when sketching i listen to a lot of music! and i mean A LOT. for music ill listen to almost anything.. like, i'll try to stick to a whole work day(s)/ week for just one genre and then move on to the next. music is fascinating to me, some people have a clear and cut preferred style/ genre they like, some people don't, and it's really interesting to try it all.
list of some albums/etc i find myself returning to a lot:
the cure's "disintegration"
genesis's "invisible touch"
foster the people's "torches"
marianas trench's ENTIRE DISCOGRAPHY
the cars's first album
fleetwood mac's "rumours"
my chemical romance - "the black parade"
the beatles's "sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band"
oingo boingo's "dead man's party"
dead man's bones (ryan gosling's band)
duran duran's "rio"
arctic monkeys's "am" & "humbug"
weird al's "uhf"
ace of base's "the sign"
violet evergarden ost
frieren ost
nagi no asukara ost
sonic frontiers ost
milk can's "make it sweet!" (from um jammer lammy)
vib-ribbon ost
utsu-p's "sick"
yuyoyuppe's albums
alstroemeria records's "dancehall" album series (touhou arrange)
swing holic's albums (touhou arrange)
the nutcracker
swan lake
carmen opera
don quixote opera
while in the lineart or colour stages, ill take a break from music. i prefer tv shows that are more comedy based or dialogue heavy, something i can still follow without looking at the screen too much. e.g. this year i watched a lot of malcolm in the middle, house md, and recently ranma 1/2. any shows that are very action packed, plot heavy, visual gag oriented - i stay away from while drawing because i won't be able to follow the story.
for video essays ill listen to anything that's interesting - video games, animation stuff, history, writing, tech, etc. im taking a break from video essays bc i think ive watched too many of them this year and i really should catch up on shows instead :').. but ill return to them again when im ready. i really like the sphere hunter, super eyepatch wolf, townsends, tasting history, and modern history tv channels in particular.
im not a podcast person but i like the official podcast and trash taste.