Music in post-apocalypse world

I

Inq

First time out of the vault
My first post here so hello everyone.

I was wondering why there's no live music in Fallout world. All music wastelanders can hear are pre-war songs broadcasted on the radio.

Probably little or none of the instruments survived so people have to make them on their own. I guess most of them would be made of found objects like boxes and planks lying around. Something like cigar box guitars made in the early 20th century during the Great Depression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz5wMGovkuQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmGkJlJs1F4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEDBAZrvT7U&feature=related

I guess it would be difficult to buid anything more complex than that. Maybe some flutes made of metal pipes or fiddles with bows of twisted metal strings (that's actually real invention):
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/4772426884_f34b4880db.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WuhXA2J1To&feature=related

Due to the high price of electricity most of music would be played on unplugged instruments in small ensembles.
Maybe vocal music would become more popular.

What are your thoughts?
 
Inq said:
I was wondering why there's no live music in Fallout world. All music wastelanders can hear are pre-war songs broadcasted on the radio.
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Because the songs - music from the other Fallouts (3+) sucks ...Mark Morgans music was the best, and will forever be the best soundtrack to a Fallout game...
 
Because the songs - music from the other Fallouts (3+) sucks
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Ok, but I didn't mean game soundtrack but music people living in the wasteland would play and enjoy.
I'm trying to figure out what acctual people would do not discuss which soundstack is good or not.
 
Well, first of all, there are many singers in the wastes. From Patrick the Celt to singers in New Reno and New Vegas, most people would probably fulfill their music desires by singing. So, the vocal music is obviusly the most popular one.

When it comes to instruments - I agree with you that most music would be played on "wooden" instruments, though I don't exactly agree that there wouldn't be electronic instruments. We all know that microphones, for example, are present throughout the wastes, so it isn't hard to assume that some wealthy clubs (such as those in the aforementioned cities) could buy, or own some working instruments. Of course, 200 years isn't a short time, so it could mean that although clubs would own instruments, that doesn't mean that they would work. But given what people are able to construct in post-apoc world, I believe someone could make an electronic guitar with some plans on how to, and scavenged parts.

Returning to unplugged instruments, those are present in Fallout games, and in great deal. Old guitar(s), violin(s) and harmonicas have already been shown, so we can safely assume that many other instruments can be found.

About constructing new instruments, I agree with you on that one. Those videos and pictures you posted include some instruments that would be probably be present in the wasteland, or at least could be made, by someone who knows how.

And there is live music in Fallout world. As I mentioned before, Patrick the Celt from original Fallout comes into my mind first, then there is a man called Martin in Vault 8 who sings "Maybe", Tommy Torini from the Aces club in Topps casino offers a quest in which you should find entertainers, musicians and singers alike etc.

So with that, I think that we can safely conclude that music, in its various forms, would definitely survive and evolve in post-apocalyptic world.
 
I believe someone could make an electronic guitar with some plans on how to, and scavenged parts.
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Aren't those too valuable to use them to make instruments? Depends on what tech level we're talking about but anyway for what I know electronic parts are not produced anymore (maybe in the biggest cities but still they are luxury goods I suppose).
I agree settlements large enough to summon people from around the wasteland may use amplified music (NCR, New Reno, New Vegas...) but in towns and villages (Megaton, etc) it's more reasonable to gather all people in one large room and perform without artifical sound amplification.

Old guitar(s), violin(s) and harmonicas have already been shown, so we can safely assume that many other instruments can be found.
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I recall reading about a F3 quest where you have to find Stradivari's violin but I don't remember seeing any sprite/model of any instrument in any Fallout game.
Could you provide some screens?
 
Inq said:
Aren't those too valuable to use them to make instruments?
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Not necesarilly.
Smart man could make an electronic guitar, make a big marketing step for it, or get to work in some high-league club (i.e. Shark Club), and that would be a sensation. The sheer popularity of something as inovative as that would bring a lot of money, as people would like to see it, so after some time, it would most certainly pay off.

When it comes to smaller, rural areas, something like you said is logical, though I doubt people would gather around in some room and sing together.
Night in the bar with some booze is more likely, and is something that has been featured in Fallout games.

Inq said:
I recall reading about a F3 quest where you have to find Stradivari's violin but I don't remember seeing any sprite/model of any instrument in any Fallout game.
Could you provide some screens?
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Yes, there is a quest in Fallout 3 about finding a violin.
When it comes to other instruments, harmonicas can be found almost everywhere in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, and in Fallout: New Vegas, you can find a man who owns a guitar etc.

Given these, I belive we can assume that there are more instruments of this kind. After all, not all of the world was nuked...
 
Indeed, Agatha's quest in Fallout 3 is to retrieve her violin... completing the quest will open a radio channel in which she will play, if you were looking for an example of music in the Fallout world being played/created.

I think there is also a performer or two in New Vegas? At the Tops?
 
though I doubt people would gather around in some room and sing together.
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This is called "choir" And it's quite common despite no recent nuclear holocaust ;p
 
Inq said:
though I doubt people would gather around in some room and sing together.
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This is called "choir" And it's quite common despite no recent nuclear holocaust ;p
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In order to make a proper choir, you (usually) need a conductor or someone who would organise the whole event, and people who know how to properly sing and read notes aka have some knowledge of music. You also need notes for the song.
In our, non-recent-apocalypse world, it is normal thing.
In Fallout world you have none of these. At least to some extent. So every group of people who sing together in one room can be marked as people simply spending time together, maybe having a drink or two, cheering etc.
This is far more likely than choir in post-apoc world...and also in our, real world.
 
In order to make a proper choir, you (usually) need a conductor or someone who would organise the whole event, and people who know how to properly sing and read notes aka have some knowledge of music. You also need notes for the song.
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Remember people who created gospel didn't know how to read notes or what classical harmony is. Yet they were able to create beauitful music just because they needed to do so.
But I get your point.
 
Very interesting thread. I believe the best would be to have sort of a connection between old world (swingy-music inspired by the 50ies as we know) and new world themed stuff. This can be basically everything, as long as it doesn't require hyper advanced techniques to build new instruments. Drums would be popular as they can be made of basically everything. Same as "guitar" like string instruments can be made with almost everything by a person with a good musical ear.

I always thought that the tribaly-folk(?) music from Planescape:Torments Smoldering Corpse bar is a good "example" of how I imagine new world postapocalyptic music. Listen to it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4QINNwR6Nw

It's funny to see this thread as I am recording similar songs on my own for my fallout game, where people will play instruments on some occassions. ;) I'd be really interested to see if others have examples too in how they imagine the postapocalyptia will sound.
 
Inq said:
I'm trying to figure out what actual people would do not discuss which soundtrack is good or not.
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There were musical instruments made for Fallout Tactics...occasionally they were found in the maps. There would be no reason why people wouldn't entertain themselves in their spare time. Maybe New Reno's cassino's could have bands playing on certain nights (but New Reno seems a bit over done as is)...such as Murph and the Magic Tones. :wink:

murph-and-the-magic-tones.jpg


Fallout Tactics musical instruments .
ruinedcityobjectsmusica.gif
 
There is post-war music in the Fallout world, why wouldn't be? you can make a drum ou of animal hides and wood, guitars of hair and wood, it wouldn't sound that refined, and that would only apply for the time span of Fallout 1, after a couple decades, with Vaults opening, and societies that survived the war is imposible that they didn't sabe some instruments, the Lonesome Drifter has a Guitar, you can fidn harmonicas as junk items, and the only thing you need to sing is having vocie, not even a good vocie, or rythm, they probably don't have the resources to go spreading their msuic worldwide, probably it would eb reduced to some settlements, passing holotapes around merchants, I mean all the songs the Lonesome Drifter plays are aparently written by him (and hsi vocie changes to that of Josh Sawyer for some reason) It woudl be interestign to have a little story about musicians in the wasteland, maybe a little quest mod? hmmmm.
 
TheRatKing said:
Surf Solar said:
I always thought that the tribaly-folk(?) music from Planescape:Torments Smoldering Corpse bar is a good "example" of how I imagine new world postapocalyptic music. Listen to it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4QINNwR6Nw
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Damn Mark Morgan is talented.
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I agree, but Richard Band did compose this particular track for PS:T. ;) The other track he gave to PS:T is the one you can hear in the sensorium.

There is post-war music in the Fallout world, why wouldn't be? you can make a drum ou of animal hides and wood, guitars of hair and wood, it wouldn't sound that refined, and that would only apply for the time span of Fallout 1, after a couple decades, with Vaults opening, and societies that survived the war is imposible that they didn't sabe some instruments, the Lonesome Drifter has a Guitar, you can fidn harmonicas as junk items, and the only thing you need to sing is having vocie, not even a good vocie, or rythm, they probably don't have the resources to go spreading their msuic worldwide, probably it would eb reduced to some settlements, passing holotapes around merchants, I mean all the songs the Lonesome Drifter plays are aparently written by him (and hsi vocie changes to that of Josh Sawyer for some reason) It woudl be interestign to have a little story about musicians in the wasteland, maybe a little quest mod? hmmmm.
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There is a difference between old vaults opening and stuff, and the actual music you can listen there. Just remember that, by New Vegas standards, the war is over since 200 years. 200 years is a long time. See that there are even tribal-like groups, completely forgetting their roots in more civilised communities. They'd for sure "forget" their cultural background too and invent more tribal-like new music imo.

If you like some quests about that, maybe you'll like my mod (if I ever be less lazy and it eventually come out ;P ), as I have plenty of stuff like that in there.
 
Yeah, the Tribes in FO must have some diferent form of music, in the All Roads comic on the collector's edition Benny talks about a singer, that was part of the Boot Riders (The Chairmen) and he liked to make little ballads when they were a tribe about their adventures for the other to be entertained, the Punk in Red Rock Canyon also mentiosn how the Kahns only like "Epic Ballads about crushing skulls", I think the Red Rocks and some tanned Bramin hides would make for good sound when tellign those Ballads, other Tribes might have kept those expressions of creativity too, but if we go into places that are civilized enough to have acces to radios (like the NCR controled territory, Outer Vegas, Vegas itself, and well the Capital Wasteland) people have referents, they have models of old music, I think some might replicate the tones of the pre war world. I think that there should be more "new music" in radio stations in future Fallout Games, like "This is Krognak the Great with, NCR lick my shit, TUNK TUNK TUNK NCR, NCR, LICKS MY SHIT LIkE A PORCUPINE!" well that was terrible, but you get my point.
 
Hm... Something seems not right to me. There are some keybords that look exactly like modern digital models (with red LED display).

Anyway Moog made some models with compareable size so maybe that's what those sprites represent...

Moog analog synthesizer

Some poetry of mine:

Honey, you thought your vault is shut
pernamently shut
But you misjudged my Charisma and Luck
Using all my wits, skills, perks and traits
I scavenged the sunshine and brought smile to your face
So listen everybody how lucky chap I am
to find my loved one in Vault 101.

Maybe not the best lyrics humankind produced but still fine enough to sing in some dirty bar in the middle of the wasteland (when radio doesn't want to work)

xD
 
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