I fly a lot. While I was in collage, the must have was "Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits"...weird, right? I'm flying to NY tonight and I know I will rely on Yo La Tengo's "Summer Sun." That and two benadryls to make me pass out. Did you know flying is the safest form of transportation?

Pretty much, when I fly, there are two things that calm me down:

(1) Classical music.
(2) Podcasts of Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me

Sorry, "modern rock" just doesn't do it for me at 30,000 feet.

Oh the timing on this one! I love listening to the song "Stratford-On-Guy" on airplanes. It makes the whole thing feel theatrical. And maybe this is counter-intuitive, but I frequently listen to the Neutral Milk Hotel record In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, particularly on overseas flights. I know there's something slightly wrong with that on the surface, but if you pay attention to it (and it's one of those records that is amazing to pay full attention to), it's an excellent distraction from any luxurious discomfort.

Slightly related (because I have more anxiety about being awake while people break my teeth out of my mouth than I do about utilizing a traditionally safe method of transportation), I recently found myself getting through having my wisdom teeth pulled out while completely awake and aware by pumping "P.Y.T." by Michael Jackson, immediately followed by Ted Leo + Rx's Shake the Sheets. They just make me happy.

oooh. Let Go by Nada Surf. or anything by Beirut but I am not scared of flying, its just my take-me-away music.

OH YEAH! How could I leave out Let Go by Nada Surf?!?! That record is so good for flying!!!

When I was flying home last week, the radio station in the seat-arm played Nirvana's "On a Plain," which I re-spelled to suit the setting. "I'm on a plane, I can't complain" ran through my head for the rest of the flight.

I like music that lulls me into sleep while I'm on a plane, so Ok Computer gets mixed with Sarah Blasko's What the Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have and whatever mellow music I'm currently crushing on.

I ALWAYS listen to Carissa's Wierd. I take pills to relax and adding their calming melodies does the trick for me.

Death Cab is my comfort music for anything, which may or may not be a shocker to some people.

In terms of plane rides, I listen to a lot of Sigur Ros.

Oh man! I almost always listen to Superchunk's 'Here's to Shutting Up' from start to finish at least once.

Is that wrong?

"Airplanes are heavy, ships deserve to sink, leaks deserve a levy, tell me what do you think.

for tranquilizing music, i'm all about Sparklehorse...

next time you fly, try the album "it's a wonderful life" (although you might want to delete out the freaky song where Tom Waits sings like a werewolf), put the whole thing on repeat, and by the time the plane lands you'll wish you could've stayed up there awhile longer... plus, you'll be singing to yourself "he was once... a little fat baby..." for weeks afterwards...

or try portland's A Weather... with really sweet, hypnotic boy-girl vocals tossed lightly with salty sweet oceanic melodies. (my current band crush... along with L.A.'s Snow & Voices...)

For some reason, I listen to one of the bitchiest songs about air travel ever when I'm on a plane - "Waitress in the Sky" by the Replacements. I don't have any hostility towards flight attendants and never had a bad experience with one so I'm not sure why that's my go-to song when I'm in the friendly skies, but there ya go.

If I'm flying in or out of California en route to or from Seattle I also like Albert Hammond's "It Never Rains in Southern California" for some reason.

Usually, though, I read because I don't think my iPod has the battery life to last through an entire flight and I think (hope) that my neighbors on the flight will be less likely to interrupt someone reading a book then someone "just" listening to music.

this is such a great topic! i listen to a lot of Death Cab when i'm in the air, as well. when i used to fly back to LA from NY all the time i'd listen to "Why You'd Want To Live Here," as well as the rest of the Photo Album -- mostly because of the somewhat nostalgic, homecoming-esque theme. i try to listen to the most soothing music possible, whether it's a friend's band or death cab or the garden state soundtrack or whatever.

funny thing is I can never watch Garden State on the plane because of that opening scene where Large dreams he's in a plane crash.

Brian Eno's Music for Airports

@Joseph would you believe that's my imaginary baby's favorite album? She listens every night before bed. Very sophisticated taste for a five month old.