Around the Studio

for those who find it hard to focus in silence…

In times of intense concentration – like when you’re trying to write a 2,500-word essay on the aims of Freudian psychoanalysis and its connection to the Romantic conception of authorship – sometimes silence is anything but golden.

A brain-boosting (but non-distracting) playlist on your iPod, on the other hand, is!

So for others who find silence utterly distracting, here are my top five fade-into-the-background-and-keep-you-going albums – ranked in order of focus-friendliness…

The Nina Simone Story [disk 1], Nina Simone

Sassy soul diva singing 1950's blues with kick-ass jazz piano pieces to boot.

Amelie Soundtrack, Various Artists

French inspiration

Moo You Bloody Choir, Augie March

Amazing lyrics you don't necessarily have to listen to

Veneer, Jose Gonzalez

Haunting and dream-like melodies, but easy enough to ignore

Strange Bird, Augie March

Some old gold from those fine young Victorians