[geeks] Working Music vs Thinking Music

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

I've come to the conclusion that the music I listen to while doing generic
BOFH stuff (fixing things, porting software, writing documentation)
doesn't work for programming stuff.  My BOFH list looks something like:
  White Zombie / Rob Zombie
  Bowling for Soup
  Korn
  Deep Purple
  Beastie Boys
  Astral Projection
  Fear Factory
  Information Society
  Garbage
  Waylan Jennings
  Days of the New
  The Human League
  Mozart's Requiem Mass
  King Missile
  Linkin Park
  nine inch nails
  Motley Crue
  Frente
  Johnny Cash
  The Cure
  pretty-much any of Dvorak's stuff
  Joydrop
  Letters to Cleo
  Miscellaneous Irish Drinking Songs
  Puddle of Mudd
  Rolling Stones
  Pet Shop Boys
  Ozzy Ozbourne
  Moby
  Willie Nelson
  Simon and Garfunkel
  Talking Heads

Yes, I suppose my music interests are rather b0rken, but unless you share
a cubicle with me, you may kindly blow off.

However, the majority of that pisses me off and distracts me while I'm
trying to work on a proof or writing software.  I guess different parts of
my brain are working for those tasks.

  "Why do you need music at all?"

I suppose it's largely a discipline issue, but I'd pin part of it on my
being bipolar and otherwise chemically fscked-up in the head.  I work
-=much=- better if I have something that can distract me just enough to
keep my mind from getting bored.  Too much distraction means I can't think
through the noise.  Not enough distraction, and I keep wandering away from
the task at hand.  Back at $ork[i-1], this wasn't a problem, as I always
had N things to do at once, and I'd just task switch[1] to keep from
getting mentally bored.

So far, things I've found that I can actually listen to while coding/
proving are:
  Loreena McKennitt
  Moby
  Cusco (not all of it, though)

Any suggestions on what else might work?  Also, any suggestions on what
sort of mental excercises I might perform so that I can concentrate
without needing any distractions at all?

--Jonathan
[1] Tell me whatever you want about the inefficiency of task-switching,
    but I have enough evidence to convince me that I can do two things at
    once more efficiently than I can do one thing at once.