Same here. Basically, I don't want music while I'm in the process of figuring out how to go about doing something, but there's nothing better than a good beat

Same here. Basically, I don't want music while I'm in the process of figuring out how to go about doing something, but there's nothing better than a good beat (Infected Mushroom for me) while actually doing it. When I'm doing design, music just distracts me -- but when I'm hammering out code, a repetitive rhythm definitely helps to keep me focused. It is strange that music has different effects depending on what kind of thinking the brain is doing. I wonder why that is...