Jill Sobule's Pink Pearl and Study Music

One of the band websites I designed is, in its music review section, featuring one of my very favorite albums. Jill Sobule's Pink Pearl [1] is a fabulous pop album that I often listen to when I'm studying. Check out the review on Don't Tell Betsy!'s website. Jill's website is also really adorable.

Some of my other favorite study albums are Cherry Ghost Thirst for Romance, K.T. Tunstall's Eye to the Telescope (although I actually like the song-ordering better on the original version), The Jayhawks' Smile and Rainy Day Music, and Steadman's Revive.

As a word of warning, I have what I have been told is a strange set of criteria for study music. I cannot study to music without lyrics. The problem with instrumentals is that I listen too them too much, and get distracted by my studying. This is especially problematic with classical music [2] because I find it emotionally gripping and absorbing. All of the pop albums that I listen to are great albums and have wonderfully engrossing music, in my opinion, but they all have a quality which allows my brain to put them into the background when I need to and focus on my work. I guess it is because I find all of these albums comforting.

Some interesting things:

• Jill Sobule writes witty and fabulous lyrics. She also is an incredible live performer. I loved her guitar so much, that my grandmother bought me one (it's a vagabond traveling guitar). You can see it in the video of "I Kissed a Girl" on the Don't Tell Betsy!'s website.
• Cherry Ghost writes songs that contain incredibly vivid and fascinating images. "Dead Man's Suit" and "People Help the People" are good examples. Being a classicist and a Time Team (UK) fan, I also love "Here Come the Romans." I have this album downloaded onto my Kindle (under Menu, under Experimental there is a rudimentary MP3 player)
• The Jayhawks are awesome. One of my favorite concerts that I ever went to was The Thorns opening for the Jayhawks. They did three songs together for the encore.
• I saw Steadman open for Feeder, one of my favorite bands. I thought that Steatman were awesome and bought their album. Steadman employs fascinating concepts in their lyrics, especially in the allusions in "No Big Deal." I also absolutely love "Come Alive."

Endnotes

1.  Most of the links up there are Amazon links, although the names of the bands are linked to iTunes. If you want to check out the albums on iTunes the links are here: Pink Pearl, Thirst for Romance, Eye to the Telescope, Smile, Rainy Day Music, and Revive. Also, check out The Thorns.
2. By "classical music" I mean the broader, typical sense of the term, rather than only music from the classical era. My elementary school music teacher would want me to make that distinction, were she to read this.