Oh right, I thought you might have had one song that is the go-to one for getting creative and working on art.
I have a similar process to you man. When I want to get some writing done - mainly for fiction - I throw some stuff on that isn't too lyrical, as when it's just music I find it easier to focus on what I'm thinking about. I mainly go for techno, as it's just a repetitive beat that just lets my mind wonder a bit. It works for sci-fi and can help to paint a bit of a picture to get started.
Yeah, his process is; every day at 6 or 7 he heads to his office and puts on a pair of headphones of a song on loop, and then he just gets writing. I took a bit of a leaf out of his book, especially when he was talking about writing with no idea, and just going for it regardless. He is a beast.
I used to really enjoy writing fiction and humor as well which is by far the most challenging; often misconstrued. Creativity in general seems to place one in a vulnerable position, making it increasingly difficult to just go for it. Having something productive to drown out the noise, like music, becomes a necessity. Much better than self medicating with powerful and destructive substances, for instance.
Couldn't agree more there, I used to smoke weed - well hash - but gave it up a few years ago. I've stayed off it so long because I noticed that my productivitey went through the roof especially as far as writing goes. Also, in general it wasn't doing me any favours anymore.
Yeah, when writing, I always try to sprinkle some humour in. It's tough to appeal to everyone so there isn't much point in trying. I tend to do what I like, and that's about it and is probably the best way to stay motivated to create.
I think the attitude of, "I'm doing this for me, not you," is important for anyone who's creating stuff.