Taste, what a bittersweet

Author: Hal
Date: August 7, 2020

There’s something about subverted expectations which strongly draw me to most media.

Simple and Clean: Ray of Hope Mix – Hikaru Utada

How this track has the undertones of a party song yet discusses serious interpersonal issues.

Tomorrow is Mine – Keeley Bumford

Similar to the previous, Keeley swoons at exactly how they’ll ensure that you meet your demise. There are also background lyrics if you listen closely:
“You’d better run – Grab your gun and fire – Endless supply – Take a hike – Truth you’ll find – Victory’s mine”
I first heard this song while browsing soundtracks at work – it’s served as a catalyst for playing Bayonetta 2, as well as serving as a major confidence boost during 2018. The entirety of the game consists of subverted expectations, with the eponymous character showing that she can take care of business while flaunting her unique finesse.

Last Battle – Cave Story

How this track emerges from a game with initial overall toddler-like and innocent undertones, yet you are dropped into the depths of Hell itself for the final confrontation soon after this plays. Almost all of my attachments to music in general call back to memories of the emotional situations and atmosphere that they played in; why I listen entirely to music from games or movies, not standalone songs.
All music in games are created to serve a functional purpose, whether it is to evoke an emotion or thematically showcase an event. The concept of idle background tracks generally seems pointless, and I have no attachment to empty audio you’d find on the radio. Note, all credit is given in the title, so the link directs to a metal-heavy reimagining of this track.

Battlefield – Super Smash Bros. (2014)

The composition of this track is close to perfect, in my eyes. As of yet, I’ve not heard many instrumentals which rival it. Subtle details such as the drums gracefully edging out, while the horns close out the section from ten seconds in – before the entire track swoops up with a refreshing new wind instrument to enhance the repeating melody. The composition transforms to an epic high-toned friendly banter tune to a darker and suspenseful guitar-heavy section, just before the winds prepare you for the final climax which showcases the masterful use of its drums. There is an immense amount of detail put into this track, some of which is showcased here. There is an official successor to this track, and it does a very poor job of improving on this rendition. I’ve taken these details into account while directing the Battlefield track for USM. Its transitions aren’t perfect, but I think it does a great job at setting the mood during battle.

You Will Know Our Names – Xenoblade Chronicles

There also is a level of genius in the usage of this track as well. From its title, one would assume it references the protagonists, or the antagonists of the story. However, this is a standard battle theme for random field enemies. These field enemies tend to be much stronger than the player, leading into the fact that the player will “know their names” and figure out who to avoid while on the map. Also, if the player is underpowered, the fight will be over fairly quickly. The climax of this theme (as showcased) is positioned so it’s generally only heard if the players survive long enough to reign triumphant, which also is a stroke of skill in terms of its arrangement.

Connected – Hydelic

Curiously not about a relationship as the lyrics imply, this song is actually about a recently born child. Furthermore, this song was created (remixed) expressly for a Tetris game. In the flagship title “Tetris Effect”, developers reminisce at how Tetris has matured from a indie block-stacking game in the 1980s, to its own experience with a bolstering competitive community and fans spanning multiple generations.

Chikai (誓い) – Hikaru Utada

Thematically, this has nothing to do with the rest of the songs. There aren’t subverted expectations, Chikai is simply here because of the genius behind naturally mixing English and Japanese lyrics. Its placement, coming out of the blue during the climax of the song, also becomes more impactful. Japanese highly lends itself to poetry due to its vowel-based syllabic script.

Original
Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
一度じゃ足りない

Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
あなたを下さい

Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
Kiss me three times
お願い

Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
あなたを下さい

Romanised
Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
Ichido ja tarenai

Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
Anata wo kudasai

Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
Kiss me three times
Onegai

Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
Anata wo kudasai

Translated
Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
Once isn’t enough

Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
Let me have you

Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
Kiss me three times
Please

Kiss me once
Kiss me twice
Let me have you

There’s even a small selection of songs secondarily to everything listed here, that I memorised and listen to. I haven’t heard Beyoncé’s Déjà Vu in almost a decade due to losing the device I owned it on, but as soon as I recalled the name and played it, I jumped straight back into the song as if I only heard it yesterday.

I strongly do not prefer rap music, but Dead and Gone was my number one song on the aforementioned device (an iPod nano that I used daily during the fifth and sixth grade, to listen to music on the school bus).

I listen and know Michael Jackson songs due to Michael Jackson: The Experience. The memory of dancing to every song back in 2011/2012 still lingers on the edge of my mind and the songs have never left me. Smooth Criminal, especially. Memories of dancing to Speed Demon and Earth Song are just golden.

«
»

    Leave a Reply