Best Music We Worked on 2019
Half of Lifehacker’s employees are unable to work with the included music. The other half needs it. Here’s what we listened to this year while working on Lifehacker.
Nick Douglas, staff writer
My most listened to album this year was the Legacy soundtrack , which is a total of 26 versions of the Legacy theme. Nicholas Britell said, “What if the theme is ‘ Legacy’ but only French horns? What if only strings? What if a drum machine? What if bluegrass? “
I’ve also worked on:
- Music from CBC / Netflix sitcom Workin ‘Moms : This series has a soft spot for awesome percussion and harsh female vocals, and so do I.
- “Portrait of John Doe ” by Flolex and Tom Hodge : If Kafka had written a spy thriller, it would have been the soundtrack.
- DSVII M83 : What if Jim Henson created Dune and hired Mike Oldfield for the soundtrack?
- Alexandra Streliska’s Inscape , a brooding piano album for a sleepy afternoon hour
- Max Richter’s re- composition of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is complex and a bit sad, which also makes it perfect if you’re reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
- John Brion’s Soundtrack to Lady Bird : All John Brion’s soundtracks create great morning music.
- The “Oscar Peterson Essentials” playlist on Apple Music , although frankly it’s even better for Saturday morning.
- Vanille fraise by L’Impératrice: The most glamorous vacation I’ve ever taken was at Standard in Miami Beach, where they blow music underwater in the pool. This song is the coolest song I have ever heard.
Beth Skorecki, Health Editor
Well you know I love God. Is an astronaut (I’ve had the same album on repeat as my music work for years ). Caspian is another artist of this genre. If I don’t listen to music or silence, I like background noise videos likethis one that mentions arctic technology (I’m not sure if it’s REALLY an icebreaker, but I don’t care).
Claire Lower, cookery editor
I can’t write music at all, but I can tell you what albums I’ve been preparing, these were Radiant Dawn Operators (the only new album I actually listened to this year with any regularity), Warren Zevon’s self-titled album , Tom Petty and the eponymous the Heartbreakers song , as well as a playlist consisting mainly of Archers of Loaf and Descendants . Oh, and Tusk . Tusk is a really great culinary album.
Melissa Kirsch, Editor-in-Chief
I listen to everything that can be described as “coffee shop”. Will Oldham , the quieter side of the Big Thief . Folk songs with texts. No drums.
Lisa Rowan, Personal Finance Writer
I know I have to listen to classical music when I try to focus, but I never really “got it” until I stumbled upon the Classical Study Music album on Spotify. The music moves a little more than the lo-fi mixes that I usually listen to while working, but it’s not distracting at all. What, I think, is the whole point.