Being the Official Needmore Deejay (TM), there’s a definite pattern I’ve noticed to the music I play at work. It can be evenly divided up into morning and afternoon, and then often subdivided into a few artists or compilations that I play over and over.

Mornings typically consist of approximately three albums, selected at random, shuffled if necessary.

Njuzu Mbira

Picked this up at the Farmer’s Market in Portland a few months ago. It’s traditional music of Zimbabwe, and it’s perfect for background music while you work. Helps to clear your mind, and relax.

“Accordions from France”

I don’t know what the actual title of this album is. I think I copied the two CD set from a friend some time ago, and only recently started listening to it. It’s perfect, relaxing, and reminds me of France. No words, just accordions!

Charles Mingus

I’ve managed to collect about ten Charles Mingus albums, and I tend to put them on shuffle and leave it playing much of the morning and into the afternoon. I enjoy a lot of old jazz, but this is a favorite. They’re catchy!

The afternoon gets a little more energy. I usually start to play music with lyrics as the afternoon wears on, and more upbeat as well, to keep us alert. The type of work we do in the afternoon is typically different as well - more creative, less technical. That way I can usually manage to sing along, since I’m not using the mouth part of my brain for work. There is a mouth part of the brain, right?

Afternoon music lately is Wolf Parade, old R.E.M., or various new wave or rock compilations. Although this might all change, due to some good recommendations from last.fm. Stay tuned!