I hope to be playtesting Galactic sometime soon, and am trying to think of music to play while we're playing. Here's what I've got so far. (all of these are movie/TV soundtracks)
Gattaca
Solaris
Battlestar Galactica (yes, the new version)
Any other ideas?
Battlestar Galactica soundtracks - There are several by now. The music is well orchestrated and epic, yet often will fit easily into the background. One problem is that some of the musical stings are too familiar if any of your players are fans of BSG. However, enough of the tracks (particularly those on the miniseries CD) are more subdued. Favored tracks: "Market" and "Pegasus" from Season 2.5.
E. S. Posthumus - I've written about them before (http://10by10room.forgreatjustice.net/2006/03/12/gamable-music-e-s-posthumus), and I'll probably mention them on many a soundtrack thread. Basically, every track sounds like the leadin to a great TV show. "Tikal" in particular seems galactic worthy.
String Quartet Tribute to Coheed and Cambria: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 Yeah, this is a quirky one. It's an string-quarter-only adaptation of an epic album by Coheed & Cambria, and new-prog-metal outfit. It helps to know the originals, but I find that the string quartet versions are more subdued, smooth and elegant yet alien and alarming. The first track is a great opening track for any story, while "Al the Killer" seems to depict a pitched battle in zero-G.
Titan A.E. Soundtrack Um... Yeah, I like Titan A.E., despite it being a very cheesy movie. Most of the tracks are decent, and if you're going for a pulpy space-opera feel, the pop tracks fit in just fine.
If you can find it, there's a fairly early Simple Minds (yes, the band that recorded "Don't You Forget About Me") instrumental called "Theme for Great Cities" that sounds like the theme track for some 1970s/80s space opera TV show or movie. It's on the LP Sister Feelings Call, which is on CD with its companion album, Sons and Fascination.
Yeah, the music for the new BSG is sweet. It's definitely part of the official unofficial soundtrack.
Galactic needs moody stuff. It's more space fantasy than sci fi.
Also good: selected tunes from the Halo 2 soundtrack, The Fifth Element, Gladiator, Homeworld.
If Aliens and Lord of the Rings weren't immediately recognizable, I'd suggest some tracks from them (I love that bit in Fellowship when they pass the statues on the river).
If you want classical you could go with Holst's "The Planets", which was subsequently ripped off by everyone so it sounds very cinematic. I think classical tends to be a bit overdone for SF though.
It would be cool to try and "soundtrack" your game by always playing the same set of music in the background when you play, assuming you could get a couple of CD's worth of thematically similar stuff you like. Techno/Electronica might be interesting if you stick to the less repetitively annoying stuff. Anything a bit different that your players would begin to associate with the campaign.
Personally, I love a bit of classic rock in my sci-fi. Like in Star Trek: Generations when they take up the warp ship out for the first time and the scientist started blaring "Magic Carpet Ride". Put a smile on my face.
Okay, shooting completely blind here, since I don't really have a good feel for Galactic yet, you could go with Inama Nushif, by....uhm.....Brian Tyler, I think. Don't let the fact that they used it in promos for Master and Commander fool you, it's all in Fremen and was used on the new Dune miniseries soundtrack. It makes a good soundtrack for a quiet scene.
Also, you might want to check out Pandora (http://www.pandora.com) and create a Galactic Soundtrack music station. Then just put in any songs or artists that capture the feel for you, and site will start selecting things that fit the preferences shown in your selection. You can also share the soundtrack online with anyone who's interested.
Good call, Andrew. That's the kind of stuff I'd play.
hmm.. it seems our game took a slightly different direction. I was thinking more along the lines of Queen and ELO. Uptempo heroics and wide-eyed optimism.
I think Queen is a genius call.
- Frank