Having a new mobile that plays MP3s, plus a shed load of code to write at work (I wonder how many lines that works out at) means I've been listening to a bit of music over the last couple of days. Hear are my thoughts.

Muse
I first introduced myself to Muse around last year, when I'd heard one of their singles on the radio, and thought that sounds good so I listened to the current album of the time Absolution, and loved it. Since then I've grown to be quite a fan of the Muse, listening to the latest album (Black Holes and Revelations) was a joy, although it's not as strong as Absolution. Anyway, since I liked them I've looked up their previous two albums, Showbiz and Origins of Symmetry, and it is these I've listened to at work. Whilst they are both obviously Muse in style, Origins of Symmetry is much more the style of Muse I prefer - Showbiz I found to be too easy listening, it didn't make me pay it any attention or challenge me. Origins of Symmetry was much better, more aggressive and, well, just better. However, neither beat Absolution, which for me is still the best Muse album.

Pendulum
I doubt any of you will have heard of Pendulum, they are a drum and bass band that has been getting a few mentions hear and there, and people have been saying their album is pretty good. So I've given it a listen, and yep, they aren't wrong. Obviously the big tracks Slam, Fasten Your Seatbelt, Through the Loop and Tarantula are great, but around those are some very pleasant ambient DnB tracks. For me the first half of the album was better than the second, with the second half making me think, “what was that” a couple of times, but it still wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. In some ways it is a very playful album, with the beats taking on almost childish characteristics in places before returning to form.

Now I know most of you probably don't like drum and bass, but I think it's a great genre of music. It certainly does the job when you're coding, the sheer energy in the bassline makes you type quickly, but you also have the breakdown moments to take stock and think about the next section of code you're about to write. One thing is for sure, listening to Pendulum has woken up my interest in DnB once more, and in this podcast age hopefully there is a lot more DnB to be had....