Midweek Music Box: Bit Trip Fate

Embrace the frustration.

Despite the soundtrack that I've picked for today, I am not frustrated or angry.  I'm just a little overworked and over-tired of late.  I can't seem to fall into one nice, focused groove.  Now, much of this has to do more with the need to clean our apartment constantly for showings, trying to do home showings at the drop of a hat, finding and working writing jobs, maintaining the gaming blog, recording and editing a movie podcast I do with my brother....  

"Anger"

So yeah...okay, maybe I've let a little frustration and annoyance creep in.  But that makes this particular soundtrack all the more perfect.

Sometimes I get flustered with the pace of my life right now.  I'm not a terribly "type A" person as they call it.  I'm not always making lists of my "to do's" and trying to live my life in a certain order and get things done "just so."  If I don't do those things "just so" I won't freak out.  "Life finds a way," as Dr. Malcom once said.  So,  I can keep up a pace with or without a predetermined structure most days.  Of course, sometimes it is a necessary evil, the list making and following a pattern that is.  It's just when it becomes an all encompassing monster that I get frustrated and even a little angry.  If a "type B" person like myself finds themselves forced into a situation where we need to make lists, then by golly don't mess with that stupid "to do" list!  After all, you were the one who made it happen you type A'er! 

Where was I?  

Oh yes.  When that happens, when "to do" lists creep in, I need just the right set of music to help me get into the groove of writing since that's part of my family's income.  So, cue some appropriately titled Bit Trip music from the guys at Gaijin.

"Frustration"

I find the whole of the Bit Trip series music to be an utterly enjoyable affair, and Bit.Trip.Beat has an infectious and upbeat (oh so pun intended) quality that I've mentioned before.  I typically have that going if I'm trying to write about a informational article and need to keep up a cheery mood, or if I'm about to write an upbeat section from one of the books I'm working on and need to shift out of "clean the house" mode.  However, when I need to grind away at something, and knock off things from a "to do" list, I turn to the tunes of Bit.Trip.Fate to help me get through.

"Patience"

The key tracks I go to are "Patience," "Frustration," and "Anger"--and no, not just because they mirror my own feelings when I am working through a "to do" list.  There's a certain cadence within the music that serves as a great parallel for the pace at which I type and I think if you are looking for some thing to help you get through your own "to do's" then you can't go wrong with Bit.Trip.Fate.  

"Anger" has little blips and bloops interrupted by an occasional bass thump. These are eventually overridden with thumping bass and synth-sound mix that does an excellent job conveying both the emotion and the desire to push through it and get over it.  Frustration starts slow and quietly builds until the whole soundtrack booms, thumps, and eventually morphs into a rocking and beating tune that also does a great job putting a musical "soundtrack" to the feeling that it finds itself named after.  Of course "Patience" is a quieter tune than the other two, and it never builds to a volume level too high nor does it get populated with the same bass and "wubba wubba" sound of the other two.  It's a great little track for keeping focused during all too quiet moments where you need a little extra push to help get through a time consuming task.  At least, that's what I've found.

Overall, the tracks I've mentioned and linked to have an intrinsic rhythm to them that keeps my fingers flying while at the keyboard.  In a weird way it gets my mind "in tune" as it were, to the task of getting tasks done.  Getting through a laundry list of to do's can be frustrating just to look at, but if you have the right background music, like that found in Bit.Trip.Fate, it can go so much more smoothly.

Midweek Music Box: Pilotwings

High Flying Excitement-ish-ness

It doesn't just help me to "pass the time" or only function to enhance game play when I listen to it; for me, video game music has helped me during the times I clean house, have a long commute, and most importantly, helped me to refocus my mind while writing.  From creative writing, to writing stories for the t shirt site CaptainKYSO, to countless college writing assignments and more; video game music has helped my mood by helping to shape my mood.  Everything from remixes of Mega Man, Super Metroid, Super Mario Bros, and too many others to name form the background of my everyday writing experience.  So to that end, I thought I would share some of the various tunes that I've listened to over the years, talk about why I like them, how well (or in some cases not well) they worked in the game, and how they helped me to get my writing done.

Rather than kick things off with something bombastic and hard rockin', I wanted to talk a bit about the smooth jazz and light tunes offered up in most of the Pilotwings soundtrack.  Yeah, I know that's pretty obvious by the title, but hush!  This is my blog thank-you-very-much.  Now, obviously when it comes to the final helicopter stage and rescue operation the music takes a turn for the dramatic so as to help emphasize the seriousness of the situation.  But I don't really listen to that particular tune all that often unless I'm doing a bit of story writing and need music that conveys a serious tone, but still with an enjoyable elevator music-like quality.  Yes, you heard me right pal, I said enjoyable elevator music!  I sure as heck would would want something mellow playing if I were about to jump out of a plane or go rocketing with who-knows-many-pounds of flammable propellant strapped to my back!  So if my mind is buzzing with dozens of things that have to get done and I feel like I'm plunging out towards deadlines at terminal velocity, I need something mellow to help keep me on an even keel.

Putting Tom Petty's "Free Fallin" on my ipod was a mistake...

I have a number of writing projects and jobs that I am working on right now in addition to this blog, and while I love them and love the art and craft of writing--it can get downright stressful at times!  Not every night calls for my old stand by 10 hour loop of Daft Punk's around the world, and not every night calls for Metroid Prime's Phendrana Drifts.  Sometimes, I just need jazzy elevator music to relax my mind, sooth the soul, and help keep me focused on the task (or tasks).  The wrong music for the wrong time can totally kill the flow my writing, and as such, I need to know what I need to keep my writing going.  I can and probably will write several articles on music I use for different writing moods in the future, but for right now Pilotwings is my bread and butter for when I need to de-stress and focus.  Just listen to few minutes of this for example:

Not the music that comes to my mind when jumping out of a plane, but then again, I've never jumped out of an airplane so maybe it is just right.  Does it get any more intense with the Rocketbelt Music?

Not really.  Just some nice, soothing "blah, blah" and "wah wah" sounds.  I guess I could hunt down an orchestral version of this on Youtube if I wanted, but I prefer the original sounds.  Not just because I'm a purist at times when it comes to game music, but because I think I'm so familiar with this soundtrack (as is the case with so many games for Nintendo and Super Nintendo) that I would be focused a little too much on what the orchestra did differently than the beloved original.

If you haven't listened to the soundtrack or played the game in a while, I would recommend pulling up one of the videos I linked to here and having them play in the background if you have to get things done, but need to not freak out about it.

Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan't make my deadlines under this pressure!

Who needs generic jazz or Girl from Ipanema?  Soyo Oka has you covered.  Now get to work dang it!  Move! Move! Move!