So we're slowly getting ready to kick off our (real) CoC campaign with Masks of Nyarlathotep, after having a really successful run with one of the demo scenarios.  Couple this with the fact that Boardwalk Empire begins airing tonight on HBO, and a lot of my players are really getting into the 20s mood.

The one thing I've been having trouble with is getting together a soundtrack.  A lot of the music of the 20s is now public domain, but I'm having some trouble finding good collections available online.  I can get bits and pieces here and there, but was wondering if anyone knew of any indexes or collections that are more comprehensive.

I'm also struggling to find some more ambient pieces that fit the Cthulhu mythos, and was hoping some here may have soundtracks or compositions that have worked well for them in the past -- I'm thinking more subdued and mysterious, rather than the typical horror compositions that have a lot of rising actions and such as those will probably interrupt the mood.

Thankee for your time.

Try some Steve Roach, Robert Rich, and Lustmord. I use them for mood music in CoC games all the time and they've never led me astray.

There used to be an internet radio station called Absinthe Radio that played music from the Jazz Age. Very strong playlist. I would play it off and on during my games to set the mood. Don't know if they are still active since the internet radio crack down happened.

For some reason in my youth the soundtrack to the first Alien movie scared the shit out of me. Ligeti's "Lux aeterna" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lux_Aeterna_(Ligeti)) from the 2001 soundtrack was even worse.
I think both would be perfect for a subdued, mysterious atmosphere.

Maybe it's a bit odd to include in it a 20's campaign, but the band Scurvy Bastards has two Lovecraft-related songs, The curse of Cthulhu and Polaris. Both have a very interesting mood, maybe a little horror/pirate-y, but can be a good change of pace from the classical Cthulhu Playlist (jazz, horror OST, etc).

Quote from: Insufficient Metal;406053Try some Steve Roach, Robert Rich, and Lustmord. I use them for mood music in CoC games all the time and they've never led me astray.

+1 for lustmord!

Philip Glass, Robyn Miller, wavespan, danzig (black aria 2), aphex twin and perhaps Ulf Soederberg are other ok choices.

I made a request on this board for music for MON, and got some decent replies. Might br worth doing a search for the thread.

unrelated era-wise, but for my Delta Green campaign I used Eno's "Music for Airports" played on low in the background and it worked really well.

Strawinsky's Symphony of Psalms is about as spooky a piece of music you can get.

http://www.archive.org/details/StravinskySymphonyOfPsalms

PS ymphony of Psalms is actually from the 1930s, but I think you can just about get away with the slight anachronism :-)

Thanks guys!  I'll be checking this stuff out.

Quote from: kregmosier;406234unrelated era-wise, but for my Delta Green campaign I used Eno's "Music for Airports" played on low in the background and it worked really well.

Yay! Another Eno listener. I used to love using a mix tape of his music as the backdrop for a Traveller game I ran a few times.

I played in a non-mythos CoC game where the GM had one of those tapes with ocean waves running continuously in the background (all the action took place near the sea... I think it was partially based on The Fog). He'd adjust the volume up whenever we went down to the beach... it was very effective.

Quote from: IceBlinkLuck;406300Yay! Another Eno listener. I used to love using a mix tape of his music as the backdrop for a Traveller game I ran a few times.

If you're looking for some Eno that will work in a horror game, try Ambient 4: On Land. Some genuinely creepy stuff in there.

Quote from: Insufficient Metal;406322If you're looking for some Eno that will work in a horror game, try Ambient 4: On Land. Some genuinely creepy stuff in there.

I was just going to recommend that. It is the best ambient music for Call of Cthulhu I could imagine.

Quote from: jdurall;406464I was just going to recommend that. It is the best ambient music for Call of Cthulhu I could imagine.

Awesome.

Also, maybe consider Harold Budd's Serpent in Quicksilver / Abandoned Cities. A lot of it won't be useful for games, but there are two tracks, "Dark Star" and "Abandoned Cities" that are 20+ minutes long apiece and very moody.

Brief sample (couldn't find anything longer, sadly).