Favorite music for robot videos

[gblake]

World-class Western/European artists have been writing and performing "epic, upbeat, somewhat fast, and good to listen to" music for centuries. Try a few that have brought audiences to their feet decades. Also, many of these bear the "Used in a Bug Bunny cartoon" seal of approval).

Think outside the box.

1812 Overture
William Tell Overture
Flight of the Bumble Bee
In the Hall of the Mountain King
Pictures at an Exhibition - The Great Gate of Kiev
Beethoven's 5th
Hallelujah Chorus
Anvil Chorus
Carmina Burana (Fortuna, Imperatrix Mundi)
Flight of the Valkyries
The various short dances from The Nutcracker
Night on Bald Mountain (and other pieces featured in Disney's Fantasia)
Bolero (think of ice dancing, not Dudley Moore movies)

More recent compositions that I like, that seem to have some staying power, are Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man, and parts of his Rodeo ballet.

Perhaps an Olympic Fanfare.

A piece I particularly enjoyed playing for one year's HS Concert Band piece was Russian Christmas Music. Folks either love it or hate it; but the right arrangement does a great job of drawing you in early and then steadily building to magnificent wall-of-sound finale.

Perhaps an Olympic Fanfare?

Like I suggested above, think outside of the box.
Blake

[Karthik]

In general I think that FIRSTers show a lack of love to the world of hip hop and rap. I'm thinking any of Biggie Smalls, Tupac, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Drake or Lil Wayne all have tracks that qualify under "epic, upbeat, somewhat fast, and good to listen to songs."

If Hip Hop isn't to your liking, then take a page out of the playbooks of the sporting world. NFL Films has one numerous Emmy's for their amazing packages featuring all sorts of inspiring classical music. Also, many sports highlights montages have borrowed extensively from the soundtracks from films such as Rudy, Seabiscuit, Remember the Titans, etc.

Here are some great examples of epic sports montages with great music: (Seriously, I could watch these all days long)

2011 Miami Heat Team Intros Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
2010 World Cup, Landon Donovan's Game Winner -- Theme from Rudy
2008 Summer Olympics
2008 NBA Playoffs
2008 Phoenix Suns Intros
2007 Toronto Raptors Playoff Intro
2006 Toronto Raptors Team Intros Jay-Z/Beyonce - Crazy in Love
2002 Winter Olympics Recap -- Remember The Titans
1997 NBA Finals Recap -- R. Kelly - I Believe I Can Fly
1996 NBA Finals Recap -- The Outfield - Winning it All
1995 Michael Jordan Returns to the NBA
1996 Summer Olympics Recap -- Beethoven's Ninth
1992 NFC Championship Game
1992 Summer Olympics, Derek Redmond
1991 NBA Finals

[araniaraniratul]

I believe we forgot My Hero- Foo Fighters

[AlecMataloni]

Originally Posted by Karthik

In general I think that FIRSTers show a lack of love to the world of hip hop and rap. I'm thinking any of Biggie Smalls, Tupac, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Drake or Lil Wayne all have tracks that qualify under "epic, upbeat, somewhat fast, and good to listen to songs."

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a robot video featuring "Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z as much as the next guy; however, I think the amount of profanity and blatant sexual references in most of the songs performed by those artists doesn't appeal to the reputation of FIRST teams, some of whom may or may not be making the video to show to members of their community.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by AlecMataloni

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a robot video featuring "Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z as much as the next guy; however, I think the amount of profanity and blatant sexual references in most of the songs performed by those artists doesn't appeal to the reputation of FIRST teams, some of whom may or may not be making the video to show to members of their community.

I find it ironic how people always assume that "most" Hip Hop songs are profane, while people are more than fine to turn a blind eye to the lyrics in other genres. No one seems to care that Thunderstruck by AC DC talks about strippers performing sexual acts on customers, or that Semi Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind is about crystal meth usage. (Just picking a couple of popular FIRST tunes off the top of my head) Seriously, take a moment to really listen to the music played at a regional, it's not nearly as clean as you think it is.

You are right though, some songs are blatant with their profanity and should be avoided. Luckily, you can usually find a radio edit of most which would be appropriate for most audiences.

[lemiant]

Originally Posted by Karthik

I find it ironic how people always assume that "most" Hip Hop songs are profane, while people are more than fine to turn a blind eye to the lyrics in other genres. No one seems to care that Thunderstruck by AC DC talks about strippers performing sexual acts on customers, or that Semi Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind is about crystal meth usage. (Just picking a couple of popular FIRST tunes off the top of my head) Seriously, take a moment to really listen to the music played at a regional, it's not nearly as clean as you think it is.

You are right though, some songs are blatant with their profanity and should be avoided. Luckily, you can usually find a radio edit of most which would be appropriate for most audiences.

The difference is that in mainstream FIRST songs, the profanity is not obvious. The idea of the song may be R rated, but you really have to pay attention to notice, with rap (partly as a function of the fact that the lyrics are more prominent) the profanity is very obvious.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by lemiant

The difference is that in mainstream FIRST songs, the profanity is not obvious. The idea of the song may be R rated, but you really have to pay attention to notice, with rap (partly as a function of the fact that the lyrics are more prominent) the profanity is very obvious.

This is true, with rap the lyrics are definitely more prominent. However, the other major difference is that hip hop and rap music makes certain portions of the populous irrationally uncomfortable.

Anyways, this thread has been derailed enough, back to choosing awesome songs.

[Command67]

Rush. It made me happy when Tom Sawyer was played at Bayou. The only problem was it was played once while Party in the USA was played at least 5 times over the course of the Regional.

[AlecMataloni]

Yes, let's move on.

If you want my recommendations by genre, here they are:
Rap: Lose Yourself by Eminem- won an academy award for best original song I believe... It's definitely a classic.
Alternative: Anything off of Rage Against the Machine's eponymous album. Definitely pick the clean version. This is on the heavier side. If you want something lighter, I recommend Can't Stop by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. It provides great opportunities for an intro.
Rock: Cherub Rock by Smashing Pumpkins- Just give it a listen. You'll see why. Classic rock? Barracuda by Heart- Awesome rythym.
Pop: Something by Michael Jackson? Or rather, support Will.i.am and go BEP.
Country: Don't.
Techno: A City in Florida by Deadmau5- It's hardcore.
Soundtrack: Dark knight/ requiem for a dream/ inception.

[Grim Tuesday]

Anything Two Steps From Hell

[Nuttyman54]

The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim and Daft Punk all have a great selection of tracks that work well. Movie soundtracks tend to have a lot of good options too, as does 80's glam rock. I'm particularly fond of finding a song with some relevant lyrics for the video.

Examples:

190 SVR 2007
-Relevant lyrics/high energy (Van Halen), high energy (The Prodigy)

190 Boston 2009
-Relevant lyrics (Blue Man Group), fast paced high energy (Saliva)

971 2009 season video
-Soundtrack (Dark City), high energy (Daft Punk), relevant lyrics (Muse), Soundtrack (Ironman)

190 2011 Teaser
-Soundtrack/high energy (Daft Punk)

[GarrettF2395]

In my video I went with Ushers latest hit, More.
For me, the second I heard that song it hit me as the perfect music for the video. It seemed to fit what I wanted the video to say.

I would just encourage your students to think about what they want their video to do. Do they want it to inspire, pump up, or promote, etc...?
Then have them use whatever they think fits what they want the video to.
Encourage them to be creative, videography is an art form.

[rifkinni]

Our team uses freeplaymusic.com. It is easy, safe, and free to download songs, and all of them are under the creative commons license, so they can be published or parts of the final product it can be officially submitted for a Chairman's award or other FIRST submission. The site has a huge selection and a wide range of songs, but nobody will have heard any of the music before, so its original and everybody won't choose the same overplayed song. Your trainees can choose the music based on style or feel.

[Kyoshirin]

Ignition- Toby Mac
Frontline- Pillar
Warriors of Time- Black Tide
The Chosen Ones- Dream Evil
Ladies and Gentlemen- Saliva
Have a Nice Day- Bon Jovi
It's My Life- Bon Jovi
Rock You Like a Hurricane- The Scorpions
Coat of Arms- Sabaton
Headstrong- Trapt

[torihoelscher]

"I got a feeling"-BEP
"Boom Boom Pow"-BEP
"Just cant get enough"-BEP
"Dirty deeds done dirt cheap"-ACDC
"Thunderstruck"-ACDC
"TNT"-ACDC
"Walk this way" Aerosmith
"Seize the day" Avenged Sevenfold
"Unholy Confessions" Avenged Sevenfold
"We didnt start the fire" Billy Joel
"Dont fear the Reaper"Blue Oyster Cult
"It's my life" Bon Jovi
"Dream a Dream" Captain Jack
"Requiem for a dream" Clint Mansell
"One last breath" Creed
"Away in Silence" Creed
"Tron Legacy (End Titles)- Daft Punk
"Tron Legacy Theme" Daft Punk
"Hysteria" Def Leppard
"Love Bites" Def Leppard
"May it be" from Enya or Celtic Woman
"Bring me to life" Evanescence
"Good Enough" Evanescence
Miss Murder-AFI
"Right Round" Florida
"All Around me Acoustic" Flyleaf
"Hear me now" Framing Hanley
"It's not what they said" Framing Hanley
"Vesuvius" Frank Tichelli
"Feel Good Inc" Gorillaz
"Dare" Gorillaz
"Rhinestone Eyes" Gorillaz
"Broken" Gorillaz
"Stylo" Gorillaz
"On Melancholy Hill" Gorillaz
"Grease Lightning" John Travolta
"Basket Case" Green Day
"When I come around" Green Day
"Good Riddance" Green Day
"Welcome to the Jungle" Guns N Roses
"Sweet Child of Mine" Guns N Roses
"November Rain" Guns N Roses
"Suite Gothique pour Grande Orgue, Op. 25: IV. Toccata" Hans Fagius
"Run to the Hills" Iron Maiden
Love Theme from Attack of the Clones- John Williams
The Throne Room/End Title-John Williams
Star Wars and Revenge of the Sith- John Williams
"Rock n roll all nite" KISS
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for Organ, BWV 565- Kiemens Schnorr (composer I dont think the one who wrote this, its Bach by the way)
"The Rose"LeAnn Rimes
"Ocarina Medley" from Legend of Zelda
"Evenstar" Howard Shore (LOTR)
"Breath of Life" Howard Shore (LOTR)
"4 Minutes" Justin Timberlake and Madonna
"Safety Dance" Men without Hats
"One" Metallica (Great song, sad meaning)
"Enter Sandman" Metallica
"For whom the bell tolls" Metallica
"Last of the Wilds" Nightwish
"Ever Dream" Nightwish
"Nemo" Nightwish
"Just Refrain" Orange Avenue (Local Band in Florida)
"Even Flow (Live)-Pearl Jam
"Something to believe in" Poison
Of course the popular songs from Queen...
Also popular songs from Journey
"False Pretense" Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
"Prayer of the Refugee" Rise Against
"So far away" Staind
"Great White Coma" The Sunstreak
"Lonely Day" System of a Down
Toccata - Carpimus Noctum- Trans-Siberian Orchestra
The magic flute - queen of the night aria- Wolfgang Mozart
Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude-Bach
The Magic Flute - Overture-Mozart
Hyptonize- System of a Down


These are all the songs I can see in a robotics video. Also some of the songs I like were already mentioned.