It has been an obnoxiously long time since I posted (almost a year?? I am filled with shame), and my overly-long list of "to-do list" has the next series "real" articles coming up, but in the meantime, here's something that compelled me to write.
In addition to being "Master of Late 20th Century Horror", movie director John Carpenter composed a lot of the soundtracks to his movies.
They had a minimalistic feel and are very successful at conveying a mood. Come to think of it, that was a point I made the last time I wrote about gaming music...
Keeping to another point from my prior entry: unless you (the DM) want the music to specifically prompt a connection in the players to a particular movie, say like...
...You'd do well to look at some of his less recognizable work. You find A LOT of his work here John Carpenter's Music on Spotify
My Spotify Picks for John Carpenter Soundtrack Music
- Matthew Ghost Story from "The Fog"
- Wrong Flavor from "Assault on Precinct 13"
- Myer's House from "Halloween"
- Better Check the Kids from "Halloween"
- New Mexico from "Vampires"
- Valek's Portrait from "Vampires"
- Main Theme from "Escape from New York"
- The Bank Robbery from "Escape from New York"
- Descent Into New York
- Back to the Pod (version 2) / Crazies Come Out from "Escape from New York"
Beyond the Soundtracks
Though he hasn't directed a film since 2001, he released an album of original tracks called "Lost Themes" in 2015. Though it recalls his movie soundtrack work, I believe it's all original tracks. Some favorites for gaming....
Why Now?
The genesis of this writeup was learning that John Carpenter has a new album of original music due out April 15, 2016. But NPR has the entire album available for streaming right NOW. And it is GREAT for gaming.
