When I need to get into “the zone” while coding, nothing does the trick better than some uptempo instrumental rock music. It’s inherit ability to motivate is undeniable, and I find it goes a long way towards enhancing creativity as well.
My current drug of choice is a Russian band named Mooncake (how can you not just love that?). I’ve been rocking their latest album this week and I must say it provides the perfect mid-day boost. They play great rock music, but not in the bland/gritty sense. They’re epic but not over the top. They’re catchy but not cheesy. They’re…well, you get the point.
My favorite track by them is “Short Stories of Methuselah Tree” (it pretty much dominates), but the rest of the album holds it own just fine. They’re definitely worth checking out.
Listen
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I’m not even going to try to explain how amazing this band is. Just listen to “Boundaries” and “Sunlight” (here) and you’ll understand why I felt it necessary to post about them. If listening to those songs don’t do anything for you…then you probably have horrible taste in music, or you don’t have a soul, either way you lose.
France used to be a country that didn’t offer too much in terms of music that I actually enjoyed. They had a sudden influx of screamo bands that owned, like Amanda Woodward, Daitro, and Gantz. Then bands like Kwoon and All Angels Gone started popping up and I began to really take notice. The one band that really caught my attention, and solidified my new found love for the French Republic, was Don’t Look Back. In 2005 they put out an album called Brighter that was a beautiful achievement in music. The song “Farewell To The Bright Side” is just flat out awesome. It’s mixture of simplistic beauty and sheer brutality is eerie. There have been plenty of bands over the years that have achieved a similar sound, but how many of them had cool sounding French vocals? I eagerly await this bands next release. It’s guaranteed to be epic.
I’ve had my eye on Sennen for a few years, but they’ve been pretty sporadic with their releases since their inception in 2000. Hailing from the Netherlands, this band plays an awesome blend of post-rock music. There sound isn’t quite as strong as other bands in their genre, but when they are in their zone, they produce some amazing stuff. Their latest album, Automatic Writing, is available for free download. Track 2, “Arcus Glider” is one of my favorite songs of 2007. It seriously owns. If you want to preview the tracks, before downloading, check out their MySpace.
I know I just started this series yesterday, but like I promised, I’m going to post a new band every Friday, and today is Friday, so…
The Windy City has always been a hotbed for amazing music, and it has proved true once again with Arms and Sleepers. These guys mix a perfect blend of electronic and ambient sounds with just the right amount of vocal hints. “Butterflycatcher” literally threw me into a state of utter peace. That track is so awesome, yet so simplistic in its execution. Listen to that bad boy in the dark, with a nice pair of headphones, and tell me it doesn’t just mesmerize you.
