Soundtrack for a Ninja
July 20, 2010 8:17 PM   Subscribe

If a Ninja could have a soundtrack, what would it be?

I'm going to have an opportunity to have a ninja dress up party with a few other people. We need some music that would sound sort of "ninja-y". I've been looking but can't quite find what I'm looking for.

PS 'No music' is not an answer xD I know it seems more ninja-like to be all quite and stealthy, but there has to be something out there that fits =]
posted by CZMR to Media & Arts (39 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
If Kill Bill is anything to go on, the answer is obviously the 5. 6. 7. 8's.
posted by Sara C. at 8:22 PM on July 20, 2010


I'm thinking of vaguely spy/mystery related stuff such as

- spy numbers [could be in the background over whatever is playing]
- secret agent radio is always good
- ninja tune
- ninja turtles music
posted by jessamyn at 8:22 PM on July 20, 2010


The Sounds of Silence
posted by NoraCharles at 8:26 PM on July 20, 2010


Best answer: John Cage's 4'33".
posted by cgc373 at 8:30 PM on July 20, 2010 [7 favorites]


I am going to throw one out for "In the Hall of the Mountain King." Watch this in the film to Needful Things. It's the perfect music for tiptoeing about and skulking towards some dastardly finish.
posted by adipocere at 8:35 PM on July 20, 2010


Best answer: How about traditional/medieval Japanese music?
posted by hot_monster at 8:40 PM on July 20, 2010


"Fratres" by Arvo Pärt. There are many variations; here's an example.
posted by Jaltcoh at 8:43 PM on July 20, 2010


The Grand Duel (Parte Prima), from the Kill Bill Soundtrack would be pretty cool.
posted by makethemost at 8:43 PM on July 20, 2010


Yeah, maybe mix in a little traditional Japanese music.

For something with some history that also has a good, driving beat, try some Kodo, a Japanese taiko drumming group. They're pretty great and have several albums to choose from, ranging from more traditional (at least as far as I know) to world music-influenced to electronica remixes.
posted by jedicus at 8:48 PM on July 20, 2010


Apparently, Pink Floyd, if the soundtrack to The Big Boss (1971 film starring Buce Lee) is anything to go by.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:52 PM on July 20, 2010


Definitely the soundtrack for The Last Ninja.

Here is the Wasteland theme on youtube, and the whole soundtrack can be found in SID form here along with links to SID players. That site also has MP3s but it looks like most of them are remixes.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 9:23 PM on July 20, 2010


The Ghost In The Shell soundtrack! Fantastic, neo-traditional and 100% awesome :)
posted by starscream at 9:27 PM on July 20, 2010 [1 favorite]




I'm interested in any thread where both 4'33" and Bruce Lee films are referenced. So far, this is the only one.


Theme to Ninja Gaiden?
posted by archivist at 9:44 PM on July 20, 2010




If I was having this party I would be relieved to finally have an excuse to play Wu Tang Clan all night - they have bunch of songs that sample from old Kung Fu movies. I vote for a Wu Tang playlist that's heavy on the Kung Fu samples.
posted by windbox at 9:48 PM on July 20, 2010 [1 favorite]




Yeah.... the Wu Tang clan. Duh.
posted by ph00dz at 10:03 PM on July 20, 2010


I can't help but say Haruka Kanata by Asian Kung Fu Generation (one of the Naruto themes), I totally learned to fake it for karaoke from this video.
posted by lizbunny at 10:44 PM on July 20, 2010


Not to be wierd, but I would think: silence?
posted by damiano99 at 10:50 PM on July 20, 2010


Toru Takemitsu's soundtrack for Kwaidan is good and moody, and modern enough not to be too boring even to folks who aren't familiar with traditional Japanese music. Example. His "Eclipse" would probably work too.
posted by No-sword at 11:17 PM on July 20, 2010


Amon Tobin's Chaos Theory: Splinter Cell 3 Soundtrack.
posted by Tufa at 11:54 PM on July 20, 2010


Soundtrack? Why, they have their own record label...
posted by MuffinMan at 12:00 AM on July 21, 2010


The soundtrack to the stealth assassin game Tenchu...
posted by Enki at 12:12 AM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


Moonlight. The sounds of moonlight.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:35 AM on July 21, 2010


The first track that sprung to mind for me was Angel by Massive Attack.
posted by Edame at 2:17 AM on July 21, 2010


i'm thinking Monkey: Journey to the West featuring Damon Albarn of Blur. It's a wonderful operatic adaptation of the old Monkey (Handsome Monkey King Reign One Thousand Years! Great Sage Equal of Heaven!) with plenty of battle clamour and creeping steathiness.. sounds good and ninja-esque to me..
posted by Philby at 3:18 AM on July 21, 2010


Photek
samurai, but still, it's what i think of
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 5:00 AM on July 21, 2010


Music from the two Samurai Champloo soundtracks. Here is the opening song.
posted by neushoorn at 5:39 AM on July 21, 2010


NI TEN ICHI RYU. Incredibly awesome.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 6:19 AM on July 21, 2010


Frank Chickens - We Are Ninja - a bit on the ridiculous side, but sounds like your party might also be.

Also Onra - Chinoiseries is made of old Asian samples; wrong country but a few of the tracks might be fitting nonetheless.
posted by p3t3 at 6:23 AM on July 21, 2010


The Ninja Turtles theme song, obviously.
posted by lhude sing cuccu at 6:23 AM on July 21, 2010


Perhaps it's been way overplayed since Kill Bill, but I never tire of Battle Without Honor or Humanity by Tomoyasu Hotei.
posted by zardoz at 6:33 AM on July 21, 2010


Because of this cartoon, Hexstatic's "Chase Me" is forever linked to ninjas in my mind.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 8:37 AM on July 21, 2010


Otokage are a ninja-themed viskei/j-rock group that are ridiculous fun.

And there's always Ninja, who are probably best known for their debut song - Omatsuri Ninja.
posted by emmling at 8:39 AM on July 21, 2010


DJ Krush or Megashira.
posted by heatvision at 10:02 AM on July 21, 2010


Ghost in the Shell has already been mentioned, but Ghost in the Shell II has not. If you're in need of dramatic fight music, I'd recommend Kugutsuuta Kagirohi Ha Yomi Ni Mata Muto. There are two other related tracks, but this one is almost ten minutes long and highly dramatic. It's a good alternative to Battle Without Honor or Humanity from Kill Bill: Volume One, which is everywhere now.
posted by fujiko at 5:40 PM on July 21, 2010


all alone, I vote for the Theme To Peter Gunn
posted by Redhush at 10:16 AM on July 22, 2010


The sounds of tigers crouching and dragons hiding.
posted by haqspan at 1:01 PM on July 22, 2010


« Older For Heaven's Sake, just one question...   |   Can I ask my employer to remove my photo from the... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.