DFRPG Music Notions

[finnmckool]

Let's share some music notions! In a lot of the discussions of music I've heard I feel the boat was missed on a few bands. Also I rediscovered an album in the context of the game and I thought I'd share some of my new obsessions/favorites.

Johnny Cash-No really, the Man in Black's American albums are rife with beauty and genius. Of course, When the Man Comes Around is a good one that I suspect people love, but I have to add some others.

God's Gonna Cut You Down-Good one for a prefight getting geared up. Especially for any Fists of God types.
No Grave Can Hold This Body Down-Another good mood builder for dealing with the ghostly side of the street
Rusty Cage (cover)-Foot chase music
Hurt-Right when the bad guy is about to do your party rotten and hit them where it hurts emotionally and dramatically speaking.

Bran Flakes-This group specializes in weirdtronica. They make sound sculptures more than music. Like They Might Be Giants, some of it might be too abstract for use, but they have a few that will blow your mind.

Lovely Sleigh Ride-AWESOME chase music. Quirky and fun and creepy.

The Enchanted Bus-goes from moody to frantic. Very rhythm driven. Not percussion driven, rhythm driven.

Nina Simone-She's got one of the most emotionally raw but technically amazing voices and interesting orchestrations.

I Put a Spell on You-Good game opener

A New Dawn A New Day (And I'm feelin' good)-There's a dark undertone to the brass that just makes a good foreshadowing in an otherwise Summer Day kind of song

Pirate Jenny-Again, a piano rhythm driven piece that just exudes creepy madness and evil. Her vocals are wonderfully manic, and that might interrupt your brain but still worth it.

Arcade Fire-These guys make BIG music. Their sound is epically scaled in its orchestration, so while it's not metal or rock it's well made noise. It's a wall of good emotional work.

My Body is a Cage-Wait til it kicks in with the organ. You will thank me.

Dark Mirror-more creepy fun. Good vampire music.

Wolfmother-If Led Zeppilin was just messing about, they'd be these guys. Great battle music. I could sound track most of the Dresden Files with these guys. I'm just gonna throw titles at you.

Earth's Rotation Around the Sun
Joker and the Thief
Dimension
Colassal
Witchcraft

The Black Keys-Blues/rock produced with hip/hop ears, these guys rock so hard you will grow chest hair. Fight music, bad guy bad ass theme music, again, I could track the whole series with these guys.

Chop and Change
Sinister Kid
Man of Steel
Nothing Like You
Set You Fre
Hoochie Coo with Mos Def

Parlor Mob-if Led Zepplin were covering Wolfmother, they'd be these guys.

My Favorite Heart to Break-Again, for when the Bad Guy has the upper hand and things are looking grim. When your heroes have to fight another day.

Hard Headed
Carnival of Crows
Everything Your Breathing For
Hard Times-RALLY!

The Decemberists-Like Arcade Fire lots of emotion and orchestration, but with simpler instruments. Lots of a real creepy-folksy feel. Good to get the hairs on the neck to stand up.

When the War Came-Epic fight music
Shankhill Butchers-Good cutaway creepy music
A Cautionary Song-ditto

Lupe Fiasco-He's got a couple of moody gems
I'm Beamin
Little Weapon

Jedi Mind Tricks-Language Warning. This is some of the angriest rap I've heard in a while. But the music is great.

Khublai Khan
Omnicron
Army of the Pharaohs
and many many more for your fight scene needs.

Tom Waits-It's Tom Waits.

Book of Moses
Goin Out West

Angelo Badalementi and the Kronos Quartet

Both of these orchestral composers/groups are amazing for creepy.

These are just some of my favorites...Yours?

[finnmckool]

I forgot to add other covers of "I Put a Spell on You" Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Credence Clearwater Revival. Also, the Animals House of the Rising Sun is good, but Muse's version is good scary noise. Speaking of Muse, Knights of Cydonia rocks faces and kills goblins.

[Sanctaphrax]

Wrong board.

Reporting.

As for the actual topic...

My favourite band is probably the Flobots. Favourite individual artist is probably Voltaire.

But I'm not sure if they're in any way DFRPG-ish.

What exactly makes a song appropriate for DFRPG?

[finnmckool]

Sorry. Thought that it'd be a good place to have a "Music List Ideas."

And what makes it DFRPG? I don't know...why do you like using what you use?

[Sanctaphrax]

Using what I use for what?

[finnmckool]

Exactly. What kind of music do you like using for your Dresden game? I tried to, mostly, lay out what I use those songs for. Chase music? Fight music? Mood music? Bad guy themes? Good guy themes?

And, to me, different music doesn't go with every game. Dresden is, awesomely, fantasy AND contemporary, but I wouldn't use most of the songs listed with, say, a DnD game, since it'd be a bit anachronistic. What music do you use in your game?

[InFerrumVeritas]

Honestly, I don't use music.  Sometime one of my players will break out into really bad song, but not often.

[Sanctaphrax]

Yeah, I don't play music while I game either.

I guess I really shouldn't even be on this thread.

So...bye.

[admiralducksauce]

I use music in my game, which draws heavily from Supernatural, which in turn derived (at least while they had the licensing budget) a lot of its initial flavor from classic rock.  The PCs in my campaign are bikers, so to me that connotates more metal.

I've started every session with the "precredits murder" cutscene, after which I play a song (hopefully) picked for its kickass opening hook and thematic ties to the current adventure's subject matter.  Then the music gets turned down or off for most of the session.  I'll sometimes bring it back up for battles or if the mood strikes.

God's Gonna Cut You Down - Johnny Cash
Metal Health - Quiet Riot
Fast as a Shark - Accept
Balls to the Wall - Accept
Walk With Me In Hell - Lamb of God (this one is my Denarian theme)
Motorbreath - Metallica (the Bad Truck theme song)
Blaze of Glory - Jon Bon Jovi
Four Horsemen - Metallica
Children of the Grave - Black Sabbath
Hair of the Dog - Nazareth
Wheels of Steel - Saxon
Lawless Lands - The Sword
Supercharger Heaven - White Zombie
Shake Your Blood - Probot
Goatriders Horde - 3 Inches of Blood (another good Denarian or Gruff song)
Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue
Bad Company - Bad Company
Killer From the Deep - Evile
Riding the Storm - Running Wild
Vanquish the Horrible Night - Powerglove (tee hee, Castlevania covers)
Renegade - Styx
Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
Stone Cold Crazy - Metallica
The Hydra's Teeth - 3 Inches of Blood
I Ain't Superstitious - Megadeth
Gravel Road - Clutch
Highway to Hell - AC/DC

Those are what I can remember of my playlist off the top of my head.  If it tangentially involves driving, magic, monsters, or kicking ass, it can go in the list. 

[Kiero]

Surely what is appropriate depends entirely on where the game is set? We use a lot of Massive Attack, pioneers of the "Bristol Sound". Given the game is set there and all.

[Todjaeger]

So far music hasn't made a big appearance in our games, yet.

Having said that, the theme music to the new TV show "Secret Circle" has started to get some use.  It's a ten second track of a child singing a creepy tune.  The players don't like it when the track plays, because it's a sign that Something Bad is about to happen.

Other than that, Led Zeppelin's Emigrant Song is likely to make an appearance soon, coinciding with the arrival of some statuesque blond women investigating to see what some jotuns are up to...

-Cheers

[Magickal_Grenadier]

So far I've only been considering music for the strip club that's going to make an appearence in my game. I've got a few songs picked out. Any suggestions you think I should add?

Bad Girlfriend - Theory of a Deadman
Cherry Pie - Warrant
Shakin' Hands - Nickleback
Something in your Mouth - Nickleback
Girls, Girls, Girls - Motely Crue

[Richard_Chilton]

It's impossible to say "DFRPG = X music" without talking about the mood you're going for - then it becomes "what music really fits this mood for these people"?

That's more of a general gaming thing than anything really linked to the Dresden Files.  There are times when metal is appropriate and times when it's really not.

Personally, I enjoy music whose lyrics have meaning or tell a story.  Songs like Chris de Burgh's epic four part song Crusader.  Speaking of his music, virtually any song from his "The Storyman" CD (see http://www.cdeb.com/cdebnew/storymanalbum.html for tracks and lyrics) could be used as or in a DFRPG adventure.  The Mirror Of The Soul stands out on that album - a song about a mystic artifact that is used and misused in a way that almost starts a new religion.  One view of that story can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-Ej7YyQEAI but other views could be used.

I mean, when a song starts with some monks chanting AMOR SPECULUM ANIMA LUCET / LUCIFER EX INFERNO CLAMAT / NE NOS INDUCAT IN TENTATIONEM / AMOR SPECULUM ANIMA LUCET (trans: love lights the mirror of the soul / The devil is calling from hell / Lead us not into temptation / Love lights the mirror of the soul) then how can you go wrong?

Then there's One World could set the tone for an adventure with different seeming character who all work towards a common goal.  Leningrad - about civilians leaving that city during the German seize.  My Father's Eyes? The verse:
I will go now, I will go now to my father's house,
I will show him, I will show him that I'm strong enough,
And there's a bright light, a great light that's shining around him
For now he has found a son, who will give to the world
The work he has begun, who will open the door to reveal
The chosen one;
- could easily fit a scion or any PC (or NPC) who has a powerful father.

The Grace Of A Dancer? That song is a wonderful plot twist waiting to happen.
Spirit,  The Shadow Of The Mountain, Raging Storm, and The Sweetest Kiss Of All - all of them could really fit a Dresden game...

Or they could, if you (and the table) like CdeB's music.  If you don't his work then it could easily spoil a game's mood.

Oh - and speaking of latin, I've got a couple CDs of monks chanting in latin.  They can be great as background music - but only in certain situations; when there are weird people chanting in the game a latin chant can really set the mood.

And if you're looking for background music, try to find movie soundtracks that include the background music.  BAM! You have music that's assembled by a pro to play in the background in certain types of scenes.  But again, if your group doesn't find that the music works for them then the fact that it's an Oscar winning soundtrack means nothing.

Oh - and speaking about soundtracks, the one for Scotland PA (a retelling of MacBeth set in Pennsylvania in 1970s) was a great one.  Who knew that Bad Company could work so well in a movie?

Richard