A Musical Mood

I'm listening to some mood music right now--music that helps focus me on my work by being interesting enough to keep me creative but not so demanding of my attention that I pull away from the task at hand.

If you have iTunes installed, the links will take you to the songs so you can hear a snippet of the songs.

"Horse Head Fiddle" by Sixteen Horsepower.
Great song that is an odd aproximation of the Tuvan throat music that I referred to a few days ago. The album that it comes from, Folklore, is one that thrilled me the first time I heard it. "Hutterite Mile" and "Sinnerman" are both standout tracks, too.

"Resurrection Song" by Mark Lanegan.
If you ever wondered where I got the name for this site, then this song answers the question. Gorgeous music by one of the finest voices and songwriters in rock music.

"Ariel Ramirez" by Richard Buckner.
The song from the Volkswagen commercial.

"Lexington Slow Down" by Mark Lanegan.
A disturbing half spoken word song that transitions from the spoken portion to the sung portion with a note that is as off as it is compelling. It's a note that makes the g-phrase shiver every time she hears it, and it's a song that has an odd, defeated, and angry undercurrent that captures me every time I hear it.

"Strange Fruit" by the Twilight Singers.
A spooky, contemporary take on a classic song. The subject matter lends itself well to this powerful delivery.

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

"Were You There" by Grant Lee Buffalo.
This song--this sweetly deceptive questioning of God--grows to an angry close. Classicly pretty music, Grant Lee Phillips' soft-voiced delivery, and the catchy tune combine to make one of my favorite Grant Lee Buffalo songs.