When I'm writing modules, building a world, or just prepping for a session, I rely pretty heavily on music for sources of inspiration. Maybe it's the lyrics, or a particular sound, or even just the fact that music is so powerful for establishing memories. Regardless, it's part of what makes the whole process so enjoyable for me. I don't tend to play the music during sessions or anything, and often my players have clue of the connection, but it's there.
If the same goes for you, any examples that stand out, or that you'd recommend?
Here's a list of things I've used recently (as well as why), although it's sort of the tip of the iceberg.
Gustavo Santaolalla - De Usuahia a la Quiaca. This guy has a whole catalog of amazing instrumentals, and this is only one example, but his stuff is great for setting atmosphere. On a side note, I was very happy when I found out he was doing the soundtrack for The Last of Us (PS3 game), and he didn't disappoint.
Moderat - Bad Kingdom. Definitely watch the video with this one, but the pacing and lyrics get my creative juices flowing when creating important NPC's who are more than just one-dimensional villians.
Sting (and Cheb Mami) - Desert Rose. The beat is good, but this is all about the lyrics. Pick a random two lines from anywhere and you have an adventure, lol.
The Knife - Forest Families. This song has an amazing sense of urgency backed by some interesting lyrics.
Fever Ray - Dry and Dusty. Actually, this entire album is worth listening to (it's a side project for one half of The Knife). It's more abstract, but has a fairly dark sound without venturing into the "goth" side of things.
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle. When city-building, this is one of two songs I like to hear. It's upbeat, industrious, and makes me think of normal folk walking through the streets doing their daily routine. It's the kind of song I can imagine playing during opening credits of a movie with shots of street corners and people walking to work and stuff are being shown.
Nine Inch Nails - Right Where it Belongs. This is the other song I use for city-building. It's depressing yet also becomes a bit more uplifting as the song goes on. To me, it helps give an otherwise evil or dead city a sense of possible life; a rose in the graveyard. Aside from the atmosphere, the lyrics are amazing. There are several version of the song, but the best to me is the album version. It starts off a bit scratchy and low-fi, but builds into depth towards the end.
Neil Young - Don't Let it Bring You Down. His early music was quite amazing when it came to storytelling, and this is a good example. Evocative lyrics and subtle instrumentation; here it's all about his not-at-all-mainstream vocals painting a picture.
Archer Prewitt - Go Away. His stuff is actually not that easy to find online, although a few songs such as this are on Youtube. There's a real "Boston" sound to his music, lacking in the normal production values found it stuff released post-70's. "Go Away" is a song that inspired an adventure I wrote involving the group meeting another adventurer that just suffered a significant defeat (lost most of the members a few days earlier), and was very role-play heavy. It was a good 3 hours of conversation over games of cards (we actually played poker), but in-character. That session did a great job of getting the players thinking about how their character speaks, behaves, etc, and paid dividends in future sessions.
If the same goes for you, any examples that stand out, or that you'd recommend?
Here's a list of things I've used recently (as well as why), although it's sort of the tip of the iceberg.
Gustavo Santaolalla - De Usuahia a la Quiaca. This guy has a whole catalog of amazing instrumentals, and this is only one example, but his stuff is great for setting atmosphere. On a side note, I was very happy when I found out he was doing the soundtrack for The Last of Us (PS3 game), and he didn't disappoint.
Moderat - Bad Kingdom. Definitely watch the video with this one, but the pacing and lyrics get my creative juices flowing when creating important NPC's who are more than just one-dimensional villians.
Sting (and Cheb Mami) - Desert Rose. The beat is good, but this is all about the lyrics. Pick a random two lines from anywhere and you have an adventure, lol.
The Knife - Forest Families. This song has an amazing sense of urgency backed by some interesting lyrics.
Fever Ray - Dry and Dusty. Actually, this entire album is worth listening to (it's a side project for one half of The Knife). It's more abstract, but has a fairly dark sound without venturing into the "goth" side of things.
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle. When city-building, this is one of two songs I like to hear. It's upbeat, industrious, and makes me think of normal folk walking through the streets doing their daily routine. It's the kind of song I can imagine playing during opening credits of a movie with shots of street corners and people walking to work and stuff are being shown.
Nine Inch Nails - Right Where it Belongs. This is the other song I use for city-building. It's depressing yet also becomes a bit more uplifting as the song goes on. To me, it helps give an otherwise evil or dead city a sense of possible life; a rose in the graveyard. Aside from the atmosphere, the lyrics are amazing. There are several version of the song, but the best to me is the album version. It starts off a bit scratchy and low-fi, but builds into depth towards the end.
Neil Young - Don't Let it Bring You Down. His early music was quite amazing when it came to storytelling, and this is a good example. Evocative lyrics and subtle instrumentation; here it's all about his not-at-all-mainstream vocals painting a picture.
Archer Prewitt - Go Away. His stuff is actually not that easy to find online, although a few songs such as this are on Youtube. There's a real "Boston" sound to his music, lacking in the normal production values found it stuff released post-70's. "Go Away" is a song that inspired an adventure I wrote involving the group meeting another adventurer that just suffered a significant defeat (lost most of the members a few days earlier), and was very role-play heavy. It was a good 3 hours of conversation over games of cards (we actually played poker), but in-character. That session did a great job of getting the players thinking about how their character speaks, behaves, etc, and paid dividends in future sessions.
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