I’ve got a big chunk of coding coming up and I like to have some music on when doing so. My usual playlist for these occasions consists of the following stuff:
Portishead, Massive Attack, Sigur Ros, Lamb, Plastikman/Richie Hawtin, Cocteau Twins, Orb, Boards of Canada, Stereolab, Kraftwerk and My Bloody Valentine along with some classical stuff like Bach’s cello suites and Gorecki’s third symphony.
But I’ve heard it all many times before - can anyone recommend me some stuff in a similar mood?
Add Frou Frou to your list. Also Mazzy Star. A little more upbeat but still pretty spare and chill is Postal Service.
Yeah, dude, I love some really chill music when I’m coding. Yeah …gurgle…pause…cough…coding. 
My favorite classical selection is the last 12 minutes of the 1812 overture.
I made a special tape with that section repeated over and over for my one-time 48-minute commute into the city. For some reason it never palls.
I’ve got a Mazzy Star CD somewhere. Good shout! I’ll see if I can get some clips of Frou Frou and Postal Service online. I’m kinda not really up on stuff anymore so increasingly rely on recommendations. I’ll need to get a new turntable from somewhere and a means to digitise from vinyl, 'cos I’ve got a load of Can, Spacemen 3 and Spiritualised which would, errrr, work.
Hehe, I find the same music fits both pause pause cough situations gasp.
Have you ever given Dead Can Dance (or band member Lisa Gerrard) a shot? That might fit what you’re looking for.
When I get into this sort of mood, I just go to last.fm, type in “chill” for my “tune-in preferences.” So far, it’s played me Massive Attack, Broken Social Scene, Glenn Underground, Frou Frou, and De-Phazz. It’s quite nice, and saves you the trouble of hunting down the music. Another service that’s similar, but a little more limited in their selection and interface, is pandora.com.
Yeah, Dead Can Dance is another band/collective I have on vinyl. I used to have pretty much everything released on 4AD at one point. I’m going to have to start a GQ about transferring vinyl I think.
Thanks man. I’m downloading the software now. I’ve wondered what this “scrobbling” thing I’ve seen in Winamp and Songbird is. Guess I’ll find out soon 
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As a fellow codewarrior doing the very same thing right now, might I suggest what I’m listening to at the monent - Uma Batida Diferenta, by Bossacucanova.
The Postal Service.
Emiliana Torrini.
I’m kind of unclear on scrobbling, since I don’t really use that feature, but I think it has to do that whenever you play a song on your computer and last.fm software is running, then it makes a note of it and recommends music you like. Or something like that.
Also, for this sort of mood, I find French chanson/pop music to be quite good. Stuff like Serge Gainsbourg, Francoise Hardy, France Gall, etc…
Try Yo La Tengo, Thievery Corporation, Ivy, and Morcheeba.
All very different bands, but they each seem like they might work.
I would but I find myself singing along lustily. Perhaps if it was in a language I have no knowledge of. I wonder if there is Korean pop?
Anyway, this last.fm stuff is excellent, Tosca and Frou Frou up as the first couple of tunes. Do you know how they make money?
The new Scritti Politti record, White Bread, Black Beer, is perfect for this.
Shit, I didn’t even know Green Gartside was still making records(or indeed still alive!).
Yikes…I’ve never heard of most of these musicians. I’d be inclined to go with Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, Gordon Lightfoot, Simon & Garfunkle, Peter Paul & Mary for mellowness.
And Freebird, of course. It is the perfect song for any occaision.
FREEBIRD! Honestly Oakminster there’s some great recommendations in this thread, including my opening gambit. I’m liking a lot of the stuff I’m getting from last.fm right now as per advice above.
Am I the only one who misread the thread title as Childish music recommendations please?
Bonobo.