1. AoA

    AoA Member

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    Music people listen to when writing

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by AoA, Nov 11, 2014.

    So, I know many people, myself included, listen to music while they write. I've personally been listening to three bands primarily in the last month when writing: Dream Theater, Symphony X, and amnaeon. If you don't know any of those bands, they're all "progressive metal" bands. I still don't agree with the progressive tag for some of their work (more with Symphony X).
    But coming back to my question; what do you people listen to when writing? I know my elder brother used to listen to electronic music when drawing for example.

    Blasting Dream Theater's Octavarium album at the time of posting this thread :D
     
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  2. Joe King

    Joe King Member

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    I cannot write when listening to music. I find it off putting and end up getting distracted paying more attention to the song than I do the actual writing. However, when listening to guys like Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Eminem, numerous other musicians I can become inspired to start writing.
     
  3. Adenosine Triphosphate

    Adenosine Triphosphate Member Contributor

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    Melodic death metal.
     
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  4. James Random

    James Random Member

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    Whatever sets the mood of whatever I'm writing.
     
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  5. AoA

    AoA Member

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    Yay for melodic death metal! Still love me some In Flames or Arch Enemy (the OLD Arch Enemy, not their recent stuff really). Death metal is my limit in extreme metal though, not into anything more extreme than that. I'm actually into Nile (the technical death metal band) at the moment. Used to find them really offensive actually. Not anymore though.
    Love your name by the way.
     
  6. tokyotenshi

    tokyotenshi New Member

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    I don't always listen to music when I'm writing something but when I do, it's usually hard rock, nu metal, punk rock kind of music, like Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Limp Bizkit, Three Days Grace, etc. Or maybe German music like Rammstein, Eisbrecher, Megaherz etc.
     
  7. Joshua Wilder

    Joshua Wilder New Member

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    Depends on what mood I'm in if I'm honest, I usually stick to Nightcore songs or Bring Me The Horizon, Iron Maiden. A band that crops up more often than not on my playlist is Pink Floyd which is brilliant to write to, especially if your listening to the whole of The Wall album.
     
  8. A.M.P.

    A.M.P. People Buy My Books for the Bio Photo Contributor

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    I used to listen to Apocalyptica back in the day while writing.
    Still love 'em to pieces but now I prefer white-noise or silence.

    One of my favorite serial authors, Lynn Flewling, thanked Apocalyptica for their music in her book :3
     
  9. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    I don't usually listen to music while writing. If there are lyrics, it's distracting - I'm listening to someone else's words while trying to think of my own, and that never works.

    I like the instrumental passages in Pink Floyd's music, especially "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." A few of those old Wyndham Hill albums used to work, too, but I don't have them any more. Some classical music works, especially classical guitar. It's unobtrusive.
     
  10. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

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    Anything, mostly hard rock gets my blood pumping. I can't listen to songs when I'm editing and need more concentration, but when getting the initial ideas down I type to anything.
     
  11. AoA

    AoA Member

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    Surprisingly enough the lyrics don't interfere with my writing. Then again, I just get so into my stories when writing I can go into a near unresponive state while working on a story. I just loose myself in the writing and it's really hard to shake me from my writing. Normally at that point the music is pretty much background noise. But it just amounts to habit at this point.
     
  12. MainerMikeBrown

    MainerMikeBrown Senior Member

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    I often don't listen to music while writing. And when I do have music on while I'm writing, I often tune out. I'm not really listening to the music I have on. I'm too focused on my writing.
     
  13. Gawler

    Gawler Senior Member

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    For the most part I listen to stuff without lyrics such as Tangerine Dream, Kraftwork or Emerson Lake and Palmer with Oh Fortuna thrown in from time to time. When I occasionally depart from that, it tends to be more mellow stuff such as Cat Stevens or Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.
     
  14. Annihilation

    Annihilation Active Member

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    Man, dream theater is real music. I personally like their metropolis album.
    Progressive metal is all I've been listening to for the past two years. Mastodon, system of a down.

    But if you really want to get into the mood, feel enlightened, tool is the best. I listen to it when I write all the time.
     
  15. J Faceless

    J Faceless Active Member

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    The same song over and over and over. Really get into that crazy creative side.:D
     
  16. Adenosine Triphosphate

    Adenosine Triphosphate Member Contributor

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    Listening to Damage Done by Dark Tranquility while I work on my novella. Then I'm gonna start listening to Linkin Park to get back into that depressed eighth grade nervous wreck mood. I need it for a short story I'm writing.
     
  17. Gigi_GNR

    Gigi_GNR Guys, come on. WAFFLE-O. Contributor

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    Same here. I tend to go with songs that either musically or lyrically remind me of what I'm trying to do.
     
  18. James Random

    James Random Member

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    I usually pick something by Chopin. Failing that Bear McCreary!
     
  19. Gigi_GNR

    Gigi_GNR Guys, come on. WAFFLE-O. Contributor

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    If I had to pick a specific artist, Bon Iver usually does the trick for me. Relaxing and unobtrusive enough that it can fade to background noise, yet beautiful and serene enough that it puts me in the proper mindset.
     
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