What are you listening to?

Metathiax · Post by **Metathiax** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 5:23 am

I'm growing tired of my LotR soundtracks and I was wondering, while fleshing out some NPCs, what do you guys listen to, if anything, when you are preparing/playing a gaming session? My music library is desperately in need of a transfusion...
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Veritas · Post by **Veritas** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 5:49 am

My dishwasher was just playing the beat to "We Will Rock You." My wife laughed pretty hard when I started singing that to the beat.
Oh wait, you mean when I'm preparing/playing. D'oh. I don't play in any tabletop games, unfortunately, so I have nothing else to contribute.

Gribble · Post by **Gribble** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:08 am

Army of Darkness and Conan/Red Sonja soundtracks are good ones.

Metathiax · Post by **Metathiax** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 8:36 am

Quote:
Army of Darkness and Conan/Red Sonja soundtracks are good ones.

I'm going to take a look at those soundtracks.
By the way, I really like your avatar! Where did you get the pic?
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 8:55 am

Lately, I've been listening to Rhapsody -- or as they have renamed themselves, Rhapsody of Fire.

I believe you can classify them under 'Epic Heavy Metal' -- real fun stuff! But I use this mostly for game prep though. If I use this music in game, I tend to have the volume though.

In terms of soundtracks, the game soundtracks for Halo, GuildWars, or Diablo II make excellent background music!

Of course, you can't go wrong with Led Zeppelin!
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Metathiax · Post by **Metathiax** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 9:06 am

Moriarty, thanks for the suggestions. I'll also look into them.
By the way, it looks as if I met my match in terms of sleeplessness (is that even a real word?! It looks weird with its 5 "s" and 4 "e"...), you also keep posting in the middle of the night...
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 9:32 am

You can maybe find a bit more about them if you check out their site:
http://www.rhapsodyoffire.com/

There is also a link at the bottom of that page where it says 'Enter the Legendary Website' (which is rather small)

As to sleeplessness (ya.. that DOES look weird). Since I'm cursed (or blessed?) with an overnight shift, I find this is my BEST time to catch up on the threads!

It's nice to see I'm not the only one up at this hour!

M
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falrinth · Post by **falrinth** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 9:53 am

Alrighty,

For typical, European high-fantasy, I highly recommend Cutthroat Island, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Hoffa, The Thin Red Line and Waterworld. There are tons of soundtracks out there with great individual tracks on them, but these albums are pretty consistent, which is handy for gaming.

For any horror gaming, including eerie dungeon crawls, Sleepy Hollow, Batman Returns, Apt Pupil, Alien Resurrection, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Interview with the Vampire are fantastic.

For exotic settings, Children of Dune, The 13th Warrior, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and Rabbit Proof Fence are great.

Keep in mind that a bad film has nothing to do with the quality of the soundtrack. Cutthroat Island is apparently a pretty poor flick but the soundtrack is AMAZING!! I hope this list helps... I collect soundtracks (about 100 now) and make playlists based on mood for our gaming sessions. It makes it very easy to generate an atmosphere when the right music is on hand.

Good Luck!

The One and All · Post by **The One and All** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:35 am

What I use in all my games... I've been using some of them for so long that I know exactly which one to use at what time. I keep on adding to it once in a while, but here what I can remember from the top of my head.. since I share Moriarty's curse and am at work.

- Final Fantasy : Made by some Japanese Orchestra

- FF Advent Children

- LOTR (all of them): Of course!

- Music from games like : Lineage, WOW, Guild Wars, Diablo,Halo etc.

Soundtrack:

- Braveheart

- Conan

- X-MEN 3 (really awesome.. all of them)

- Harry Potter (all the movies. )

- Last of the Mohicans

- Pirates of the Caribean (both)

- Kingdom of Heaven

- Batman Begins (the 1st track in battle is excellent)

- DaVinci code

- Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves

- The Rock (the movie theme is WoW)

- Hunt of Red October

- The Mummy 1-2

- The Scorpion King

A few really good track :

- Russian National Anthem

- The Musketeer, Battle music

- Ladder 49 theme

- Lion King (some)

- Mulan theme

I have all that on dvd which I could send you by mail if your nice enough! lol.. Of course for legality.. all of those were taken from bought copies.. Yes.. that's right.. (Everyone *INT Save CL 25 Disbelief*.)

moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:45 am

Er... Legality wise -- Fair use is fair use but in Canada, it would only be legal if he borrowed the music and then made a copy himself!! Well at the moment, the Canadian version if the RIAA is lobbying to change those copywrite laws!

:: smacks friend on back of head! ::

M
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mordrene · Post by **mordrene** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 4:07 pm

Dont forget the excaliber soundtrack.

FYI, Iron Maiden has a new cd that is amazing. It has really helped me lately in world design.

Jyrdan Fairblade · Post by **Jyrdan Fairblade** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 4:07 pm

I'm actually listening to Prokofiev's "Alexander Nevsky," and it is inspiringly bombastic and appropriate.

Also, the King Arthur soundtrack is pretty good.

Inkpot · Post by **Inkpot** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 4:44 pm

For some reason, listening to the soundtracks from the Riven and Myst PC games helps me tremendously when I'm writing the next chapter in my campaign. Riven is especially evocative for me.

Ink
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Gribble · Post by **Gribble** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:09 pm

Metathiax wrote:
Quote:
By the way, I really like your avatar! Where did you get the pic?

You know, I don't remember where I got the avatar, but I use it on a bunch of different boards. Something about a a cube of green slimey jell-o that can suck you up and dissolve ya.

Metathiax · Post by **Metathiax** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 9:19 pm

Thanks for the great suggestions everyone!
Does anyone know if the Diablo tracks are available for free online? I somehow have the impression they were, at least at some point...

Quote:
I have all that on dvd which I could send you by mail if your nice enough! lol.. Of course for legality.. all of those were taken from bought copies.. Yes.. that's right.. (Everyone *INT Save CL 25 Disbelief*.)

I failed my check as far as the legality stuff is concerned but don't bother sending me the dvd especially since I'm currently kind of dvd-challenged...the only dvd player I have around here is my PS2... I do value intellectual property though and I legitimately own around 95% of the music, movies, games, software and books found in my household; the remaining 5% being unfairly or speculatively priced items and stuff that can't be purchased via traditional routes anymore...

Thanks anyway!
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Maliki · Post by **Maliki** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 9:37 pm

Sportscenter on ESPN.
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joewolz · Post by **joewolz** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 10:27 pm

DMX
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serleran · Post by **serleran** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:20 am

I'm listening to Nirvana -- Unplugged in New York.

Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:47 am

We generally listen to classical music, but I really like some of the suggestions posted. I'll have to take a look at BMG and see if I can get some of them cheapo!
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:37 am

Metathiax wrote:
Thanks for the great suggestions everyone!
Does anyone know if the Diablo tracks are available for free online? I somehow have the impression they were, at least at some point...

I failed my check as far as the legality stuff is concerned but don't bother sending me the dvd especially since I'm currently kind of dvd-challenged...the only dvd player I have around here is my PS2... I do value intellectual property though and I legitimately own around 95% of the music, movies, games, software and books found in my household; the remaining 5% being unfairly or speculatively priced items and stuff that can't be purchased via traditional routes anymore...

Thanks anyway!

I know that Blizzard (once upon a time) offered a bunch of MP3's that you could get for Diablo II free off of their site. Just checking now, I see that you can listen to them with an 'mp3 player' they've set up but you can't seem to download them anymore (unless I'm checking in the wrong section). I have those MP3's somewhere backed up... I will check for them in the next day or two and dig them up for ya!

I can PM you when I've found them and, assuming you've got some sort of High Speed connection, I can arrange to send this to you via FTP or something. Failing that, our good ol' CDN Postal service is fairly reliable and, since Ottawa and Montreal is only a couple of hours away -- it should only take a few days at most to get to you (on CD as opposed to DVD)

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The One and All · Post by **The One and All** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:23 am

moriarty777 wrote:
I know that Blizzard (once upon a time) offered a bunch of MP3's that you could get for Diablo II free off of their site. Just checking now, I see that you can listen to them with an 'mp3 player' they've set up but you can't seem to download them anymore (unless I'm checking in the wrong section). I have those MP3's somewhere backed up... I will check for them in the next day or two and dig them up for ya!

I can PM you when I've found them and, assuming you've got some sort of High Speed connection, I can arrange to send this to you via FTP or something. Failing that, our good ol' CDN Postal service is fairly reliable and, since Ottawa and Montreal is only a couple of hours away -- it should only take a few days at most to get to you (on CD as opposed to DVD)

Moriarty the Red

Moriarty, I still have the copies of the Diablo soundtrack you made me a few years ago. 2 cds to be exact.. in case you can't find them..

angelius · Post by **angelius** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 4:27 am

Not sure if I'm allowed to post this, but these tracks are cheap and really really good.
http://www.directsong.com/

I have all the albums from there.
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Metathiax · Post by **Metathiax** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:47 am

Quote:
I see that you can listen to them with an 'mp3 player' they've set up but you can't seem to download them anymore (unless I'm checking in the wrong section).

I think you've looked at the right place and that their online mp3 player is what's left of their downloadable tracks (their original links are broken)... Unfortunately, that's not a very portable solution and the player is also quite glitchy. I don't get the idea since Blizzard's not selling them or anything...

Quote:
I can PM you when I've found them and, assuming you've got some sort of High Speed connection, I can arrange to send this to you via FTP or something. Failing that, our good ol' CDN Postal service is fairly reliable and, since Ottawa and Montreal is only a couple of hours away -- it should only take a few days at most to get to you (on CD as opposed to DVD)

If you do find them, that would be great. PM me then and we'll think of a proper arrangement. Thanks!
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Jynx · Post by **Jynx** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:53 pm

I've got MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE albums - http://www.midnightsyndicate.com/ . They're great for horror type sessions. I use it with my Ravenloft game all the time.

There are lots of great suggestions in this thread. I'm going to go out and get the Dracula sound track now since I'm running Ravenloft I6 in 3 days.

I also tend to produce specific soundtracks for all my sessions - when I get the time! These may include tracks such as the Scotish Bagpipes playing in the background for the Dwarven Funeral, or even techno pop for high impact battles that mimc scenes found in Blade or The Matrix. I even desiged a Jurassic Parc type sound track that at the touch of a keystroke would play different types of sounds such as a Dino growling, another dino crunching, or even the occasional splashing of water and such. It all depends on the type of session... horror, over the top fantasy, medievel. Music and sound effects play a big role in my game.

I also use this program I purhcased a while back called rpgsoundmixer - http://www.rpgsoundmixer.com/

Post by **Fiffergrund** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:27 pm

Ratt - Out of the Cellar, Dancing Undercover

Kiss - Animalize

Dokken - Under Lock and Key, Tooth and Nail

Night Ranger - Seven Wishes, Midnight Madness

Phil Collins - Hello, I Must Be Going (especially for Star Frontiers), Sussudio

Miami Vice Soundtrack, Rocky IV Soundtrack

Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet, 7800 Fahrenheit

Whitesnake - Whitesnake

Genesis - Abacab, Duke

AC/DC - Back in Black, Who Made Who

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Greatest Hits 1 and 2

Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction

Metallica - Master of Puppets

*RAWK*

This is just when I'm writing - when I'm gaming, I prefer Conan, The Three Musketeers, Pirates of the Caribbean, or some mix of Dead Can Dance. Oh, and for Call of Cthulhu, I *always* use the soundtrack to Bram Stoker's Dracula. Nothing else seems to work quite as well for me.
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Metathiax · Post by **Metathiax** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:24 pm

Quote:
I *always* use the soundtrack to Bram Stoker's Dracula. Nothing else seems to work quite as well for me.

I do have the Dracula soundtrack and it's great!

Quote:
I've got MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE albums - http://www.midnightsyndicate.com/ . They're great for horror type sessions. I use it with my Ravenloft game all the time.

Maybe you already know about them but Nox Arcana would also be a good choice for gothic/horror/Cthulhu genre games. For twisted games like the Whispering Vault, the Silent Hill 3 soundtrack, which came with the game, makes up a very appropriate ambience for eerie, disturbing settings.

EDIT: Forgot to tell about these tracks, available on RPGnow which are perfectly tailored for a Call of Cthulhu session.
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Traveller · Post by **Traveller** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:41 pm

Personally, I just listen to Radio Rivendell online, if I don't feel like putting one of 200 different CD's (soundtrack and classical) into my player.

Some of what Radio Rivendell streams they provide download links for, though those links too are broken. I had to get the Warcraft III music at some other location because they had switched over to a player.

Right now, I'm on a bit of a Final Fantasy VII kick, having found the complete soundtrack to the game online. But I prefer variety, so I'll likely play Gladiator or King Arthur tonight.
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Jynx · Post by **Jynx** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:43 pm

Isn't Nox Arcana a metal type band and doesn't their tunes include lyrics? I'm not much into lyrics but I do constantly look for new material. I'm running low on new music for my game.

The Dracula soundtrack is being plugged quite a bit in this thread - now I got to get it!

I just got my hands on a really creepy church pipe organ tune from an old Dracula movie and BOY OH BOY does it sound good on my sound system. I basically have speakers attached to the underside of the game table and a woofer hidden in the corner so when those low notes hit the table vibrates slightly. I tend to turn up the volume as I'm reading or describing the scene. This organ piece with it's LOW pipe sounds is really awesome! I think I'll dress in a cape when they meet Strahd! Muwhahaha! And maybe I'll even bring in the old kiddy organ for added effect!... Er... never mind!

Ok... now must go find a music store... must get Dracula soundtrack.....

BTW - I listen to all this stuff during writing and prep not just at game time. I find it helps motivate me while I prep. Heck... I even write descriptions that go with the tempo and mood of the music and try to fit in the text before the music either ends or changes.

Jynx · Post by **Jynx** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:45 pm

Traveller wrote:
Personally, I just listen to Radio Rivendell online, if I don't feel like putting one of 200 different CD's (soundtrack and classical) into my player.

I've tried that site several times, but the mish mash of music doesn't always fit the mood or scenerio. It is a coo lsite, however... it hasn't been working for me or my friend for th elongest time.

Metathiax · Post by **Metathiax** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:55 pm

The Nox Arcana I know of isn't a metal band but there are the occasional vocals though (of the gothic choral type) in some of their tracks.
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