Anyone iPodding while Playing?

**rahnnyboy** · 09-15-2008, 11:40 AM

I typically have certain music I listen to for different games.

For word games, I need softer, low-fi type albums, currently:

The Mountain Goats - Talahassee
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
Pedro the Lion - It's Hard to Find a Friend
Other things that make it in often are The Cure - Acoustic Hits, The Violent Femmes - self-titled. Other stuff sneaks in sometimes...not worth a mention though...maybe Vampire Weekend...maybe Yo La Tengo

For games that require some kind of adrenaline, I move to slightly more uppity albums, currently:

Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards
The other stuff is kind of sparse right now...occasionally just to be slightly more hipstery, I'll let Art Brut get some airplay...

**Jacob** · 09-15-2008, 11:49 AM

Ah, finally...a music thread! Johan and I talk about music all the time, and we always share tracks that we like for gaming.

I listen to some fast stuff while playing games or even just web browsing in general...I'm never in a leisurely mood while in front of the computer. Most of the music I listen to are tracks I'll actually work out in the gym with, I like em' that much! Dunno if it's music any of you would like, but here's a sample of my tastes:

Amon Amarth -- Death in Fire (this is how death metal is done baby!

)

Killswitch Engage -- My Curse (hard rock)

Slipknot -- Before I Forget

DJ Tiesto -- Flight 643 (Techno/Trance)

**Jacob** · 09-15-2008, 11:50 AM

I could keep going on and on, but I'll show a little restraint and see if anyone else wants to share their musical tastes. I'm sure Johan's going to stink this place up with electronica.

**Studs100** · 09-15-2008, 03:00 PM

here is music From an era where music was made without computers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECE1X9VGk_Y

harlemfestival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUcXI2BIUOQ

Here is another 2 dead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCIyzNISw1Q

**rahnnyboy** · 09-15-2008, 08:50 PM

heh heh, when I was 18 I listened to metal too...

It's hard to do metal well, but it's great if you aren't trying to get anything from it musically...harder to do electronica well. Really good electronica (industrial, whatever you want to call it) is awesome.

I forgot a few that are in the shuffle: LCD Soundsystem and Pizzicato 5. No metal, some progressive-type metal, but nothing real. Some pseudo-electronica too, but nothing all the way there. In the gym, I fall back on stuff with some passion, not necessarily loud...but definitely fast. It's IMPOSSIBLE to play word games well with loud and fast music...if Johan can do it, I'd have to finally say he is definitely a cheater!

**Renaldo Moon** · 09-15-2008, 09:21 PM

Originally Posted by rahnnyboy

heh heh, when I was 18 I listened to metal too...

It's hard to do metal well, but it's great if you aren't trying to get anything from it musically...harder to do electronica well. Really good electronica (industrial, whatever you want to call it) is awesome.

I forgot a few that are in the shuffle: LCD Soundsystem and Pizzicato 5. No metal, some progressive-type metal, but nothing real. Some pseudo-electronica too, but nothing all the way there. In the gym, I fall back on stuff with some passion, not necessarily loud...but definitely fast. It's IMPOSSIBLE to play word games well with loud and fast music...if Johan can do it, I'd have to finally say he is definitely a cheater!

Pseudo-electronica? Are you coming from the perspective of electronica as dance music, perhaps? I tend to either listen to smooth electronica or more raw electronic music (Not hard per se, heavy music tends to be more filtered.)

But I'm not just an electronica junky, I like a lot of classical music and some from modern composers too, like Arvo Part. I also like a lot of instrumental things, but I've always found it extremely distracted (and, well, boring) to listen to music with lyrics. (Exceptions can be made for some electronic artists like Moby and Mice Parade, and for metal)

Anyway, I'm eager to share a bunch of samples, but I'll do that in another post shortly.

**Renaldo Moon** · 09-18-2008, 11:30 AM

When I'm playing Scrabble Cubes, it depends on my state of mind. If I'm playing casually during the day, I really like something calm and smooth to listen to. This tends to either be instrumental or some smooth electronica.

A few examples of instrumental that I like:

Dominic Frasca

Kaki King

Or, for classical compositions, Arvo Part

And for Nostalgiac purposes

Now, getting onto some electronic music, "Plaid" is very nice and melodic, I find myself listening to them quite a bit.

Plaid-Ralome

Of course, Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) is undeniable, and myself being a synesthete helps me really appreciate some of his more mellow tracks (Not that I dislike his raw stuff, but we'll get into that later.)

Aphex Twin- Acrid Avid Jam Shred

Aphex Twin- Alberto Balsam (Video is fan-made, so please ignore that, I'm just linking for the sound purpose)

Then, who I'll venture to say are the greatest electronic music composers (Or, at least, the most creative and ingenuine), Boards of Canada

Dayvan Cowboy (With the official video, composed entirely from documentary clips. Go ahead, watch it!)

Constants are Changing

Over the Horizon Radar (Fan-made video)

Then one of my more recent favorites, Ulrich Schnauss

**Renaldo Moon** · 09-18-2008, 12:34 PM

However--

If I'm playing at night (When I'd say my mind is at its peak), listening to something slow and mellow doesn't quite do it. It's distracting.

That's the point that I need a bit more energetic music. Something with a bit more tempo and flare to keep my mind active and moving. This is when I dip into either metal or more raw electronic music (Or, on rare occasions, trance music.)

Despite what Rahnny says, I occassionaly do play Scrabble Cubes to a backdrop of loud and fast music (though it's more fitting when I'm playing Bejeweled or Big Money.)

I'll say right now that the electronic music I'll be posting tends to be heavy, raw, or abrasive, or any mixture of the three. Most of you probably won't like much of it unless you've built up a tolerance for this type of music.

The following are by Tom Jenkinson, AKA Squarepusher, my idol in philosophy and music. He's also a beast on the bass guitar.

===============
Hello Meow

Do You Know Squarepusher?

Iambic 9 Poetry (More melodic, less raw. Don't watch the failure fan-made video, though)

Bass show in Paris (Not Electronic, but I'll just leave this here anyway. Note the 6-string bass)

Then the daddy of IDM himself, Aphex Twin!:

Vordshobn

Cock/Ver10

=======================
Alright, we've gotten some of the nastier stuff out of the way, we can move on to easier pieces, continuing with Aphex Twin:

4

Girl/Boy Song

Fingerbib

Yellow Calx

=======================
But not all energetic electronic music has to be hard and heavy.

Four Tet- Hands

Daedelus- Thus Whirligig

Jean Michel Jarre- Oxygene 4

One of my favorite artists-- RJD2!

RJD2- Since We Last Spoke

RJD2- Iced Lightning

RJD2- Exotic Talk

edIT- Ashtray (This whole album, Crying Over Pros for No Reason, is amazing, but I won't post all of it)

edIT- Ants (Best music video I've ever watched, seriously)

===================

I've not even begun to scratch the surface, so if you notice even one song you like here, let me know and I'd be happy to help you find more you'd probably like. What I've posted is really broad.