As I Lay Me Down To Sleep

I find prog albums are often good to listen to before bed time or even actually in bed in the dark with headphones on. They concentrate and focus the mind and if they are exciting it's usually in an intellectual way rather than a physical get-up-and-dance way, though there are exceptions. They often take you on a very inward journey they you can really devote yourself to lying in the dark without seeming too weird to the wife about it (try doing it during the day) and at the end, you feel that something's completed and you can drift nicely to sleep. I would often imagine little made-up music videos to go with proceedings too.

I always listen to music just before I go to sleep, but most of the time it puts me to sleep.  Too bad, since this time is the best time to listen to music, since there is no background noise.  The details you hear are incredible.

For me it depends, if I'm tired enough when I head to the bed I pass on the music.  If I'm not tired and feel like some music I really like to do ambient  but sometimes I will shuffle on my most recent additions.  Speaking of Radiohead, I had just fallen for them in a major way the first time I was hospitalized for DKA a few years ago.  Had added most of their albums to my collection and my digital music player shortly before.  Kid A and Amnesiac were oddly comfortable even though the music is gloomy.  If you are hospitalized for DKA you're really not  given much of an opportunity for sleep what with nurses and techs coming around every hour to check your vitals and blood sugar levels.

[QUOTE=Textbook]I find prog albums are often good to listen to before bed time or even actually in bed in the dark with headphones on. They concentrate and focus the mind and if they are exciting it's usually in an intellectual way rather than a physical get-up-and-dance way, though there are exceptions. They often take you on a very inward journey they you can really devote yourself to lying in the dark without seeming too weird to the wife about it (try doing it during the day) and at the end, you feel that something's completed and you can drift nicely to sleep. I would often imagine little made-up music videos to go with proceedings too.

Textbook wrote:   I also did this with Octavarium for a while- but I mean the song Octavarium, not the complete album.

You realised that after the long and spacey intro you were faced with the music of prog metal band!

I've got it to the point where I have to lie in bed and listen to music for an hour before I sleep

Often ends up being Espers, Can, Agitation Free, or Caravan

Spacey, ambient stuff is preferred for bedtime, like Brian Eno or Steve Roach.  But when it comes to most prog, I prefer to be awake so I can listen and not drift off to the land of Nod.

"In the Court of the Crimson King" is a nice one to fall asleep to. Initiates great dreams, for me.

Edited by Ronnie Pilgrim - May 06 2010 at 17:16

GY!BE is great for this

Yeah done that a few times before

Slept through my entire Gentle Giant discography and woke up when it ended