I love coding while listening to music. Not only does it help block out unwanted background noise - like phones ringing, people typing loudly or the bad jokes of the office clown (just kidding, those things don't bother me so much) - a good guitar riff and some heavy drumming puts me "in the zone" for coding.
(Weird observation: I've frequently had the experience where I've been listening to music at work and paused a track to get up and go to lunch, and upon returning 45 minutes later I've pressed play and the resumption of the song has put me straight back into "the zone"; almost like I didn't have a break in concentration. Weird but cool!)
So I thought I'd start sharing some of the music I like, in a series of "Weekend Coding Riffs" postings. There are a couple of good music services around which let you share songs or playlists online, such as Deezer (my favourite at the moment, supports playlist) and Songza (good for individual songs). I know there are other services like Pandora but these days it's unfortunately restricted to the US only. If you know of any others that work well then let me know ;)
I had a few great songs in mind today from upcoming Australian artists but some are really quite difficult to find online. Instead, I've just picked a couple of songs with similarly themed names, from two of my favourite Aussie bands. Without further ado...
Cog - No Other Way
Via last.fm/music/Cog:
"Organic in the sense that Cog play their instruments, some people would say Cog’s music resembles some sort of progressive rock that flows effortlessly from thick slabs of distorted guitars, twisting rhythms through to vast playgrounds of ambient organospace and back again. Not shy to incorporate sequencing and sampling to propagate more ideas in a live and recording environment, Cog feels this has opened the possibilities for more musical exploration."
This is the opening track from Cog's latest release. This song has an amazing climax and is just a taste of the power they deliver in the other tracks.
Discover Cog!
If you're a fan of any progressive rock / metal you need to listen to the whole album! :)
Karnivool - The Only Way (cover)
"Karnivool is a five-piece music group from Perth, Australia. Their music style is a combination of melodic progressive rock and alternative rock, with alternative metal influences. Major influences of the band are Nirvana, Meshuggah and Carcass. Capturing a perfect blend of both melodic beauty and heavy, spine-bending rock, Karnivool will appeal to anyone who desires a truly unique sound."
This song is cover of an original song by Gotye, but the Karnivool guys do it amazing justice. I've seen them play this song live and my spine was tingling the whole time, so turn it up loud!
Jump on over to their MySpace page to check out some of their original songs. (In fact, the version of The Only Way on their MySpace page is much better quality, but I don't think it's possible to embed them, bah!).
I hope someone finds these tracks interesting, and maybe in a fortnight I'll whip up another post. (Definitely not next weekend though, because I'm moving to London ;) Haha...)