Coding Music

[vollmond]

I'm sitting up at 1 AM here, trying to get started on my first Android app and listening to Elliott Smith. What music do you coders ITP listen to when you're in the groove? Depending on my mood any given week, I'll listen to acoustic indie, electronica/synthpop, or metal of various types. Perennial favorites include Daft Punk, Demons & Wizards, and Spoonfed Hybrid.

[Moff Chumley]

I don't do much coding, but I listen to a lot of nerdcore hip-hop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KUO9mxkivo&feature=related) when I do work...

Link NSFW, I guess...

[Xyk]

I don't code, but I do similar things like writing and homework.

Go for Prog. Stuff like Rush, Coheed and Cambria, etc.
Really, something that puts you in a trance. Arcade Fire is awesome for this.

[Thajocoth]

Nothing... That way I notice any audio bugs in the game I'm working on while testing my code.

What I listen to in general (really only if I'm in transit from one place to another by myself) is background music from my favorite video games. Some "ordinary" songs are nice... But I'm not a huge fan of lyrics when I'm trying to do anything, even just hold a conversation. I find them insanely distracting.

[MCerberus]

HTML: Classic rock (defined here as any rock created before I realized I hate country and most pop, about '97) mixed with some really really random stuff (like Mortal KomBONK) and the Super Smash Bros soundtrack.

.net: I usually do a stream of a local Alt/Rock station. Sometimes I bring up a random feed.

SQL: Weird Al. I have no idea how this tradition started.

[Superglucose]

I can't listen to anything while coding. The music may be there but I enter a trance and won't notice it at all. And the music makes it harder to enter that trance... same when I'm working on math or physics.

More people think I'm insane from watching me do math and physics (and my incessant muttering to myself) than all other causes combined. I'll come from these fits ink-stained (yes, ink... ink is the only way to do math) and unable to remember what I just did.

And a 110% on the exam.

[IonDragon]

Daft Punk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtdWHFwmd2o). Duh.

[factotum]

Back when I was a coder I never listened to anything while I was coding--I found it distracting.

[valadil]

Go for Prog. Stuff like Rush, Coheed and Cambria, etc.
Really, something that puts you in a trance. Arcade Fire is awesome for this.

Disagreed! Rush is one of my favorite bands, but they use up just a little too much brainspace for coding. I like them right before writing coding, but during is no good. Prog in general is too distracting for me.

[Pyrian]

Baroque classical, if anything at all.

[Dada]

+1 for prog rock, Porcupine Tree in particular. Some bands, like Rush and Dream Theater sometimes take up a bit too much brainspace, as mentioned above, but Porcupine Tree has a fairly unique sound which, while complex, instantly lets me shut out the world and enter my 'trance'.

[Moff Chumley]

+1 for prog rock, Porcupine Tree in particular. Some bands, like Rush and Dream Theater sometimes take up a bit too much brainspace, as mentioned above, but Porcupine Tree has a fairly unique sound which, while complex, instantly lets me shut out the world and enter my 'trance'.

Agreed. And I'm seeing them on the 11th. w00t. :smallbiggrin:

Also, may I throw in some minimal? Steve Reich, Terry Riley, et cetera. Only when I'm working on something really complicated.

[Dada]

Saw them in November 2007, October 2008 and less than a month ago on Roskilde festival. And I am still very envious of you. Enjoy :smallbiggrin:

[Moff Chumley]

That I will. :smallcool:

[dromer]

Instrumental progressive rock, although most of the time I forget it's on after five minutes.

[esorscher]

Soundtrack from Avatar comes highly recommended.

[Moff Chumley]

Instrumental progressive rock, although most of the time I forget it's on after five minutes.

Any bands in specific? I need more instrumental music...

[Xyk]

Any bands in specific? I need more instrumental music...

That band that does the theme song to House!

[dromer]

Any bands in specific? I need more instrumental music...

I have a massive list from the Touhou Metal/ProgRock collection. I also combine this with some songs from the James Bond Movies and finally complete it with the Nameless Mod OST.

[valadil]

Any bands in specific? I need more instrumental music...

Try Isis. The only way I can describe them is ambient metal. I don't usually listen to them actively, but they're wonderful background music.

If you don't mind something trippy, try Ozric Tentacles. I don't really know how to describe it. I can code to it, but wouldn't be surprised if you find it too uppity.

Not coding specific, but the post rock genre is usually good for instrumentals. I don't really know the genre enough to make specific recommendations, but leaving last.fm set to post rock usually makes me happy and rarely includes lyrics.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

I'm coding at work right now, as a matter of fact, and I have some classical music going; I just put the local classical station's live internet radio on and go from there. At home I tend to do the same, though I'll occasionally put on some classic rock.

[pendell]

Nightwish or video game soundtracks. I don't find it distracting. Ironically, I am more distracted if I don't play music because I find myself distracted by other things instead.

It's almost as if I can't give any one thing my total attention unless it really is a challenging problem -- which comes up about once every three months, at which point I really do give it my complete and total attention. But if something is boring (90% of the time), if I don't have music I fiddle around and accomplish nothing.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[RS14]

William Basinski; Blind Guardian. I generally try to alternate between fast and slow stuff.