M is for Music

And for The Magnetic Fields

Music is my on switch. Music means GO. Music means the door is shut, stay out, I'm working. Music is an engine.

I can't write without music. I know for a lot of people that's counter intuitive, they need silence to compose their thoughts and words. But for me, I need an almost pavlovian signal to start. That's music.

It's not only in writing. When I worked for a non profit producing events, most of the time my office door was open, the music was off and I was answering emails, phone calls, questions fielded to me from the doorway. All good, but all fairly superficial work-mode. If I needed to concentrate on budget numbers or detailed floorplans or anything at all that involved higher math skills - the door would close and the music would come on.

The kind of music I listen too is important too. When I'm brainstorming I can listen to internet radio like Y Rock on XPN or Pandora. When I need to be immersed in the world, be in the room with my MC, soundtracks work best. I've got two playlists right now on iTunes, writing 1 and writing 2 that I can use to get me in the writing groove.

Is music a motivator or a distraction for you when you are working? What do you listen to and when?

Music to Write By

I'll be honest. I'm much more particular about what I listen to than what I read. When someone recommended the twilight books to me I borrowed them from the library - but when the twilight soundtracks were coming out I pre-ordered the effers. Those bad boys, I had to OWN.

I'm snobbier, more critical and much more selective of what I listen to, always have been. I don't think I ever listened to commercial radio, preferring to listen to the same CD (or, God help how old I am, cassette) over and over again rather than risk listening to an imperfect (to me) song.

I'm not exactly proud of this, I think I do this because I have a stunted 'musical' palate. I basically listen to the kind of music I first liked in high school. I try not to be completely fossilized. I remember my friend from elementary school, Jason. His dad had jet black, slicked back Elvis hair and only ever listened to 50's era rock and roll, well into the 1980's. It's a cautionary tale, and I try to keep it in mind when iTunes starts playing Head on The Door by the Cure - again.

Still, music while I'm writing is forward motion. I can't really get started without it. I like last.fm and Pandora because I can tell it to call up, for example The National and it will create a radio station around that band and bands like that. In Philadelphia in particular there's a great music scene and an awesome radio station online Y Rock on XPN. If you like alternative music (I despise that term, but can't think of another one) check it out.

So, what do you listen to when you are working? Or is silence what helps you write? What's your playlist, right now?

My playlist from tonight:
Time of Our Lives - Paul Van Dyke
The Cave - Mumford & Sons
Some Cities - Doves
John Saw that Number - Neko Case
Never Anyone But You - The Clientele
Swanlights - Antony & the Johnsons
Lit Up - The National
Big Bamboozle - Barry Adamson
About Your Dress - The Maccabees
The Funeral - Band of Horses