Indeed.
Somehow, even when facing REALLY SERIOUS problems when working, listening to music is much better than the void of silence. Music helps me (and the people around me) loosen up, and that’s a huge moral boost.
Besides, group music helps the group integrate better. It’s really fun!
The biggest comment I have is about the excerpt from Show Stopper! The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft…
Journey is Heavy Metal?!? I guess this would place Elton John and Kenny G into the Hard Rock category? rofl!
With comments like that, in a book, no less, no wonder we geeks are always portrayed as being out of touch with normal people in movies, etc.
I telecommute, so I don’t have to worry about bothering co-workers with my music. I usually like to listen to music with non-english lyrics, so I don’t get distracted by the lyrics. For heavy debugging sessions, I like raucous West African music.
I used to listen to Mortal Kombat soundtrack… It put me in the mood to code, or FINISH someone…
I listen to my hand-picked rock/metal playlist at Finetune. It keeps me happy in an otherwise dark and dingy world. I highly (and biasly) recommend it. It also sounds good at high volumes.
http://www.finetune.com/playlist/1429712
And funny…I just dug out my Mortal Kombat CD the other night at home. That was a pretty solid soundtrack and probably did better than the movie.
I seem to recall recently reading about a study that found that Developers listening to music had higher rates of bugs in their code than those that did not. Unfortunately I cannot recall where I read that. I’ll do some Googling and digging through my notes to see if I can find it. If true, its the type of thing one might expect to see as a Coding Horror in Steve McConnell’s Code Complete.
I personally listen to classical music. If I listen to anything with words, or any Jazz which I love, I start concentrating on the music rather than my coding. Classical music blocks out the background noise, but does not distract me… unless its Modest Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain or anything by Tchaikovsky.
What’s almost as bad as having to listen to those awful songs is to have one of them stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Attack of the killer earworms! Yikes.
I like ambient music at work (e.g., Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream). Doesn’t require my undivided attention, so not distracting. And not enough melody for any of it to stay in my head later on. 
Hm,
Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree - Dawn is a pretty nice track, though
i can see myself driving towards the sunset on a desert road, as in the end track of a movie.
brings tears to my eyes
At track 4 my soul broke in two and i stopped listening. Thanks for this all time classic
If you think the Shatner version of Tamborine Man is great, then clearly you’ve never listened to the Chipmunks’ rendition of that timeless classic.
Muskrat Love - Captain Tennille
OMG. That reminds me: Back when I was in 4th grade (before I developed any taste whatsoever) I spent my allowance money to buy K-Tel’s album Muskrat Love. Sadly I can’t find a playlist from it online, but it was filled with songs like that.
Dang. I thought I’d forgotten that. I guess I’ll have to work harder.
Nothing like a little light Classical or even regular Classical to put me in the programming frame of mind. Sometimes I rock to the 70’s and 80’s too when I’m really getting things done… but if I need concentration, Classical assists me when it’s on low.
Cheers
I forgot to mention, varying kinds of techno can really pep up my attitude when I’ve been staring at the computer for so long. So, here’s my run down:
Concentration: Classical
Piping up: Techno
Mellowing out: 70’s - 80’s Rock
Cheers
Journey is Heavy Metal?!? I guess this would place Elton John and Kenny G into the Hard Rock category? rofl!
Its all a matter of persepctive. Back in the late 70’s they were considered that (what can I say, it was a horrid, horrid time for music). If you look at the soundtrack to Heavy Metal, you’ll see Journey on it.
Today? No.
I used to work at this consulting shop in Morristown, NJ and for some godforsaken reason the guy running it hooked together the phone hold music with the music playing on the speakers throughout the office. Not to mention this probably being a violation of the radio station’s terms of service, but what was played on one and hence both was a little radio station located in the NY area on your dial as 95.5 WPLJaaay! The shittiest brand of pop music, repeated basically on the hour, over and over again. It was hell. I know the words to most Mariah Carey singles and I want to die. At the time, I was too poor/straight out of college to afford a good pair of noise canceling headphones, but who wants to work in a headphone dungeon 8 hours a day anyhow? Memories.
I usually just throw on some U2 while coding. Nothing exotic, but it works.
code to Bach; anything else is a waste of time
I listen to trance, electronica, alternative chill, etc… These forms of music are what I call brain massage.
Thanks for including reference the Shatner album as it helps me rid my head of Tie a Yellow Ribbon (which began playing over and over in my head as soon as I read your post)
You Klingon bastard… you killed my son!
I guess I’m the Michael Bolton around here. I like to listen to rap music (not radio-play rap, but straight up gansta rap). When I’m in the zone, I usually don’t notice the music playing, however I still think your brain hears it. I love programming, however there are many times where you just find yourself doing mundane tasks, and that music just get’s me amped.
The local classic rock station used to have an annual All Time Worst Song contest and inevitably the 3 finalists were all from the Shatner genre, e.g.
Shatner’s Mr. Tambourine Man
Leonard Nimoy’s rendition of Proud Mary
George Burns singing (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction