Westerns and Horror: Your Music Recommendations

[Umbran]

In Westerns: Your Recommendations I asked for Westerm movies and TV shows I might show to players in my upcoming Deadlands campaign. I'm aiming to improve my GMing production values, so movie inspiration is not all I'm looking for.

Deadlands is a "weird west" game - a western with weird science and magic, with a healthy dose of horror mixed throughout. Fear is a major element to the gameplay. I'm looking to put together Western and Horror mood music to play during game sessions. Good Western soundtracks are certainly one source, but I'm also looking for other music that sounds cold or lonely or scared, without sounding too modern - many of the techno and alternative rock options I'd normally reach for aren't suitable.

Your thoughts?

 

[frankthedm]

Maybe something on this search string will be useful?

trail of tears music - Google Search

 

[Mark Chance]

Ennio Morricone – Discover music, videos, concerts, & pictures at Last.fm

 

[Umbran]

trail of tears music - Google Search

Oh, for some of the more mournful bits, some of this will work quite well!

 

[RangerWickett]

There's a Rob Zombie - Blood, Milk, and Sky - that I always envisioned with an undead cowboy crossing a desert. You need the right version, though. Blood, Milk And Sky (Miss September Mix), which you can hear here: Lala - Where music plays

Probably too modern for in-game, but I dunno, maybe it can be on the 'listen to this while I plan the game' playlist.

 

[Jack7]

I don't know how you'd get a copy of it but the soundtrack to Dead Man is very good. It sounds Western, yet weird, uncanny, and lonely. The main music was written by Neil Young. It sounds relentless. And it is very atmospheric and spooky to some degree.

I know of some other things, but I'll have to look them up first.

 

[Umbran]

I don't know how you'd get a copy of it but the soundtrack to Dead Man is very good.

It is available from Amazon.com - they allow some previewing (pre-listening?) so I can check it out a bit.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The Dead Man soundtrack is, essentially, Neil Young doing improv to images on the screen and with some of the movie dialog dubbed in...some of it is simply incredible.

However, you might do better just sampling some bits of it rather than complete tracks.

One of the quintessential instruments in Westerns is the guitar, esp. those with a Spanish/Flamenco/Blues vibe. I'd recommend finding some acoustic guitar pieces. Sparsely written electric stuff- see Dead Man, above- works likewise.

Check out tracks from California Guitar Trio, Pepe Romero, Michael Hedges, Andy Summers, Buckethead's Acoustic Shards CD. CGT even does some updated versions of some western themes.

Buckethead's recordings as Death Cube K might also work- they're simple atmospheric pieces.

You'd also get a lot of milage out of Native American music, in which chant, drums and flute predominate. American Indian Dance Theater is one I love, and if you can find tracks based on Eagle or Ghost dances, I think you'll be satisfied.

And, of course, themes from famous movies or TV shows also would work. One of my all-time faves for Western music themes was Tex Ritter's work for High Noon. Others have recorded it, but his is a stark masterpiece.

Lets also not forget C&W giants like Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson. Track down a "best of" CD for them (and others) and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Odd as it may seem you might also want to check out some of the early work of surf/spy guitar pioneers like Dick Dale or Link Wray. Wray's "Rumble" is timeless, and could easily form the substrate for a shootout, and Dale often had songs about the desert & wide open spaces intermixed with his odes to surfing.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Ach...how could I forget the drone-metal band Earth?

All of their stuff is instrumental- no extraneous vocals to confuse the issue.

For example, [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYcQT8F58OU"]"The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull"[/ame]

or

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD-J8O2fLf4&feature=related"]"The Dire and Ever Circling Wolves"[/ame]

could both provide underpinnings for a sequence in which the party is crossing "The Badlands."

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I just got reminded of this by another thread- you might want to check out industrial metal shredder Buckethead's work as Death Cube K. His albums under that alias are all dark, ambient instrumental work.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqVulRYILFI&feature=related]YouTube - Death Cube K - Maps Of Impossible Worlds[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khOLZ-qGzuo]YouTube - Death Cube K - Maggot Dream[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1y4Lncu4S8&feature=related]YouTube - Death Cube K - Leech[/ame]