play list

[imsubrosa]

Ok, so this is sort of a dumb question but I'm posting it anyway...

If you listen to music while in labor, what do you listen to? I've never really considered music before so I was just wondering what's on everybodies play list?

[lspelle]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who spends time contemplating this. :-D

I wasn't sure what I'd be in the mood for so I loaded my ipod up with a variety. I've got a list with Jimmy Buffett songs, one with Enya and Lorena McKennit, one with the Spice Girls and Aqua (Don't laugh! They make me smile! hehehe), I guess it totally depends on your tastes.

[HidaShara]

I've never been in labour before, but let me tell you right now the wishy-washy "mood music" people have been buying for me is about the least appealing thing in the universe. If anything is gonna antagonize me during labour, it will be the presence of generic, ambient drug-store-bought noise. >.<

I'll probably bring my iPod into the hospital and see what I feel like at the time. I have a lot of English folk and Baroque -period stuff that I find relaxing, if that's what I need. If I need motivation, I can tune into something perkier - electronica, maybe - something which a steady beat.

The babe loves my new Crystal Castles album, so maybe we'll be down with that.

[AmyC]

We burned several discs last time. My husband picked out some nice stuff, and tied it all together with stuff from an "environmental" disc titled something like "Rainstorm on Cape Cod" interspersed. (So, rain fading up and down between tracks.) He had just gotten a mixer, so he could use a turntable & a couple of CD players and fade in/out and not have to stop the disc that was being burned between tracks.

The music itself was pretty nice, too....I don't even remember all of it and I haven't listened to it since birthing 4 years ago. Definitely some Hamza el Din. Lots of atmospheric, unobtrusive stuff, but great quality. Maybe some of Ali Akbar Khan's sarod music. So that was "his" disc. I remember we ended up playing it at one point, and we had a lull before the pushing phase and we were together and two tracks came on that I hadn't known were on there. Distinct songs, pop songs, compared to the rest of the content. John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" and "Something In The Way She Moves" by James Taylor. ("And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now, She's been with me now quite a long, long time--And I feel fine....") Both songs moved me so much....I think maybe the James Taylor came first.

I picked a bunch of songs for another disc, including lots of Van Morrison, mellow Neil Young, and the Paul Winter Consort. I remember that when I actually was in labor (early labor at home), I put one track on repeat play. (Actually, I kept walking over to the player and starting that track again whenever it ended.) My husband noticed and went to the computer and quickly burned a disc that just repeated that one track ("Evening Meditation," a wordless tune vocalized by Van Morrison.) I played it for a long time while I was laboring at the Alternative Birthing Center in the hospital, too. I really was in the zone with that song....

A special song that I associate with labor/birthing is "In the Garden," also by Van Morrison. It's the mood and power of the piece more than the "story," exactly, but it's also the sentiment of the chorus or refrain:

No Guru, no method, no teacher
Just you and I and nature
And the father in the garden

No Guru, no method, no teacher
Just you and I and nature--
And the Father and the
Son and the Holy Ghost
In the garden, wet with rain.



It's very intense and beautiful to me. In the end, when I really was laboring, though, I just wanted the tone & zone of "Evening Meditation" and that worked great.

I also made a CD of songs for afterward, after we had our baby in our arms and just were together, which started with Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." It's the most mellow mix EVER, very personal and "baby" oriented (to me), and a complete tear-jerker!

[catnap70]

Last time around for me it was Deva Premal, Krishna Das and Norah Jones.

This time I have been leaning toward instrumental slack key guitar, Cyril Pahinui, Keola Beamer and their Hawaiian friends. I have created a Pandora station so I can just let it run.

I have a good friend who says that the music I listened to in labor would drive her insane. She calls herself more of a Beastie Boys birther.

[BetsyS]

Last time, I enjoyed an instrumental bluegrass album. I've pulled out the same CD for this time, too.

[hippie chick]

my first son was born to DMB, my hubby remembers the song and turns it up each time we hear it. i can't name it for the life of me. i am a huge parrothead but don't think i could handle even much of the ballad album, i needed more mellow last time to put me in a very tranquil place. i made a 12 hour song list on the ipod and plan on bringing the ihome with me to whatever room i end up in.

[firespiritmelody]

Some of the CD's I plan on having handy (no iPod, lame, I know) include Tori Amos, Celtic Women, The Cranberries etc. There is some really fast paced moving stuff, and other slower more intense, a good mix I think.

[MamaDee4]

I'm so glad you brought this up. I've always had CD's of (no i pod here, either) classical, instrumental, relaxation type stuff. And I've never really used it much in labor. It just pissed me off.

So....this time, I'm picking stuff I like. No head banger stuff, but more mellow rock or instrumental stuff I like when I'm not in labor! I plan on going through my CD's today and picking first the CD I like and then going through specific songs....I may make one CD of those or just put the whole stack of CD's aside. Depends on how many more days I have left, I guess!

I don't know why the relaxation type stuff made me so mad in labor.....the same thing happens to me when I'm in a crappy mood and DH puts on a classical music station. Ugh! Double Ugh! It makes me worse. It's like someone trying to "force" a mood on me, ya know? I'll have a good mix this time so I can skip what is annoying. ; )

Dee

[Sasha_girl]

Lurking from the August ddc--

It's hard to know in advance. When I was planning for ds2's birth I bought one of those mood CD's, one with ocean waves. I figured that contractions are kind of like ocean waves for me and the sound might help me 'ride' the contractions.

Instead I got seasick and couldn't stop throwing up until dh turned it off.

[sunnymw]

Well, before we sold our lappy and upgraded, I had 3 playlists... one of fast songs that I usually clean to, one of slow songs that I usually play while DS1 is napping, and one of just praise & worship and inspiring/uplifting songs called the "transition" list

[bluebirdmama]

I didn't get a chance to put any music on this time but with ds I premade a playlist for my ipod called "Birth Beats" which was basically a bunch of calm songs that I really like including Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Sinead O'connor's "This is to Mother You", Everything But The Girl, Portishead, The Cure, Elton John's "Tiny Dancer", The Be Good Tanya's "Momsong", Massive Attack, Lemon Jelly, Lamb, Lauren Hill. We listen to it often.

I wish I would have had a chance to put together a special list this time too. It's a very special play list to us now and we gave our midwives a copy of it as a Thank you gift.

[mhaddon]

Well I have 3 cd's that I have always used to relax since I was in HS. They are Enya, Smashing Pumpkins, and Stone Temple Piolets. Don't laugh but these always relaxed me no matter what.

[finnegansmom]

We brought music to the hospital with my son and for the life of me I can't remember if we even listened to it. I was so not focusing on music. I do remember my husband watching Meet the Fockers while I was suffering in agony, and to this day the sight of Robert DeNero makes me wince....

[sunnymw]

With DS1 I listened to the back to titanic soundtrack and katie giguere

[pazerific]

i'm not sure i'll listen to anything. with dd, i just had a lot of quiet time, but we did watch a couple movies that i was able to rest through (dumb and dumber, and napoleon dynamite). if things take a while we'll probably watch those again, and throw borat in the mix too. as far as music goes, it will probably depend on what time of day it is and if dd is around. she's 2.5 and it's like comic relief watching her listen to an album she likes. she's really into spoon, the black keys, the talking heads, radiohead (we have a videotape of her dancing and singing into a garden hose throughout in rainbows), and feist, although i can see feist getting on my nerves while i'm in labor--too slow and a little boring on some parts. i dunno. i feel like being able to predict what i'm going to want to listen to is like trying to predict the weather 2 weeks from now. just depends on what strikes my fancy i guess. ITA with MamaDee4 and HidaShara though, if someone turns on any sort of fluffy drugstore background noise, the speakers are going out the window!

[sunnymw]

Okay, don't laugh


Fast labor music
Fight for all the wrong reasons-Nickelback
Romeo & Juliet-Indigo Girls
Open skies-David Crowder Band
Tangled up in blue-Indio Girls
Say Anything (acoustic)-Aimee Mann
Reinventing your exit-Underoath
Jersey-Mayday Parade
Shut me out-Kutless
Building a mystery-Sarah Mclachlan
Never alone-Barlow Girl
How Come-Ray Lamontagne
Stupid-Sarah McLachlan
Nice to know you-Incubus
What if-Creed
Slide-Ani Difranco
Mr. Jones-Counting Crows
Bring me some water-Joan Osborne/Melissa Etheridge
Big Mistake-Natalie Imbruglia
Strong enough-Sheryl Crow & Dixie Chicks
All around me-Flyleaf
Magic Carpet ride-Steppenwolf
I believe in you (live)-Amanda Marshall
Your mistake-Sister Hazel
Jeremiah was a bullfrog-CCR
Got to stop thinkin' bout that-Edwin McCain
Make me stay-Ani Difranco
Six feet from the edge-Creed
Love you madly-cake
Again I go unnoticed-Dashboard confessional
What's up-4 non blondes
Deny-Default
Gravity-Shawn McDonald
Sorrow-Flyleaf
You're a god-Vertical Horizon
Follow you home-Nickelback
Warning-Incubus
Unchanging one-Todd Agnew
Take my life-Jeremy Camp
Let it Rain-Amanda Marshall
Wish you were here-Incubus
Sugar, we're goin' down-Fallout Boy
That Summer-Garth Brooks
Voice of truch-Casting crowns
Touched-Vast
We fall down-Kutless
Heavy-Collective Soul
O Praise Him-David Crowder Band
Buildings and Bridges-Ani Difranco
Control-Puddle of Mudd
In the Air tonight-Non point
Dice-Finley Quaye (OC soundtrack)
Not Angry Anymore-Ani Difranco
The End of Heartache-Killswitch Engage
Posession-Sarah McLachlan
Candy-Seventh Day Slumber
Sunday Morning-Ani Difranco
Going the Distance-Cake
My Generation-Starfield
When darkness falls-Killswitch Engage
out of range (living in clip version)-Ani Difranco
Deep Inside (acoustic)-Incubus
Shackled-Vertical Horizon
December-Collective Soul
What if His people prayed-Casting Crowns
Bubbly-Colbie Calliat
The Warmth-Incubus
Faceless man-creed
Jukebox-Ani Difranco
I'm no Heroine-Ani Difranco
Rockstar-Nickelback
I saw the light (live)-David Crowder Band
Draw me Close-kutless
Walk on the ocean (live)-John Mayer
Here for now-Ani Difranco
RockPaperScissors(SMS/SML version)-Ani Difranco
See the sky again-Edwin McCain
Take my hand-shawn McDonald
Napoleon (living in clip version)-Ani Difranco
Nothing Could Come Between Us-Theory of a Deadman
It's Dangerous Business Walking out your front door-Underoath
Smoothie Song-Nickel Creek
Animals-Nickelback
Be Lifted (live)-David Crowder Band
(instrumental guitar)-Uli Dumschat
Come Close-Edie Carey
Gravel (living in clip version)-Ani Difranco
Broken-Seether/Amy Lee
Black Birth-Sarah McLachlan
Sweet Child O' Mine-Sheryl Crow



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slow labor music
Black (live Pearl Jam Cover)-Aaron Lewis of Staind
Giving In-Adema
High on Sunday 51-Aimee Mann
Down in a hole-Alice in Chains
Why-Ciara haskett (cover)
While you were sleeping-casting crowns
Home-Sheryl Crow
My Immortal-Evanescence
It's been awhile-Staind
Walk by faith-Jeremy Camp
Dilate-Ani Difranco
Ramblin' Round-Indigo girls & Ani Difranco
Blurry-Puddle of Mudd
Subdivision-Ani Difranco
Last Song-Theory of a Deadman
Savin' me-Nickelback
Word of God Speak-Kutless
There-for-you--Flyleaf
Grey-Ani Difranco
45 (acoustic)-Shinedown
Move on-Jet
Set me Free-Casting Crowns
Burning Bright-Shinedown
Mother-Tori Amos
Coming Home-Dallas Green
My Struggle-Seventh Day Slumber
The world I know-Collective Soul
Desire-Ryan Adams
Name-Goo Goo Dolls
This far gone-Jennifer Hanson
So I thought-Flyleaf
Far Away-nickelback
Ireland-Garth Brooks
East to west-casting Crowns
I lift up my eyes-Katie Giguere
Giving In-Adema
Fall or Fly-Edie Carey
Who am I-Casting Crowns
Set me free-casting crowns
Reckoning-Ani Difranco
Mexico (live)-Incubus
Listen to your heart-DHT
Jolene-Ray Lamontagne
Shelter-Ray Lamontagne
Torn-Creed
To Live is to Die-Metallica
Hell Yeah-Ani Difranco
Does Anybody Hear Her-Casting Crowns
If you're reading this-Tim McGraw
Wild as the Wind-Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood
Seven Bridges Road-Eagles
Carry Me Jesus-Katie Giguere
Here I Go Again-Casting Crowns
Miserable at best-Mayday Parade
Just by your Mercy-Katie Giguere
Piano and I-Alicia Keys
Black and Blue-Counting Crows
You and Me-Lifehouse
In this Life-Collin Raye
So far away-Staind
You Save Me-Kenny Chesney
Caught By the River-Doves (OC Soundtrack)
The Red Strokes-Garth Brooks
When it's done it's done-Bruce Cockburn
You Had Time-Ani Difranco
Small World-Ani Difranco
(instrumental guitar)-Uli Dumschat
Tear Drop-Massive Attack (House MD theme)
Broken Wings-Flyleaf
More than a Memory-Garth Brooks
Ghost-Indio Girls
The Difficult Kind (live)-Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan
hold On-Sarah McLachlan
Simple Man (live)-Shinedown
I miss You-Incubus
Everything Changes-Staind
Not a Pretty Girl (SMS/SML version)-Ani Difranco
Only you-David Crowder Band
Done Wrong-Ani Difranco
Butterfly Kisses-Collin Raye
Yahweh-Shawn McDonald
Arms of Love-Kutless
Rise up, Shepherd-David Huntsinger
Fear-Sarah McLachlan
Honey and the Moon-Arthur...? (OC soundtrack)
Sometimes (i wish)-Dallas Green
Punish Me-Edwin McCain
Crash and Burn-Sheryl Crow
Good Enough-Sarah McLachlan
Drive (orchestral live)-Incubus
Capri-Colbie Calliat
Silent all these years-Tori Amos
Hey Jupiter-Tori Amos
Me and Emily-Rachel Proctor
My Jesus-Todd Agnew
Hello I'm in Delaware-Dallas Green
Better than Chocolate-Sarah McLachlan
China-Tori Amos
Ain't That the Way-Ani Difranco
River-Sarah McLachlan
My Own Prison-Creed
(instrumental guitar)-Uli Dumschat
Gone without goodbye-Brian Littrell
Tori (acoustic)-John Mayer & Nickel Creek
Perfectly Done-Shawn McDonald
This Woman's Work-Kate Bush
Homesick-Mercy Me
Little Earthquakes-Tori Amos
Jealous of the Moon-Nickel Creek
Sweet Southern Comfort-Buddy Jewell
Marry Me-Amanda Marshall
Hannah-Ray Lamontagne
I Like You (Farr's Song)-Edie Carey
Fixing Her Hair-Ani Difranco
Violently-Edie Carey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Music for Transition
In Christ Alone-Adrienne Liesching
Deliver Me-David Crowder Band
Hold On-Shawn McDonald
Amazing Love-Rebecca St. James
A Beautiful Collision-David Crowder Band
(instrumental guitar)-Uli Dumschat
Amazing Grace-Jars of Clay
God of Wonders-?
Only Alive-Jars of Clay
If I could just sit with you awhile-Todd Agnew
Beautiful-Shawn McDonald
Take you back-Jeremy Camp
Wholly yours (B-variant)-David Crowder Band
(instrumental guitar)-Uli Dumschat
It is well with my soul-Katie Giguere
Simply Nothing-Shawn McDonald
I love you-Sarah McLachlan
And now my lifesong sings-Casting Crowns
Wish-Brian Littrell
I wait for the Lord-Jeremy Camp
Mirror-Barlow Girl
Dare you to move-Switchfoot
Redeemer-Nicole C. Mullen
Right here-Jeremy camp
Praise you in the storm-Casting Crowns
Your love is extravagant-Casting Crowns
Lullaby-Creed
Lion of Judah-Katie Giguere
All Creatures-David Crowder Band