Machines with the Best Music

[JoshuaKadmon]

In my mind, Swords of Fury has the best music of any pinball, with TX-Sector coming in at a close second. Having great music certainly makes a machine prime for digital reproduction, since it adds some flair to the presentation. Which ones come to your mind?

 

[Bonzo]

Maybe not the best music in and on itself, but black Knight 2000 without its music wouldn't be half as good as it is with it.

 

[Fuseball]

My personal favourite is easily Bride of Pinbot. I love how the electronic nature of the music fits the theme perfectly... and you get to make her sing!

 

[jkonami]

I knew of course someone would beat me to the punch on BK2K! I also agree about Bride of Pinbot, there's just something really cool about the music in that game. Out of the machines available in TPA, it's like the polar opposite of Black Hole. If I play Black Hole for too long I get a headache listening to it, but then I switch to BoP so I can feel soothed and relaxed. I really want to play Swords of Fury, I hope it's on the short list, it sounds really cool and I'm way more interested in that game than many of the announced ones so far.

Since Victory is coming soon, I think that game deserves a musical nod. That theme is really catchy!

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

I knew of course someone would beat me to the punch on BK2K! I also agree about Bride of Pinbot, there's just something really cool about the music in that game. Out of the machines available in TPA, it's like the polar opposite of Black Hole. If I play Black Hole for too long I get a headache listening to it, but then I switch to BoP so I can feel soothed and relaxed. I really want to play Swords of Fury, I hope it's on the short list, it sounds really cool and I'm way more interested in that game than many of the announced ones so far.

Since Victory is coming soon, I think that game deserves a musical nod. That theme is really catchy!

I agree on Victory. I'm looking forward to playing the TPA update, since the ball physics/speed in PSP's PHoF version made the game too easy, and the music really gets you into it.

Hopefully, all of the responses about Swords of Fury has given it a better chance. There's no doubt that we need more System 11 tables after Taxi's full emulation, and SoF is, in my opinion, the very best S11 out there.

 

[shutyertrap]

Rollergames for the win!! You know its all true, just admit it. I'd put a link up to the music except then you'd never get the tune out of your head and you'd come after me saying, "I can't get any work done cause of that damn Rollergames song! Why'd you have to post it??"

Oh, and I think BoP is pretty nifty too.

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

um AC/DC nuff said.

 

[bjkman]

Twilight Zone Has Great Music

 

[Mk pinball fan]

AC/DC has my vote!

 

[shutyertrap]

Twilight Zone Has Great Music

Isn't it just the song from Golden Earing put on repeat?

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

AC/DC gets my vote for best music, but then I'm a fan. Among unlicensed tables, I'd say Fish Tales. It's really rednecky, but it's perfect for the fishing theme, and there's a lot of different variations to keep it from getting overly repetitive.

Isn't it just the song from Golden Earring put on repeat?

A heavily synthesized version to get it to fit on the ROM, no less. While TZ has many strengths, its background music isn't one of them, although the Fast Lock Multiball plays music from previous Lawlor games if you need a break. (And the "Pop Goes the Weasel" tune from the Clock Chaos mode can go straight to hell. Both loud and annoying, to the point where I've deliberately trapped the ball and timed out the round to get the music to stop faster.) Thankfully the overall sound effects package makes up for the mediocre music, and quite frankly there's enough sound going on that the music is mostly covered up anyway.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

The Black Knight 2000 song is so awesomely cheesy it's cheesily awesome.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

Also, all that weird chiptuney music in Taxi is somehow completely apropos.

 

[Animator_pin_fan]

I really love all the chip tune music from classic pins! But for newer stuff, I think Tron is hands down the best.

 

[DopedToInfinity]

Transporter the rescue has some awesome 80's style music similar to TX Sector, sinister & funky.

 

[SpiffyRob]

I just assumed someone would beat me to the punch to mention F-14 Tomcat. This tune, combined with Yakov screaming and the explosions, makes for an awesome audio experience.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

Isn't it just the song from Golden Earing put on repeat?

Yeah, and while it's a clever in-joke, I think I'd have liked the table to make more use of incidental music from the TV show instead of sticking in some Eighties rock.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

...or, possibly, they could have used some of the spooky music the Grateful Dead did for one of the Twilight Zone revivals; that would have been pretty cool.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

Out of the machines available in TPA, it's like the polar opposite of Black Hole. If I play Black Hole for too long I get a headache listening to it, but then I switch to BoP so I can feel soothed and relaxed.

The Black Hole "music" was clearly the product of non-musicians; it's just an ascending chromatic scale. Very easy to code.

(Now I'm imagining a table themed to the awful Disney movie by that name that would use its undeservedly terrific John Barry score. It was one of the last movies with an overture, which was this happy John Williams-esque adventure march, but the main title theme that follows is a masterpiece of dark, scary atmospherics.)

 

[Fuseball]

If only they had made pinballs of '70s/'80s John Carpenter movies. He did his own largely electronic soundtracks and they would have sounded fantastic coming out of pinball speakers.