a little party never killed nobody | a costume drama that does exactly what you think it will except the entire soundtrack is orchestral versions of pop songs [listen]
The old masters. I tried not to include most opera composers, since singing/lyrics interfere with concentration. Most of these playlists are at least an hour long:
Baroque(prancing through the flowers with royalty):
Albinoni
Bach
Corelli
Handel
Guerre
Purcell
Scarlatti
Telemann
Vivaldi
Classical(sipping tea with royalty while listening to their woes and gossip):
Beethoven
Haydn
Mozart
Paganini
Romantic(watching a heartfelt, teary-eyed scene in a soap opera):
Berlioz
Bizet
Borodin
Brahms
Bruch
Bruckner
Chopin
Dvorak
Field
Franck
Gade
Grieg
Liszt
Mendelssohn
Rachmaninov
Rimsky-Korsakov
Rubenstein
Saint-Saëns
Schubert
Robert Schumann
Clara Schumann
Smetana
Strauss II
Tchaikovsky
Wagner
Weber
Impressionistic (stargazing in an open field at midnight):
Debussy
Ravel
Late Romantic/Early Modern (dramatically confessing your love in the pouring rain):
Albéniz
Beach
Chaminade
de Falla
Dukas
Elgar
Fauré
Glazunov
Mahler
Respighi
Satie
Sibelius
Strauss
Vaughan Williams
Modern (these get sub-categories because they’re so different):
Of course, there are countless people who don’t have huge channels and maybe only a cover or two. The search bar is your friend. And don’t forget to make a playlist!
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VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACKS
Think about it, there are tons of people whose only job is to get the atmosphere of a game right by carefully composing the right music. And there are plenty of games with beautiful music. I love these playlists:
Remember Me (brilliant mix of electronic and classical)
Papo & Yo (relaxing and tropical)
Rayman Origins (springy, lighthearted, and amazing)
Rayman Legends (energetic, goofy, and wonderful)
Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle (beautiful, bouncy, heart-racing)
To The Moon (dreamy and moving)
Kingdom Hearts (gorgeous, epic, breathtaking)
Mirror’s Edge (soothing and mechanical)
Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite (adorable 8-bit)
Alice: Madness Returns (odd, creepy, and carnival-esque)
Journey (peaceful and atmospheric)
Child of Light (melancholic and powerful)
Trine (epic and mystical)
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (mysterious and haunting)
Just like video games, movies rely heavily on music to set the mood for the audience. Here are some of my favorite playlists:
Studio Ghibli
Spirited Away
Howl’s Moving Castle
Princess Mononoke
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Kiki’s Delivery Service (x)
Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Ponyo
Porco Rosso
The Wind Rises
Grave of the Fireflies
random playlists: (1) (2) (3)
Classic Disney piano covers (1) (2)
Lord of the Rings
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
Amelie
How to Train Your Dragon
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Coraline
The Secret of Kells
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
The Piano
Schindler’s List
Harry Potter
Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone
Chamber of Secrets
Prisoner of Azkaban
Goblet of Fire
Order of the Phoenix
Half-Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows pt 1
Deathly Hallows pt 2
You can also view a full list of Grammy Award-winning soundtracks here
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ANIME SOUNDTRACKS
You’ll look like weeaboo trash, but at least you’ll be concentrating. You might need to skip a few tracks here and there if they have lyrics (that messes up my concentration, at least). That said, here’s some recommended playlists:
Elfen Lied (flowy and pretty)
Tokyo Ghoul √A (powerful, electronic, heart-wrenching)
Like I said, this isn’t a complete list but hopefully a good jumping-off point. Feel free to add to areas with your own suggestions. Have fun listening and go be productive!
Perhaps I am a miscreation No one knows the truth; there is no future here And you’re the DJ who speaks to my insomnia And laughs at all I have to fear Laughs at all I have to fear You always play the madmen poets Vinyl vision grungy bands You never know who’s still awake You never know who understands and
Are you out there? Can you hear this? Jimmy Olson, Johnny Memphis, I was out here listening all the time And though the static walls surround me You were out there and you found me I was out here listening all the time
Last night we drank in parking lots And why do we drink? I guess we do it ‘cause… And when I turned your station on You sounded more familiar than that party was You were more familiar than that party It’s the first time I stayed up all night It’s getting light; I hear the birds I’m driving home on empty streets I think I put my shirt on backwards
Are you out there? Can you hear this? Jimmy Olson , Johnny Memphis I was out here listening all the time And though the static walls surround me You were out there and you found me I was out here listening all the time
And what’s the future? Who will choose it? Politics of love and music Underdogs who turn the tables Indie versus major labels There’s so much to see through Like our parents do more drugs than we do Oh….
Corporate parents, corporate towns I know every TV set that has them lit They preach that I should save the world They pray that I won’t do a better job of it Pray that I won’t do a better job So tonight I turned your station on just so I’d be understood Instead another voice said I was just too late And just no good….
Calling Olson, Calling Memphis I am calling; can you hear this? I was out here listening all the time And I will write this down and then I will not be alone again, yeah I was out here listening Oh yeah I was out here listening Oh yeah I am out here listening all the time
Some of the talented Chicana (Mexican-American) women in music.
(From left to right) Reverie, Vel the Wonder Girl in a Coma (Phanie Diaz, Nina Diaz, Jenn Alva), Las Cafeteras (only the women musicians pictured: Annette Torres, Denise Carlos, Leah Gallegos) Lysa Flores, Alice Bag (Alicia Armendariz) Lydia Mendoza, La Marisoul (Marisol Hernandez) Lala Romero, Selena Quintanilla-Perez
Kimchi and Justice 