I always found in school that if I was writing, I couldn't listen to music with vocals, because it made it impossible to think. I could do math though.

I aslo found it difficult to study if the music had vocals. I usually listened to some post-rock, ambient or drone while studying.

when i did my law degree (undergrad), i found extreme metal to be simulating for memory work - Carcass, Napalm Death etc

Il Duce, I wouldn't be able to breathe with some Norwegian cannibal bellowing down my ears, but you must obviously be made of tougher stuff than I am.

Merzbow. But you must do Merzbow proper; you do not crank the bass, oh no - you have the treble up to maximum volume. If you think your speakers are going to break, you're doing it right.

At first it's unsettling, but then.... it's the ultimate barrier to distraction.

i dunno, when my adrenaline goes up, i find it easier to memorise things

Because Law is such a boring, horrible thing for one to study?


On a different note, I remember Talk Talk's post-rock albums (Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock) helping me a lot with math. I was still shite at it, but it helped.

yeah that too

Indeed...I'm discovering myself to be a bit of a masochist.

Personally I find any music I know really well works. If I don't know it perfectly than I get distracted, but if its something I love and listen to a lot I can basically sing along without even focusing on it.