Shadowrun: The Soundtrack, What do you recommend? Options

[SgtSavage]

I'm thinking of whipping up some music CDs with very Shadowrun-inspired themes - ya know, to help with the mood.

Of course, I have my own ideas of what the music of Shadowrun is, but I'm open to hearing what you folks would like to hear on such a CD...

I'm looking for Artist/CD Name/Song, and if you're up for it...what genre of music it is, and why you think it captures the essence of SR.

Your help and advice is of course appreciated. :)

[Shadow]

"Bring Me to Life" by Evanescance.

A great SR song if you ask me, and you did!

Also,

"When worlds collide" by Powerman 5000

[Neon Tiger]

Try Mp3.com and download songs under the categories ambient and dark ambient. Those have good SR mood in them.

Some of the artists I recommend:

dreamSTATE
Ian Boddy
Max Corbacho
Positively Dark

[Eldritch]

Cityscape

Found this sometime ago.....

[DR_Derude]

Hi
I recommend using, musik with no lyrics... or lyrics that dosn't disturb the gameplay...
- Prodigy... nice for wking up the players a bit in combat situations
- also try lokking at some of your pc-gaming cd's sometimes there can be some great musik on..


enjoy.... ;)

[Tziluthi]

Something on Mezzanine, by Massive Attack. Maybe Dissolved Girl, Black Milk, Group Four, or Risingson.

[Dark Scrier]

Cliche me, but I use things with a lot of yelling, electronic stuff, or just plain spooky, depending on the mood of the game I'm running.

I remember running Harlequin's Back with a different set of music for each of the different parts. Pretty fun, got the players right into it.

For a regular game, you'll usually find me with:

Powerman 5000
Rob Zombie
White Zombie
Machinehead
Static X
Marilyn Manson
Some of that cool Shadowrun themed stuff
Spineshank
Maybe some Rage Against the Machine, or System of a Down for that old "Fighting against the system" feel.

Also, I find Firestarter by Prodigy a good one for my current Vampire game. One of the group is a Tremere who has one good solution to all circumstances, including diplomacy and roleplaying. "I burn it/him/her/them"

[Ronin Soul]

Well, if no-one's mentioned it (doubtful) I'll mention the Matrix soundtrack, but that one is kinda obvious.

It all really depends on the situation. For evoking atmosphere, especially in regards to Amerindians or slums (or both) I like some of the stuff by Beth Orton. It feels both dystopic and mystic some of the songs, so it can work quite well (one of her songs was more or less the theme song for an Amerind "Technoshaman" - Decker, in our group)

For a lot of the more in your face situations some songs by the Cranberries (THis is the Day and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee being notable) can work really well.

I think I'll second the Evenescance suggestion (though strangely enough, IMO that song best suits Abyssal Exalted from White Wolf's Exalted RPG but anyway).

For anything involving the Astral, a lot of Enya's stuff will do the trick (Aldebaran in particular).

Umm, a lot of Moby's stuff would do the trick for atmosphere stuff (Bodyrock just works for urban combat IMO)

Some of Red Hot Chilli Peppers stuff might work too.

There was a couple of threads in the old forums on this very topic, but I'm not even going to try looking for them!

[SgtSavage]

You guys are giving me some really great suggestions - please keep 'em coming! And Eldritch - that link you threw down would have totally rawked...but the links are no good any longer. :( I dug a little futher and saw that I could get samples of the songs, though.

Ronin, you made a very good point on the music needing to fit the situation...I guess in my query for this music I was looking for both "all-around" songs as well as "best for this situation" stuff.

[Abstruse]

I love punk music, so my list will be definately biased:

Black Flag
Pennywise
Misfits
Bad Religion
"Song 13" by The Ataris (one of the only good songs they've ever done)
NOFX (the faster-paced government-oriented songs, and esp. "The Decline", their 19 minute long punk opera)
30footFALL (Local band from Houston)
Black Star Brigade (ditto)
Millencolin
No Use for a Name
Exploited
Pretty much any political-oriented or aggressive punk band

These are great for club-type scenes, because I figure with the opressive seeming omnipotence of the megacorps in Shadowrun, old fashioned and/or political-oriented punk music would be in big fashion as a way of expression a rage that cannot be otherwise expressed. Plus, with datajack and synth-driven music common-place, a strong underground of musicians who have nothing more than a loud amp, a guitar or two, a bass, a drummer, a guy screaming into a mic, and maybe a distortion pedal or three would be pretty strong.

Punk music spawned out of a time when political conservativism was strong and big business was in, so that would translate well to the distopian world of Shadowrun IMHO. Some of this style ot music won't work well as background music for gaming because of their strong bent toward lyrics, but it's definately the type of music I see as being big in the 2060s.

The Abstruse One

[Krashlocke]

I almost exclusively use the soundtrack from The Ghost in the Shell. It provides a perfect dystopic mood while not distracting from gameplay the way vocals do. I also sometimes throw in some of the sweeter tracks from Armitage III in there.

Ditto Evanessense's "Bring Me Back to Life". That's been this campaign's theme song! Too much good stuff about awakening and all that stuff.

[Pistons]

My tastes go to electronic music, which means a lot of techno, goth, industrial, acid jazz and downtempo. I like a little trip-hop for spice.

* Fight Club soundtrack, The Dust Brothers
* haujobb's albums (Solutions for A Small Planet in particular, but also Freeze Frame Reality, Less and Ninetynine)
* Wreath of Barbs (album), :wumpscut:
* Vapor Transmission (album), Orgy
* My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
* The Crystal Method (Tweekend and Vegas)
* Juno Reactor (Bible of Dreams, Beyond the Infinite, and Shango)
* KMFDM
* Gift (album), Curve
* Hacked (album), SMP
* Massive Attack
* Tricky
* Prodigy
* Triprocket (http://www.triprocket.com/audio.html)
* Spylab

[Person 404]

I'm just going to do what I did last time this topic came up and post a link to my Shadowrun playlists. Some of these are in drastic need of revision, but you'd be tailoring anything you used to your own tastes anyway, so it's not really a problem.

[D.Generate]

Fear Factory's album Obsolete is excellent

So are a few songs my my woman Otep "god is a gun" and "battle ready" are 2 in parcticular that are on my soundtrack

Lots of PM5K "bombshell" "are you ready to go" ect ect

Superjoint Ritual "f#@K Your Enemy" and the instumental "Oblivius Maximus"

Disturbed "Liberate"

Crystal Method, Propellerheads

My group and I enjoy the heavier music however so stick to the more metal based bands.

Another that i put on my most recent cd is Cannibal Corpse's "Relentless Beating" which is a music only track

trying to think back to older cds

Some MDFMK and KMFDM "Drug Against War"

Static-X "I Am" "Get to the Gone"

Few Ministry tracks "Supermanic soul"

Machine Head "Blood for Blood"

Thats just what I can think of right now While most of this music isn't for everyone my group likes it for Shadowrun.

[Ancient History]

Well, if'n ye can find it, there's Alex Cremers (who did the SR Music CD) and Christoph Sachal (German composer, lotsa SR-themed, nice stuff); plus of course the SR game music for the SNES and Genesis (I also like to use MIDI's from Chronotrigger. 's just me.) and Alarin did some lovely SRI instrumentals.

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

It amazes me how many SR players are fans of the movie HEAT, but yet I've never seen anyone suggest the soundtrack. I guess I will have to because it's a really good soundtrack with a variety of different styles from dark and foreboding to lighter, Moby, techno, a great track to loop during a non-combat action scene (Force Marker, by Brian Eno), and just a good mix of music.

I personally have come to absolutely hate The Matrix Soundtrack. YMMV, but I don't find anything good coming from in now that I've had four years to come to loathe the movie and soundtrack, although I never liked RATM and never will.

I also think that for a wide variety of different music that could probably accomodate several types of scenes, the two volumes of the Any Given Sunday Soundtrack might be considered. There were over 120 songs/pieces of music used in the movie . It covered every genre except Country as far as I can tell. The CDs include: Moby, Ozomatli, Kid Rock, DMX, Ella Fitzgerald, POD, Godsmack, Missy Elliot, etc. I think some of the best songs aren't on the CDs, including the Native American chants, and most of the Classical pieces and Jazz. However, it's a good start.

I'd also suggest the Blade II Soundtrack just because Wesley Snipes thought all the techno music in the movie was crap, but where else can you get a track with Ice Cube and Paul Oakenfold? The track with The Roots and BT is pretty good though, IMO.

[Deacon]

I use an eclectic mix for my Shadowrun games. Some of my music I got from mp3.com; look for 'Shadowrun' in the standard search window. There was a group on mp3.com called Alarin and they may still be there -- some nice instrumental music based on Shadowrun. Some you can download, and the rest -- well, get Streamripper.

The one album I can't help but advocate is Billy Idol's Cyberpunk, which follows a very cyberpunk feel to its tracks.

Some soundtracks you'd never think about, but can come in very handy for certain themes within the game. Think about using the soundtrack to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon when dealing with the Triads, or the soundtrack to Gone in Sixty Seconds when playing a vehicle rigger. But I think the original poster was looking for more of a generic feel...

Also take a look at various Anime soundtracks. Bubblegum Crisis and Bubblegum Crisis 2040 have the advantage of coming from a cyberpunk theme already. Cowboy Bebop is perfect Shadowrun material. I'm not sure for others, because these days my anime comes from Cartoon Network, and they're lousy with translations.

Hopefully this helps.

[Synner]

Here's a little known off beat one that fits the bill VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theatre.

[Hida Tsuzua]

Deus Ex has a decent soundtrack that comes with Game of the Year Edition. If you can find it, I recommend it as the music is nice and has a Shadowruny feel to it. I've also used the Alien soundtrack before though I recall it was only fair SR music.

[Sepherim]

I'd go certainly for more technological metal, something in the lines of Rob Zombie or Rammstein. Marilyn Manson is good too. I'd look for some Guns and Roses too, and some Slash Snakepit (especially number 7 or 8 in the cd, I don't have their names). And check out Rage too.
Darker metal can be great too, such as Therion or Lacuna Coil (maybe even Nightwish, HIM or Theatre of Tragedy). And, sometimes, only sometimes, some (sucking) nu metal can work, such as Kid Rock or Limp Bizkit. Rage Against the Machine could do it too, maybe. Black and all that drek might do it, if you like it, though it tends to be too gothic.
Some epic and speed metal might work good, but check them song by song. Maybe some Nocturnal Rites can do it.
Classic rock can be a good option too, such as Megadeth or Deep Purple. You know, old rockers never die! ;) Kiss's "Psycho Circus" is a must! Probably some of Queen's songs could do it, but just some of them.
maybe a bit of rap could be fine too, "the sound from the streets", or something like that.
Enya is a good one too, for magical stuff. I also got a cd from a russian church chorus that is truly great (it was the song that I put for the last scene in my campaign). Other things like Edward Scissorhands soundtrack can work great too.
Some classical pieces can be great also for high-society meetings.
For terror scenes, check out the Alien soundtrack, and maybe Predator too.
Some videogames have good soundtracks, such as Mortal Combat, for example.
Maybe some techno, though I don't know groups or anything. :(
Really any music can fit, you just have to look for the propper moment.

[Elfie]

I think for infiltration missions, "Adagio for Strings" by Barber makes a great piece. Think Platoon :)

[Sahandrian]

The Seatbelts - Tank! (from Cowboy Bebop)
Golden Earring - Twilight Zone

Other than that, personal preference for atmosphere, or certain songs for specific situations.

I'd have more, but I no longer have any MP3s.

[Austere Emancipa...]

[Rain]

[SgtSavage]

Great...thanks everyone.

Many of us had the same ideas, so it's nice to see that I wasn't so far off base (then again, if I was, that'd just be too fraggin' bad) - but I also got some really splendid suggestions, like Adagio for Strings and stuff from Lacuna Coil.

I think I've gotten enough to prepare at least 2 full CDs of the stuff - so thanks. :D