I hate the late game soundtrack. Is it possible to change it?

[GA econ FTW]

wow, I'm going to serious post (kinda) for once...

not sure if this should go in the sound file area, but I've always liked the idea of modding the music for (some) of the industrial and (mostly all) of the modern era.
I also like modding some of the leader diplo music (it isn't that hard to get an .mp3 of the marseillaise or the 1812 overture for say, napoleon, or "Rule Brittania" for Vickie or Churchie, etc.)
most of the posters above mentioned that messing with the XML codes is a real pain (you have to modify Audio 2D scripts, and Leaderhead scripts, etc), so usually, I just take the .mp3, move it to the folder where the file I wish to overwrite is, move out the music file I"m overwriting, and then change the name of the music file to the one it had replaced.)

However, I really wanted to share some of my fave substitutes for certain eras (I know, everyone has their preferences)
but just in case you wonder what might be more fitting or thematic (also interested in seeing what others would mod in if they would), so if it happens, I'd also like to find out what others have modded in for diplo/war/era music....

Industrial era: Sing, Sing (big band era), "In the mood" (big band), perhaps a piece of Dixieland style swing music

Modern Era (I only kept "chairman dances" and "the people are the heroes now":

-"It's the end of the world as we know it" by R.E.M. (it's interesting to hear that blaring as you are actively getting nuked....by Louis XIV

- "Painted black" by the Stones (nice to hear as your marines and gunships are tearing across jungle)

- "Weird Science" by Oingo Boingo (if yer a future era techer)

- ....um...."4 minutes to save the world" by JT and Madonna....the "get smart" movie ending credits theme is fun for anyone running a late game EP

- "it's not unusual" by Tom Jones....if yer a wonderspammer and your capital is pretty much...vegas...

- "wild wild west"...a secondary song but if I'm thinking I'm in the nuclear age......

- "welcome home" by Coheed and Cambria....the ONLY thing decent about the movie "9", but definitely should be included if you imagine your civ as the one that discovers rock...and then takes it to metal....

- "hammerhead" by the offspring....I know, most strategists here claim marines, and especially seals, are most likely a niche unit....but this song also rocks if you just like playing on a low difficulty and sweeping away your cowering and weeping enemies with submachinegun toting land-based infantry type troops

"kyrie eleison and st. elmo's fire" by some really lame 80's groups....showing my age here....cute songs if you are the builder type who like your cities gleaming, your towers tall, and your well-polished spaceships pointed toward alpha centauri...almost there....just gotta get the windshield caulking installed.......just before 3/4 of the gamers on this forum would run down your capital with paranukes or Mobmod-artyarmour

"We built this city on Rock and Roll" by whatever Jefferson Airplane is calling themselves these days- debatedly the most horrific "hit" of the 80's, nonetheless, if you play earth maps, and you build cities on the west coast of the USA, as the radio announcer is talking about SANFRAN, it just makes you want to build more wonders there....except the land is so crappy around SFO on the original map, good luck....but ...building cities...it's just so thematic

"requiem for a dream" or "O fortuna" - for you domination/conquest fans....nothing is better than hearing this swelling music as your modern armor and Mechanized infantry sweep over the land, stopping for pillaging only for the lulz....

Any song by John Mayer - you play, ghandi a lot, don't you?

diplo/war music:
war: "War (what is it good for)" ....anyone who has war weariness knows about this one.

Izzy - add in for middle "danza espanola no 5 "andaluza" by andres segovia
Churchill or Vickie - A better version of "rule brittania" and "the British grenadiers" (for in war)?
DeGaulle (or louis) - "orpheus in the Underworld" by offenbach
Napoleon - La marseillaise, of course, but if you can find a cut of the 1812 overture that starts with the french horns opening with the marseillaise, it might even inspire your software to have him fight better...it seems...for those of you who like Nappy a little silly....Waterloo, by ABBA

Ragnar - I've read a lot of people adore his diplo music, so I wouldn't dare suggest you change it...but how about "The Immigrant song" by Led Zeppelin? According to some of the works of John Ringo in the Aldenata series, this song should be the battle music for any group of raiders going into battle...

STALIN - We all hate him, some of us admit we don't mind he's in here....well at least, perhaps we should give him music about what helped make the leader....war....I reccomend "the soldiers song" and "the cossacks song" ...both sung by the Red Army Choir

PETER - The volga river boat song is good, but also recommend the russian classic "Kalinka"

Kathy - Again, a russian traditional song "Katusha"...which I might be wrong, but means "little
Catharine"....again might be wrong, but those USSR anti-armor rockets named Katusha were named after our favorite backstabber (who most likely would be a blast at beer parties....after she vassaled you and cooled down....)

Huyana Capac - go to your street corner, find the nearest Incan flute band, buy their CD, find your favorite song, hack it in there
or "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail" by simon and garfunkel....as you are negotiating with him, you can think "sorry, Wayne craptastic my friend....yer gonna be a nail yet agin' "

Shaka/Yaqob/Mansa - "Homeless" and "under african skies" by Paul Simon from his "graceland" album

Asoka - Chaiyya Chaiyya by sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi

Ghandi - Beware of the boys (mundian to Bach Ke) by Panjabi MC
(note: their "sample" is the theme from the original "Knight rider" series....but with Mumbai flare...)

Hammurabi- cant' beat his music...sounds like something Alex Courage wrote for classic Trek Incidental music

Rome - Can't beat rome's music....sounds like something Alex Courage Wrote for classic Trek

Frederick - I like Freddies music, but for one era hack in perhaps the angry scherzo part of "beethoven's 9th symphony) (I think it's part of your windows vista or windows 7 free files)

Bismarck - If you like Bizzie serious, keep his music, if Bizzie is usually destroyed or vassals to you early...find some good Bierhall music or a polka to lighten up his mood...goes with his laugh

Ottoman civ - even though I think that music is very fitting, anything you like from a bellydance music track could work,....for late era music...how about cake's "Comfort eagle" (doesn't matter if yer skinny, doesn't matter if yer fat, you can dress up like a sultan, in yer onion head hat)

Joao II - I think his music rocks (It has similarities to fireball's early hit "the way")...but of course, for everyone's favorite expander (if you are adherent to making leaders match civs) "Brazil"

Sury - ....the weird music from "mars attacks"....or more likely "gump" by weird al Yankovic...or if it's more about his civ than his face...."one night in Bangkok" by Chess

Wang Kong - ...."everybody have fun tonight" by Wang Chung (in the song, the artists say "can anyone tell me what a wang chung is?" ....yeah, he's the leader of the Korean civ....
or "here's to you missus robinson" by simon and Garfunkel...for those of you who can't get over his graduation cap

Tokugawa - "tokyo girl" by ace of base or "Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies" for those who think that song has Japanese overtones. I'm guessing a lot of anime-mastery folks on this site can think of much more fitting late-era music for Tokes

Chairman Mao - "I'm so ronery" by Matt and Trey in "Team America, world police".

Saladin - Actually, there is this super-swelling opening part of "one night in bangkok" before they start singing and going rock-and-roll that would be fitting for saladin, even though his music is good already. Also....the theme from "lawrence of arabia"....or if you like your sally silly...."the terrorist bar theme song (parody of the star wars cantina band song) from Matt and Trey's soundtrack in "team america world police"

Eqyptian Civ - of course, "walk like an Egyptian" by the Bangles.

Charlemagne - Very religious Organ church music....or for those of you who like your Charlie Silly.....find a site on jingles....."have it yooouuurrr waayy...have it your way, at burger King"

Monty.....the very first civ 1/civ 2 intro song for the aztecs....to touch it might be a bigger sacriledge than this post.....but if you must...."Whip it" by devo....whip it good, monty

The Celtic Leaders - similar to those who know more about anime, you can't throw a rock nowadays without hitting something that has Celtic overtones....I picked my favorite folk music with violins....but for late era....well, how about track 17 from "south park the movie" 's soundtrack, "what would brian boytano do?" sung by a celtic thrasher band?

Lincoln - "the battle hymn of the republic"

all USA leaders "America, @(*#( yeah" from "team america, world police"

Gilgamesh/Cyrus/Darius.....unsure...Gilgameshs' music is pretty rocking
Pacal II - Wouldn't touch his music...his teching, his rareness in building defense against attack all synergize with his body language AND his music to motivate me to INVADE HIM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

 

[Mec AntiKythera]

I really like the early game music, medieval to a lesser extent, and the Renaissance isn't bad either. But after that it goes downhill. Is it possible for me to change up the late game soundtrack?

You can always play John Cage . . .

 

[MilesBeyond]

It goes downhill after the Renaissance? The Industrial music is basically Renaissance music on steroids. I don't see how you can like one and not the other.

I love all the music in the game (except maybe for the Future era, but I haven't gotten to that in ages) but I've wondered if it's possible to add to it. I've always thought that some fusion would really go well with the Modern era, maybe some Al DiMeola (which is basically what they had in Civ 3).

Kudos to Firaxis, though. I loved the choice to include actual music from those time periods (uh, well, more or less, as pointed out before). Hearing Brahms and Dvorak really makes you feel like you're building a cultural giant of a civilization. And including modern classical instead of pop music for the Modern age was a gutsy move - not exactly mainstream friendly. I'll admit that it's not until after a couple of music listening classes that I was able to "get" it.

 

[MantaRevan]

Absolutely. Don't get me wrong, I believe that the civilization series has a history of having very exceptional music, civ 4 especially.

 

[uat2d]

Absolutely. Don't get me wrong, I believe that the civilization series has a history of having very exceptional music, civ 4 especially.

No.

Civ3.

 

[MantaRevan]

No.

Civ3.

Yes, it was even better.

 

[MilesBeyond]

Man, I don't know what you guys are talking about. Civ 3 can't even touch Civ 4. Civ 4 had some of the greatest music ever written. I mean Civ 3 was great, sure, but it's nowhere in the same league as stuff like Brahms' Symphony in F Major. That stuff is where it's at. The only place I can see people preferring Civ 3 is in the Modern age, because Civ 4's stuff is hardly accessible, or in some cases even coherent.

 

[MantaRevan]

Man, I don't know what you guys are talking about. Civ 3 can't even touch Civ 4. Civ 4 had some of the greatest music ever written. I mean Civ 3 was great, sure, but it's nowhere in the same league as stuff like Brahms' Symphony in F Major. That stuff is where it's at. The only place I can see people preferring Civ 3 is in the Modern age, because Civ 4's stuff is hardly accessible, or in some cases even coherent.

But a lot of the early age stuff was taken from civ III.

 

[uat2d]

But a lot of the early age stuff was taken from civ III.

Precisely, and the ones left out were the best.

Medieval Era Civ4's soundtrack, for instance, has nothing on Civ3's one.

 

[Cort Haus]

And including modern classical instead of pop music for the Modern age was a gutsy move - not exactly mainstream friendly. I'll admit that it's not until after a couple of music listening classes that I was able to "get" it.

Excuse the slight necro on this thread, but this was an interesting point.

Personally I feel that modern classical is largely a discordant and uncomfortable listening experience. "hey, let's experiment with all the wrong notes". Well yeah, there's a reason why they are the wrong notes, and there's a reason why hardly anyone used them before or since - with the exception of some genres like Modern Classical, some styles of Jazz, and a few rock bands. Generally that's because it is a hideous cacophony that tries to break the rules excitingly, but fails, and what's left is an ugly mess.

Music sounds like music because it obeys certain mathematical rules. Some transgressions can be made, but deliberate discord can only really be listened to by those who are convincing themselves that they are being incredibly culturally-sophisticated, or avant-garde in doing so.

Of course, re-writing the rulebook is behind many great cultural innovations, but in music this is best done by experimenting rhythmically, rather than harmonically.

Swing would have been a better choice for entering the modern era. In my opinion. It's listenable, and catches the mood of the arrival of the modernity far better than the switch-offable selection we were given.

 

[Graceheart the Leopard]

Music is not objective.

 

[Mec AntiKythera]

No, but buildings are objects and architecture is said to be frozen music so clearly music is a fluid which can be measured and put into a jar and stored in the kitchen cabinet. If that helps.

 

[slengtorm]

Brahms > you