[New RPG] Songs that describe your characters.....

Got a story idea, or something you'd like to chat about?
User avatar
Heinrad
Posts: 6281
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2001 5:00 am
Location: Riskin' it all on my Russian Roulette!

Songs that describe your characters.....

Post by Heinrad »

This is something I've been thinking about for a while now. What songs describe your characters? When writing for your characters, what music or video, if any, gets you into the mindset to write them.

Not all of mine need music, admittedly(just not being exhausted and depressed works), but some..... well.......

Here's a few from me.

Hot Rod: Fuel, by Metallica. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsxv0zjwdYA The amped up live version just works, really.

Roadbuster: Red Fraction, by MELL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC6REhy5L38

Nightbeat: Flirtin' With Disaster, by Molly Hatchet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgQ5O_GNhDU It just sums up what he tends to go through, really......

Bludgeon's might be a little odd. In his case, the video is perfect in that it showcases what I can imagine him doing, but the song...... is a little strange. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faGjUY8Jo7M

Ironhide. Ironhide's here because when I mentioned this to Warcry, he wondered what song would fit Ironhide. He suggested country. I figured country with an edge. Country Metal. Mainly 'cause country is either too laid back or too sad. Unfortunately, country metal didn't work, either. Yeah, it's got a beat, but the vibe's wrong. And then, it hit me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9IfHDi-2EA
As a professional tanuki (I'm a Japanese mythological animal, and a good luck charm), I have an alarm clock built into me somewhere. I also look like a stuffed animal. And you thought your life was tough......

3DS Friend Code: 1092-1274-7642
User avatar
Warcry
Posts: 13934
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 4:10 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Post by Warcry »

Heinrad wrote:Ironhide. Ironhide's here because when I mentioned this to Warcry, he wondered what song would fit Ironhide. He suggested country. I figured country with an edge. Country Metal. Mainly 'cause country is either too laid back or too sad. Unfortunately, country metal didn't work, either. Yeah, it's got a beat, but the vibe's wrong. And then, it hit me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9IfHDi-2EA
And speaking of Johnny Cash, Hurt defines Omega Supreme's life neatly.

Predacon happily embraces his lunacy, so he deserves a theme song by Queen.

Black Shadow hasn't showed up yet, but I've claimed him. Unlike the Old RPG's Mafia parody, he's an angry kid who grew up in a Gangsta's Paradise.

The others I'm not so sure about, although in Soundwave's case the only 'song' he needs is the hissing of static.
User avatar
Blackjack
Posts: 9112
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 1:04 pm

Post by Blackjack »

Skywarp sings to the tune of 'Dare to be stupid'. Screw the Junkions. No idea about the others, though.
User avatar
Lady Quickswitch
Posts: 305
Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 10:43 am

Post by Lady Quickswitch »

Good question.

With Quickswitch, I have two. Don't Damn Me, by Guns N Roses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaOEpTEz6as and Tubular Bells http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN9p-XCCRwU&feature=fvst

Sky Lynx brings to mind "I need a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBwS66EBUcY

The Wolf by Fever Ray http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3yZOc7dl5E for Cutthroat
[sigpic][/sigpic]
User avatar
Brave Maximus
Posts: 5877
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2002 11:50 pm
Location: Gehenna

Post by Brave Maximus »

Been mulling this over for a while and I still don't know really...

But, I was listening to my MP3 Player today and some popped up and seemed to work:

For Fortress Maximus, I'd have to go with: Iridescent by Linkin Park - just the opening lyrics, and just a sad song that still has a bit of hope... sort of seems like FM.

For Hunter (or... more appropriately a later incarnation): Carry the Blessed Home by Blind Guardian. It's an odd choice... but it's how he sees himself...

Sparkplug: Holding Out For A Hero by Ella Mae Bowen - I was going to use this for Hytherion actually... but hearing the cover... sorta how I want Sparkplug to come across. Walking out of the dust and the din, helmet over his shoulder, rifle carried in hand, doing what needs to be done.

More to come... as I find them.
Image
User avatar
zigzagger
Posts: 3453
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:40 am

Post by zigzagger »

Aw, I want in on this, too :(.

Goes without saying, but this applies to the Old RPG. My take on characters is naturally going to differ from how folks portray them here in the New RPG.

Blades - He's a Rebel by The Crystals. Odd choice, I know, but in the context of a mobster flick it works well.

Magnificus - The Boss by James Brown. And just for the fun of it, the theme of his club, The Mezzanine, I imagine would be Sacre Francais by Dimitri From Paris.

Doubledealer - Action Radar by The Prodigy. The guy just knows how to find trouble.

Prowl - Lament by Jacaszek. A suitably dark tune for a dark character.
User avatar
Warcry
Posts: 13934
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 4:10 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Post by Warcry »

*thread necromancy*

My wife's a huge wrestling fan, and after picking up some knowledge of it by osmosis I feel obliged to steal CM Punk's entrance music for Megatron: Living Colour's Cult of Personality. I don't think I've ever heard a song that sums up Megatron's particular brand of evil-but-charismatic authoritarianism and egomania quite so well.
User avatar
Blackjack
Posts: 9112
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 1:04 pm

Post by Blackjack »

Ooh, I've been searching for songs for some time, but haven't found those that are a perfect match, but, well, it's a rather unusual song, but I think Bjork's Army of Me fits Grimlock's current state of mind quite well. The ominous, morose tone isn't a perfect fit, but the lyrics of the song, about finding your own self-sufficiency, fits my pre-war Grimlock who is in turmoil about his allegiance.

I thought it would be a good fit for Sixshot, before I realized the song wasn't about a one-man army but rather about the singer telling someone else to stop whining and get off his ass and do something with his life. Since my Grimlock, at the moment, is more about finding his place than ME GRIMLOCK BASH BRAINS... it also helps that I, as his player, am also finding a comfortable state of mind to write Grimlock's character, and I've even considered dropping him, but I've currently decided that it's probably how Grimlock feels right now, so I'm tying it into his characterization. I think it's probably going to be quite interesting to have an introspective version of Grimlock or something.

(Grimlock's second theme, when he's doing his Furman 'Me Grimlock kick butt' shtick, would probably be Drowning Pool's Let the Bodies Hit the Floor.)

I also think that Daft Punk's Aerodynamic would serve as a suitable funky theme for my comedy character Skywarp. It's mostly wordless and a random yet rather fun mash-up of different guitar styles. I'm not a big fan for Daft Punk, but I thought this theme is quite upbeat and silly, and brings in mind flight as well.
User avatar
Blackjack
Posts: 9112
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 1:04 pm

Post by Blackjack »

Metallica's One for Sixshot. It fits him very well... well, what I plan to turn him into. In the long term. Probably. In any case, it fits his mindset as a confused being trapped in a role he's forced into, and the partly soft and partly metal song, I think, fits Sixshot's mentality quite well. In places like Kolkular he is very philosophical, albeit not outspoken, whereas in battle he is in full metal guitar solo mode. Yet the two different parts of the song aren't quite that jarring, which fits Sixshot's rather one-track mind.

Superpredators by Massive Attack will serve as the music you should be hearing whenever Sixshot comes to bear on a prey.

I'm still thinking of the others. Obsidian and Prowl, in particular, are difficult to find songs about.
User avatar
TLB80
Posts: 96
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 6:48 pm

Post by TLB80 »

*A wild necromancer appears*

Ahem. I'm thinking 60 Miles an Hour by New Order for Electro. I think it fits with the whole speed freak angle.
User avatar
Warcry
Posts: 13934
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 4:10 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Post by Warcry »

Using that avatar...
Image
...will probably get you banned if an admin who doesn't know you sees it and doesn't look at your posting history. The reason it exists is that some spambots like to choose the first available avatar when setting up an account, so we put that in as a red flag to make it easier to spot and ban.
User avatar
TLB80
Posts: 96
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 6:48 pm

Post by TLB80 »

lol, I seriously thought that was just there for a joke. :P
User avatar
Warcry
Posts: 13934
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 4:10 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Post by Warcry »

Nah, it actually serves a purpose.
User avatar
Blackjack
Posts: 9112
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 1:04 pm

Post by Blackjack »

Blowing dusts and becoming a necromancer and stuff. Here are the theme songs for a couple more:

Coldplay's Viva la Vida, specifically this version which is a violin cover by David Garrett, is a great fit for Obsidian. It's a pretty sad yet triumphant song in and of itself, and I think while the meaning doesn't exactly gel well (Obsidian's still fighting and not that much disgraced) I have this song in my head when I write Obsidian.

There are a million songs to describe Sentinel's jerkassness, but since my take on him is not that one-dimensional, Science by Birthday Massacre gives you a little peek into what's going on at Sentinel Prime's mind. He's had so many failures through his life, he knows everyone hates him, that he's near-suicidal at this point (even though he covers everything up with his jackass facade) and that he sees any sort of hope, like stealing the Matrix, as a way to get back into the game. Of course, an alternate character interpretation is that he's just a selfish, self-absorbed jerk with some sort of a jerk Messiah complex, and It's All About Me/Rain by Amaranthe is a good fit for that mindset.

Grimlock already has a theme up above, but I'd like to add Megadeth's Addicted to Chaos as well for him. The addiction theme and how he knows it's destroying him... the song's probably about drug addiction, but it applies to Grimlock's violence addiction as well.

The Fallen's theme is A Day for Ghosts by Delain, a funky melodic death metal hybrid song that in my opinion really fits Fallen's mentality. Chaos by Mutemath also work, being a song about, well, you know, chaos.

That only leaves Scorponok and Prowl with no theme songs, and for Prowl I kind of agree with Ziggy's choice of Lament.
User avatar
Blackjack
Posts: 9112
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 1:04 pm

Post by Blackjack »

Got Scorponok's theme while sifting through stuff: Don't Drag Me Down by Social Distortion. No long-winded reason for this, it just fits his mad social outcast theme pretty well.

Also, Superpredators didn't show up in Sixshot's post above even though I decided on it a long time ago, so there ya go.
User avatar
Springer85
Protoform
Posts: 1327
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 8:21 pm
Location: All your base
Contact:

Post by Springer85 »

I've been trying to pick songs for my characters too, but I always seem to get stuck between 2 songs for each character :D

First one up is Springer. Right now I like both Skillet - Hero and Foo Fighters - My Hero.

It's going to be either of those two. Might use the one not picked for Magnus. :p
Aspiring DJ!
Visit my channel at Soundcloud, Youtube or Facebook and let me know what you think!
Image
User avatar
Blackjack
Posts: 9112
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 1:04 pm

Post by Blackjack »

A good chunk of my cast also has two theme songs, but I kind of do so since I assume one's a battle theme and one's a character theme, so to speak.

Skillet's Hero is a great song and a personal fave that I would've picked for any heroic character. Except that I don't have one. :/
User avatar
Springer85
Protoform
Posts: 1327
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 8:21 pm
Location: All your base
Contact:

Post by Springer85 »

Blackjack wrote:A good chunk of my cast also has two theme songs, but I kind of do so since I assume one's a battle theme and one's a character theme, so to speak.

Skillet's Hero is a great song and a personal fave that I would've picked for any heroic character. Except that I don't have one. :/
Yeah, I'm sold on Skillet too. :) and well, Grimlock is a hero character. Or at least I've always viewed him that way. The kind of guy that when he arrives on the scene, Cons better start running or they'll be smashed. :D

By the way, I came across the perfect somg for Ultra Magnus: Alter Bridge - Metalingus. Which kind of fits with what happened to him in the RPG. :)
Aspiring DJ!
Visit my channel at Soundcloud, Youtube or Facebook and let me know what you think!
Image
User avatar
Blackjack
Posts: 9112
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 1:04 pm

Post by Blackjack »

Nah, Grimlock's probably a hero by default, but he goes all LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR instead of focusing on coming in as the hero. Right now, after all, he's still working on his addiction to violence, hence his other two songs. (Geez, I gave him three? :glance:)
User avatar
Springer85
Protoform
Posts: 1327
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 8:21 pm
Location: All your base
Contact:

Post by Springer85 »

For the old war horse aka Kup: Sick Puppies - You're going down
Aspiring DJ!
Visit my channel at Soundcloud, Youtube or Facebook and let me know what you think!
Image
Locked