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8OELzmpgZo&list=PL7F37BB1A6...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9oTQzwXYXk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hd8Or1RrYs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4oZZhpMXP4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyfL9LC1DC4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajF2NOuYkjk
https://youtu.be/-7Q61fH-03E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGMJ2b-3eCk
One other thing I'll sometimes do is put on a movie in the background, with the volume turned down fairly low... just enough that I hear some babble and noise, but not enough that I get caught up in what's going on. This only works if I use a movie I've seen / heard many times, so I already know what's happening and won't get drawn into the story. So, something like The Matrix, Antitrust, Tron:Legacy, Hackers, Sneakers, The Social Network, etc.
https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2013/10/music-video-sitar-vilaya...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilayat_Khan
Edit(s):
Vivaldi's Four Seasons is another good one for this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Seasons_(Vivaldi)
Barclay James Harvest. The story of how they got their name is interesting :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barclay_James_Harvest
A few favorites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6CjO0H2j0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYrW3yONR44
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVid_fLzN5g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDwotNLyz10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J51LPlP-s9o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTqv59JXMUk
Over 22 hours of powerful movie, game soundtracks.
Gets updated with new songs all the time.
It's relaxing, rather dronic but with enough variation to not be boring.
Tool, A Perfect Circle, Ashes Divide for a mellow, metal mood.
Vitamin String Quartet when I want something familiar, but classical in taste
Nicklecreek, Chris Thile, Old Crow Medicine Show, Punch Brothers for a folk fix.
Kid Ory when a need a New Orleans Jazz pick-me-up
https://soundcloud.com/dvrksea/youre-in-my-life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4w7vgHnrYA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1yBhxn7H5o
Can't listen if I'm venturing into new territory; learning requires quiet. Otherwise it's Wave music. eg wave, vaporwave, synthwave, witch house, future funk, future beats etc
Ibiza chill sessions (annual albums) Melody AM The altogether Little dragon (NPR remix)
a lot of electric guitar - Steve Vai, joe satriani
Also an assortment of Psy-Trance, Coldwave, and Industrial generes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7mReSQ-CZs&list=PLFNYv0PFOF...
It's been my go-to for 7 or 8 years now. Something about it just triggers the best of my skills to come out.
It's on bandcamp as well, though: https://thelifeandtimes.bandcamp.com/album/tragic-boogie
Sometimes I will put on old episodes of Retronauts (https://retronauts.com). Otherwise I will usually listen to OCRemix Radio / Rainwave (https://rainwave.cc), a SiriusXM station, or an album I'm familiar with.
https://soundcloud.com/hex-ane/sets/sojourn-ep
Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/6yT9Q73eTMfx1aDWJiCVIt
Never fails to get me in the mood.
Edit: Add link to album
They're free. They're long so you don't need to be interrupted to change a track. The really spacey jams put you in a creative mindspace.
Plus, one of the songwriters founded the EFF!
From Moby, Pink Floyd, Lindsey Stirling, Disturbed, and M83 are common.