The Soundtrack to Anaconda: Hunt for the Blood Orchid is superb for STAP use as are the Predator and Kong soundtracks.
You should also check out the soundtrack to The Fountain.
We're in the anything goes category. I just power up iTunes at the start of the game, and then either ask for suggestions or just grab something. No playlists. Just grabbing albums one at a time. Now, it doesn't hurt that 3 of the 6 of us are huge Rush fans (and the other 3 have more than a passing familiarity) so that gets more than average play. But it's still a pretty much "anything goes". We just want pleasant background noise.
Greg
Can anyone recommend any good music players on a laptop (to use while running a game)? I've tried RPGDeck, WinAmp, Apple's iTunes, and Windows' Media Player. None do what I want (i.e., seamless looping, one-touch play ability, customized play lists, individual song play without it going to the next track when finished).
Thanks for any help.
None do what I want (i.e., seamless looping, one-touch play ability, customized play lists, individual song play without it going to the next track when finished).
iTunes should be able to do all of this for you, all of the options are in various menus or buttons at the bottom of the screen.
None do what I want (i.e., seamless looping, one-touch play ability, customized play lists, individual song play without it going to the next track when finished).iTunes should be able to do all of this for you, all of the options are in various menus or buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Actually, not all to my satisfaction. You see, iTunes kept searching my hard drive for ALL my music and adding whatever it found into lists it created each and every time I opened it. I couldn't create my own lists that it wouldn't mangle. Too, it kept searching the internet for updates, information about the music, etc. … all without any prompting or instructions from me and inevitably at inopportune times! VERY frustrating!!! I'm sure IT was just trying to be "helpful". But, no, thank you, iTunes … just do what I want, when I want.
Thanks for the reply, though, Lilith.
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None do what I want (i.e., seamless looping, one-touch play ability, customized play lists, individual song play without it going to the next track when finished).iTunes should be able to do all of this for you, all of the options are in various menus or buttons at the bottom of the screen.Actually, not all to my satisfaction. You see, iTunes kept searching my hard drive for ALL my music and adding whatever it found into lists it created each and every time I opened it. I couldn't create my own lists that it wouldn't mangle. Too, it kept searching the internet for updates, information about the music, etc. … all without any prompting or instructions from me and inevitably at inopportune times! VERY frustrating!!! I'm sure IT was just trying to be "helpful". But, no, thank you, iTunes … just do what I want, when I want.
Thanks for the reply, though, Lilith.
Ha! iTunes works great on my iBook, but on my PC desktop? Every time I start it it locks up my computer while every last bit of memory is used to "determine gapless playback on 10273 tracks"...AHHHHH!!!!!! Please stop!!!!!!!
I DM a long lasting (4 years) Forgotten Realms campaign, we like to listen to The two Conan the Barbarian/Destroyer soundtracks as well as all of the LOTR tracks, great mood music, as far as Vocals go we think Manowar and Iron Maiden Rock!!!!
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I couldn't create my own lists that it wouldn't mangle.
I use my iPod for running music during games, with playlists created on iTunes like so:
In the Comment field, add "DND" (for D&D games) or "D20" (for d20 Modern games). In the Grouping field, add a note like "combat" or "exploration" for better filtering. This is a lot easier to manage if you right-click in the column header area (where you see Name, Time, Artist, etc.) and check both the Comment and Grouping fields to display, so you don't have to right-click and Get Info for each individual track.
Then, make a smart playlist that includes all tracks where the Comment field contains "DND" and the Grouping field contains the label for the type of music you want in that list. Alternately, you can make a smart playlist that includes everything with "DND" in the Comment field, which is actually what I'm using right now for my games. A friend just recently turned me on to the Grouping field, which I'm planning to go back and use to make separate playlists for combat, exploring, etc.
For extra bonus geek points, you can make another smart playlist that pulls in every track where the Genre field equals "Film Score" and the Comment field does not contain "DND" - now whenever you have spare time (or when you add new movie music), you can load that playlist in your iTunes Party Shuffle and let it serve up random tracks you can evaluate for adding to your D&D music playlist(s). Simply click in the Comment and Grouping fields in-line with the track listing to edit those fields, and your smart playlists will automatically pull in new music you flag with the right tags.
Side note: I go through all my movie music and update the Genre field to "Film Score" for anything that's background movie music and not songs by actual bands. This makes it easier when you just want to listen to music that might make good background for games (unless you also like including non-orchestral music in your playlists).
Hope that helps!
I prefer to use the work of Prokofiev when roleplaying. In particular, "Alexander Nevsky op.78", "Skythische op.20", and "Leutnant Kije op.60"
Great epic stuff.
I also really like Holst's "The Planets Suite"
Also, Edvard Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite" (In the Hall of the Mountain King is priceless)
I also use various soundtracks:
The official D&D soundtrack
Army of Darkness (oh, so very epic!)
Sleepy Hallow
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You want to hear the voice of a Witch singing her song of fear as her horsenomad warband ride into your village? Watch the Eurovision song contest 2007-Bulgarian Entry.
She is the Bulgarian Witchqueen. Fantastic voice...As I listen to her i can see a thousand Bulgarians riding into my village to sack it while she screams that song from a nearby hilltop...
I just bought Midnight Syndicate's D&D CD and used it for my last gaming session. It was a hit. While I intend to pick up some other CDs for more variety (LOTR, etc.), does anyone have any commentary on the rest of Midnight Syndicate's CDs? Are they good for fantasy gaming background music too, or are they better for horror-type games?
Hope that helps!
Thank you. I'll try your suggestions.
I just bought Midnight Syndicate's D&D CD and used it for my last gaming session. It was a hit. While I intend to pick up some other CDs for more variety (LOTR, etc.), does anyone have any commentary on the rest of Midnight Syndicate's CDs? Are they good for fantasy gaming background music too, or are they better for horror-type games?
I have all of Midnight Syndicate's CDs. I have used some of the tracks on all of their CDs at one point or another during fantasy gaming ... not ALL tracks, though. Most of the time, though, it was to evoke a mood of spookiness (i.e., in a ruins, in a dark forboding forest, etc.). Most ARE better for horror-type games, but it's scary out in most fantasy worlds, isn't it? Your best bet is to listen to samples of their CDs at their website ( http://www.midnightsyndicate.com/ ).
I also recommend CDs from Nox Arcana, too (I have all of their CDs, as well). Their website has samples, as well ( http://www.noxarcana.com/ ).
Hope that helps.
Effective music usage can dramatically improve an already-good game. A few points:
- It's great for a serious game, but less so for a "social" game. It can enhance mood, but it can't create mood where there was none before.
- Music choice is important, but even more important is timing. How great would it be to simply be able to play the first song on the Combat playlist and your PCs go "Oh s&&+, roll initiative!"
- Make sure you've got your music all sorted ahead of time. Music works great if you can press a button and change the tone... but not so well if you have to spend thirty second finding the song.
- You might want to remember to turn off any software for last.fm or the like.
Finally, I am required to recommend things, as people have before me. I've skimmed previous lists, but it's still a bit tl;dr, so forgive me if I'm repeating anything:
- Music by Clint Mansell or the Venetian Snares can be fantastic for supernaturally bizzare things - aberrations, anything from Xoriat, etc.
- The soundtrack from "Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack" has some great stuff on it, and they're all nice and <i>long</i>.
- Soundtracks from Final Fantasy VIII or later are good; from VII and earlier are also good, but they're also entirely synth, which may be jarring for some players.
- Any runthrough of "Expedition to Castle Ravenloft" requires a copy of Philip Glass's "Dracula" soundtrack. This is not open to debate. Also, Castlevania soundtracks.
- Yoko Kanno is, I feel, the greatest soundtrack composer alive today. Find a torrent of the Turn-A Gundam soundtrack. You owe it to yourself and your players.