Ok, I usually need a lotta good background music for loads of projects, movies, 'cetra, but no being to music-saavy, I usually just scrape through with something moderate. So I just wanted you guys to post names of any sort of amazing instrumental songs here, anything, be it full of action, happy, mysterious, spooky, whatever (it'll be great if you could also post if it were mysterious, spooky, whatever). Thanks a ton! You'll get googled cookies if you do!
Anything by Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Anything by Explosions in the Sky. Anything by Let Airplanes Circle Overhead. La Mer by Nine Inch Nails. Just Like You Imagined by Nine Inch Nails. Anything by De Facto. The Great Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd (it has vocals, but no lyrics. Just kind of soulful singing) Instrumental Illness by The Allman Brothers Band. The first five will be a lot of what you want though. Especially an album by Godspeed called "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven." Its really long, but all instrumental, so you can cut clips to however long you'd like.
I follow bands that mostly have instrumental tracks. Nice suggestions btw, Branden. Those include: Explosions in the Sky Mogwai The Appleseed Cast (has some vocals) Godspeed You! Black Emporer Do Make Say Think Broken Social Scene (has some vocals) Mono 65daysofstatic (math rock.. it's great) I'll list more if I think of any.
You're going to want to check out Nine Inch Nails' "Leaving Hope" for one of the more beautiful instrumentals you'll hear. Kasabian's "Club Foot" has some lyrics but for the most party it's a funky instrumental. As for actual songs you can get the instrumentals of, check out 30 Seconds To Mars' "The Kill" instrumental, Muse's "Stockholm Syndrome" instrumental, the Fort Minor instrumental album, and any of the aforementioned NIN tracks.
I recently just posted Kenna's "New Sacred Cow" album up on the FM boards in it's instrumental form. I'd highly reccommend that http://forums.fortminor.com/showthread.php?t=14819
not "known" bands, but some awesome instrumentals always come from Hans Zimmer John Williams my favorite Hans Zimmer instrumentals are "Bare Island" and "Idyll's End".
I can't believe I missed Oasis' "Fucking In The Bushes" from the Snatch soundtrack. Incredible instrumental. It has a line or two of dialogue from the film, but that's all. You can't help but nod your head to it. Too bad it's only 3:17.
Tool's "Triad". Groovy, dark, in a very Tool way indeed. Fight Club's soundtrack may also be interesting to you.
Ok, woah. This is a great response, and I'm going a spree allright to get somma this great stuff. I've noticed a lot of people are suggestting NIN and Goodspeed You! Black emperor, and I'm getting some songs, and yes, they fit in perfectly in most cases. And Chris, thank you thank you for the Saw OST: Yeah! So I'm checking out most of them, and thank you once again. I'll edit/post after I'm done.
Get the Matrix Lobby Scene music by Moby. Intense. (Not sure the song title, or if it is even by Moby, actually) "Extreme Ways" works as well. Some lyrics, though. But if you want something epic, that's it.
Legende du Scorpion a Quatre Queues by Defacto and Lift Your Skinnys Fists... by Godspeed You! Black Emeperor are my favorite instrumental records. I also dig Omar Rodriguez's jazz record.