are driving me to distraction. I need to listen to some music whilst studying! Sadly I cannot get to Youtube when at the university. Can someone recommend a good internet radio station that has minimal ( or NO) chat, and good music along the lines of classic rock, or folk/acoustic, or MoTown anything, or jazz, or blues? I tried the BBC radio channels but they made me crazy with the amount of talking that goes on.

Hello- dont know if this well help, but there is a website called songza where you can listen to any song you type into the search engine, though I guess that it might not be too good if you want continuous music; good bit of distraction though..

Try Last.fm or Pandora radio. You tell it what kind of music you like or want to listen to and it only plays that for you.

Olivia, I envy anyone able to work with music on!
I am stuck in the library 'silent area' with the obligatory idiots who comes here to have a loudly whispered conversation... I don't really have the guts to tell them to shut up, so instead they get "the look" needless to say it doesn't work.

I used to do exam revision in the silent area of the library and once had a girl have a go at me because I was typing on my calculator to loudly! I put it down to exam stress on her behalf!

Olivia- get yourself an iPod. I know that everyone has one but they are sooo good and definitley worth the £100. You can put all your CD's on it and then just hit shuffle!

Yes I am lucky to be able to play music while working! Unfortunately I am not able to get to a lot of these suggestions because I do not have the right Flash player and not allowed to install it... and do not want to make a fuss about it to the university IT folks!

As for the noisy people whispering in libraries--- that drives me insane. And you are right, glaring at them does not seem to help. They seem very oblivious. Sometimes a loud HMMMMPPHHHHH and a glare gets to people....I have to go a lecture where invariably, people come in 10-15 minutes late, in large packs, chatting loudly all the way into the lecture theatre, not even caring how late they are OR that they are disturbing the lecture in progress. And then their phones will go off for a while. If I were the lecturer I would lock the door at the start of the lecture and not let them in until the break. I cannot believe how rude this is!

I would love to try an Ipod but all my CDs are back home in the States...another problem as to why I am musicless--otherwise could just pop a CD in the computer and play it! I used to be able to go to a coffee shop at home and study, lots of people in there studying, and they never got stroppy about how long you stayed. I don't see people studying here in coffee shops, so feel like it would be very rude if I just plopped down to do it. But it is my preferred place to study--LOTS of music, enough noise, some sunlight and caffeine IV. Libraries really make me go insane with the quiet--I can do about an hour in there and then I have to leave!

My usual fix is to go and tell a librarian to come and tell them off (probably worse and more obvious than me telling them to shut up!! hehe) but there is only us and one other guy here... so it would be obvious it was me I wish I wasn't such a wuss.

Can you not get access to file-sharing sites Olivia to obtain some of your favorite music?

Have you ever resorted to earplugs??! I have done that on occassions and it does help filter the noise--but then there are the worrying pops and pings of your own ears and head!

No I haven't because when I've used them in the past I've always had problems getting them to stay in my ears (same with earphones, I must have weird shaped ears) - anyway, that was a while ago so I should have another go with them! I never thought to use them in the library, thanks Olivia

I have worked in the pub before now; if it's fairly quiet, and you buy a drink, then the bar staff shouldn't mind - but I would ask them first. This may not work in places that are popular with students!

After posting those Dolly Parton suggestions...now I just had a yen for bluegrass music, and HEY I FOUND an internet bluegrass station that I can access!!!!! and its JUST what I need to listen to--though hope no one comes in while I am listening.

Good ole Americana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BLISS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/y/youneverevencalledmebymyname.shtml

The Perfect Country and Western Song! Why isn't there a smiley icon with a cowboy hat??!

Olivia jamming out to bluegrass gospel...and of course you know that this puts me in the frame of mind for a trout meal...this one is so good it brings tears to my eyes!!! Bacon and Sage Panfried Trout--any recipe that starts with 24 pieces of bacon==yummy!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/11692