I've been a musician a lot more than I've been a writer. Music has always been something I've used as an outlet and a method of relaxation. Sometimes I want to write with no music - if I get in a certain "zone" where ideas start to really come, I make a point of trying to remove any potential distractions. But if I'm drawing blanks, I'll just run through my usual playlist of a couple hundred tracks I like all for various reasons, until something hits me.