You know that I adore Keiichi Okabe’s soundtracks for the NIeR series games more than anything. I’ve typed that fact so many times. So of course I want the big, expensive box set of orchestral arrangements.
In my experience, video game soundtracks are very commonly overpriced, so in that context, the $80 USD price tag is actually pretty fair for a three-disc set. And that third disc is exclusive to the set! I can buy the first two on iTunes for 15 domestic dollars apiece, but not the third one! Is it worth $50 plus foreign exchange and shipping? Probably not for people who aren’t me!
I haven’t purchased it yet because of the price point, but I have included it on my Xmas wish list for a couple years now. Ol’ Sandy Claws just keeps letting me down [sad emoji]. So I think that it’s something I’m just going to have to splurge on once 2022 rolls around.
I’ve played a lot of video games with stupid names. Boktai, Tactics Ogre, Irritating Stick, Dissidia: Final Fantasy. The list could go on, but I think we have a new champion here. Ys Chronicles+: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ Omen is one heck of a mouthful and basically says nothing at all about the game. Well, it sort of does, but do you think that someone who’s never heard of the Ys series before will have a hot clue how to parse it?
I mean, Average Joe wouldn’t even realize that the word “Ys” is pronounced “ease.” And even I only know that because I’ve been hearing people say it on podcasts for years now.
But that’s all besides the point. Ys is a video game. The first in its line, in fact! Well, not the one I played, though. I played the remade version of Ys. But I also watched a speedrun of the original version, and it’s actually surprisingly faithful to the original, while adding a bunch of extra stuff and making some little tweaks here and there. Not unlike the remake of the original Resident Evil. So I guess what I’m saying is, it’s more or less the “ideal” kind of remake.
Music plays a huge part in the lives of most people. Whether you’re jamming to your favourite tunes on your morning commute, being drawn into a film by an expertly composed score, or performing a dance of worship to the tune of tribal drums and chanting, music is an integral part of humanity.
That’s why when I hear someone say “I’m not interested in music” I know for sure that they’re an alien impostor.
One particularly important facet of music is how effectively it can set a mood. So today, your job is to go out and add a bunch of wintry or holiday-themed music to your phone or whatever. Listening to tunes that evoke the right feelings is a great way to put yourself in the spirit of the season. Of course, overdoing it can send you careening in the opposite direction (working at Toys R Us made me hate Christmas music for many years), so just be mindful not to go overboard.
I’m sure that Average Jo/e will just hit up the standards, but that’s boring. You don’t need seventeen versions of “White Christmas” or “Jingle Bell Rock”. You don’t need any versions of “Baby It’s Cold Outside”. Just forget that nonsense. It’s overdone and basic as heck. Look for something more thoughtful and/or creative.
The Purple Stuff Podcast currently has five episodes (for reference: 17, 36, 46, 57, and 66) that are dedicated to songs that may be good for getting you in the holiday spirit. Not every choice is a winner, but I appreciate the breadth of options presented, and will certainly bring a few into my own playlist. I’m also pretty hype for the inevitable 2020 entry into the series!
Another avenue you probably haven’t considered: video games usually have pretty well-suited tunes in their ice/snow levels. In particular, I’d like to point out that remixer Qumu has a nice little playlist of holiday-themed mixes of video game songs on their YouTube channel. I’m a huge fan of Qumu, and highly recommend checking out the playlist. And also the channel in general, but that’s besides the point.
My last recommendation is a single track: “Shiro no Tairiku” from Xenoblade Chronicles X, which translates to “Land of White”. The daytime variant is so pretty; very subdued and played mostly on chimes and a xylophone (I think) to really bring out the character of the snowy Sylvalum continent. The night-time version comes alive, adding more strings, drums, and a flute to the mix. It’s one of my favourite video game themes of all-time. While it may not fit the season especially well, Xenoblade X is a game that I strongly associate with wintertime and Xmas, so it’s always at the forefront of my mind during this time of year.
Of course, these are just a few recommendations. A handful of starting points for you to go out and explore the wide world of holiday-ish music offerings that aren’t just more awful covers of “Santa Baby”. Snarkiness aside, put whatever songs you want on there. It’s your holiday playlist, so obviously it should be tailored to whatever is going to best get you excited about the season.
Something I learned recently is that there are alternate versions of all four main character themes from Bravely Default. Each one is fleshed out into a full-length song, played by a full band, and even has lyrics added to spice them up even more.
Bravely Default, to my knowledge, is pretty well known for its stellar soundtrack, but the “complete” version of Edea’s theme may just be the greatest song ever recorded.
I’ve been totally captivated by Alestorm over the last couple weeks. Scottish Pirate Metal not something I ever knew existed, and now it’s all that I want at all times. Admittedly, it’s a very gimmicky sub-genre, so I don’t know how long the fascination will last, but I am absolutely certain that the song embedded below will always make me laugh.
You know what I really enjoy? Typing up a long, unnecessary story to set up an otherwise underwhelming thing that I want to share.
To clear up any uncertainty, yes, that’s what’s going to happen right now.
I’m a big Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan, as we all should be well aware. There’s always something TMNT-related going on in my life, from watching one of the shows, to reading the comics, to listening to soundtracks from the video games. Things from TMNT are also probably my most common drawing subject. Well, that or Mega Man. It’s a real close race, there.
Over the last month and change, people all over the world have been self-isolating and/or forced to stay in their homes to stem the tide of the coronavirus. Along with that came torrents of social media post proclaiming how bored people were now that they were confined to their homes.
To that I say… how?
I genuinely don’t understand. Last week I was on vacation, and like most, I spent almost all of that free time at home. However, I had so much going on to keep me busy that I didn’t even make time to write up any blog posts. There are dozens of other things on my to-do list that remain undone, because even when you aren’t losing a third of your day to work, there just isn’t enough time.
I’ve been listening to the soundtracks from TMNT III: The Manhattan Project and TMNT IV: Turtles in Time all week. If you’re not overly familiar with theses games (why are you here?), many of the songs are remixes of the theme song from the 1987 TV series. If they don’t feature the full theme in some way, they absolutely take pains to include the “heroes in a half shell” and/or “Turtle power!” beats.
Taking it another level down, I’ve also been playing lot of remixes of these songs. Many through OC Remix, others from random YouTubers. But the point remains that in many cases, we’re looking at remixes of remixes here, and the idea of that is making my head spin. At this point, I’m kind of hoping to stumble upon a remix of a remix of a remix, because I think that will probably be the key to finding the meaning of life.
If you really stop to think about it though, this isn’t a terribly strange phenomenon, especially at this point in time. There are probably a lot of franchise-based games that have the same kind of thing going on. Many modern entries in long-lived video game franchises (Mario, Kirby, etc) use official remixes of tunes from older games. I don’t have an example on-hand, but I’m sure those remixes are being remixed by unofficial musicians all the time.
So yeah, it’s not really an unusual thing. I’ve just never stopped to think about it before, and I decided it would be an interesting thought to share.
On a related note, I just learned that WordPress doesn’t support Japanese characters. At least not natively, and I really don’t care enough to go look for a plugin that I’ll need exactly once. Weird!
It began snowing yesterday morning, and hasn’t stopped since then. My world is white and slushy and simultaneously pretty and gross. Trees are bending and breaking thanks to all the wet snow clinging to the leaves they never lost when we went directly from summer to winter.
But the incoming cold season is going to be tempered by some HOT NEW JAMS that dropped today: Metal Galaxy, the new album from BABYMETAL.
If you haven’t heard of BABYMETAL (do you even internet?), they’re a Japanese pop idol duo who are backed by face-melting death metal instrumentation. It’s a mash-up of complete opposites, and I couldn’t be more obsessed with them. At least, the closest to literal obsession I’ve ever been. Since I first learned of them, I listen to BABYMETAL nearly every day. I’m sure the fascination will fade eventually -they always do- but it’s been going strong for months now.
Metal Galaxy is maybe the only album I’ve had any pre-release excitement for in 2019. Mostly because I don’t keep up with music very well in general, but also because I’ve been desperate for more BABYMETAL. Listening to their previous album, Metal Resistance, over and over forever is fine, but eventually a boy aches for something new. I do put on their first album, Baby Metal, every once in a while, but the truth is that I’m not really into that one all that much. It leans a little too hard into J-Pop for my liking. But it laid the groundwork for an act that was refined and perfected in Metal Resistance, so I can’t be too down on it. Plus it has “Gimme Chocolate!!” and you’d have to be a soulless monster to dislike that song.
Back to Metal Galaxy, though. Where do you go after you create a perfect album? BABYMETAL’s approach was to go all over the place. From techno to raga to hip-hop to dance, there’s a wide variety of different sounds in this album, each with that mix of idol pop and metal at the centre. While not every song hits the mark, they’re all very distinct. “Oh! MAJINAI” has a weird Irish thing going on, and features vocals from Sabaton’s Joakim Broden. The first half of “IN THE NAME OF” sounds something from Keiichi Okabe, until it mutates into death metal with no actual singing, just metal growls. I appreciate the diversification despite the fact that it makes the album seem a little unfocused. I think it’s a good thing when you couldn’t possibly mistake one of the tracks on an album for another.
We all know that I’m not very good at talking about music, so I’ll wrap this up quick. Metal Galaxy is a very good album. After listening to it only three times, I think I still like Metal Resistance better as a whole, but that could easily change with time and as I get to know the songs more deeply. What I can say for sure is that Metal Galaxy definitely has some of my favourite individual BABYMETAL tracks. “Elevator Girl” is my jam, and I fell hard and fast for “Da Da Dance” which features a solo by Tak Matsumoto, one of my all-time favourite guitarists. “Arkadia” is a suitably epic final song that doesn’t go light on the shredding. And you know how I feel about gratuitous shredding.
