Music for a CoC game

[Memnoch3434]

I am currently running a CoC game that takes place during the 1930 in Chicago. One of my player's mother's used to be a prosecuting attorney. Since he can hook me up with some of the cooler items I might want (boxes evidence bags and the like), I have been organizing some other friends of mine to help me make crime scenes, with fake blood black and white photos and the like. My plan for the first session (and the begining of subsequent sessions depending on how well things go) is to set a box of evidence down on the table and walk away for about an hour (something I stole from another DM). I have planned this for a series of murders that represent the bulk of the campaign. During this time I was thinking about throwing some Noir type music their way, leaving my laptop on a particular playlist.

As the sessions get deeper and deeper into crazy I am thinking about throwing some songs such as Slipknot's "Iowa" or Tool's "Viginti Trees", randomly into the mix between songs to set a mood on more of disturbing note. Eventually I only want creepy music during these excursions.

Mostly I am on the hunt for film noir stuff (the music from the period tends to be too happy). Any suggestions? Do you guys think this is a bad idea?

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I had great success with using the Silent Hill soundtracks for creepy music in the one CoC game I have run. I only used it when something creepy "might" be about to happen. Since I didn't overuse it the players really started to dread whenever the music would come on (and just the music by itself is quite scary).

I don't know either of the Slipknot or Tool songs, but I'm guessing they have lyrics? If so I would avoid them as I prefer instrumental music only to avoid distractions.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

You'll find a lot of stuff here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/174448-game-related-music-threads-links.html

The popular music of the era would have been big-band, jazz, blues, bluegrass, folk & C&W of various kinds. A bit up from that would be tangos and variations of classical. Stars of the era: Billie Holliday, Cab Calloway, Django Reinhardt, Satchmo, Dizzie Gillespie...

Darker music of the period can be found on the soundtracks of the noir movies.

For non-period music, there's all kinds of stuff like Earth, Death Cube K (Buckethead's ambient stuff), early Tangerine Dream (like Atem), early Vangelis (like Soil Festivites), Phillip Glass' Koyaanisqatsi, Kronos Quartet, Apocalyptica and so forth.

 

[Libramarian]

For CoC I like to play Max Richter's Blue Notebooks and Eluvium's Copia.

Although it's pretty emotional stuff, so if you have players who are sensitive to music it might be too distracting.

 

[Starman]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPV5b2SrjIY"]Metallica - "The Thing That Should Not Be"[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4DEurqpIYQ"]Metallica - The Call of Ktulu[/ame]

 

[Jhaelen]

I don't know either of the Slipknot or Tool songs, but I'm guessing they have lyrics? If so I would avoid them as I prefer instrumental music only to avoid distractions.

Yeah, but lyrics only distract if you can actually understand them!

Also you can never go wrong with Tool
'Viginti Tres' isn't really a 'song', it's a pretty disturbing interlude (or rather epilogue). [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGCffJJCggg]Here[/ame]'s a YouTube link (I hope it works, can't check it from here...).

I think that Isis and Neurosis are two bands that have created music that works very well for CoC (or Arkham Horror) sessions.

 

[Memnoch3434]

[MENTION=13703]Olaf the Stout[/MENTION] and [MENTION=46713]Jhaelen[/MENTION]

Yeah, all the mentioned songs are instrumental (some have "lyrics" but mostly are insane ramblings). I agree that music with lyrics might be too distracting.

I will check out the bands you mentioned.

[MENTION=19675]Dannyalcatraz[/MENTION]

Thanks alot this should totally help!

[MENTION=7663]Starman[/MENTION]

While we are at it should we mention All Nightmare Long? I mean it is about everyones favorite "Hounds"

I was thinking about making some sound effects for different creatures as they arise by taking actual animal noises and editing them with some software, is anyone aware of anything like this?

 

[Starman]

[MENTION=7663]Starman[/MENTION]

While we are at it should we mention All Nightmare Long? I mean it is about everyones favorite "Hounds"

Forgive my oversight.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spsnQWtsUFM&ob=av2n"]Metallica - "All Nightmare Long"[/ame]

Also, this is the best song on their latest album.

Also, I should mention that as much as I love Metallica I probably wouldn't use their music (or any music with lyrics) during a gaming session. May the Four Horseman forgive me.

 

[malcolypse]

I'd suggest using the standard music from the period, but with one addition.

Infrasound - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some of these frequencies can cause feelings of dread that the listener can't put their finger on because they can't hear them. Play a loop of infrasound under the music playlist and see if that has the desired effect.

 

[ProtoClone]

Well, for atmosphere I would pick something melodic, classical. For historical, go to the library and check out a few CDs that have some jazz from the 30's.

For that slow decent in to madness, Throbbing Gristle. Pretty much anything by TG will work for making an atmosphere of insanity.