Background "Noise" for your ears?

[alreese83]

Sometimes I like silence while I am working, sometimes but rarely music. Other times I prefer something more on the ambient side like white noise, binaural harmonics / anything from mynoise.net ... but most of the time I have an audiobook, podcast, or documentary going on in the background. Also, to add an extra topping to my geekiness, the International Space Station's live stream from spaces doubles as my video wallpaper / screensaver. At current, I am making my way through Haruki Murakami's 1Q84, of course via audiobook format. Any a/v suggestions on media not too distractive to workflow productivity?

I also use the app. Time Out to pause Photoshop every hour or so, as a reminder to get up take a stretch, eat, move around, blink, stop holding back my bursting bladder, etc. Sometimes I use Focus to block the net or access to certain websites (I have a slight addiction to watching tutorials ). Any productivity app. recommendations?

thanks,
-ar

[stormyboy]

Re: Background "Noise" for your ears?

Thanks for the mynoise.net site. Haha. I thought one of the options said "raining on a cat" and I couldn't wait to hear it. Dang, I had misread it and it rained on a tent instead.

Tom

Welcome!

[joe_7]

Re: Background "Noise" for your ears?

I can concentrate the best if I have a familiar TV show on, or some record album I've listened to a thousand times.

[alreese83]

Re: Background "Noise" for your ears?

Well, just an FYI: all cat lunacy is found on Youtube, they have the market locked ... but if you are desperate for some virtual (dare I say) "pussy", then checkout Susan Calman's story "Pussy Galore" for BBC Radio 4. In looking for this link, it kind of blew me away that there are just as many articles on feline net super stars, as there a videos out there. Back when I was in college (god almost 10 years ago), we used to smoke a bowl, pass around a bottle of cheap wine & binge watch cat (& sometimes UFO sightings) videos, I can't believe this is still going on & wtf all around the world. What is becoming of our world!

[zeroLiver]

Re: Background "Noise" for your ears?

Lately I like piano if I need something super chilled out(very slow also) and relaxing I listen to renditions of Erik Satie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtLHiou7anE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBeImlvELI0 very beautiful melodies. I know it's not noise but he made the music to work work well in any situation so I think it's worth a listen.

[alreese83]

Re: Background "Noise" for your ears?

Ditto on Satie, my entrance into his world Vexations & of course Gymnopedie No. 3. I haven't listened to it in ages, but I have a quiet piano playlist on Spotify, thanks for the "reminder" of sorts.

[skoobey]

Re: Background "Noise" for your ears?

I didn't want to flood with a new post, but I just got cheered up by these two terrible songs from 90's-00s. Can't help but laugh.

Ketchup song
Macarena

[alreese83]

Re: Background "Noise" for your ears?

ahhh . . . Macarena . . . such an earworm; but we all can do it, though many are in denial

[redschuhart]

Re: Background "Noise" for your ears?

I prefer music.
My preference is Porcupine Tree. If I'm in the mood - baroque, Johann Sebastian Bach, Vivaldi. Nothing too loud or 'wordy' seems best.
I have a playlist in Foobar just for work.
Did a search the other day for music to work to and there seem to be quite a few sites devoted to it. music2work2 being one. I just entered an email address and was able to download half a dozen tracks free.
Soundcloud is a good site for seeking out music you may never have thought about before. Some of it is also free to download.