I've been working on my master's thesis for quite a while now, and I've found that the right music is essential for me to get in a rhythm. This has been the playlist for the past few months:
Caspian- Audiotree Sessions
I couldn't stand Caspian the first time I heard them, but then I was blown away when I saw them open for Minus the Bear. Post-rock-ish instrumental music is huge for me when I'm trying to focus, and Caspian are part of an awesome group of bands that are killing the genre right now (Red Sparowes, Russian Circles, Mogwai). The Audiotree session includes some of their best songs, and is definitely worth a listen. Halls of Summer is great for the quirky percussion intro, followed by the build up to the crushing point around the 3:50ish mark. I'm sure my neighbors are tired of hearing this one blasting downstairs.
Haunt the House- Jack Rabbit Jones
After I've riled myself up with a more aggressive band like Caspian I usually drift towards something mellower. Haunt the House has been in heavy rotation lately. They'll be at the Newport Folk Festival this year, although if you don't have tickets now you're pretty much out of luck.
Minus the Bear- anything
Minus the Bear have been one of my favorites for 10+ years now. This isn't one of their best recordings, but I'm partial to the Burn to Shine series.
Denali- Denali
I'm sold on anything with Maura Davis (Denali, Ambulette, Glös), but this Denali album is her at her best. This is definitely a band that I regret never seeing live. Denali are great to wake up to, so I use this a lot for early morning work.
Shiro Sagisu- Bleach Original Soundtrack 3
This is definitely the anomaly in the group, being that it's from an anime soundtrack. That being said, the upbeat nuevo flamenco style is something that I've never found in another anime (in all fairness, I'm not a huge anime viewer). I think the closest mainstream comparison I could make would be to Rodrigo y Gabriela, although this has little in the way of rock or jazz influence.
No comments:
Post a Comment