{"id":291,"date":"2026-04-02T20:52:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kishlinden.com\/?p=291"},"modified":"2026-04-06T20:37:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:37:48","slug":"music-that-distracts-me-enough-to-stay-focused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kishlinden.com\/?p=291","title":{"rendered":"Music that distracts me enough to stay focused"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Photo by ROMBO<\/em><\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Most people want chill music when they need to focus. They want lo-fi beats or rain sounds…something that stays in the background, doesn’t ask much of them, or doesn’t distract their brain from its flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My brain is the opposite. If the music is too steady, my mind starts to wander toward the grocery list, or the next hockey practice plan, or that one weird thing a player did in last Sunday\u2019s D&D session or what colour the hair of my new D&D character should be. I don’t need a background hum. My brain literally needs a distraction for the part of it that won’t sit still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where math rock and bubble-shred come in. That sweet sweet polyrhythmic chaos… It is the only thing that matches the speed of my brain switches. And for that, I salute its beautiful, twinkly nonsense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Precision<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In complexity science, we talk about the edge of chaos. It’s this zone where a system is stable enough to maintain structure but unstable enough to innovate and be creative\/new\/exciting. This really describes my love for this music. If we look at bands like Polyphia and Gold Necklace, they are on the edge of unstable, while still maintaining structure. Unlike the distorted wall of sound we sometimes hear in traditional metal (which I also love, don’t come at me) or rock music, this music relies on absolute precision. Every note is intentional, even if it sounds uneven or unstable. It’s really about technical beauty (which sounds pretentious, but it’s true!). There isn’t fuzzy distortion, messy feedback, or even loud noise to cover anything up. It is just clear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I\u2019m deep in a grant application or mapping out the trajectory of big projects, that precision is a lifesaver. If the music can be this complex and still stay this organized, then surely I can handle this spreadsheet, yanno?<\/p>\n\n\n\n