A confluence of events allowed me to listen to long pop songs today.
I had few meetings scheduled. I had a lot of work that required focus. Everybody else in the office was in a chatty mood.
I put on the headphones, cranked up iTunes, set up a smart list that included only songs longer than 10 minutes.
I got:
Sister Ray — Velvet Underground
Pass the Hatchet, I’m Goodkind — Yo La Tengo
Stone Free (Live, Albert Hall) — Jimi Hendrix
Jenny Ondioline — Stereolab
A Very Cellular Song — The Incredible String Band
Cosmia — Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band
Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord — Pharoah Sanders
I Dream A Highway — Gillian Welch
Desolation Row — Bob Dylan
… and many others showed up that I didn’t actualy listen to.
I never understand how people can write code or prose while listening to music with lyrics. I could no more do that than I could write and hold a telephone conversation at the same time.
A friend once claimed that she couldn’t *not* read any word she saw; signs, billboards, if it had writing, she had to read it. But I think everybody else I know can filter out visual noise even if it includes writing.
I think I do the same thing with lyrics.
Another important factor is that these are all songs I’ve heard dozens of times. I do have trouble listening to new music (with or without lyrics) and doing tasks that require thought.
What it does for me is actually turn off audio input; listening to something I’ve heard a dozen times is less intrusive than hearing people talk around the office. It lets me curl up into my own head in a way that I need to for writing, thinking, coding, etc.
Also, most lyrics are pretty bad, so I filter them out as noise anyway.