We're all so used to writing around everything here in the newsroom -- lots of noise, funny conversations, and sometimes inane chatter (mostly coming from me).
So sometimes, when you're writing that ever-important Sunday package, you just have to shut it out and pull out the ear buds.
Lately, I've been doing this a lot, either listening to tunes from my iPhone or Pandora.
I like a calm, mellow soundtrack for writing stories -- otherwise, I get to distracted and start daydreaming. But here are my favorite work tunes of late:
Pandora. You've heard of this great iPhone app and website. You plug in a favorite band or song, and it spits out tunes it thinks you would like. I like this at work because when I'm writing stories, I don't want to think about anything else, especially flipping back and forth on my iPod.
My favorite Pandora stations are:
Radiohead, Phoenix and Broken Social Scene, plus Flaming Lips and Led Zeppelin. For me, these stations program the best, relaxed music for my writing vibe.
Also, love me some Cat Power. And I've been listening to her "Jukebox" album of covers a lot lately. It's wonderful for dreaming up a lead for an out-there story. Death Cab for Cutie is another great band to write to and I have three of their albums that I rotate.
And lately, since they announced the band was
breaking up, I've been listening to R.E.M. But I wouldn't recommend the band's Pandora station -- for some reason, it thinks that Coldplay and U2 (while I like both those bands) is the same vibe, and they play way to much U2. Not sure why, but that's what happens when you allow an app to determine your music choices.
What is the soundtrack of your work day?
