Five Rockin’ Songs for Studying

It’s late at night … your roommate is asleep … you’re trying to keep your mind focused and awake but you’re starting to confuse your Numerical Analysis assignment with the paper you’re writing comparing Orwell’s 1984 to Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and you know you’re too tired when you successfully interpolate a point halfway between the two authors, whatever that means … you put on your headphones and what do you listen to?

This could be fast and loud or it could be slow and soothing, but it’s got to be something that drives you.  It also might help if it’s light on lyrics so that words don’t distract you.

This first song, Led Zeppelin’s Dazed and Confused, is probably the one that got the most attention from my ears on those late nights studying, partly because the live version on the Song Remains the Same album was something like 26 minutes long and that meant I could listen for quite a while before having to get up and change the LP.  This song is a classic for several reasons, not the least of which is hearing Jimmy Page play guitar with a violin bow (remember Nigel Tufnel doing the same in Spinal Tap?  He wasn’t the original to do that).

Mr. James Hendrix has a whole arsenal of incredible songs, and I know there are Jimi fans out there.  This is one of my favorites.  SRV also plays a great rendition of this song, but I think Jimi’s is the best.  Here’s Voodoo Child.

In any set of rock compilations, at some point there’s a song that stands out as one of the best of all time.  What song is it you wanna hear?  Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird is classic rock at its best.  Play it pretty for Atlanta.

From the bad boys of rock (well okay, there are lots of bad boys of rock, but these guys are right up there) from the Land Down Under, it’s AC/DC with For Those About to Rock.

Another rock anthem that goes for quite a while is by Iron Butterfly, a solid rock group but pretty much known for their one huge hit, In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida.  Without further adieu (baby) …

Happy studying and keep rockin’!

For more lists of rockin’ songs from this author, see the following:

• Five Rockin’ Songs for Cleaning the House
• Five Rockin’ Songs for Road Trips
• Five Rockin’ Songs to Get the Adrenaline Going