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A song that was constructed to reduce anxiety

inc.com

81–90 of 93 posts

Re: A song that was constructed to reduce anxiety

#81
post #25

Well, that's a pretty standard ambient-ish soundscape bordering on ‘chill-out’, though thankfully not as cheesy as a whole lot of them. For me, dub music (not dubstep) was the most astoundingly un-aggressive music. Back in the past, I ran Bill Laswell's compilations two times a day: on the morning subway to doze for twenty minutes, and when falling asleep at night. Not really a surprising quality, since the genre is…

The sound effects sound like Ross' music (from Friends): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERy-99vXxnM

Perhaps you would prefer Lee Perry's artisanal cow impressions on 'Cow Thief Skank':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alGgaKPaswI

Re: A song that was constructed to reduce anxiety

#83
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another somewhat unsettling Aphex Twin song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p71GvWkLw9k

And the ultimate one ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J639xIdgzQU (still remember zapping through the channels on our kitchen TV stumbling on it - about 20 years ago - it's so weird, you just don't forget that)

Surprised his Rubber Johnny video hasn't been mentioned yet. That's my nomination for ultimate anxiety inducing Aphex Twin work. It even includes an anxiety attack in the beginning.

Link: https://youtu.be/l6_0UIknW-A

Re: A song that was constructed to reduce anxiety

#84

Here are some ambient songs by Aphex Twin which I also find very calming. Stone In Focus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q86g1aop6a8 Rhubarb - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AWIqXzvX-U Tha - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGC90fmf8gw Avril 14th - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6dGAZTj8xA

Wouldn't put Aphex Twin on as a playlist though, since he also has https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqayDnQ2wmw . Great video and music, but anything but anxiety reducing.

Surprised nobody's linked ventolin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFeUBOJgaLU

Re: A song that was constructed to reduce anxiety

#85
I remember hearing Underworld's "Please Help Me" years and years ago, and it's now my go-to song for reproducing the effects this article mentions. Another good one by Underworld is "Toobee". Happy to have another track to add to that collection.

"Please Help Me"- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AliwSLa0ebA "Toobee"- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjdVi20fCDI

Re: A song that was constructed to reduce anxiety

#86

I'm surprised nobody mentions Brian Eno. He was a pioneer in ambient music and contributed to a lot of other genres. Look him up if you never heard of him.

Yes. His first "Ambient" release, "Music for Airports", back in 1978 was designed to induce a calming effect. It is very effective as I can testify since I've been using it for decades now to sleep.

The fact that it doesn't appear on the list by the researches cited in this article suggests a grave oversight.

Music for Airports was also the first in a series by Eno designed to take advantage of his "ambient speaker technigue" wherein you take a third speaker, in addition to the stereo pair, place it behind the listener, and connect it's two terminals to the two + (positive) terminals each channel on your amplifier.

Call it poor man's quadraphonic. It basically sends side information (or any signal not present on the other channel such as an instrument panned all the way to one side) to this third speaker.

It sounds great.

Re: A song that was constructed to reduce anxiety

#87

Here are some ambient songs by Aphex Twin which I also find very calming. Stone In Focus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q86g1aop6a8 Rhubarb - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AWIqXzvX-U Tha - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGC90fmf8gw Avril 14th - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6dGAZTj8xA

Yes, these scratch my itch when im in the right mood. I also find Boards of Canada quite relaxing even though it is a dark nostalgic type with beats. I think repetition in general has different trance inducing effects on ones mood

Along the same line is Deepchord, a dub techno band I've been getting into lately.

Can't wait for the next BoC release though!

Re: A song that was constructed to reduce anxiety

#88
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm with you on both counts. I like fast music without lyrics. Lyrics are distracting when I'm coding.

If they are songs I know well, lyrics don't bother me. If it is a new song I find it hard to concentrate because I'm busy listening.

Same. Even without lyrics, familiar tracks are the best for zoning, for me.

Re: A song that was constructed to reduce anxiety

#89
post #64

Not affiliated, but just a fan: if you like this type of drone-type music, there are several variants on https://generative.fm All the music is generated on your pc, not streamed

I was wondering what license a music generated like this would be under?

If it's generated on one's machine, maybe that person should hold copyright?

Maybe that doesn't make a lot of sense, but neither would it make sense for the programmer of the music generation software to hold copyright over a song they never heard of and which might have been generated using data from the PC owner's machine.

I'm also curious how copyright works here.

Re: A song that was constructed to reduce anxiety

#90

I'm surprised nobody mentions Brian Eno. He was a pioneer in ambient music and contributed to a lot of other genres. Look him up if you never heard of him.

I first heard "Deep Blue Day" on the soundtrack for "Trainspotting", and was immediately a fan. I subsequently heard "Force Marker" on the "Heat" soundtrack and was amazed to discover it was by the same musician. "Music For Airports" is a classic.
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