Call me odd, but I find that I struggle with two things that most people find easy. One is picking a topic for a blog post and the other is choosing music to help keep me dancing in my seat. So when I saw Susan’s music playlist, I figured I could share mine. Once I’ve got a topic and some good tunes blasting, time has a way of sinking into the words on the page. Next thing I know, it’s time for dinner.
I’ve been trying to find out if there’s a connection between the tunes I choose and the level of productivity I achieve. The playlist that’s been helping me get closer to hitting the deadlines has an eclectic mix of tunes. See for yourself, but don’t judge me.
Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin – Classic tune, great sound, and an easy way to get things rolling.
Coward of the County, Kenny Rogers – I like songs that are a story, and this one is currently doing it for me. Probably won’t be on your playlist, but for now, it’s on mine.
Devil Went Down to Georgia, Charlie Daniels – Just one of those songs that I can hear over and over again. It’s odd, sounds great, and is basically happy. So it’s just like me, except it sounds great.
Big Yellow Taxi, Counting Crows – They may have paved paradise to put up a parking lot, but it costs a lot more than a dollar and a half to see it now. Another song done by a ton of artists, but I think this version is the smoothest and saddest.
I Wanna Be Sedated, Ramones – It’s not that I wanna be sedated, but this is a great song to get me moving.
Blister in the Sun, Violent Femmes – First time I heard it was in the opening of Grosse Pointe Blank. Loved it then, love it now. Maybe it’s just because I love to strut my stuff.
You Sexy Thing, Hot Chocolate – Just a funky tune that helps to break things up from the harder stuff. And who doesn’t love being called a sexy thing while wearing fuzzy pink bunny slippers? Freelance life is great.
Stuck in the Middle with You, Stealers Wheel – For some reason, this song makes me want to cover my ears, but it’s not because of the sound. Heard Michael Madsen say something funny once, “Kids run up to me because of Free Willy; parents don’t let them because of Reservoir Dogs.”
Turn the Page, Metallica – I like the original as well, but the Metallica version of this is outstanding. The attitude and contempt in his voice comes through clearly, but maybe that’s just the same old cliché.
Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting, Elton John – I’ve heard this one covered by a bunch of great bands, but I like the original best. If I need something a bit harder, the Kid Rock/Nickelback version is pretty good.
Paradise City, Guns n’ Roses – This one’s always good for a “pick me up.” Reminds me of being 17, cruising around in my yellow Pontiac firebird. So sad, yet 100% true. The memory, not the song.
Shaking Hands, Nickelback – As much as I pretend to hate them, these Canadian boys know how to string a few verses together. They had me at “diggin’ for gold.”
Burn It to the Ground, Nickelback – Did I mention that I try very hard to pretend to hate these guys? But this song is pretty great at getting me fired up. I give them an eleven. And, our family motto is “fistful of whiskey.”
Back in Black, AC/DC – OK, one of my other playlists is all AC/DC. Got to see them in concert a little while ago, and hands down the best concert ever. My ears are still ringing, but it was worth it.
Snow White, Streetheart – The classic story of the good girl doing bad things. No, not Lindsay Lohan. I said “good girl”.
You might have noticed a few things. Apparently, I watch too many movies and it looks like I’ve got multiple personalities.
The voices in my head agree with you.
(Image courtesy of [nati] under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 generic license.)
theoddone playlist, theoddone music playlist, theoddone pandora
It’s House and Trance music, usually Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta and ATB 🙂
Me too, usually Armin van Buuren (ASOT) or Pedro del Mar (Mellomania USA). When I listen to vocals or rock, I usually get distracted easily…
Wow. Very useful staff. Thank you.
I’ll give you an eclectic mix from one working stiff to another:
Workin’ Man’s Blues, Merle Haggard
I Was Wrong, Social Distortion
Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before, The Smiths
Renegades of Funk, Rage Against the Machine
Hysteria, Muse
Zoom, Soda Stereo
She Sells Sanctuary, The Cult
Learning to Fly, Pink Floyd
New Fang, Them Crooked Vultures
Birdhouse in Your Soul, They Might Be Giants
love the list – I will test it out on Monday. Thanks for sharing
J
It’s ok to have multiple work personalities. My usual work playlist is a mixture of Oi (working class British punk), 80s pop, and hardcore rap.
While designing and developing i can only listen to Progressive/Tech/Electro House, House, Minimal and Techno. Any other kinds of music are just anoying me.
It all depends on my mood. Different things can make me more productive on different days. But, I have one that usually helps me work – even though I don’t listen to it during my other music-listening times:
On Pandora, I have a station called “Instrumental Hip-Hop.” For some reason, this works almost every time!
havent tried Pandora yet – been using GrooveShark so far.
I will check that station out – thanks Bryan
J
Oh man… lots of jazz+hiphop+finely tuned pandora stations…anything relaxing, smooth and not very intense
Currently in the mix:
DJ Cam – Mad Blunted Jazz
Erykah Badu – Mama’s Gun
Nujabes – Modal Soul
Mark Farina – Mushroom Jazz
Prefuse 73 – The Forest of Oversensativity
It depends. I have around 30 stations on Pandora now, but the four stations I listen to the most are my “Garth Brooks”, “Nine Inch Nails”, “Rob Zombie”, and “Underoath” stations. If I’m doing something really tedious, I switch over to my “Darude” or “Ying Yang Twins” station, and if I need a kick start, I hit up either my “MxPx” or “Flogging Molly” stations.
I prefer electronic music music when i’m working. Lyrics can sometimes be a bit of an distraction in my opinion.
Solis on soundcloud is something I can recommend to everybody (as long you like electronic music ofcourse)
http://soundcloud.com/solismusic/sets/solistm-the-sound-of-love-in-spacetm-c-2010
Hi! As for me – at last time I listened too much cycles and examined video for Eskmo – Cloudlight. It’s fully charging me! And often I listen all from instrumental hip-hop to oldschool techstep and d’n’b ^.^ Sorry for my English:)
Excellent list ! I knew a few but I really loved the others ! Keep up with the good work !
I usually listen to songs without vocals and with lots of rythm ’cause I’m easily distracted !