Facing the Music in Fallout 4

Music plays a key role in the Fallout series, and for good reason.

Music is how people express themselves. Music can set the tone for an experience. Music captures the spirit of a time. In short, music is a signal to the player. It reminds you of the when and where.

That’s especially important when wandering through the Wasteland because Fallout 4 is an experience that’s suffused with nostalgia – both for previous Fallout games and for a world that was left behind. Much in the same way that you might see an old car or an oversized computer and you’re immediately filled with a sense of wonder about what came before, the right music can trigger all kinds of responses. At times it’s a happy sense of nostalgia – but when heard against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, it can take on a more wistful flavor. In other cases, it’s a sad song about a lost love, which can help remind players about all they’ve lost – and, perhaps, what they might have to gain as they forge ahead. At still other times, it’s a peppy period pop song – perfect for those moments when (in the words of this video below) you’re “ready to %#$@ some $%*# up.”

That’s precisely why Fallout 4 has upped both the volume and variety of music, offering three times the amount of music (compared with Fallout 3). The carefully curated tracks have become core to the identity of Fallout, with Fallout 4 offering an even deeper auditory experience to accompany Bethesda Game Studios’ most ambitious game yet.

As for what makes up this larger and more eclectic mix, Audio Director Mark Lampert likes to think of the music as divided into thirds. A third of the music is instantly recognizable – stuff like Bing Crosby’s big hits. “We almost had too much Bing early on,” Lampert laughs. “You could pack the whole list with Bing Crosby if you wanted to.” The next third would be lesser-known tracks from well-known artists; “Orange Colored Sky” by Nat King Cole, for example. And the final third? That’s where it gets really fun. These are often obscure tracks from long-forgotten bands, with ludicrous lyrics and a distinctive sound. “I’d be curious to know if anyone related to those bands hears this stuff,” Lampert says. “Who knows when it was last on a radio?”

Setting the Tone

When it came to selecting the specific tracks, both Lampert and Game Director Todd Howard had a clear vision for what they wanted. For starters, Howard knew they needed an Ink Spots track. After all, The Ink Spots have been part of series since “Maybe” was used as the opening theme in the first Fallout. “You know you want to open the trailer with that riff from The Ink Spots,” Howard says. “It’s just part of the Fallout vibe.”

Which is why “It’s All Over But the Crying” was the first song Howard chose to be in the game. Howard also tapped this tune for the announce trailer, helping set that perfect Fallout tone while evoking a sense of nostalgia for both times gone by and previous Fallouts. But it wasn’t just the band’s recognizable riff that was so important to Howard. This song also fit Fallout 4’s more hopeful vibe. “It’s very sad,” Howard says, “but then it’s also unique amongst The Ink Spots’ songs because the second half is very lively. It’s almost like, ‘Well, it’s all over, let’s go!’ It actually has a fun end to it. It’s almost danceable.”

As for the rest of the list, Howard and Lampert partnered with Chris Parker, a co-founder at music-licensing agency Brandracket, to help with the song selection. “We wanted to do more of the early rock-n-roll sound,” Lampert says. “Chris found a pocket of music that I hadn’t heard before. It was much less mainstream. He found all these artists who did songs about uranium, or radioactivity very specifically. ‘Atom Bomb Baby’ is a prime example.”

As Lampert explains, there’s almost a naiveté to the lyrics in these songs – as if these were children playing with something they didn’t understand. Back when these songs came out, society was fueled by a utopian optimism that stood in stark contrast with the apocalyptic nature of world-destroying atomic weapons. “It almost seemed like fun to them,” Lampert says. And it showed in the lyrics of the pop music of the time.

Matching Music

But with so many more tracks – and this being the biggest world yet for Bethesda Game Studios – how did the team ensure the licensed tracks would not only set the right tone but also feel fresh after countless hours of playing the game? Some of it came down to internal testing. Once they settled on a working selection of songs, Howard made a playlist. “I listened to it all day at work for three or four days,” he says. “Just the music, without the DJ.” A few songs quickly got annoying. Others were too melancholy. Some were too long, interrupting the flow of the game. These were all tossed aside, and through this iterative process of listening, listening, and listening some more, the team honed in on a mix of songs that felt fresh and fit the mood no matter what you’re doing.

For Lampert, the music in Fallout 4 has an almost eerie way of matching up to what he happens to be doing in the game. “There were times when I was getting ready to launch a big battle and ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ happened to come on,” he says. “And then there are much more mellow, downbeat pieces that just seem to fit the picture at night, when you’re not in the midst of something.” Regardless of whether a player hears the right song at the right time, there’s such a wide range of music that players can switch around to suit their moods, bouncing between the Diamond City Radio station and the classical music station – or simply letting the original score set the tone.

“When I’ve had enough of one type of music, I just switch it to the classical and back and forth,” Lampert says. “There’s a ton of music at your fingertips at any one time.”

Meet Magnolia

Fallout 4 also introduces something altogether new: original songs created just for the game, written and performed by a very “heroic” superstar. Which raises the question: In a fictional world where licensed music is almost an anchor to reality, how does original music fit in?

For starters, it’s key to remember that the timeline in Fallout branches sometime after World War II. Also noteworthy: some songs fall before and some fall after the split. “We let the timeline be a little blurry,” Lampert explains. “When it fit lyrically, and we just liked the song, even if it was a few years technically after or before that range, the fun won out.”

Enter Lynda Carter. She’s famously played Wonder Woman, one the most iconic roles on TV. She’s performed for luminaries and dignitaries with her critically acclaimed band. And now she can add yet another loop to her proverbial lasso with a star turn in Fallout 4 – a performance that Carter describes as one of the highlights of her illustrious career.

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“We’ve been friendly with Lynda for a long time,” says Howard. “She’s done voices in most of our games. A lot of people don’t know that she’s also a really accomplished singer. She has a Grammy-award-winning band, and she tours. That’s actually how she came up, initially. When we started this game, I wondered if Lynda would do some original music. Because it’s not like music stopped.”

Howard wanted to explore the possibility of including songs from someone within the world who writes and performs music that fits the overall sound but is also topical to Fallout 4. “Lynda was definitely up for it,” Howard says. “She was really excited. And it turned out fantastic.”

Carter plays Magnolia, a singer in the town of Goodneighbor (which also happens to be the name of one of her songs – more on that later). “She is in many ways a respite for the travelers in the game,” Carter says about her character. “People love hearing her sing.” But don’t think Magnolia is merely there to charm and delight the player as they pass through. Her bar is also a place where the powerful converge and where deals are made. “She knows who the players are,” Carter says. “She’s a great judge of character. She’s really, really smart. And she does what she does because she loves it. So this is a safe place for her too.”

The best part for fans of Carter: Not only does she play a role in the game but her music is also available for wanderers to enjoy throughout their journey. All five of her original songs are in rotation on Diamond City Radio (which also features a charmingly quirky DJ who adds all kinds of situation-specific commentary between tracks).

Good Neighbors

As for the collaboration itself, Carter had a grand time working with Howard, Lampert and the rest of the team at Bethesda Game Studios. “Todd had faith in me, because he had heard some of the other stuff I had written before,” Carter says. “Plus, I’m working with a Grammy-winning songwriter, John Jarvis, and Kerry Marx, one of the great guitarists out of Nashville. Then we got the top session players in Nashville together, including my musical director/drummer Paul Leim, and legendary horn player, Blue Lou Marini, and went into a studio to record the songs.” Still, Carter was pleasantly surprised when Howard liked all the concepts she initially shared with him.

“Todd said, give me samples of different things and then we’ll talk about it,” Carter explains. That’s why she delivered a range of choices, from a riff on the high-spirited sounds of The Andrew Sisters to a breathy, sexy song that’s stuffed with double-entendres. “I was trying to give a different flavor to each of the songs, because there really is no genre except for how Magnolia sings them. She is the ‘genre’ and her personality is reflected in every song. I was trying to get a direction in the beginning but he liked all the different directions. I didn’t expect him to like them all!”

Lampert shares the same sentiment regarding the collaboration. “The songs all came together much faster than I expected,” he says. “It started out with shooting emails back and forth between her and some of her band mates. We just threw out themes of the game, examples of some of the other music that would be on the radio to give a sense of the time period and instrumentation. I think they thought it would be harder to hit the mark, but they hit it right from the start.”

Most of the songs could easily fit the time period – or be a part of Lynda Carter’s show today. In fact, Carter plans to put these tunes into her regular rotation, and they might even grace a future album, since almost all of these songs could as easily live in the real world as they do in the Wasteland of Fallout 4. “That was one of our goals,” Howard says. “That if this were a song that Lynda were to play at a show, no one would think any different.” Except, perhaps, for one: “Good Neighbor.” While the other tunes have veiled references to the Wasteland, or include period-appropriate lyrics like those in “Atom Bomb Baby,” this song in particular was the one that drifted the most.

“Mark and I were going back and forth and saying let’s do one that’s even more topical,” Howard explains. “Because Goodneighbor is the town in the game where she’s playing, and that’s where the bar is. So I asked Lynda if she’s up for something that has a raunchier undertone.”

And yet, even “Good Neighbor” (which you can listen to right now) feels like a real-world song, despite references to caps and mutants and the like. Because for Howard and Lampert, it’s all about setting a tone, creating a mood, and giving players music that fits comfortably both in the Wasteland of Fallout 4 and alongside other licensed tracks.

As for Carter, she hopes you enjoy her songs as much as she enjoyed creating them. “It was truly a labor of love,” she says. “I am honored and thrilled to no end to have the belief of Todd and his team. I am really so grateful to have had the opportunity. I think it’s one of the highlights of my career to have been a part of the creative team.”

For more about the music in Fallout 4, check out:

Fallout 4 – Behind the Score with Inon Zur