An old topic, but a goodie.  How many of you soundtrack your sessions?  Do you blast it, or have barely audible as background noise?  Do you bust out the medieval French folk aires for D&D, or play the Iron Maiden and Manowar?  Tubular Bells for your horror games, or sound effects?  Or, like so many folks, do you find the entire thing a distraction?  Do you obessively match the music for the scene, or just let it play?  AAAAaaaand....go.

It is integral to my games and one of the reasons I often have issues with running games at cons. I actually often time action to the music. Yes, I speed up or slow down the story so that action happens when the music crescendos.

Most of the time:
Sci-fi - Star Wars sound track, Star Trek sound track, Techno, Trance
Fantasy - Classical (mostly Bach, Beethoven, Mozart just because of personal preference), Delirium, Cumbre, Deep Forest, Enigma
When Mike Plays - Anything from the 80s

Bill

I have a fantasy/historical movie soundtrack collection, and a scifi one, and play them in my 5-disc CD player; I find that 5 discs is about right to get us through the whole session.

I don't time things to individual tracks, but there are sometimes nice bits of serendipity in the music, like when during Unknown Armies the PCs were beating up a villain NPC, and he flipped out and started just screaming - the Heat soundtrack has a crazy track with horrified screaming on it, that came on just then, perfect! I said, "he sounds just like that," to the players, they sat there feeling rather unnerved

Then just the other night there was a combat and the battle music from Gladiator came on, which was of course perfect.

I keep it at a volume where we can forget it, and make sure not to have music with singing, or at least not singing in a language the players understand - singing along breaks the mood...!

Do you folks know stuff like Corvus Corax (the studio albums are awesome for  fantasy rpgs)?
Is there an Anglo-Saxon equivalent?
How about medieval music from other traditions?

I don't know of that group, but I've seen equivalents from the UK, France. Excellent for medieval games, as you say.

I wish we knew what ancient Roman music was like. That's the problem with games in older settings!

I use music in my games.  I like to use music in my games.  All of my Vampire games have had mix tapes or CDs made up for them.

I need to get some soundtracks for my upcoming Star Wars campaign.  I'd like to start each session by reciting "A long time ago..." and then blasting the opening theme.

But music during the session tends to distract me.

Quote from: jrientsI need to get some soundtracks for my upcoming Star Wars campaign.  I'd like to start each session by reciting "A long time ago..." and then blasting the opening theme.

But music during the session tends to distract me.

Jeff, the real question here is, are you going to do the "Throne Room" music & scene after a successful mission for your players?

I like music during my games, but my wife doesn't unless it's devoid of lyrics.

One of the (many) reasons my cyberpunk game never happens.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstJeff, the real question here is, are you going to do the "Throne Room" music & scene after a successful mission for your players?

Is that the name of the end scene where Han and Luke are awarded the Gold Medal in the Deathstar Busting event?  If so, then hell yes.

Quote from: jrientsIs that the name of the end scene where Han and Luke are awarded the Gold Medal in the Deathstar Busting event?  If so, then hell yes.

You know it.

I frequently come up with soundtracks for my games, but lack of a good remote keeps me from ever really using them.
In Junior Highschool I used to put David Arkenstone's "The Celtic Book of Days" on shuffle and just let tracks come whenever.  The only reason I don't anymore is that it wore itself out before long.

The soundtrack to the latest King Arthur movie (the one with Clive Owen and Kiera Knightly) and, recently, Apocalypto.