Extra Credits just released a video about music in games. As is to be expected from those chaps, it was very well thought out and made some good points. The key one being: embrace simplicity.
It was great, though, listening to them reel off a massive list of music they consider to be classics. I think the Americans must have grown up with consoles in the same way my friends and I grew up with PCs. What are the pieces of music I most fondly remember from the 80s? That's easy.
You start HERE with a game from the BBC. Go through Jazz Jackrabbit, hit the 90s with Doom.
What was interesting, though was how much the boys (and girl) at Extra Credits were talking about old themes (Zelda et all) updated to be played by orchsestras.
I hate orchestral music. Years and years of bad hollywood films has made most orchestral themes blend together. They played the Halo theme and I honestly heard nothing to seperate it from the music of films from Johnny Nemonic up to From Paris With Love.
In all fairness, that's not the games fault, it's my own prejudices. It does interest me, though, that what I consider to be a great piece of game music strays so far from what they were talking about. Take the Deus Ex theme synthesised yet modern. Isolated from the Vampire Bloodlines soundtrack beautifully summs up the slightly unnerving new world you step into playing the game.
I also love some updated themes. Take Command and Conqor: Red Alert, A fantastic, thumping rock song. The updated version is even better...
The point about simplicity is a very good one. Blueberry Garden is, by all respects, a pretty bad game but its music is so fucking good it pretty much turns the game into art by itself. And I surely don't need to mention Braid or World of Goo.
To their credit, Extra Credits did mention Portal at the end, which is probably the most iconic bit of game music we've had in the last ten years but other than that, I do love how there is no real overlap between their opinion of iconic game music and mine. Console gamers are from mars, PC gamers are from venus...
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Cover Versions
I've blogged about cover versions before, specifically Goldfinger's version of 99 Luftbaloons and Orange's take on Karma Chameleon.
I have, however, found the king of all covers.
It's a piano version of Sweet Child of Mine - it's currently featured on a John Lewis advert.
This song encapsulates what I love about cover versions. It takes something many people love (including myself) and puts a different spin on it. In this case, it takes a kick arse yet beautiful song and turns it to something.... delightful. It's absolutely fucking lovely to listen to. It helps that the singer is clearly a very talented woman.
I'm coming round to the idea of seeing cover versions as an art form in and of themselves. The aforementioned covers of the punk songs are a great example of good songs being updated for modern tastes in music. Dope have done this with Billy Idol, as have the Muderdolls. These versions are successful adaptations to suit a generation raised by Cradle of Filth.
Even subtle improvements can make a brilliant cover. Take Scarling's version of Creep. It's pretty much identical to the original - a little heavier in places yes, but broadly similar. The crucial difference, though, is the singer. Radiohead's singer always sounds like a moaning tosser. Taking him out of the song and replacing him with someone who can actually sing improves it immeasurably. Johnny Cash did exactly this with a cover of NiN's Hurt
The best covers, though, are the ones that change the song musically, possibly to a different genre. The version of Sweet Child of Mine is a brilliant example. Another is Bear McCreary's version of All Along the Watchtower.
Take this cover of I Touch Myself. The original was a breezy, catchy romance song. Very good in its own way, brilliantly used in a certain spy spoof. The version by the... the cover version (I'm dyslexic, I really can't spell their name) though is fucking masterful. It takes a bit of breezy fun and turns it into something... darker, more obsessive. It's odd this song. My reaction to it is slightly different every time. Sometimes I think it's creepy, sometimes I think it's really sexual. Genius.
Granted, covers can go horribly wrong. When I think of shit covers, I think of Madona's version of American Pie, which takes a good (if not great) song and makes it incredibly fucking bland and soulless.
The thing is, that's giving covers a bad name. It's pop music. Pop music is supposed to be bland and horrible and pointless. That's what it's there for. There hasn't been a decent pop song in the last ten years that I can think of.
So I say thank the musical gods for cover versions. They can make a good song better, they can make a bad song good, they can take a great song and put a new spin on it, they can take a great song and make it utterly shit. And this is a good thing, without experimentation none of these songs would have been made.
I think it takes a lot of bravery to make some of these cover versions... a lot of them are really established songs in their own right - like Green Day's version of the Bobby Fuller Four's classic I Fought The Law (If you thought The Clash did the original, get the fuck out) and Social Distortion's version of Ring of Fire. To take classic songs and change them, make them your own is... egotistical but brave. If it works, you've created something fantastic.
So that's what I think. I'm going to leave you with possibly the best cover created - Sonic Clang's version of E1M1 from Doom.
I have, however, found the king of all covers.
It's a piano version of Sweet Child of Mine - it's currently featured on a John Lewis advert.
This song encapsulates what I love about cover versions. It takes something many people love (including myself) and puts a different spin on it. In this case, it takes a kick arse yet beautiful song and turns it to something.... delightful. It's absolutely fucking lovely to listen to. It helps that the singer is clearly a very talented woman.
I'm coming round to the idea of seeing cover versions as an art form in and of themselves. The aforementioned covers of the punk songs are a great example of good songs being updated for modern tastes in music. Dope have done this with Billy Idol, as have the Muderdolls. These versions are successful adaptations to suit a generation raised by Cradle of Filth.
Even subtle improvements can make a brilliant cover. Take Scarling's version of Creep. It's pretty much identical to the original - a little heavier in places yes, but broadly similar. The crucial difference, though, is the singer. Radiohead's singer always sounds like a moaning tosser. Taking him out of the song and replacing him with someone who can actually sing improves it immeasurably. Johnny Cash did exactly this with a cover of NiN's Hurt
The best covers, though, are the ones that change the song musically, possibly to a different genre. The version of Sweet Child of Mine is a brilliant example. Another is Bear McCreary's version of All Along the Watchtower.
Take this cover of I Touch Myself. The original was a breezy, catchy romance song. Very good in its own way, brilliantly used in a certain spy spoof. The version by the... the cover version (I'm dyslexic, I really can't spell their name) though is fucking masterful. It takes a bit of breezy fun and turns it into something... darker, more obsessive. It's odd this song. My reaction to it is slightly different every time. Sometimes I think it's creepy, sometimes I think it's really sexual. Genius.
Granted, covers can go horribly wrong. When I think of shit covers, I think of Madona's version of American Pie, which takes a good (if not great) song and makes it incredibly fucking bland and soulless.
The thing is, that's giving covers a bad name. It's pop music. Pop music is supposed to be bland and horrible and pointless. That's what it's there for. There hasn't been a decent pop song in the last ten years that I can think of.
So I say thank the musical gods for cover versions. They can make a good song better, they can make a bad song good, they can take a great song and put a new spin on it, they can take a great song and make it utterly shit. And this is a good thing, without experimentation none of these songs would have been made.
I think it takes a lot of bravery to make some of these cover versions... a lot of them are really established songs in their own right - like Green Day's version of the Bobby Fuller Four's classic I Fought The Law (If you thought The Clash did the original, get the fuck out) and Social Distortion's version of Ring of Fire. To take classic songs and change them, make them your own is... egotistical but brave. If it works, you've created something fantastic.
So that's what I think. I'm going to leave you with possibly the best cover created - Sonic Clang's version of E1M1 from Doom.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Songs what I have been listenining to recentlyz
1) Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden
Normally I don't like Iron Maiden because they're one of those bands than encourage people obsessed with 80's hair metal to claim that no modern metal can match it. This is utter bullshit but anyway....
Fear of the Dark is a fantastic song. It's a lot shorter than most 80's metal songs (seven minutes, rather than the more usual nine) and it has a real progression to it. It also builds and builds in the way, for example, Telegraph Road does.
It's not fantastic by any means but it is a very good example of a genre which has been rather unfairly tainted by Aerosmith and the like.
2) 99 Red Baloons by Goldfinger
Now, as a musical purist, it does annoy me slightly to not hear this song in the original German. Particularly as I'm told the lyrics are completely different in English. Having said that, this song does beat the original in one all important way: It uses guitars instead of synth.
There is something for a trend at the moment for punk bands redoing 80's "classics". Orange did it with Karma Chameleon and their version is quite definitely better than the original.
Previously, I'd always assumed cover versions were attempts to grab quick publicity like Madonna's butchered version of American Pie. These versions are suitably obscure that they won't offend the people who legitimately love the original versions, though.
I love 99 Red Balloons for two reasons: Firstly, it is a lot faster than the original which makes it feel like it's got more energy than the original every had. Secondly, he slips into German for the third verse. This is awesome, and seems to increase the energy of the song even further
3) Jyosei Kashimashi Monogatari by Morning Musume
This one is going to be a hard sell.
Okay, so it's J-Pop, which isn't the most respected of genres (for good reason) but there are a few things I like about this one song.
1) The video is quite charming, in a really odd way.
2) It's *really* catchy
3) They do the same dance Mona does in Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
4) Most of the girls are quite hot. Which I admit has nothing to do with the music at all.
5) It's got a *lot* of energy in it. If this came on in a club, if suitable amounts of alcohol had been consumed, the dance floor would probably collapse from overly energetic dancing.
So yeah. I got recommended this, by the way. I didn't go out of my way to try and find it.
Stop judging me.
Stop it.
4) That's What You Get by Paramore
Sorry, I couldn't find a studio version of that song.
I love this song mainly because of Rock Band - I've been playing a drum campaign through on expert and this is one of the only songs I can get all the way through. The drum line is really fun to play.
Taken on its own merits, though, it's a surprisingly charming song. The singer is charismatic and it's rocky without going into actual metal territory.
5) Dirty Little Secret - The All American Rejects
Now, normally I shouldn't like the All American Rejects because they're generally a little bit emo for my liking. This is one song though that transcends its emo roots.
One reason for this is the video - which contains Post Secrets. Anyone not familiar with that project, head over to their website right now. It's incredibly touching to see these secrets for you to see in a high budget mainstream music video. It also means there's a genuine reason for the Emo - rather than generic whining which a lot of the genre tends to fall foul of.
Secondly, there's the drum line, which is a lot of fun to play. Sorry, I'll stop getting my recommendations from Rock Band one of these days.
Then there's the guitar line which is really, really damn simple but very catchy. Listen to it a few times and you'll be humming it all day.
So that's it, pretty much. I've got to go to my Ju Jitsu class now but I should say one thing before I go.
Seriously, why are the RIAA trying to close down torrent sites? I found all the songs I was after bar one studio version withing a few seconds on Youtube, one of the biggest sites on the internet.
But you can't keep those songs, you tell me.
Yes, you fucking can. Insert the word "kiss" before any youtube URL so www.youtube.com/whatever becomes www.kissyoutube.com/whatever and BINGO. A downloadable version for you.
A gift from me to you :)
Normally I don't like Iron Maiden because they're one of those bands than encourage people obsessed with 80's hair metal to claim that no modern metal can match it. This is utter bullshit but anyway....
Fear of the Dark is a fantastic song. It's a lot shorter than most 80's metal songs (seven minutes, rather than the more usual nine) and it has a real progression to it. It also builds and builds in the way, for example, Telegraph Road does.
It's not fantastic by any means but it is a very good example of a genre which has been rather unfairly tainted by Aerosmith and the like.
2) 99 Red Baloons by Goldfinger
Now, as a musical purist, it does annoy me slightly to not hear this song in the original German. Particularly as I'm told the lyrics are completely different in English. Having said that, this song does beat the original in one all important way: It uses guitars instead of synth.
There is something for a trend at the moment for punk bands redoing 80's "classics". Orange did it with Karma Chameleon and their version is quite definitely better than the original.
Previously, I'd always assumed cover versions were attempts to grab quick publicity like Madonna's butchered version of American Pie. These versions are suitably obscure that they won't offend the people who legitimately love the original versions, though.
I love 99 Red Balloons for two reasons: Firstly, it is a lot faster than the original which makes it feel like it's got more energy than the original every had. Secondly, he slips into German for the third verse. This is awesome, and seems to increase the energy of the song even further
3) Jyosei Kashimashi Monogatari by Morning Musume
This one is going to be a hard sell.
Okay, so it's J-Pop, which isn't the most respected of genres (for good reason) but there are a few things I like about this one song.
1) The video is quite charming, in a really odd way.
2) It's *really* catchy
3) They do the same dance Mona does in Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
4) Most of the girls are quite hot. Which I admit has nothing to do with the music at all.
5) It's got a *lot* of energy in it. If this came on in a club, if suitable amounts of alcohol had been consumed, the dance floor would probably collapse from overly energetic dancing.
So yeah. I got recommended this, by the way. I didn't go out of my way to try and find it.
Stop judging me.
Stop it.
4) That's What You Get by Paramore
Sorry, I couldn't find a studio version of that song.
I love this song mainly because of Rock Band - I've been playing a drum campaign through on expert and this is one of the only songs I can get all the way through. The drum line is really fun to play.
Taken on its own merits, though, it's a surprisingly charming song. The singer is charismatic and it's rocky without going into actual metal territory.
5) Dirty Little Secret - The All American Rejects
Now, normally I shouldn't like the All American Rejects because they're generally a little bit emo for my liking. This is one song though that transcends its emo roots.
One reason for this is the video - which contains Post Secrets. Anyone not familiar with that project, head over to their website right now. It's incredibly touching to see these secrets for you to see in a high budget mainstream music video. It also means there's a genuine reason for the Emo - rather than generic whining which a lot of the genre tends to fall foul of.
Secondly, there's the drum line, which is a lot of fun to play. Sorry, I'll stop getting my recommendations from Rock Band one of these days.
Then there's the guitar line which is really, really damn simple but very catchy. Listen to it a few times and you'll be humming it all day.
So that's it, pretty much. I've got to go to my Ju Jitsu class now but I should say one thing before I go.
Seriously, why are the RIAA trying to close down torrent sites? I found all the songs I was after bar one studio version withing a few seconds on Youtube, one of the biggest sites on the internet.
But you can't keep those songs, you tell me.
Yes, you fucking can. Insert the word "kiss" before any youtube URL so www.youtube.com/whatever becomes www.kissyoutube.com/whatever and BINGO. A downloadable version for you.
A gift from me to you :)
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Those Dancing Days - Home Sweet Home
The more music I listen to, the most it becomes obvious that I don't actually have a taste...
I like more Opera Metal and a fair bit of Ska Punk but other than that... I like emo music if we're talking Alkaline Trio, not My Chemical Romance. I like some classic metal, if we're talking selected Deep Purple tracks, not as most people seem to define it, anything from the 80's. I even like Cradle of Filth if I'm in a charitable mood.
I think I like anything as long as it's good and (this is probably more important) interesting. This explains why I can have a music collection where my top three songs are:
Telegraph Road by Dire Straights
Believe - Yellowcard
Blood Sugar - Pendulum
I think this is the only sensible approach to music. I don't understand why people would discount whole genres because they don't like some examples. Every genre of music has some shining examples in it. I even found an Ice Cube song I liked the other day, which makes up for Deep Blue Sea somewhat...
Anyhoo, one of my friends recommended this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AgTAS-MJJQ&feature=PlayList&p=3AEFBA0541580780&index=16
Home Sweet Home by Those Dancing Days
Now this song has several things going for it:
1) It's overwhelmingly happy. The cheerful nature of this song smothers you like a lover ending your life with a pillow made out of kittens playing with balls of string.
2) It's upbeat enough for you to dance to but somehow it's also nice to relax to. I'm buggered if I know how they've managed this but it's pretty impressive.
3) The singer is excellent. More bands should employ female singers for the simple reason that their voices sound nicer than mens... they just do. I can only think of one band off the top of my head with a bad female singer (Defenestration) whereas bad male singers? More than I can count. If you actually want some examples, pick three CD's at random from the Metal section of your local HMV.
4) It's whimsical without being pretentious. "Home sweet home, I've been away for too long". That's just... nice. We've all felt like that at times. I hate to use phrases like "universal theme" but... you get the idea.
So yeah. Good song. I'll check out their other stuff now.
I like more Opera Metal and a fair bit of Ska Punk but other than that... I like emo music if we're talking Alkaline Trio, not My Chemical Romance. I like some classic metal, if we're talking selected Deep Purple tracks, not as most people seem to define it, anything from the 80's. I even like Cradle of Filth if I'm in a charitable mood.
I think I like anything as long as it's good and (this is probably more important) interesting. This explains why I can have a music collection where my top three songs are:
Telegraph Road by Dire Straights
Believe - Yellowcard
Blood Sugar - Pendulum
I think this is the only sensible approach to music. I don't understand why people would discount whole genres because they don't like some examples. Every genre of music has some shining examples in it. I even found an Ice Cube song I liked the other day, which makes up for Deep Blue Sea somewhat...
Anyhoo, one of my friends recommended this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AgTAS-MJJQ&feature=PlayList&p=3AEFBA0541580780&index=16
Home Sweet Home by Those Dancing Days
Now this song has several things going for it:
1) It's overwhelmingly happy. The cheerful nature of this song smothers you like a lover ending your life with a pillow made out of kittens playing with balls of string.
2) It's upbeat enough for you to dance to but somehow it's also nice to relax to. I'm buggered if I know how they've managed this but it's pretty impressive.
3) The singer is excellent. More bands should employ female singers for the simple reason that their voices sound nicer than mens... they just do. I can only think of one band off the top of my head with a bad female singer (Defenestration) whereas bad male singers? More than I can count. If you actually want some examples, pick three CD's at random from the Metal section of your local HMV.
4) It's whimsical without being pretentious. "Home sweet home, I've been away for too long". That's just... nice. We've all felt like that at times. I hate to use phrases like "universal theme" but... you get the idea.
So yeah. Good song. I'll check out their other stuff now.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Game soundtracks
What the hell is it with independant games having the best soundtracks around?
Braid's soundtrack
http://braid-game.com/news/?p=260
was one of the best every created and I've just found a download link (free and legit) for the World of Good one
http://kylegabler.com/WorldOfGooSoundtrack
which has been keeping me smiling at work for most of the day.
Anyway, I find it odd that other games don't have this level of awesomeness injected into their soundtracks. The one for Vampire Bloodlines was awesome but other than that, we haven't had much that's genuinely fantastic. And by fantastic, I mean you can listen to it independantly of the game and you still have an emotional reaction to it, as you should with all good music.
Of the best games in the last few years, Other than Braid and World of Goo, what decent music was there? Crysis Warhead, Far Cry 2, CoD4, Mass Effect, Grid, Left 4 Dead, Red Alert 3, HL2E2 etc. etc. all had music which was a gigantic Meh. Even Portal (which had that masterpiece of a song) had a soundtrack that, whilst very good, didn't transcend the game in the way you would have hoped.
I think part of the issue is every indie game is created by quite a small team, who all know the point of the project. In larger games, the sound track chaps don't feel the same level of intergration with the project so don't have the emotional attachment they need to make a truely great soundtrack.
Ah well. One more reason to buy indie games I suppose :)
Braid's soundtrack
http://braid-game.com/news/?p=260
was one of the best every created and I've just found a download link (free and legit) for the World of Good one
http://kylegabler.com/WorldOfGooSoundtrack
which has been keeping me smiling at work for most of the day.
Anyway, I find it odd that other games don't have this level of awesomeness injected into their soundtracks. The one for Vampire Bloodlines was awesome but other than that, we haven't had much that's genuinely fantastic. And by fantastic, I mean you can listen to it independantly of the game and you still have an emotional reaction to it, as you should with all good music.
Of the best games in the last few years, Other than Braid and World of Goo, what decent music was there? Crysis Warhead, Far Cry 2, CoD4, Mass Effect, Grid, Left 4 Dead, Red Alert 3, HL2E2 etc. etc. all had music which was a gigantic Meh. Even Portal (which had that masterpiece of a song) had a soundtrack that, whilst very good, didn't transcend the game in the way you would have hoped.
I think part of the issue is every indie game is created by quite a small team, who all know the point of the project. In larger games, the sound track chaps don't feel the same level of intergration with the project so don't have the emotional attachment they need to make a truely great soundtrack.
Ah well. One more reason to buy indie games I suppose :)
Monday, 9 February 2009
In defense of Gothism
Mark Steel wrote a defense of Lord Byron saying that no matter what you think of his poetry, one thing about him is very important. In an age of political sell outs and an increasing celebrity culture, he had passion. He cared about things.
These days, passion is increasingly hard to find- it can be found in small places but in the entertainment industry, can we really say that this music represents passion:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Kd7IGPyeg
(Coldplay – The Scientist)
Or this
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FZzqBqTqrZA
(The Killers – Spaceman)
And they’re the more respectable face of contemporary music. Don’t get me started on Britney or Beyonce or Alexandra Burke.
Let’s compare that, briefly, with probably the most manufactured metal band to emerge in recent years, Linkin Park:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KViOrW-r1O8
(Linkin Park – Crawling)
Now, the cynics amongst us know that Linkin Park formed part of Warner Brothers’ Alternative Mainstream Profit Base for the year of 2000/2001 but in spite of this, you feel something when listening to the music. Whether it’s exhilaration, irritation or disgust- there’s something there.
What’s there in the coldplay/killers track? Nothing. I can respect them as musicians and the Killers track would be quite catchy if I could forgive them for the whole “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier” thing - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WSLfoZLgEQg) but once you get past the technically proficient nature of the music- what’s there?
I’m not talking about standing for things, by the way. Bono and Phil Collins stand for things, it doesn’t make their music any less bland.
I then compare this to what was my favorite band when I was growing up, Cradle of Filth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jLjjZnrRlc
(Cradle of Filth – From the Cradle To Enslave)
Now, I don’t care what you think about that song musically but what’s really important is it gets a genuine emotional reaction from people. Some hear white noise and want to turn it off, some (like me) feel a wave of… rage and exhilaration.
Even songs by My Chemical Romance that feature the words:
“You said you read me like a book but the pages are all torn and frayed”
Which is about a whiney and teenage as you can get represent emotion – in that particular instance they represent sitting in your bedroom crying about how no-one loves you but that’s something…
That Killers song has no emotion to it…. It’s just there.
And for that reason, if nothing else, is why Goth, emo, indie & metal music deserves your respect.
Well. Possibly not respect. Something.
I’ll shut up now. Sorry.
These days, passion is increasingly hard to find- it can be found in small places but in the entertainment industry, can we really say that this music represents passion:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Kd7IGPyeg
(Coldplay – The Scientist)
Or this
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FZzqBqTqrZA
(The Killers – Spaceman)
And they’re the more respectable face of contemporary music. Don’t get me started on Britney or Beyonce or Alexandra Burke.
Let’s compare that, briefly, with probably the most manufactured metal band to emerge in recent years, Linkin Park:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KViOrW-r1O8
(Linkin Park – Crawling)
Now, the cynics amongst us know that Linkin Park formed part of Warner Brothers’ Alternative Mainstream Profit Base for the year of 2000/2001 but in spite of this, you feel something when listening to the music. Whether it’s exhilaration, irritation or disgust- there’s something there.
What’s there in the coldplay/killers track? Nothing. I can respect them as musicians and the Killers track would be quite catchy if I could forgive them for the whole “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier” thing - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WSLfoZLgEQg) but once you get past the technically proficient nature of the music- what’s there?
I’m not talking about standing for things, by the way. Bono and Phil Collins stand for things, it doesn’t make their music any less bland.
I then compare this to what was my favorite band when I was growing up, Cradle of Filth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jLjjZnrRlc
(Cradle of Filth – From the Cradle To Enslave)
Now, I don’t care what you think about that song musically but what’s really important is it gets a genuine emotional reaction from people. Some hear white noise and want to turn it off, some (like me) feel a wave of… rage and exhilaration.
Even songs by My Chemical Romance that feature the words:
“You said you read me like a book but the pages are all torn and frayed”
Which is about a whiney and teenage as you can get represent emotion – in that particular instance they represent sitting in your bedroom crying about how no-one loves you but that’s something…
That Killers song has no emotion to it…. It’s just there.
And for that reason, if nothing else, is why Goth, emo, indie & metal music deserves your respect.
Well. Possibly not respect. Something.
I’ll shut up now. Sorry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)