I normally don't use music when I game so I can't think of anything else at the moment. I know theres a good list in the RL DMG.
-Eric Gorman
For just having something in the background, "Silence of the Lambs" is good to have. Just put it in, and let it play. The whole CD will set a great tone for you. "From Hell" is also good atmospheric music. Again, you can probably just put it in and play it.
It all depends on the mood what you need to play. Movie soundtracks are usually the best choices, but not exclusively so.
The 13 Warrior is good for battle, so is Independence Day (it has a very militarisitic feel in certain tracks), Bram Stoker's Dracula is ideal for the setting for numerous moods, from romantic to tense, to violent. Interview with a Vampire has some stuff for higher Cultural Level domains as well as the delightfully moody opening piece "Libera Me". Mary Shelly's Frankenstein has an excellent soundtrack for chase scenes. If you're looking for something orchestral with an Eastern European feel, Stravinsky's The Firebird springs to mind. Heck, most of Mussorgsky's stuff especially Pictures at an Exhibition.
Hit Saint-Saens' Dance Macabre for a change of pace and something oddly courtly, yet swift. Holst: The Planets has numerous pieces that might make great leitmotifs for NPCs. If you want something with a more middle-eastern feel, try the Stargate soundtrack. Although the track "Ra - the Sun God" is what I personally use as Azalin's personal theme (it's very, terribly regal). Heck, The Mummy works for that too.
The Lord of the Rings is now well-known, but good music nonetheless, and many of the pieces centered around the doings of Mordor are highly appropriate for Ravenloft. Paganini's Caprice #24 is a delightful (and recognizable) piece of sinister music as well. And from left-field, for a more beautific mood, try Edward Scissorhands.
This is just off the top of my head. Give me specific moods and I can probably come up with a better list. And yes, I use music a LOT in my games, am an audiophile, and have 2 and a half years of classical singing under my belt. :D
- Yulian
"Among all men on the earth bards have a share of honor and reverence, because the muse has taught them songs and loves the race of bards." - Homer
Wow...doesn't the 3e DMG have page after page of suggestions?
Yeah, those were my suggestions, actually. :D
Starting with my first Ravenloft game, I've fallen into the usage of modern, non-intrumental music as soundtracks for my games. The look on my PCs' faces when I have them at a party with soft chamber music playing, then switch over to Britney Spears' "Toxic" makes everything worthwhile. (Ivana Boritsi's theme for my game, by the way.) Not to mention how I convinced them that Alison Kraus' "Down in the River to Pray" is the most evil song ever written.
As a more serious run, I tend to use lots of The Cure, Metallica, Twelve Stones, Evanescence, Depeche Mode, and others with a similar sound. Just pick things that sound appropriate for your villains. If I can dig up my list later, I'll post all of the music I utilize for repeat villains.
Hida Jiremi
(Jeremy Puckett)
try and find 'electric scum' from Depressive Age,it has huge success in my campaign(at first they shouted "turn that spooky thing off,we can't think!" now it's kinda "put that mad song again playing,it fits great here man!"
Also some Tool songs like 46 and 2 or reflexion are creepy..
And of course don't forget medieval church chorus,rain falling and bells..
AND of course operation:mindcrime from queensryche works just fine (and if they actually play the plot..sad)
that's for now,as Yulian says mention certain moods and more will come
Evenstar - Lord of the Rings Soundtrack
Again Someday - Blackmoore's Night
Funeral - Sinead O'Connor
Buffy & Angel love theme - Buffy the Vampire Slayer soundtrack
Faraway - Apocolyptica
Whenever there's a tragic death scene, I grab one of them. Major NPC dies, PC dies, whatever, turn on the tear-jerker song in the aftermath and it hits home.
For House of Strahd? You have to get Toccata and Fugue- any version, doesn't matter which.
Mozart's Requiem
For House of Strahd? You have to get Toccata and Fugue- any version, doesn't matter which.
Oh I dunno...while Tocatta and Fugue in D is an incredible piece, a fine work of both composing and virtuosity, it's almost cliche' now, you know? It's been a bit watered down and. dare I say it? has a bit of the 'Count Chocula Factor', if you take my meaning. The first 9 notes make a lot of people think of overblown faux-Transylvanian accents, hystrionic cape-sweeping, and looming over sleeping women.
And to reference some earlier posts, I don't really like using nonorchestral 'modern' music in these sorts of settings. Anyone else remember that movie about the highwaymen? The title escapes me at the moment, two surnames. It used modern music and the effect was terrible.
- Yulian
"Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings." - Ed Gardner
Oh I dunno...while Tocatta and Fugue in D is an incredible piece, a fine work of both composing and virtuosity, it's almost cliche' now, you know?
I'm inclined to agree, as great a piece of music as it is. I'd recommend the Toccata and Fugue in F major myself, which has a nice complex melody line and is still very dramatic.
Any of the Midnight Syndicate CDs (Vampyre is good for Strahd, although all of the CDs have songs here and there that would be great)
Both of the Mummy soundtracks, especially in Har'Akir
Bram Stoker's Dracula, of course
Interview with the Vampire works pretty well
Mozart's Requiem Mass
Some works by Tomita (they're mostly electronic synthesizer works of classical pieces [Night on Bald Mountain is especially good], so we tended to use them sparingly)
Interspersed with the darker themes, we used music such as: the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, the Legend soundtrack, the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale soundtracks, and other classical pieces when battles, "downtime" between horrific encounters, and other scenarios cropped up. This tended to make the darker themes more pronounced when circumstances called for it.
Also, Midnight Syndicate and Tocata y Fugue is what I originally played. Tocata y Fugue solicited snickers and Midnight Syndicate is what the group was complaining about. I have to admit, all of the Syndicate's pieces kind of sound alike. Thanx for all the other suggestions though.
If your players are being put to sleep it's probably because of monotonous overstimulation. Midnight Syndicate is "good", but you definitely noticed their tendency toward repitition. If you can help it, try to avoid wall-to-wall music and save the underscore for battle scenes, investigations, NPC themes and specific moments like fear, horror, and madness checks. Avoid recognizeable themes (which is why Toccata and Fugue gets snickers).
And remember, silence is a useful sound.
I recommend the composer Toru Takemitsu, who has several film scores and orchestral works that are melodic at times and unsettling at others. If you're tempted to use Apocalyptica, I recommend spinning in some Kronos Quartet. Also, there are some "dark ambient" composers you might find in the New Age section, like Steve Roach.
For atmospherics, I also like the CDs of the "ethereal gothic" band, Black Tape for a Blue Girl. On their CD "As One Aflame Laid Bare By Desire," there's a track called Green Box that I use as the theme for the Church of Ezra in Darkon. (Take a listen to the sample on Amazon and you'll see what I mean.)