BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady embraced a question about meditation and "centering himself" on Tuesday, saying that music often helps him.

"It can be challenging; obviously my mind races a lot. There are a lot of things that I'm thinking about," Brady said. "For me, I've learned the car ride home is a great time -- 30 minutes of time -- where I can listen to music and find a good space for me to be in for the day; whether that's driving into work in the morning -- or I can think about things I need to do, I want to do. And leaving practice, after you've expended a lot of energy, to find a good balance to deal with things at home.

"Music is a great thing for me. That's probably what I do most. And then I try to, at night, make sure I get a little quiet time before I go to bed."

When asked which artists he turns to when trying to get his mind in the right place, Brady said, "It just depends what I want to kind of get up for."

Then he listed five options:

• 1. Jay-Z

• 2. Coldplay

• 3. U2

• 4. Pearl Jam

• 5. Kendrick Lamar

When Brady takes the field for home games at Gillette Stadium, Jay-Z's "Public Service Announcement" is played.

In August, Brady talked about attending a Coldplay concert at Gillette, and in 2004 Brady took an advocacy trip to Africa organized by DATA (debt AIDS trade Africa), the organization founded by U2's Bono.

As for why the music is important to him getting centered, he said, "I obviously don't like having things boil over on me, so I know where I need to be emotionally sometimes. If you're not really in a place of balance, everything affects you, whether you're too high or too low.

"For me, I'm pretty even-keeled most of the time. I know how to kind of rev myself up when I need to for games. I know how to bring myself down after games to find a good level so I can deal with other parts of my life. I think that's just something that's always a work in progress. That's something I'm always trying to figure out."