Vol. 71, no. 18
Why don’t you whistle while you work?
Studying at school when there always seem to be people running around, doing new and exciting things while you read The Wealth of Nations, is difficult. However, if you have the right study music to drown out the sounds of resounding laughter and love in the room next door and keep your mind on task, studying doesn’t have to be so bad.
There are a few keys to finding the right study music. The most obvious kind of music to avoid is music that is too loud, rough or lyric-laden. Songs with lots of lyrics require the listener’s attention and don’t make for good background music. Bands that are loud no matter how low the volume is are also not good choices because they are not conducive to getting your mental juices flowing. Basically, when choosing music for the soundtrack of your education, be sure to pick things that are not distracting.
The kind of music you should seek out when you want to study with musical style is music that is calm, repetitive, instrumental or mellow. Of course, there are some anomalies out there that are encouraged by hardcore or metal, but I refuse to believe that they are really getting any work done when listening to that stuff.
Study music should fill in the empty spaces where your mind would wander should you be trying to focus in complete and total silence, but it should also be inconspicuous enough to avoid encroaching on those parts of your mind you do need for your academics.
Music without lyrics is usually always a winner because when bands don’t have lyrics, they use a lot of the same repeating melodies that help the flow of your brain while you focus. Music with lyrics in a foreign language also work sometimes because although they may have something to say, you don’t know what that is, so you can avoid giving your mind to it.
Here are 10 tried and true recommendations, in no particular order, for music to listen to the next time you want to get down to business.
1. The Zombies- I Love You
Though this album has a lot of lyrics, they are all relatively simple and therefore avoid being distracting. Somehow Colin Blunstone’s sweet and simple vocals don’t require any more attention than the background instrumentals that he sings over. The Zombies are an easy listening band because all of their songs have a relatively similar sound, so when one track switches to the next, the listener isn’t distracted. Their albums retain a nice, easy flow from start to finish. Their lyrics are cute and simple, the kind of lyrics that today would be cliché but aren’t because they are oldies. “The Way I Feel Inside,” “I Love You” and “Goin’ Out of My Head” are stand-out tracks that epitomize The Zombies’ cool oldies-but-goodies sound and style.
2. Yo La Tengo- I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
The most recent release from Yo La Tengo is great study music because the lyrics are few and far between and when they do show their face, they are very quiet and sink in with the music. Some tracks are more distracting than others, but songs like “Black Flowers” and “I Feel Like Going Home” are the perfect compromise between sweet, slow instrumentals and soft vocals.
3. Almost anything by RJD2
RJD2 is a beat-making master and when the time is right, his music is just the right stuff to listen to. The repetition of similar sounds makes RJD2 take up just enough of your brain to put you at ease but not intrude on your focus or academic drive. A lot of his stuff is just instrumentals and some have lyrics, but all of it is good, funky and simple enough to put on repeat in the background while you study. He likes to take one sound and add on in a crescendo-like fashion, but he never gets obnoxious or explosive to be harmful to your train of thought. After listening to RJD2 enough while you study, you’ll come to believe that you can’t study without him.
4. Patsy Cline- The Ultimate Collection
Like The Zombies, Patsy Cline is an oldie but a goodie. Her amazing country-time jazz might be a little too unethical as study material for some, but I think that her overall simple sound and soothing voice makes for good background sound. Her lyrics are completely simple and mindless enough to ignore while you have something else on your mind. The music she sings over seems almost elementary—it is so clean and straightforward. Her soft southern twang has upbeat undertones but it is, for the most part, completely unoffending and malleable to the environment that you need.
5. Dosh- The Lost Take
This up-and-coming artist from Anticon records makes really cool instrumentals with a tiny bit of singing, lots of smart repetition and fun beats to bop your head to. His version of electro-pop is calmer and simpler than Ratatat’s (see #7). Andrew Bird helps out on several tracks of this light, graceful record that has violins, horns, pianos and lots of cute, tinny instruments. The youthfulness and brightness of this album is encouraging when studying might otherwise get you down.
6. Rogue Wave- Descended Like Vultures, Out of the Shadow
This band from Sub-Pop Records is easy to listen to with their mellow vocals and uniform sound. Like The Zombies, Rogue Wave sounds very much the same from track to track and therefore maintains a good study environment. They sound like The Shins meets Sufjan Stevens meets Elliott Smith. They are not as depressing as Elliott Smith to bring you down nor are they as overtly quirky and poppy as The Shins. They make you want to stick your head out the car window and let the wind blow your hair around a little—refreshing, innocent and smooth.
7. Ratatat- Ratatat, Classics
Ratatat is the purist sans-lyrics type of music that not only refrains from distracting the listener while in study mode, but they actually feel like a good boost that helps out the studying process. When the assignment is monotonous or long, Ratatat can help to quicken the pace because they just make you want to do well—or have sex with someone, I don’t know which. The duo’s cool electro-pop with just a little bit of jazz makes a fun atmosphere for your studying. Again, their loveable repetitiveness helps you focus because it doesn’t take up any of your conscious thinking.
8. Sufjan Stevens- The Avalanche
This album of outtakes from the recording of Illinoise makes for great study music because of Sufjan’s perfectly shy voice and plethora of instrumentals. Sufjan’s unostentatious vocals are generally easy to listen to but The Avalanche seems to be the quietest album overall. Both the instrumental version and the adult contemporary easy listening version of “Chicago” are the perfect proponents of focused studying with their slow pace and quiet tinkling.
9. “Amelie” Soundtrack
Almost the entirety of this soundtrack is made up of instrumentals, except two songs, one of which is in French. The classical “French café” songs are great studying material because they are upbeat enough to keep you awake but modest enough to be disregarded by your consciousness. The soundtrack as a whole flows easily from one track to the next and each song itself has a very flowy, twirling-in-circles feel. It is happy enough to be enjoyable and simple enough to allow you to think clearly. This is my number one recommendation for study music to try out if you haven’t already.
10. Alias and Tarsier- Brookland/Oaklyn
Also from Anticon records, this eclectic duo sounds like Sinead O’Connor/Cat Power meets, well, hip hop. Tarsier, formerly of Healamonster and Tarsier, has an airy and feminine voice that is also strong and deep enough to meld with Alias’ intricate beats and slow electronica. This seemingly helter skelter arrangement of talents is really quite amazing to hear. Their record moves easily about, allowing fluctuations in their sound, but not many. Together, Alias and Tarsier sound dramatic and meaningful, but they are also unpretentious and quiet enough to put on while you do your homework.