Picture this: you’ve been slaving away at your desk for what feels like years, the task is endlessly boring, but it still requires enough brain power that you can’t throw on your favourite podcast. You look at the clock and realise—it’s not even 11 am. We’ve all been there and the antidote, of course, is some good music. But, when you’ve hammered ‘Daily Mix 3’ until the algorithm has cracked and every song begin to sounds like the others, you need to turn to something that will take you on a journey. 

Picking the right music to work or study to isn’t as easy as it seems though. Wordy songs are clearly out the equation; too distracting. An old jazz album or DJ mix works a treat, but they’re best enjoyed when you can pay attention to what the artist is doing, and rarely do they help you out of the boredom. That’s where movie soundtracks come in. 

Literally created to be at once background music while also creating a sense of propulsion and momentum through a story, film scores are the perfect soundtracks for studying or work. Familiar ones will subconsciously conjure the films they are from, but even if you haven’t seen the film a soundtrack was made for, they always seem to carry you on a journey that can really alleviate a tedious workday or amplify your focus for brutal study sessions. And over the decades there have been great ones. 

From modern masterpieces like Ludwig Göransson’s Black Panther, Justin Hurwitz’s La La Land, or Alexandre Desplat’s The Shape of Water to classics like Yann Tiersen’s work for Amelie and everything John Williams ever did, there is a bounty of good music to get some work done to on every streaming service. Many reward repeat listens and will keep you coming back for more. 

Below, you will find five of the film scores that GQ’s head of brand Charlie Calver and content producer Will Lennox can’t stop returning to. From 1980s classics to modern work done by former rockstars, working your way through the below list will make any day in the office feel like you aren’t really working at all. Read on. 

Vangelis, Blade Runner (1982)

If the world thought Vangelis had cracked it with his epic Chariots of Fire soundtrack in 1981, he had to let ’em all know he wasn’t playing around when he signed on to do Blade Runner. Set in the distant future against a distinctly sci-fi noir backdrop, Vangelis used a combination of synths and traditional orchestral elements like strings, percussion and choir to create a hauntingly beautiful score. In 2019, Pitchfork named it the best score of all time, and after listening to ‘Tears in Rain’ for the millionth time, we have no problems with that. Just mind you don’t find yourself staring off into space thinking about what humanity really is in the middle of your shift. — Charlie Calver 

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network (2010)

David Fincher, master of the psychological thriller, doesn’t seem congruent with a working soundtrack. But by enlisting Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross—of Nine Inch Nails fame—the subsequent creation is one of the best soundtracks to work to. The suspenseful and at times all out turbulent songs are perfect for when you find yourself in the zone, frantically racing to meet a deadline—much like Zuckerberg did when frantically establishing (or stealing) Facebook. The soundtrack creates a dark ambience, and the lower bass frequencies allow you to really settle into the music. Reznor and Ross, if off-kilter, are well worth following if you want great music to work to—maybe not as much as Nine Inch Nails though. — Will Lennox

Air, The Virgin Suicides (2000)

Sofia Coppola’s taste is notorious. From her personal style to the films she loves and is inspired by, so it’s natural, then, that he musical palate is just as astute and diverse—listen to her publicly available Spotify playlist for “Morning on set” for the receipts. For her directorial debut, The Virgin Suicides, Coppola’s taste in music pulled her away from the traditional composers and towards a French electronica duo—not that one—called Air. The pair had just released their debut album, the atmospheric Moon Safari, and they agreed to do The Virgin Suicides as their follow-up—if they could approach it as an album. The result is not just the perfect accompaniment for Coppola’s ethereal adult fairytale, but a lasting work of art that can calm even the most stressful of days in the office with its melancholic French flair. — Charlie Calver

Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

If when you work, you’d much rather be transported to a fantasy land of elves and hobbits—and the Harry Potters aren’t your vibe—then LOTR is your saviour. A sweeping, grandiose score that will make you feel like you’re not tapping away at a keyboard, instead journeying through Middle-Earth. The first film in the series is full of cheerful optimism in “Concerning Hobbits” right through to the more sinister “A Knife in The Dark” —sounds just like a normal workday no? — Will Lennox

Hans Zimmer, Gladiator (2000)

No list of the best film scores could exist without mentioning the GOAT Hans Zimmer. That German madman is responsible for half of the best scores of this century and the last. Interstellar, Dune, the goddamn Lion King—if you ever get the chance to see him in concert, you better do it. But, despite a catalogue of scores that any composer would be enviable of, Zimmer has one that stands above the rest. Classically brilliant, compelling and downright emotional, this is a score that can invigorate you on your worse days. Not sure? We dare you to put on ‘Now We Are Free’ without getting the urge to run through a wall. — Charlie Calver 

Daniel Lopatin, Uncut Gems (2019)

Contrasting at times quite prominently with the content of the film, Daniel Lopatin, better known as Oneohtrix Point Never crafted an otherworldly score to one of 2019s best films. Mixing cadences, synthesiser tweaks, and a general aura of absurdity, the Uncut Gems soundtrack will bring joy to your workday like no other. The soundtrack has a bit of everything, choral arrangements, new-age sampling, and orchestral touches, all blended together in an album that brings a strange optimism to the depravity of the film it accompanies. Remove yourself from Howard Ratner’s antics in the movie, and you’ve got a beautiful aural experience ripe for a good days’ work in the sun. — Will Lennox

Marvin Gaye, Trouble Man (1972)

If you only think of Marvin Gaye as a soul singer who makes good tracks for, ahem, the bedroom, you’re missing out on a hell of a lot of great music. Not only is Gaye’s 1971 album What’s Going On one of the most important political records in recent history, he was also an incredibly talented producer and composer. Riding high off his success in ’72, Gaye doubled down on that side of his music by signing on to score the blaxploitation film, Trouble Man. Almost entirely devoid of Gaye’s singing, the album is nonetheless an absolute bop that is equally enjoyable to listen to on a walk through the park as it is when you need a bit of action at your desk. There’s a reason Sam gave the record to Captain America when he emerged from being frozen in time in Captain America: Winter Soldier telling him the record is “everything you missed jammed into one album.” — Charlie Calver

Arcade Fire, Her (2013)

As a self-confessed Arcade Fire-doubter, I still believe this to be the Canadian band’s only good gift to the world. The film's heavily emotive subject matter is cocooned by emotive piano chords, drawn-out synths, and moving string arrangements that at once are a reminder of the crushing digital world, but also the romance in the everyday. It’s not all loss and sadness, even if “Song on the Beach” would make you feel otherwise. It’s thought-provoking music that invites introspection, exactly the sort of stop and pause we all need on a workday. — Will Lennox

Ryuichi Sakamoto, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

When I saw the multi-instrumentalist John Carroll Kirby play earlier this year shortly after the death of Ryuichi Sakamoto, rather than playing some of epic early work like Thousand Knives as a tribute, he played the opening track from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. For a film that stars both Sakamoto and David Bowie, it’s no surprise that the soundtrack is a classic, but Bowie had nothing to do with it. The soundtrack is trademark Sakamoto—experimental, surprising and full of bangers. It will catch you off guard at times and have you nodding your head at times. In other words, it’s the perfect thing to put on to stave off the boredom of a dreary workday.  — Charlie Calver

Michael Giacchino, Ratatouille (2007)

I chose this because it soundtracks the greatest animated film of all time (I won’t be reading replies, so don’t even bother). Where Ratatouille beats out the rest is that it invokes such a multi-sensory experience, you somehow taste the food Remy is so passionate about, something rare in live-action films, let alone an animated one. This is helped in huge part by the film’s soundtrack. Although a bit cliché in terms of its depiction of France, It’s nevertheless romantic, jovial, and it makes work feel somewhat exotic, even if your window view doesn’t look out over the Eiffel Tower. — Will Lennox

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